If you use a program like Ckan, you can add and remove mods very easily. It’s pretty painless. I would suggest if you are just starting out, KER )Kerbal Engineer Redux) and Trajectories are both great quality of life add ons. If you are looking to add some spice, you might add on Chatterer for fun (adds radio talk from Kerbins during flight).
Once you have decided whether you want to go to Kerbal Level 2 (i.e. past orbit) You may want to look into TransferWindowPlanner, and KerbalAlaramClock, Laso Docking Port Alignment Indicator. All just make the business of traveling to new planets much more sane. Finally, a mod I really enjoy is Raster Prop Monitor, which adds working computer screens and controls in all of the control capsules, so you can literally fly your rockets from the cockpit.
My current install is light on parts, but does add some for space stations, colonies, and a few extras. It is 88 mods installed. And it runs very smoothly. If you want the list, PM me and I will shoot you my ckan file =)
Good old Community Tech Tree is the way to go. Almost all of the big part packs add all of their stuff to the CTT automatically. And it also straightens a few things out, and gives you more to work on. With Space Stations it is so easy to max out the regular tech tree. This is much better! And since this is much more fun to do then actual work, here is a quick write up on my favorite mod picks:
A list of mostly sane Kerbal Mods that work well together, don’t take forever to load and don’t add a ton of garbage you don’t need:
QOL Must Have mods
Kerbal Engineering Redux - Reveals important statistics about your ship and its orbit during building and flight
Kerbal Alarm Clock
Mechjeb 2 - After your 67th satellite launch, I feel like Kerbals have learned to automate this by now, so why can’t you? Mechjeb does just that. Makes things like Taking off, landing, orbiting, hitting a specific orbit all automatic.
Precise Maneuver - When aiming for a planet that is 3 Kerbin years away, you need to get that vector node as perfect as possible….
Trajectories - So helpful in seeing how the next few orbits pan out or where you will actually wind up once you quit thrusting.
Transfer Window Planner - Lets you find the perfect time to launch for Duna, or any other planet and integrates with Alarm Clock
[x] Science! - Tracks and lets you know which biomes you still need to do your experiments in.
Better Burn Time - A more accurate countdown timer to match your node with when to fire rockets
Graphics Updates (If any gropu of mods is going to make stuff crash. it is this one. You can leave them off =)
Engine Lighting
Environment Visual Enhancements’
Stock Visual Enhancements
PlanetShine
Real Plume
Scatterer
Smoke Screen
Texture replacer - I mainly use this to give my Kerbals new skins and new suits.
Flavor Mods
Final Frontier - Awesome little mod that gives ribbons and medals to your Kerbals as they perform various feats!
Hullcam VDS - Put cameras all over your ship that you can record video from, show on cockpit monitors, etc.
Indicator lights
Kerbal Stats - Keeps track of extra stats on all of your Kerbals. Used with some other mods as well.
Alternate Resource panel - A better visual representation of how much fuel/air/food you have left in your rocket.
Gameplay Mods
Extraplanetary Launchpads - You can construct this on other planets and make rockets… ON OTHER PLANETS =)
KAS/KIS - Adds a lot of fidgetability to KSP. I don’t use it a ton, but it’s fun to put your Kerbals to work on the surface once in awhile, and very handy on engineering mishaps!
Raster Prop Monitor - Add working monitors, gadgets and computers in your cockpit. With this you can literally fly a rocket from inside the capsule.
SCANsat - adds satellite scanners that are so much cooler than the builtin ones!
Snacks - My current life support system of choice. It’s less fidgety than some of the others,and the snacks/mulch concept works for me.
Surface experiments pack - Add surface experiments that your Kerbals assemble once landed. (needs KIS/KAS)
Strategia - Makes the admin building useful for once!
Waypoint Manager - Allows you to create your own custom waypoints in flight.
CapCom - Mission control on the go! Manage your missions from any screen.
Community Tech Tree - Install this and all your parts mods will place their parts in the correct places. All the listed parts mod work into the Community Resource Pack perfectly.
Deep Freeze - Put your Kerbals on ice for those long hauls! Adds cute little cryogen tubes for your Kerbals in space! Cheaper than hauling literally tons of snacks to
Contract Packs - The more the merrier! I like Stations, historic missions and tourist packs myself.
More Parts!
Fuel Tanks Plus - Adds fueled nose cones, longer fuel tanks,etc that all match with the built in fuel tanks
Kerbal Planetary Base Systems - This is a space station part mod. Adds very cool looking space station parts to play with. Some people may prefer Roverdude’s MKS system over this, but this is the one I’m using atm.
Malemute Rover - Everyone needs at least one Rover mod, right?
Near Future mod packs from Nertea - Includes packs with Electrical, IVA Props, Solar Arrays, Propulsion, like 8 mod packs in total. I chose this instead of a dozen other mod part packs because they are all written by the same guy, and tend to work together well. Really my only rocket parts mod I add besides the fuel tanks.
There are some popular mods that are not on my list and that is usually because either (I used them before and am trying something new (Roverdude parts) or they tend to make things unstable ( FARAM)
And this is what bad mod addiction can look like over time… But I swear it is such a blast to play like this =)
All loaded up on a new game, Fozzle. Ckan had recommendations for a few extras based on your list above, and only one had issues. A quick change to un-enable that recommendation and the rest were good to go.
Good luck! Hoppe you have as much fun with them as I do. If you haven’t found him by now, for good supplemental material try looking up Scott Manley on Youtube. He’s pretty much the patron saint of tutorial videos for KSP =)
Great, great list @Fozzle indeed!
Is Distant Object part of another of your mods in that list? If not, I strongly recommend trying it: it is an acquired taste, making space much darker in most circumstances, but if you enjoy it, with astronomy mods and such, it provides a very atmospheric experience with potentially new challenges.
Anway, the two that are absolutely indispensable, no way to argue about it, are Kerbal Engineer Redux and Kerbal Alarm Clock in my opinion: they provide stuff absolutely essential, nowhere available.
Stuff like Transfer Window Planner or Trajectories are very nice, but I think they are more like luxuries, and that they may potentially take a bit of your enjoyment out (I must confess I love to try to calculate my window with some Wiki assisted simple maths, instead of having it automated - just putting it out there if that sort of consideration is relavant to you @Skipper).
I also feel that the included autopilots have made Mechjeb 2 much less useful that it once was: it is much less taxing nowadays to adjust orbits with a few clicks and a pilot on board.
Will do, I’ve been watching quill18’s vids so far but will look up Scott as well. YouTube has become indispensable as the real source of gaming tutorials.
Well I’ve not really gotten far enough that I needed them yet, so just now having them for a new game, I guess I’ll get a little comparison based on previous Mun stuff only. I could always deactivate those to see.
So based on all the new science missions, what the hell are these defense contracts I’ve loaded up? (I may have gotten overzealous loading all these additional contract pack types.)
Yeah, The Contract packs can sometimes be a mixed bag. I was thinking about that after I posted this. I wound up pairing my contract list back to just a couple. Otherwise you may get inundated with contracts that you may or may not find fun.
I really wanted to put Distant Object in my pack this time, but I had to turn it off because it was crashing. Not sure what it was colliding with, but I’m guessing it was either EVE or SVE. At any rate, I gave up and took it out. stability > toys in a game where every Kerbin life matters!
I do partially agree with you that Transfer Window Planner and Trajectories are the least “necessary” mods on the list, for the footprint, you get lots of bang for your buck. I actually love the visualization of TWP when selecting your launch dates and am not as into the math side of things. But that is one of the great things about KSP and mods, you can really tailor the experience to what you find most fun!
Scott is to Quill18 what KSP is to Lunar Lander. Seriously though, Scott is a fantastic resource without the awkwardness and bumbling misdirection of Quill18. Not to mention Scott’s accent makes for a much more pleasant listen. :)
You know, that happens often on YouTube and has a lot to do with how it recommends videos. For some reason, Quill’s were the first listed when I was searching, though to be fair I don’t remember what my sort criteria was while at the house. Maybe Quills were newer?
That’s possible, though Scott continues to produce KSP videos (he’s on his 4th or 5th grand campaign of 30+ videos at the moment).
Personally, I just don’t get the popularity of Quill18. I’m accusing anyone of enjoying his content, but I don’t understand it. I find the emphatic certainty with which he states things that are wrong rubs me the wrong way – which I find a particularly damning indictment given the amount of tutorial content he produces.
Scott also does a great job explaining the actual physics of what you are trying to do, why you need to, for example, fly east off the launch pad rather than go straight up. He is really the gold standard, far and away the best there is.
Plus he also likes to do fun quirky challenges, like trying to use a capsule as a ‘basketball’ and score a hoop on the KSC launch pad from orbit.
And meeper, I hear you. There are a LOT of let’s play and game videos done by folks I can’t stand. Quill isn’t horrible in that respect, but I’ve only seen about four of his vids in total. I’ve viewed a ton for other games from different streamers, some good, some not. I agree with you, people who proclaim to know more than they do is a huge distraction while watching these things.
I agree Quill is like myself, a good strategy game (although he plays much quicker) who is very opinionated, but not always right. I’ve never made a Youtube video so I am sure there is a lot skill I don’t understand going into make them. Quill make watchable videos, which puts him a long way a head of most guys on Youtube.
But Scott Manley is a minor deity, I have no idea how he plays so fast, while explaining orbit mechanics, the history of rocket science, the intricacy of the game etc.
I’ll probably die with some regrets of how much time I’ve spent playing computer games, but I won’t regret an hour I’ve spent KSP, and Scott is part of the reason.
Scott Manley showed me how to make use of trigonometry to make burn length estimations on the Mun.
First and last time I ever used the pythagorean theorem for something mildly practical in my life.
His karma has probably unlocked him a tons of Achievements in some unknown dimension.
They do a weekly forum post on what they’ve been working on, but there’s no sign of any dates in there. Still, it’s sometimes interesting to read up on whats coming in the new expac:
