Suggested mods?

[soss]

There are so many mods that I don't even know where to begin. What would be some good ones to start off on?

[internetrules]

do you build planes alot or rockets? or both?

and what is the funnest thing you commonly do in the game?

[Lunar]

kerbal engineering redux is a great base, gives u basic stats like delta v and burn time, a must really

[soss]

Originally posted by internetrules:

do you build planes alot or rockets? or both?

and what is the funnest thing you commonly do in the game?

Mainly rockets, but I do enjoy building planes from time to time.

[Duke Flapjack]

I may recommend Firespitter for aircraft. It adds a lot of animated parts.

I run with two parts packs: Bluedog Design Bureau and Tantares.

Also, if you prefer building to flying (as I do) I may recommend Mechjeb. A lot of people call it a cheat but I FAR prefer building my rockets to flying them and enjoy automating as much as possible.

[DaetherX]

Alarm Clock: Let's you set an event where the game will stop and remind you that event is happening. Like you can set a timer for when a craft gets within 2 minutes, or days, of a node, or a SoI change.

[x]science: Has a list of all science you can do, all you can do with current craft, all you can do right now. Also has a thing that stops time warp when you can do science, and a list you can run tests from instead of needing to click on each part several times.

Kerbal Engineer: Dv stats by stage. Maybe other stuff.

Mechjeb: Mechjeb is love, Mechjeb is life.
It does so much.
It also has Dv stats, but you can get info on what they will be if you are in/on another body like Mun, Duna, whatever. Has a maneuver node editor to change it by precise numbers, and can even lock the node to peri/apo-apsis, to AN/DN from target. Has SAS to try to position your ships to face a certain way, even if the pilot doesn't have the skill. It even has stuff pilots can't do like like "up" from planet or moon, which is helpfull in the last few seconds of landing on anything. It can also do the nodes for you, and is much more precise in its burns than I am.
And much much more stuff I don't understand and/or haven't used.

EDIT: The Engineer and Mechjeb features that give Dv and TWR stats in the VAB really should be vanilla, as should Alarm clock, and [x]science. They are QoL features basically.

[koimeiji]

If your computer can handle it? Stock Visual Enhancements.[forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com]

[edorward]

If you've already played the game for some time and seen most of the sights, try Interstellar Extended. The near-future techs (leading up to warp drive) add a lot of depth to the game. You may want to add on extrasolar planets too, if you take that route. There are plenty of options there.

[Zorlond]

Originally posted by captainradish:

I may recommend Firespitter for aircraft. It adds a lot of animated parts.

I second Firespitter, as it's part collection allows for one to design helicopters and other VTOL craft. They're tricky to fly, but quite satisfying when you finally figure them out.

For new mod recommendations, there is Kerbal Joint Reinforcement, which insures that your rockets stop wobbling like noodles and your planes don't act like flappy birds.

Also EVA Struts, which lets you place struts to add structure strength regardless of where you are. If you've got a large and complex space station that required multiple launches to put together, adding struts on the fly can keep the dreaded Kraken at bay.

Real Cute Parachute Systems gives you configurable chutes. Light silk or strong kevlar? Larger or smaller? Single or triple? Main, drogue, or drag? They will also, when triggered by staging, enter an 'armed' state to automatically deploy at a specified -true- altitude to the ground.

[Chili Dogs]

I would advise against 95% of parts packs personally. Becoming dependant on non-stock parts has it's downsides. That being said, I do recommend Infernal Robotics as one of the very few mods that adds parts simply because of how they add features into the game that are genuinely usefull and non-existant in the vanilla game.

Overall I would recommend:

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FOR SCIENCE! [mods.curse.com]
*
"Automagicly detects and runs experiments that have science available, when they are available. (Even those special biomes around KSC.)
Automagicly collects the data from those experiments into a science container (command pod).
Automagicly resets experiments that are "run once", when you have a scientist onboard. (mystery goo, sci jrs)"
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Kerbal Attachment System [mods.curse.com]
*
"KAS introduces new gameplay mechanics by adding winches, containers, dynamic struts/pipes and grabable & attachable parts. It gives some purpose to EVA and can be used for many things"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kerbal Inventory System [mods.curse.com]
*
"KIS introduce new gameplay mechanics by adding a brand new inventory sytem and EVA usables items as tools. You want to build a rover on Duna from scratch? Now you can..."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kerbal Engineer Redux [mods.curse.com]
*
"Kerbal Engineer reveals important statistics about your ship and its orbit during building and flight."
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Docking Port Alignment Indicator [mods.curse.com]
*
"The Docking Port Alignment Indicator Provides all the information you need to dock with precision and ease on a single, intuitive gauge​​​."
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Magic Smoke Industries Infernal Robotics [mods.curse.com]
*
"This mod introduces robotics parts to the game, letting you create moving or spinning contraptions that just aren't possible under stock KSP."

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Just some recommendations if you are starting out.

[darkrajin]

On top of what the op asked... Any good installer programs to more easily install and remove KSP mods?

[Zorlond]

Originally posted by darkrajin:

On top of what the op asked... Any good installer programs to more easily install and remove KSP mods?

CKAN has ya covered, there.

https://github.com/KSP-CKAN/CKAN/wiki

[Chili Dogs]

Originally posted by darkrajin:

On top of what the op asked... Any good installer programs to more easily install and remove KSP mods?

honestly you dont need one just shortcut to the GAMEDATA folder somewhere easy and delete whatever you don't want. that being said, there is CKAN, but mods are slightly more limited there sinced they have to be packed for it specifically. I did use it for a year or two though without much issue, but manual install is so easy with KSP I don't see the point.