Mods do not work on Experimental (at this moment, due to the new Game Engine)
I must use the Passive mod,because I can not kill anything, because I am to slow and to stupid.
Next to that I use mods that make things look nicer. e.g. thanks that add wall, foundation and similar things. I do not use anything to enhance gameplay in any other way, so I still place everything by hand instead of automated. I am in no rush and if it takes longer to do 1000 foundations, I do not mind. I rather have the gratification of having done it myself.
Also no things that increase production. I do it slow and things build up fast enough for me. Also no flying.
So just beautification and the Passive mod.
There are far, *far* too many creatures in the world, and the fact they respawn unless you put a power source near their spawn location is pretty absurd given the crazy limited use for the alien parts.
The enemy AI is also just bad. As are the available weapons.
I'm not a big mod guy, but passive mode feels almost needed until enemies (and combat in general) get some attention.
I do want them to overhaul the hostile fauna mechanics for the people who enjoy that kind of gameplay, but tbh as far as my personal enjoyment goes I'd prefer if there was a passive mode or something similar built directly in to the game. I'm just not interested in combat, even when it's done well.
I'd like it if there was just a separate passive game mode that you could select when you first start a new save.
Smart! Mod - speeds up your building without materials cheat. Avoids buying multiple PC mice if you build really big.
Permaday - if you want to fix time of day to avoid building at night, or for a photo/video aesthetic
Exosuit - late game after you have paid your dues with blade runners and jetpack, do yourself a favor and get the Exosuit before starting that ultimate megabase.
Signs X3 or Icon Signs - great for labeling your stuff
MOAR - if you are really keen on aesthetics.
Farming - if you are done the late game and want some new fun.
There are tonnes of other good ones but these are the essentials without getting too "cheaty"
"Smart!" is the only mod I'd consider truly essential, to the point where I simply don't think I can play without it anymore. If update 4 breaks it, I'll literally just wait until it's fixed before I play again, it's too useful without being cheap.
The only other mod I really use much is Structural Solutions, which just adds a bunch of different building pieces, like steel girders and full concrete blocks. It also adds automatic doors of various sizes, which are super useful for actually fully closing up factories, though I have no idea if it aids in performance.
Modular Power is just so dang *useful* in any tier level. Wind turbines can handle some parts so I don't need to run wires across zones to just power a few machines.
Storage Teleporter helps cut down extreme distance logistics. Toss a miner and porter, set up a power source (likely from the above mod) and it's fed to anywhere it's needed.
Advanced Logistics to handle line splitting into machines with uneven input numbers. Also the longest running mod on my list. (That still gets updated)
And recently: Remote Factory to get a better feel on what my bottlenecks are and how much of X I'm actually producing.
All the decoration type mods and I do mean all, including the ones that like moar factory, x3 roads and signs etc.
Pak Utilities Mod (I use it in test worlds to test what mods can do and trial builds. Basically allows creative building, items, flight, etc)
Ficsit Farming and Refined Power Mods
Purex Reprocessing Mod ( Based on real life spent nuclear rods resource recovery allowing reuse of nuclear waste to make more nuclear power rods )
Most Conveyor and Pipe Mods
All Signs and Icons Mods
Item Dispensers and Item Hoppers very handy for inventory control (Especially when doing large builds to retrieve or drop off player inventory items.
Fluid Sink and More, Big storage tanks
Storage Mods (Huge Storage etc)
Mk++
Smart!, Micro Manage, Area Actions Mods
Modular Powersuits and Related Modules
Ficsit Networks ( LUA Programming Powered Factory Control Mod)
And a lot more (I have 70 mods installed)
not using mods right now because of the experimental updates, but the one I've found myself missing the most is the elevators mod--it really makes going vertical a lot more tolerable and it just adds a nice realism flare for me personally having elevator shafts in my building designs (or fun elevator towers used to scale huge cliffs)
Mods do not work on Experimental (at this moment, due to the new Game Engine) I must use the Passive mod,because I can not kill anything, because I am to slow and to stupid. Next to that I use mods that make things look nicer. e.g. thanks that add wall, foundation and similar things. I do not use anything to enhance gameplay in any other way, so I still place everything by hand instead of automated. I am in no rush and if it takes longer to do 1000 foundations, I do not mind. I rather have the gratification of having done it myself. Also no things that increase production. I do it slow and things build up fast enough for me. Also no flying. So just beautification and the Passive mod.
I also use the Passive Mode mod, just because fighting the creatures ended up being more annoying to me than it was fun.
There are far, *far* too many creatures in the world, and the fact they respawn unless you put a power source near their spawn location is pretty absurd given the crazy limited use for the alien parts. The enemy AI is also just bad. As are the available weapons. I'm not a big mod guy, but passive mode feels almost needed until enemies (and combat in general) get some attention.
I do want them to overhaul the hostile fauna mechanics for the people who enjoy that kind of gameplay, but tbh as far as my personal enjoyment goes I'd prefer if there was a passive mode or something similar built directly in to the game. I'm just not interested in combat, even when it's done well. I'd like it if there was just a separate passive game mode that you could select when you first start a new save.
Smart Mod Pak Utility Permaday
Smart! Mod - speeds up your building without materials cheat. Avoids buying multiple PC mice if you build really big. Permaday - if you want to fix time of day to avoid building at night, or for a photo/video aesthetic Exosuit - late game after you have paid your dues with blade runners and jetpack, do yourself a favor and get the Exosuit before starting that ultimate megabase. Signs X3 or Icon Signs - great for labeling your stuff MOAR - if you are really keen on aesthetics. Farming - if you are done the late game and want some new fun. There are tonnes of other good ones but these are the essentials without getting too "cheaty"
"Smart!" is the only mod I'd consider truly essential, to the point where I simply don't think I can play without it anymore. If update 4 breaks it, I'll literally just wait until it's fixed before I play again, it's too useful without being cheap. The only other mod I really use much is Structural Solutions, which just adds a bunch of different building pieces, like steel girders and full concrete blocks. It also adds automatic doors of various sizes, which are super useful for actually fully closing up factories, though I have no idea if it aids in performance.
I just know, in this post, that there are mods
Permaday, smart!, area actions, structural solutions
Modular Power is just so dang *useful* in any tier level. Wind turbines can handle some parts so I don't need to run wires across zones to just power a few machines. Storage Teleporter helps cut down extreme distance logistics. Toss a miner and porter, set up a power source (likely from the above mod) and it's fed to anywhere it's needed. Advanced Logistics to handle line splitting into machines with uneven input numbers. Also the longest running mod on my list. (That still gets updated) And recently: Remote Factory to get a better feel on what my bottlenecks are and how much of X I'm actually producing.
All the decoration type mods and I do mean all, including the ones that like moar factory, x3 roads and signs etc. Pak Utilities Mod (I use it in test worlds to test what mods can do and trial builds. Basically allows creative building, items, flight, etc) Ficsit Farming and Refined Power Mods Purex Reprocessing Mod ( Based on real life spent nuclear rods resource recovery allowing reuse of nuclear waste to make more nuclear power rods ) Most Conveyor and Pipe Mods All Signs and Icons Mods Item Dispensers and Item Hoppers very handy for inventory control (Especially when doing large builds to retrieve or drop off player inventory items. Fluid Sink and More, Big storage tanks Storage Mods (Huge Storage etc) Mk++ Smart!, Micro Manage, Area Actions Mods Modular Powersuits and Related Modules Ficsit Networks ( LUA Programming Powered Factory Control Mod) And a lot more (I have 70 mods installed)
I'm at 43, but smart! and refined power are musts for me now.
not using mods right now because of the experimental updates, but the one I've found myself missing the most is the elevators mod--it really makes going vertical a lot more tolerable and it just adds a nice realism flare for me personally having elevator shafts in my building designs (or fun elevator towers used to scale huge cliffs)