Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[robepriority]

This is based on this wonderful guide for .91 modding by Captain Trek: https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=17807.0
It’s still very useful for getting started with modding; in fact, if this is your absolute first time, you should read the “Mandatory Mods and Modding Advice” section before starting this guide. Unfortunately, many mods in that list aren’t updated for 0.95, and there are some great mods that have only been introduced in .95. I’ve essentially built this out of Trek’s “vanilla adjacent” modlist, so I think it’s a good baseline for getting started.
Of course, you don’t have to stick with this list, even if you are new to modding Starsector. Hell, since I’m on a potato laptop and highly opinionated, there’s definitely some space!

Before you start adding anything:

Spoiler

Tweaking settings.json
Settings.json is a file in Fractal Softworks\Starsector\starsector-core\data\config which lets you tweak a few things about the game. There is one thing I suggest changing, but you can honestly change whatever else you want.
"altMouseMoveToMassTransfer" should be set to true, which makes storing things a lot easier.

The three libraries
Not only will many of the mods in the list won’t work without them, many of the Starsector mods that exist won’t! This section is repeated from “Mandatory Mods and Modding Advice” because unlike everything else in this guide, it’s, well, mandatory.

GraphicsLib
Note: You might need to go into graphics_options.ini and disable some things if you are on a low end machine like me.
LazyLib
MagicLib

[close]

From now on, literally everything is optional – I’ve also ordered things from what I believe are most essential to least per-category along with a general overview and some things of note.

Campaign Expansions:
These three expand mechanics of the campaign, bringing in additional content. If you like the campaign layer, these are great additions.

Spoiler

Nexerelin
Brings some 4x elements into Starsector, meaning a greatly expanded endgame. It doesn’t turn it into a 4x game, since your personal fleet is still the focus, but it can be the focus of a sector-spanning empire. Also integrates a nice version checker.
   Some things to note:
•   A lot of factions are designed with standard sector in mind, random sector will *work* with most of them but likely not have all features.
•   Commissioned start is easier than vanilla since you can drag your commissioned faction’s reputation up out of hostilities with additional tools.

Industrial.Evolution
Adds new industries and structures to colonies which generally make colonies more interactive outside of passive income. Also adds some new exploration events.
There are some endgame features that will allow the player faction more power than vanilla can afford, but since Nex allows you to conquer planets, it's a pretty small advantage in comparison.

Persean Chronicles
   Adds some more questlines. These are usually small quests like the Arvis’ missions, but there are some branching paths and continuations. 

[close]

Quality of Life:
Things that save time and stress.

Spoiler

SpeedUp
Allows you to speed up battles and/or phase time. Battlespeed does mess with some things in pitched battles, but it’s best used to cut time spent battle starts and cleanup.

QoL Pack
Most important feature IMO is the ship system in-battle display, but there are additional features.

Stellar Networks
A more intuitive way to navigate contacts, commodities, officers, and storage.

Lightshow
Changes the colors of beams to align closely with damage types.

Hyperdrive
Allows jumping forward from cooperative (or empty) space depending on their burn speed. Makes autopilot travel much faster(hold down W to auto-configure speed), cutting down on dead time.

[close]

Vanilla Expansions:
Makes the vanilla rosters and factions more interesting. These can be paired with other ship packs with little issue, but this is what can really form as a basis for further modding.

Spoiler

Underworld     

• Makes pirates and piracy more interesting. The largest factor is that it adds pirate ships that look even grungier than vanilla, but gives them a fairly stronger offensive role so you aren’t just chewing on Atlases and Colossi all day. The Infernus is the biggest and baddest of them all, and there’s a custom Nex start that has an upgradable variant (although it starts out dmodded to hell).
• Gives you options to extort fleets rather than just blowing them up. Also adds the Cabal, which unlike a proper faction, just leech off Tri—Tachyon to harass anybody and everybody. You could get friendly by enabling their degeneracy or obliterate them and steal their overtuned ships.

Torchships and Deadly Armaments
Expands the Domain-era(vanilla) roster, with additions to all tech levels. It differentiates itself from risking role overlap by having it’s additions be unique – I’m personally a sucker for the Cassicus and it’s ability to enable me to use large Energy weapons that I otherwise wouldn’t.

Luddic Enhancement Mod
Gives some thematically appropriate ships to the Church and Path, so that they aren’t inferior pirates(especially with Underworld). Also adds a new system so that the Church doesn’t fold too easily in Nex.

[close]

Factions:
Honestly, pick whatever faction looks coolest to you: lore technically went out of the window with Nex. Just keep in mind that most faction mods add not only a new competitor in the sector, with new diplomatic and performance strains, but also an entirely new tech-level of ships and weapons.
The three here are not as disruptive, and will typically have some features that allow easier integration with other tech levels in a fleet. The markets the first two make in wild space are really useful for the 20334013 ore that you inevitably get from that mining station.

Spoiler

Roider Union
Space miners! One of the few factions that really bases themselves off of low tech doctrine, what with their modular armor. Also introduces fighter clamps, which is a more extreme version of converted fighter bays: slap fighters on anything for cheap, but have even more scuffed performance.
It also adds retrofits, which converts the dmodded civilian ships you might find in the wild to roider variants.

Legacy of Arkgneisis
Adds a pirate-like faction with funky ships that get a lot of OP and nice systems to compensate for slightly inferior statlines. Don’t worry, they mostly hate the Hegemony. And only the Hegemony.
Also adds one endgame quest and some heavily d-modded wrecks. Although Derelict Contingent is busted, and Repair Docks are nice, they’re intended to be full restored.
Monkey Module is funny.

Scy Nation
The lore is a multipage PDF, but to make a long story short, non-doctor scientists who just want to be left alone.
It’s really nice to use their ships in lines(especially with other tech levels!) due to thin physical profiles and high active venting. They strike hard, and then retreat to vent – if they have the support of the rest of the fleet. If they get flanked or just don’t have a line to retreat to, they’re not gonna have fun.

[close]

Portrait Packs
Even more than the factions, this is up to your personal preference. However, there are two packs that you can juryrig to work with .95.

Spoiler

Juryrigging: Replace the "gameVersion" in mod-info.json with 0.95a-RC12. Make sure to keep the quotations and commas intact.
Portrait Pack
Interesting Portrait Pack

[close]

This is a work in progress, so eventually it will be something that can stand proud with Trek's guide.
Here's a thread with more indepth mod reviews: https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=21042.msg319216#msg319216

[IonDragonX]

some suggestions

https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=21929 = Battle history

https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=20836 = Stellar Networks (more intel at your command)

https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=21812 = Starpocalypse (Increase in difficulty by reducing ship sales, weapon sales, & making raids harder)

https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=10399 = Combat Chatter (for fun)

[close]

[robepriority]

I feel like I could sort those into new categories - besides Stellar Networks, that's pretty close to QoL.

Difficulty increases(Starcopalypse) could probably go up with Second Wave Options, Ruthless Sector, or even UNGP, although I'm not sure how these mix since I haven't really played with them.

Flavor(Combat Chatter, Battle History) could probably join with the some popular mods like commissioned crews and Starship Legends.

[Draz]

Could you or anyone else comment on why you recommend Industrial Evolution instead of the original list's choice of Better Colonies? Thanks!

[Coil]

I would also add HMI. Really good mod that adds vanilla adjacent content and some interesting scifi elements.

[Dreadnought70]

I am biased as I made the ATDD+ mods but I believe it could fit in this list for semi-first-time modders.

https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=25888.0
ATDD+ is a collection of mods which can be mixed and matched.
The two main mods are New Drones+ and Vanilla+.
The former adds a series of new Derelict War Drones that can be found at Survey Probes, Ships and Motherships. The latter allows Motherships and Survey ships to spawn derelict fleets which then patrol their system. Allowing easy, renewable access to War Drone wrecks should a player want to fill up some fleet slots with cheap ships (or for salvage). Vanilla+ also slightly buffs the vanilla war drones.

The rest of the mods buffs/modifies/adds new drones to other mods. Such as adding converted variants of New Drones+ ships to the HMI Brighton federation.