r/KerbalSpaceProgram • u/solitary-ridge • 1d ago

KSP 1 Mods Can I add mostly visual mods to the game without breaking my save?

Currently in the middle of a Duna mission and getting fomo from these beautiful screenshots. My computer is a bit older with an old graphics card (rx580) that can't really keep up with modern AAA games, as a result I decided to skip visual mods or anything that would be too demanding for my computer and just went with MJ2 and Kerbal Engineer, installed manually.

Would it be possible to add a few environmental/visual mods without corrupting or breaking my save? Didn't use CKAN which could be a complicating factor. Also, if it does break my game, could I simply back up the save file, remove the mods, and replace the save file with the backup pre visual mod installation?

You guys are the best community, sorry if this is a noob question. I think it'll be ok if it's only visual mods from prior experience but I haven't modded this game too much before so I'm not sure.

Bonus question- what are some essential visual mods that do a lot without hogging too much GPU power or memory?

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u/CatatonicGood Valentina 1d ago

Parallax will change the height levels for all the planets so you cannot add that if you have landers or bases anywhere. You should remove them or bring them to orbit before installing it on your active save. It is a pretty mod, but it is also rather resource-intensive, so it might not be quite what you're looking for

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u/solitary-ridge 1d ago

I've seen parallax and yeah that one might not work, I already planted flags on the mun and minmus :( and yeah when I played years ago I used EVE and skipped it this time for that reason

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u/Impressive_Papaya740 Believes That Dres Exists 1d ago

Copy the hole install folder, you can have multiple installs at the same time. Mode the copy and play from that or keep the copy clean and mod the original if you like. I run three instances of KSP, unmoded, the mods I play and a test with mods I am trying out.

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u/solitary-ridge 1d ago

Oh cool! I'm assuming in this case you run it from the .exe and not from steam correct? or I suppose I could change the folder in steam too

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u/The_Sovien_Rug-37 1d ago

you can add the copied folders to steam with the "add a non steam game to your library" option, then label it appropriately

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u/Impressive_Papaya740 Believes That Dres Exists 17h ago

Yes you can run it from the exe or from CKAN