UI-only mods? Save-game compatible mods?

[Kolath]

Hi folks, I just got Rimworld a few days ago and I'm really digging the game so far. I see there are  TON of mods, but I'm a little unclear on which mods are UI-only vs. game changing and which (if any?) I could add to an in-progress save.

I'm assuming mods that add lots of features might not be save compatible.

But I'm hoping there's some mods out there to give more colonist status info next to their portrait without having to constantly tab through their needs, health, and social to check on them. Maybe something to show an icon for what kind of activity they are doing?

Are there any mods like that and/or other recommended save-compatible mods?

[Canute]

There is no 100% acc. rule to say this kind of mod are, this arn't.

Even some mods which add new content/item to the game can be added to the colony sometimes.

Except you use a permadeath colony, you just extra safe your colony.
Add the mods you like to try out, at the end of the modlist, and check if your colony still works.
Best would be to add mods one by one, but this is very time intensive through all the waiting time.
Just add all the mods at once, restart Rimworld look that no errors pop up after starting RW and after loading the colony.
When errors and you can identify the mod which cause the trouble, try to move that mod up or down at the modlist, or disable it.

[Fluffy (l2032)]

Most of the high quality mods and most larger projects will state whether or not a mod can be added mid-game. An important rule of thumb should be; never trust a modder. Always make a backup of your save game before adding/removing mods, and preferably don't change mods during a game.

That's not because modders are evil, but because RimWorld is complex. There's a thousand ways a moderately complex mod can break things, and we just can't check them all.

As for UI only mods; I'd have to plug my own - many if not most of my mods are UI only, and the ones that are not I've attempted to stay as close to vanilla balance as possible.

[dburgdorf]

An important rule of thumb should be; never trust a modder.

Worth quoting just for the sake of repetition!

Never entrust the safety of a colony (saved game) you care about to the word of a random stranger, no matter how sincere he or she seems. Most of us are well-meaning enough, but we're only human.

And Fluffy, the world knows you are the MASTER of UI-only mods. 

[Kolath]

FYSA, I ended up installing these mods:

Medical Tab
Moody
I can fix this!

[faltonico]

These are the UI only mods that I used, as in that they don't add or modify mechanics to the game:

Limitless Selection. Allows to select more than 80 things at a time.
Allow Deadmans Apparel. Includes a new filter to "allow deadman" apparel in the stockpiles besides "allow non deadman".
Numbers. You can easily see many many stats of your colonists, even animals and enemies.
Bulk Assigner and Bulk Designator. Allows to set multiple orders in bulk (eg bulk operate on mechanoids, or set allowed area for the selected pawns)
Organized Research. Only if you have a lot of research adding mods.
MorePlanning. Adds more colors for planning than just white.
Storage Search + Allow Fresh patch. Search categories inside the stockpiles, adds another filter for "allow fresh" besides "allow rotting".
Relations Tab. A pretty relations tab.
JT ZoneButtons. Easily access more buttons when plopping zones.
JT Export. Export the current bills from workbenches to other similar benches, even to other saves. Eg, when you start a new game and you have a set of bills that you always use, or if you make another workbench to keep your pawns busy and don't want to manually set another 15 new bills.
Area Unlocker. So you can use more areas than the default number.
Conduit Deconstruct. Adds another UI tool to deconstruct power conduits only.
Allow Tool. Adds a UI tool to allow or forbid items in bulk.
Vein Miner. Adds a UI tool to designate to mine whole veins.
Ac Enhanced Crafting. the only one that is recommended to start a new game =S adds more control over crafting bills.
Camera+. Allows to zoom further in (it might seem silly but i wouldn't play without it anymore).