Good Mods to use while not altering the game to much?

[Joey22]

Hi i just bought RimWorld and i was wondering what are some good mods to use while still keeping the game true to itself. I was planning on getting combat realism, but i am looking at getting more mods that will just make the game more realistic and more interesting. Like what are some "essential mods" that y'all would recommend. Any good modpacks are also appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[bladerunner170]

Combat Extended (the new version of CR), EPOE 2.0 (essential for its prosthetics)  and Psychology are MUST have mods, in my opinion. I can't play without them.

[Mehni]

Vanilla is fine. There's enough in there to both entertain and confuse you. Once you get the basics down and get to know what you'd like to change, you'll know what mods to install. Browse the releases section or the steam workshop to see the most popular mods. There are lists with mod recommendations, but it's all personal preference.

Honestly though, run vanilla until you understand the game.

[ARiA1089]

EDB prepare carefully
glitter tech(possibly)
quarry
vein-miner
battery extended
more vanilla turrets
the great war
furniture+ (good for colonist mood boosts for sure)
psychology
stat upgrades
advanced prosthetic
weapon tech
MRE mod
miningCO mods
rimsenal
more metals
efficient lights

although you didn't want to alter the game much these are just a few examples of mods that i like to use in each playthrough (currently have over 120 mods installed in my current playthroughs)

[SpaceDorf]

*LOL* People.

The dude asked for mods that don't alter the game to much .. and you gave him a list of mods that will drown him in stuff.
And Combat Extended is one of the most non-vanilla mods I know ..

True, if you want to survive EPOE ( Extended Prosthetics and Organic Engineering ) or RBSE ( rahs bionic and surgery expansion ) are essential to your survival.

The most important mods imho are :

HugsLib ( nearly every mod uses it as base )
ModListBackup ( if you are not playing over steam and want to use different mod setups easily )
AllowTool ( the UI Quality of Life Mod )
and Fluffies UI Mods.

[bladerunner170]

*LOL* People.

The dude asked for mods that don't alter the game to much .. and you gave him a list of mods that will drown him in stuff.
And Combat Extended is one of the most non-vanilla mods I know ..

True, if you want to survive EPOE ( Extended Prosthetics and Organic Engineering ) or RBSE ( rahs bionic and surgery expansion ) are essential to your survival.

The most important mods imho are :

HugsLib ( nearly every mod uses it as base )
ModListBackup ( if you are not playing over steam and want to use different mod setups easily )
AllowTool ( the UI Quality of Life Mod )
and Fluffies UI Mods.

He said he was already going to get Combat Realism. I recommended Combat Extended because it is simply the updated version of CR.

[SpaceDorf]

Yeah, sorry I missed that part and only saw it later.

[Canute]

He should try Hardcore-SK even when this is the total overkill what he want. Maybe he like it ! :-)

[Joey22]

Thanks for all the recommendations everyone! I guess i should've worded my first post better. While i said i wanted to keep the game as true to itself, i meant that i just didn't want too much more stuff added that will confuse me even more. Now i think that the prosthetics mod sounds like a good add-on since surgeries are basically already in the game. BASICALLY, I don't mind if mods add new stuff, i just don't want that added stuff to be more confusing then helpful in my game (Like one gameplay video i watched had mushrooms in caves and i had no idea what they were for). Anyways thanks for the help!

[kaptain_kavern]

The mushrooms were from Caveworld Flora mod and they are just modded plants that grow on rock soil in cave :-)

[Soupy Delicious]

I run with a pretty delicious section of only humble mods who KNOW THEIR DAMN PLACE.

If you will:
Psychology Mod.  Im sure youve heard of it
JTFieldSurgery.  Main feature is allowing you to dismember body parts without anaesthetic, but also adds other balanced solutions to commonplace diseases like malaria and PAIN OH GOD THE PAIN

JT Better Hauling + JT More Areas.  More areas lets you create more areas, Better Hauling let's you create special areas in which stuff gets prioritized for hauling (also makes colonists prioritize perishable stuff by default).

Set-up Camp.  Use this because it felt contrived to make a new colony every time I wanted to go hunting.  Don't know why I go hunting anyway, causes I always lose my precious colonists somewhere along the way.

Real Fog of War.  My favourite mod, I think.  Adds the fog of war - go figure - to the game, making pretty much everything more moody and intense, and raids more enjoyable in that your colonists don't have wallhacks (and you cant see the enemy AI being stupid)

Realistic Starvation Mod.  Draws out death-by-starvation mildly, but makes malnutrition a very serious illness that takes a good while to recover from.

Vanilla-Friendly Weapon Expansion. Love this mod.  It's the ONLY weapons expansion mod that I've seen that speaks truth when it says 'Vanilla Friendly'

Quality Cooldown.  Mod makes weapon cooldown slightly dependent on the quality of its make.  Ranged weapons' cooldowns are also affected (slightly, again) by the condition the weapon's in.

Visible Pants.  Mod makes pants visible on pawns :0  don't know why Tynan didn't do this.

Improved Anaesthetic.  First time I installed a peg leg I found myself disappointed that my pawn basically had nothing to recover from, and was walking around in minutes.  This mod makes putting someone under carry a few light risks, and draws out the recovery process so there actually is one.

Realistic Night & Weather.  Has a couple different modules, but you can make it so night time looks a little dark; or you can make it so night time looks like night time.  Very immersing.

----

yeah, these mods do change the game quite a bit... but they don't make it any easier and they don't make it feel modded in any way, which is what I find to be important.

[Sharajat]

Things I consider general QOL mods:

Wildlife Tab - Bloody brilliant.  Lets you see a list of all wildlife on the map, and assign hunting/taming from the tab.  Every time I'm reminded it's not core I'm like... "but why?"  Also lets you monitor for dangerous predators - it's very useful to form little parties and go gun those fuckers down.  No change to core gameplay (falls under "you could replicate this by spending an inordinate amount of time skimming the map in pause mode).

Minimap - Adds a minimap.  Pure QOL.

Psychology - Just makes the base game better.  Trust me.  Probably the best mod ever made.

Hand me that brick - lets people haul to construction sites.  Simple change, makes a lot of sense.

Set-Up Camp - okay so you send out a group of people in a caravan.  Something goes wrong.  Do you (A) all commit suicide, or (B) stop caravaning and set up camp?  If you think (B) makes sense, please get this mod.  Just falls into "will be in the base game eventually". 

Trading  Spot - Puts a spot for caravans into the game.  In base caravans like to set up camp in the middle of traps, or in front of turrets, or just in the most stupid places imaginable. 

Tribal Essentials - For tribal starts, otherwise skip.  Really adds some things that make Tribal feel slightly better made.

Stackmerger - Haulers will merge stacks.  Base game stack handling is awful.

[Sion]

I suggest you start to play the game as Vanilla, and when you find something that annoys you or you feel that you miss "this" functionality, or something else feels wrong, come to this forum and look for a mod that addresses that issue, in this way you can play the game as normally as possible.

[stigma]

There are tons and tons of great mods that are primarily quality-of-life without adding much if any content to alter the vanilla experience.
Too many to really list hmmm...

Actually here is my current mod config. I will quickly scan and remove the stuff that isn't primarily QoL or isn't what I consider mostly just "adding to vanilla" and you can go look at these mods yourself to see what you want to add. I prefer to not add mod that add too much junk so my list probably has a lot of good stuff for you.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ModsConfigData>
  <buildNumber>1557</buildNumber>
  <activeMods>
    <li>Core</li>
    <li>HugsLib</li>
    <li>A17ZhentarTweaks</li>
    <li>FluffyBreakdowns</li>
    <li>ColonyManager</li>
    <li>MedicalTab</li>
    <li>WorkTab</li>
    <li>ResearchPal</li>
    <li>HelpTab</li>
    <li>AllowTool</li>
    <li>New Zone Tools</li>
    <li>Blueprints</li>
    <li>JTMoreAreas</li>
    <li>TradingSpot</li>
    <li>VeinMiner</li>
    <li>HeatMap</li>
    <li>Markers-1.0.3</li>
    <li>EdBPrepareCarefully</li>
    <li>MapReroll</li> (there is a map reroll 2 now that is arguably better)
    <li>QualityBuilder</li>
    <li>QualitySurgeon</li>
    <li>StackMerger</li>
    <li>StackXXL</li>
    <li>TableDiner Configurable</li>
    <li>CleaningArea</li>
    <li>MiniaturisationOverloaded</li>
    <li>ImprovedWorkbenches</li>
    <li>TechAdvancing</li> (let's tribals advance in tech so their research isn't forever totally gimped)
    <li>Hospitality</li> (this does alter vanilla, but in a very subtle way that I recommend, more like vanilla expansion)
    <li>Mending</li> (adds ability to repair and recycle some stuff)
    <li>A_Dog_Said-A17</li> (more surgery options on animals)
    <li>SimpleSidearms-1.2.1</li> (allows multiple equipped weapons)
    <li>ExtendedStorage-ExtendedStorage2.1</li>
    <li>KK_AnimalOverhaul</li>
    <li>Refactored Work Priorities</li>
    <li>Everyone Can Do Anything</li> (if you don't like pawns with disabled skills)
    <li>MadSkills-A17-2.0.1</li> (if you want to adjust skill-deterioration)
    <li>Hunting Alert</li>
    <li>ICanFixIt</li>
    <li>KK_Corrected-Workgivers</li>
    <li>Patient Sanity</li>
    <li>Friendly Berserk</li>
    <li>Grenade Fix Rearmed</li>
    <li>RWAutoSell</li>
    <li>BetterPawnControl</li>
    <li>Cooks Can Refuel</li>
    <li>DESurgeries</li>
    <li>Hand Me That Brick</li>
    <li>JTMoreHydroponicOptions</li>
    <li>Less Rebuff</li>
    <li>JTBetterHauling</li>
    <li>SmarterFoodSelection</li>
    <li>DefensivePositions</li>
    <li>[A17] Plant Cutting is for Growers!</li>
    <li>Modular Tables A17</li>
    <li>LTDoormat</li>
    <li>More Vanilla Turrets</li> (this does add a lot of extra defenses - but quite vanilla-like and decent balancing)
    <li>RimFridge</li> (single tile fridges - definitely content, but too good to not include)
    <li>Fences And Floors</li>
    <li>[A17] Quality Cooldown</li> (lets quality be a little more meaningful on ranged weapons)
    <li>Mod Medicine Patch</li>
    <li>QOLTweaksPack-1.0.2</li>
    <li>StorageSearch-0.17.1</li>
    <li>StorageSearch + AllowFresh</li>
  </activeMods>
</ModsConfigData>

[FreyaMaluk]

all Fluffy mods