Kerbals consume the new resource “Supplies” and produce “Mulch”. The biggest change that USI brings is by way of life support.

Space stations serve a much greater purpose than just research outpost or fuel stations. I must give consideration to supplies, living space, and switching out Kerbals over time. There are dozens of space stations and rovers across my saves, but with the addition of USI, I feel like I am building them for the first time. Best of all, it gives a purpose to the parts as well.

USI adds dozens of new parts for rovers, space stations, colonies, and even submarines. Biologists, miners, geologists, and many more add unique bonuses to various modules. If you wish the Kerbal Space Program gave Kerbals more than just three jobs, the Colonization mod adds 10 new specialties. I feel their cost in both Funds and Science is really well balanced against the difficulty of the life support system. Some may find the Warp Drive or Nuclear Pulse Engine a little game breaking. For my install, I elected to use them all as the system understandably works really well together. The modularity means that you can pick which ones you like. Umbra Space Program comes in a variety of packages, with 15 different options on their Github. None of those have given me the sense of challenge, excitement, and accomplishment that Umbra Space Industries brings to the table.

I have covered a wide variety of mods in the past. While numerous changes throughout the development cycle breathed new life into the game, mods are my favorite way to make it feel new again. There are few things in the game that I have yet to achieve. I sent several ill-fated missions to land on Jool and at least two crews of Kerbals stuck on perilous and pervasive purple planet, Eve. My Kerbals have landed on the Mun, Minmus, Duna, Ike, Gilly, Eeloo, and most of Jool’s moons.

Since the launch of Kerbal Space Program on Steam, I have logged approximately six hundred hours in the game.

Kerbal space program mods