A collection of mods that I consider essential for my playthroughs. Focused on patching some weak gameplay spots and/or some game-breaking mechanics. Read what each mod does and choose your own sub-set (I use all of these but you might not want something). Some mods require new game, especially the one that restores the destroyed ground over time after salvaging the fallen debris (so that you don't end up with many unusable spots (if you like huge bases).

Other extremely important recommendation (apart from mods): Use the fast-feet option when making a new game. The original walking speed is unnaturally and painfully slow, so this option greatly restores this balance back to normal. It is not a cheat as the game adjust difficulty based on what you built, not how fast you built it. Combined with the "Humans run" mod which decreases the distance over which characters run instead of walk, down from 75m to something sensible like 25m, the game feels GREATLY improved without affecting the chosen difficulty. Enjoy!