MechJeb is about the only mod that I use on a vanilla install of KSP. I honestly feel that it's something that should be part of the game (although I can understand the hesitation to include it).

I never use MechJeb because I feel like it's cheating, however I agree that some base functionality is missing from the vanilla game. In particular dV and thrust-to-weight ratio indicators for your rockets while you build them, as well as flight info while in flight without having to switch to map mode every two seconds (for instance your current apoapsis and periapsis and the time needed to reach them while climbing to orbit, and also the amount of dV left in your rockets when you plan your maneuvers).

However MechJeb is a bit overkill for that, I prefer to use Kerbal Engineer[0]. It's simple and offers a few quality of life improvements without actually playing the game for you.

The other mod I consider vital is the docking alignment indicator[1] which makes docking massively less painful.

[0] https://mods.curse.com/ksp-mods/kerbal/222685-kerbal-enginee... [1] https://mods.curse.com/ksp-mods/kerbal/220299-docking-port-a...

MechJeb is awesome, but I only tend to use it once I got the launching manually thing down properly - MechJeb can compensate for some bad design decisions. Some, that is.

Ah yes, because after a hard day of programming I want to come home and relax by programming.

Different people, different tastes. After a hard day of programming I love to relax by doing programming, but this time on something I care about and not $dayjob related nonsense.

Well, maybe not "relax" in the sense of sit quietly, but watching a movie or having a conversation aren't strictly relaxing either.

Sorry you don't also enjoy programming after a hard day of (presumably) work.