Best mod for a newbie?

[Master Belisarius]

Honestly, I believe that all the mods with new components and different tech tree than the original, add more complexity to the game.
The TDM-Modpack leaves the original tech, but makes the AI more hard.
I believe that the problem, is that most the people here like SE4 because is a complex game.

[Phoenix-D]

I'm not aware of any mod that makes things simpler.. most go the other way.

I think there's a Trek or Star Wars mod out there, but I don't know where. Check the "Sci-Fi Crossover" and Babylon 5 threads, ask there. They're working on a SW-ST-B5 combo mod in the first.

Phoenix-D

[Suicide Junkie]

The Gold Combat Imagemod.
And, the CombatPack of images.

It dosen't make things simpler, but it dosen't complicate things, either. All it does is make the otherwise unmodded Gold look cooler during combat and combat replays.
With this, a keen eye can tell the difference between a Meson BLaster III and a Meson BLaster IV by the shape/size of the projectile .