Is there a stock part you never actually use?

[Sharpy]

Say, other than a short test drive outside SPH or a flight not reaching orbit or such, are there any stock parts you found never to actually took for a voyage?

I now noticed I only used the large wheels one time, it was a huge failure just right outside the runway, and I never used them again.

Looking through the list I also spotted the MK2 monoprop tank, Puff, the bi-adapter, and the Mk1 Diverterless Supersonic Intake.

So, do you have any "dead" parts?

[Superfluous J]

Never used the Micronode other than playing with it to see if it was worth anything. It wasn't.

Never used the puff engine. Barely used any RCS anything since the Verniers came out. I almost never use the big structural plates either.

I use most engines fairly regularly, but the ant and its radial cousin are see VERY rare use.

Before 1.2 the Science Lab (the big 2-person lab) was on that list, but now it can train Kerbals so I am tending to bring one to each planet.

[adsii1970]

There are a few... such as the aforementioned Micronode... The .625 jet engines, what ever they are called - as they are now way underpowered and utterly useless.

[Sharpy]

15 minutes ago, 5thHorseman said:

I use most engines fairly regularly, but the ant and its radial cousin are see VERY rare use.

...until I stuck two on a pair of OscarB tanks and looked at KER. Currently, I'm using them waaay frequently for various satellites, microlanders etc. It's easy to get a good 3000m/s out of them, and at reasonable TWR, with payloads small enough. Sentinels, relays, delivery of small payloads like new science parts or replacement parts, or return science, deorbiting small craft from multi-craft carrier (microlander, reentry capsule), rescue pods in Kerbin system, dinghies on space stations, and so on.

Never mind Spider Hinges. Spiders make flexible stock hinges better than any other part.

26 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

There are a few... such as the aforementioned Micronode... The .625 jet engines, what ever they are called - as they are now way underpowered and utterly useless.

I think I used Micronode a marginal number of times. It's not really useful but it makes sense in a few rare contexts. I also use Juno (the .625 jet) frequently in early career. It becomes quite useless later on.

OTOH now I realize I have never really used Panther. It appears late enough that everything I would need it I've already done with Wheezley or Juno, and is too underpowered to use for SSTO, where Whiplash is the bare minimum. I really don't see any use for that engine.

[Tex_NL]

35 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

There are a few... such as the aforementioned Micronode... The .625 jet engines, what ever they are called - as they are now way underpowered and utterly useless.

The Micronode I agree. Totally useless.
The 0.625 Juno jet is anything but underpowered. A pair of them can fly mid sized jets close to Mach 1 and an unmanned drone all the way up to Mach 2. And if you don't believe me check out this thread.
I very rarely us any of the she structural plates. Neither see I any use for the large size adapters like the Rockomax Brand Adapter and Kerbodyne ADTP-2-3. Whenever I need an adapter like that I prefer to use one that actually holds fuel.

[zdkroot]

48 minutes ago, Sharpy said:

OTOH now I realize I have never really used Panther. It appears late enough that everything I would need it I've already done with Wheezley or Juno, and is too underpowered to use for SSTO, where Whiplash is the bare minimum. I really don't see any use for that engine.

The panther is one of my new favorite engines. it is my goto engine for non-space planes. It has the least amount of throttle lag of all the jet engines and the afterburner is an instant thrust boost (excellent for VTOLs). They also have they widest vectoring range, or at least the fasest/most useful. They are incredible for agile planes. They are also lighter than a whiplash or rapier. I have a two engine panther with all the science experiments that can cruise <800ms around 20km for a couple hours, land anywhere and is incredibly maneuverable.

I also have a SSTO with a reliant, 2x panthers and a claw. It has ~500 dv in orbit. I use it for rescues and debris collection

Edited December 21, 2016 by zdkroot

[OrbitalBuzzsaw]

The "Micronode" and the large rover wheels/LY-99s. Almost never use the Verniers - SpaceY large MP RCS is just as good. Don't use the .625 monoprop tank either, radial tanks are just better. That and the Ion engine etc. I don't have time for 2-hour burns, even if I have a zillion m/s of dV

Edited December 21, 2016 by OrbitalBuzzsaw

[Randazzo]

Ion engine and related tanks. Not once.

Micronode thingy too. What is it even for?

Any of the multi-couplers.

The big static solar panel. Static radiators.

Edited December 21, 2016 by Randazzo

[Sharpy]

 

1 hour ago, 5thHorseman said:

Never used the Micronode other than playing with it to see if it was worth anything. It wasn't.

 

49 minutes ago, Tex_NL said:

The Micronode I agree. Totally useless.

 

14 minutes ago, Randazzo said:

Micronode thingy too. What is it even for?

The micronode, dear KSP fans, is for when you need to clip multiple node-attachable-only parts into each other. You totally ignore the shape and orientation of the original nodes, just node-attach your stuff then translate and rotate into the right places.

[Tex_NL]

2 minutes ago, Sharpy said:

The micronode, dear KSP fans, is for when you need to clip multiple node-attachable-only parts into each other.

With EEX there are no 'node-attachable-only' parts. EVERYTHING can be surface attached.

Edited December 21, 2016 by Tex_NL

[JonathanPerregaux]

I finally ended up busting out a micronode for the first time in order to construct a bit of detail on my Star Destroyer. The Empire spares no expense.

[Sharpy]

30 minutes ago, Tex_NL said:

With EEX there are no 'node-attachable-only' parts. EVERYTHING can be surface attached.

But not everything can be attached *to*. If your part covers most of the attachable surface, attaching another may be difficult.

[FancyMouse]

I don't clip much so I don't micronode. 1kg octo strut does the job (of surface attaching a node-only part) for me.

Mono tanks that are not biggest (used in base for fuel storage) or smallest (usually mothership reserve).

Engine - Puff, Spider, and what was that 1.25m engine without gimbal?

Inline docking ports.

3*2 solar panels.

And several other parts that I'm only using for aesthetics (e.g. a funny sphere without SAS), but probably they should still be counted as used.

[Tex_NL]

28 minutes ago, Sharpy said:

But not everything can be attached *to*. If your part covers most of the attachable surface, attaching another may be difficult.

No, not really. EEX not only makes everything surface attachable, it also removes the translation offset limits. EEX makes it very easy to temporarily move a part aside without detaching it.

Edited December 21, 2016 by Tex_NL

[Snark]

Here's my list; I'll just start at the top of the parts wiki and work my way down. 

• Any of the Mk3 airplane parts or adapters.
• Cupola (except for throwaway ships when required to do so by a contract, which is often)
• RoveMate probe core
• QBE probe core
• NCS adapter (until I modded it to be LFO instead of LF, then I use it all the time)
• Mk2 monoprop tank
• Thud engine (yes, I know, lots of people like it, which is fine... I just have no use for it, myself)
• Puff engine  (honestly, why?  Seriously, what's the point? have never used it once, ever)
• Reliant (just 'coz of my play style... I always lift off on SRBs alone, so by the time I need an LF engine, I'm high enough that the Swivel is better)
• Vector (for various reasons, will skip the rant here; until I modded it into what I consider to be a reasonable engine, then I use its modded form reasonably often)
• Twin-Boar (for pretty much the same reasons as the Reliant)
• Wheesley, Goliath, Whiplash, or Rapier engines (I'm not a spaceplane guy; for occasional non-space planes, I use Juno for slow and Panther for fast)
• LES
• CH-J3 avionics hub (cute idea, but I never saw the point; if I need SAS in a crewed ship without a pilot, I just use a probe core)
• HubMax
• micronode
• Structural panels
• Shielded docking port
• Inline Clamp-o-tron (simply see no point; if I want a radial docking port, I just attach a radial docking port)
• The Klaw (still have PTSD from the years, plural, when it routinely destroyed the universe)
• Swept wings
• Standard canard, Delta-Deluxe Winglet, or Tail Fin (the AV-R8 winglet is my go-to part for this ecological niche)
• RoveMax XL3 wheels
• 3x2 solar panels
• Small fuel cell (any use case where I need any fuel cells at all, I need the big ones)
• HG-55 antenna
• Big Mk25 drogue chute
• Kelus Mobility Enhancer (if I want an extensible ladder, I use the LV)
• Small mining drill
• Small ISRU
• Science lab (except in throwaway ships when required to do so by a contract, which is often)
• Narrow-band resource scanner (I simply find it too cryptic and confusing to use; can't be bothered to figure out what the heck it's good for, please don't try to explain it to me again, I don't want to know)

 

[The_Rocketeer]

Snark's list and mine are very similar, tho there are instances where I will use almost any part if it looks better than an alternative.

[Sharpy]

30 minutes ago, Tex_NL said:

No, not really. EEX not only makes everything surface attachable, it also removes the translation offset limits. EEX makes it very easy to temporarily move a part aside without detaching it.

This, in order, can lead to mechanical weirdnesses, as the part is still attached to the part it was attached to originally. Also, matter of aerodynamics. Occlusion occurs only through node-attached parts.

[Scarecrow]

Fair few engines I haven't found a use for and quite a few other parts, like radiators don't get used.

[steuben]

I think I've used just about everything in the Kerbal Ship Modeling Program. But, then KSMP is about 'da purdy, rather than the function.

In gameplay, though never might be too strong a word, rarely is a better fit:
- the 2 kerb can
- the qbe
- aerospike
- ion and related parts
- the I-beams
- octo strut
- cubic octo strut
- micronode
- panels
come to mind.
Though if you are playing a tight margins game then some of those parts may actually come into play.

 

 

[James M]

Surprised I haven't seen the stock escape system yet.. My issue with it is that since I play on Xbox; If something did happen, I wouldn't be able to get to the abort button fast enough.

[Wjolcz]

I actually had to google what that micronode everyone's talking about is, lol.

I don't think I've ever touched the tri/quadracouplers, or whatever they are called. They're ugly.

Edited December 21, 2016 by Veeltch

[Sharpy]

2 minutes ago, James M said:

Surprised I haven't seen the stock escape system yet.. My issue with it is that since I play on Xbox; If something did happen, I wouldn't be able to get to the abort button fast enough.

I didn't use it until not long ago, and I've never used it in its intended capacity. But once I found it provides a quite respectable delta-V over its burn time which is HALF A SECOND, it definitelfy found its place. Eject payload out of the cargo bay horizontally, in gravity and atmosphere. Give a wheel-less airplane the initial kick. Separate boosters. And so on and so on. Really, some 50m/s in 0.5s?!

[KerikBalm]

3 hours ago, adsii1970 said:

There are a few... such as the aforementioned Micronode... The .625 jet engines, what ever they are called - as they are now way underpowered and utterly useless.

I haven't used the micronode, but I will defend the 0.625m jet.... for when you want a jet on laythe, but you don't want to send a full size one. I wish we had landing gear options for 0.625m craft... but at least water launches and landings work now, and a juno powered seaplane is well suited to laythe

Spoiler

 

3 hours ago, Sharpy said:

OTOH now I realize I have never really used Panther. It appears late enough that everything I would need it I've already done with Wheezley or Juno, and is too underpowered to use for SSTO, where Whiplash is the bare minimum. I really don't see any use for that engine.

Panthers are viable for SSTOs. In theory, even Junos are viable for SSTO spaceplanes... this one is a bit exploity with the clipping, and needs a launch cart... but it works:

Spoiler

Even without the burner, a light aerodynamic jet can supercruise on a panther:

Spoiler

Not to mention they have the best static TWR of any airbreather, which is good for use on laythe where relative TWR is reduced because the air is only ~60% that of kerbin's, while the Gravity is 80% of kerbin's. Also, seaplane takeoffs need more TWR, and seaplanes are attractive on laythe.

Thats why I sent a 2nd transport craft to laythe in one of my saves for moving the laythe surface bases around... one SSTO to get modules too and from orbit, and another panther one to move stuff around without trying to land the SSTO... it was a bit exploity with thrust reversed wheeselys on the front of the panther nacelles... to help it super cruise, and also so I could thrust reverse for better ground handling... land on water near the coast, taxi the base into position if the desired destination's terrain wasn't good for landing.

Spoiler

 

1 hour ago, FancyMouse said:

Mono tanks that are not biggest (used in base for fuel storage) or smallest (usually mothership reserve).

Engine - Puff, Spider, and what was that 1.25m engine without gimbal?

Inline docking ports.

3*2 solar panels.

And several other parts that I'm only using for aesthetics (e.g. a funny sphere without SAS), but probably they should still be counted as used.

Monotanks: sometimes I have small orbital "tugs" that are monoprop only. Now that we have vernors, the main advantage is part count thanks to the 4 way RCS blocks but no equivalent vernor - these small things just undock, grab a part, and reposition it... as when loading a spaceplane cargobay in orbit, or positioning modules on a station

Engines: sometimes I stick a pair of puffs on a pod for som maneuvering after firing the last decoupler... now that puffs are graphically bigger, I'm less likely to do this than put 1 pair of rcs ports on them, they can still go on monoprop tugs. There are two 1.25m liquid engines with no gimbal, I assume you're note talking about the aerospike...and its try... I rarely use it, especially now that the LV-T45 engine comes first in career

Inline docking ports: very rarely use... mostly only because a stock craft uses it (ares 4 i think), and I sometimes just go with that on a new save where I test things

Comments for Snark in Red

37 minutes ago, Snark said:

Here's my list; I'll just start at the top of the parts wiki and work my way down. 

• Any of the Mk3 airplane parts or adapters. I definitely use these for my large SSTOs, and my mk3 cargoplanes. Also, one can't overlook the large LF only mk3 tank (I understand if you'd rather mod the cylindrical 2.5m/3.75m tanks to hold LF)
• Cupola (except for throwaway ships when required to do so by a contract, which is often) I use these only for looks on stations, large ships, and surface bases
• RoveMate probe core I've used this for small science rovers. Its better now that its a probe core, before it was just a rectangular part with a battery
• QBE probe core I've used this once for a 1 way probe to Duna's surface. I had an orbiter in 1.0/1.1 to scan for ore (no relays yet), and it released a QBE with a chute, and science stuff/stuff to allow it to transmit science data from the surface. I could imagine doing something similar in an aeroshell for Eve and Jool... but the stayputnick is a competitor... no SAS, no reaction wheels - its just there to allow the craft to be manually controlled
• NCS adapter (until I modded it to be LFO instead of LF, then I use it all the time) I use this all the time to make 1.25m sections more aerodynamic when I don't need to slap a shock cone on the front- which mostly coincides with an atmospheric craft and thus the need for LF only storage for airbreathers. You can see a pair used in one of my above pics
• Mk2 monoprop tank I'll agree here... I've never needed that much monoprop on a spaceplane... I might consider it if it were half size, and they nerfed reaction wheels so that I would actually use RCS for control at high altitudes
• Thud engine (yes, I know, lots of people like it, which is fine... I just have no use for it, myself) I use this on occassion, but mainly for vtol engines where I don't need much dV from them... even then its mostly for aesthetics as surface attach aerospikes are generally better - they've got a better TWR, and the gimbal isn't so usefull when mounted close to the cg

Spoiler

My munbase transporter and the thuds

• Puff engine  (honestly, why?  Seriously, what's the point? have never used it once, ever) Already addressed above
• Reliant (just 'coz of my play style... I always lift off on SRBs alone, so by the time I need an LF engine, I'm high enough that the Swivel is better) Already addressed above- I agree mostly
• Vector (for various reasons, will skip the rant here; until I modded it into what I consider to be a reasonable engine, then I use its modded form reasonably often) Great for Eve landers. TWR and Isp are equal or worse to the mammoth, its just powerful for its physical size (but not mass) - but using them on a mk3 size shuttle for instance eliminates that

Spoiler

I modified that lander slightly, to put another aerospike pair under the two side tank stacks - shown is its ascent configuration after the heat shields and parachutes and landing struts are decoupled... I should have pulled in the ladders for that pic though)

• Twin-Boar (for pretty much the same reasons as the Reliant)  I agree mostly - but I use them in sandbox for side boosters on big asparagus launchers
• Wheesley, Goliath, Whiplash, or Rapier engines (I'm not a spaceplane guy; for occasional non-space planes, I use Juno for slow and Panther for fast) I most definitely am a spaceplane guy.... Whiplash and rapier are great. Wheesley I use for thrust reverse and some other designs... Goliath? Haven't found a use for it  really... it makes a great model for an electric fan part though:

Spoiler

That last one is an otherwise stock sup, with a lot of RTS in that fairing section

• LES  I use it not as an LES, but as an SRB... flea tweaked to have just a seconds worth of fuel + LES+some chutes -> cluster them... get your craft to 50+ m/s right off the launchpad, and get 100% recover on the SRBs. I even use this  for launching tailsitter SSTOs that cant vtol on Kerbin - similar in concept to these SRB packs

Spoiler

which were used to get this off the ground... after acheiving orbit, the 4 mini SSTOs return, the central craft goes to duna

• CH-J3 avionics hub (cute idea, but I never saw the point; if I need SAS in a crewed ship without a pilot, I just use a probe core) I use it on occassion - it goes well in front of an NCS adaptor, and allows my scientists or engineer to fly a plane well
• HubMax  I use it rarely - mainly for aesthetics and part count... 1 structural fusalage and 2-4 radial attachment points could serve the same function and be much lighter.
• micronode Already addressed above
• Structural panels Meh, I haven't really made use of them, but I see them as valuable lego pieces for making various things just for looks/fun
• Shielded docking port This thing is great, gives you a detached bowshock, its nearly as good as a heat shield, and I often use it as the nose of one of my spaceplanes that have a lot of engine to power through the extradrag (not such a big deal at higher altitudes), without having to worry about the cockpit overheating, or where to put a docking port
• Inline Clamp-o-tron (simply see no point; if I want a radial docking port, I just attach a radial docking port) Already addressed above- but the addition of a radial docking port increases drag and perhaps partcount if you also have something for monoprop stoage... also most docking ports have low heat tolerance and may burn up on the outside... so see the above shielded one
• The Klaw (still have PTSD from the years, plural, when it routinely destroyed the universe) Get with the times, I use it a lot now. Its great for refeuling craf that you can't really refuel any other way... like little 0.625m jets, or all manner of craft on the surface from a fuel truck... designing them all to sit with the same size docking port at the exact right height is a pain
• Swept wings
• Standard canard, Delta-Deluxe Winglet, or Tail Fin (the AV-R8 winglet is my go-to part for this ecological niche) They all have slightly different stats, so I use all of them, but they do fell a bit redundant because they are similar... but the delta deluxe has its own nice IMO, its the canard/tailfin/av-84 that compete the most
• RoveMax XL3 wheels I haven't used them, I can vaguely imagine some kerbin only vehicles that may use them and be fun
• 3x2 solar panels Niche, but I'll use them when I want to have solar panels deployed during docking... they don't stick out so far... 
• Small fuel cell (any use case where I need any fuel cells at all, I need the big ones) Niche, but I sometimes use them in place of a battery or solar panels, when I just have a craft that gets to orbit and reenters... like a rapier craft with no other energy generation capability
• HG-55 antenna Meh... I guess by the time I need something more than the comm16, I'll take the HG-88
• Big Mk25 drogue chute Meh, I like its lookes better than the small one (especially the long thether before the chute. I have used it before, but its rare
• Kelus Mobility Enhancer (if I want an extensible ladder, I use the LV) Meh - sometimes the smaller one looks better and is all I need
• Small mining drill Agreed
• Small ISRU Agreed
• Science lab (except in throwaway ships when required to do so by a contract, which is often) Strongly disagree
• Narrow-band resource scanner (I simply find it too cryptic and confusing to use; can't be bothered to figure out what the heck it's good for, please don't try to explain it to me again, I don't want to know) Agreed... if combined with something like scansat to make a map it would be great, but I hate the snapshot operation

 

 

[Opus_723]

5 hours ago, Sharpy said:

Never mind Spider Hinges. Spiders make flexible stock hinges better than any other part.

 

I've heard of these, but have no clue how they're supposed to work. Could someone point me to an explanation/instructions on building one?

[Sharpy]

Just now, Opus_723 said:

I've heard of these, but have no clue how they're supposed to work. Could someone point me to an explanation/instructions on building one?

Attach a spider engine. Attach part that's supposed to swing to the spider engine. There. Think the nozzle as axis of the hinge.

If you want softer hinge, more give - stack a couple spiders on top of each other before attaching the final assembly.

Watch out for autostrut. It can completely ruin the effect. This one didn't work at all until I applied a ModuleManager patch that disabled autostrut on all wheels.