Prioritized Vessel Naming

[XLjedi]

So how does this work now?

The vessel name is associated with a command part?  So if I switch "control from here" will it change the name of the vessel?  

...and where do you set the name at design time?  Is it a property of the part that needs to be edited?

 

[MechBFP]

As per the name, the part with PRIORITY will be the name of the vessel.

Right click on the command pod in the editor and you should be able to set it. 

[Kerbart]

When you dock vessels, the one with the highest priority sets the name.

Also, you can specify an override for the tracking icon (if your probe uses a relay antenna you can still force it to be a probe and not a relay satellite on the map)

[Snark]

Moving to Gameplay Questions.

7 hours ago, XLjedi said:

So how does this work now?

The vessel name is associated with a command part?  So if I switch "control from here" will it change the name of the vessel?  

...and where do you set the name at design time?  Is it a property of the part that needs to be edited?

Has nothing at all to do with control-from-here.  It's merely a way of deciding "who wins" when different vessels are docked or undocked.

For example.  Imagine if you were building a Cassini / Huygens type of mission, e.g. a big orbiting probe, with a little probe that it's going to drop onto a moon.  They launch together, then separate at the destination planet.

So you go to the big probe's core and choose "Configure Vessel Naming", and put "Cassini".  Then you go to the little probe's core, choose "Configure Vessel Naming", and put "Huygens", and give it a lower priority number than the big probe.

Result:  When you launch the ship, it's named "Cassini".  When you decouple the little probe, the big probe stays "Cassini" and the little guy is named "Huygens".

Another example:  You've got a big space station, and you routinely dock various little craft to it.  You want the big station to always keep the same name (e.g. "Kerbin Station"), since it's the big important thing.  When little ships dock to it, you don't want them to cause the station to change its name.  And when they then undock, you want them to keep their original names, e.g. not get called "Kerbin Station Ship" or whatever.  Again, easily solved now.  Set some command part on the station to be named "Kerbin Station", vessel type "station", with a very high priority.  Everything works exactly the way you want it.

 

[TriggerAu]

 

7 hours ago, XLjedi said:

So how does this work now?

The vessel name is associated with a command part?  So if I switch "control from here" will it change the name of the vessel?  

...and where do you set the name at design time?  Is it a property of the part that needs to be edited?

 

If you mean the one in 1.4 stock then this should explain it (I Hope)

 

[XLjedi]

@Snark I like it!  ...been wanting something like this for awhile.  

@TriggerAu Cool feature, thanks!  I just put it to some good use on my latest published design.

Edited March 28, 2018 by XLjedi