Question about downloaded rockets

[GungaDin]

I have two questions about installing other folks rocket designs : 

1 - I have been playing with modified versions of KSP and so I fairly often screw things up and start with a clean install.  When I do that I delete my entire KSP directory and install from Steam.  But when I launch the game and look in my VAB I see all of the old 'craft' files that I had been playing around with.  Where are they stored if I deleted KSP/ships/VAB/* along with the rest of the directory?

2 - I still don't understand what constitutes a working rocket model.  I understand that if I place a 'craft' file in my /VAB and start a sandbox game I will find the rocket but there are often 'missing' parts and it won't load.  is this only if that craft requires a 'mod' because it sometimes seems like a craft from Kerblx says that it's 'stock' but still is missing parts...

Thanks for any help with this.

[4x4cheesecake]

Where do you download the .craft files and do you use a tool/mod for this like Craft Manager? KerbalX? Steam workshop?

If you get the files from the steam workshop, you have to unsubscribe from the crafts or steam will keep them for you. These crafts are also not stored within the game files but in your steam install directory:

~\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\220200\*

("220200" is the steam id of KSP. There are probably more directories with just numbers  instead of names)

If you download them from KerbalX via Craft Manager, they are probably stored within your savegame. I don't use the mod, so I'm not sure about this part but if you backup your savegame, reinstall KSP and then restore the backup, that would perfectly explain it. Since KSP 1.4.4, steam cloud is supported and enabled by default so the backup is created and restored by steam automatically.
You can test this by creating a new sandbox savegame.

If you installed the crafts manually in "KSP\ships\VAB\*" they are probably saved into the steam cloud as well...I remember some cases where people complained about crafts not getting removed from the game after a reinstall and these crafts where stored in the same directory. I don't know why SQUAD should setup the steam cloud config to backup this directory but this might be the case. Should be easy to test by removing the manually installed crafts and then start the game directly via the KSP_x64.exe and not via the steam launcher.

Regarding the missing parts: Well, that's something the creator of the craft have to take care of. I would suggest to write a comment on KerbalX or the steam workshop and ask the creator for more information.
Since KSP will tell you the names of the missing parts, you can also try the part search of KerbalX to figure out the mod it comes from: https://kerbalx.com/parts

[4x4cheesecake]

I took a look at the "remotecache.vdf" of KSP (basically the config for the steam cloud) and apparently, the stock craft folder (~\Kerbal Space Program\Ships\*) is actually backed up in the cloud. So when you delete a craft file from the stock craft folder, may it be a stock craft or any other craft you put there manually, it will be restored from the cloud on the next game launch.
I have honestly no idea why SQUAD decided to do this and I'll open a bug report / feedback on the bugtracker for this.

[GungaDin]

Thanks.  Like everyone else I've started to play my games from a separate modded folder so that Steam cloud confusion is not an issue.