how to change control point in the VAB?

[king of nowhere]

I have a problem with launching my rover; the command module of the rover, which also acts as command module for the launcher, is tilted 15 degrees over the rest of the rocket (there are reasons¹). this means that on the launch pad, the rocket thinks it is tilted 15 degrees. if i set it to hold a direction, the rocket will never hold that direction, because it will try to point 15 degrees away. knowing this deviation, i can drive it manually while mentally compensating, but it is confusing and annoying.

the rover has an additional command module and a probe core, both of them are facing the right direction. I'd just need to issue a "control from here" command. Unfortunately, i cannot find such an option in the VAB, and i can't select any part of the rover on the launch pad because they are safely inside an aerodinamic fairing. it goes without saying that i cannot launch a rover, full of wheels and dangly bits, inside the atmosphere.

I could add another probe core on the launcher, but it would be wasteful and, worse, inelegant. the only other solution i can conceive is to disassemble the rover and reassemble the forward-facing module first; i assume the game interprets the first command module you attach as the control point. but... let's just say that there are a lot of parts attached in peculiar ways that the editor had trouble recognizing, and then moved and aligned with extreme care. it would be very complicated to reassemble it correctly.

are there other ways for me to fix this issue?

 

 

1 the reason is, the command module is a cupola, so i can drive the rover from a first person perspective and feel like i'm really there. but the cupola is made to see upwards, it needs to be angled down to have a good visibility of the ground.

[bewing]

If you make one of those probe cores that faces the correct direction into the root part (using the reroot tool), that should do it.

Also, it really isn't that hard to zoom your camera inside a fairing to select a part and say "control from here". Just try playing with the camera a bit; it's a skill you will use dozens of times in the future.

Alternately, if you have any docking ports on the craft, they can also be control points.

[king of nowhere]

39 minutes ago, bewing said:

If you make one of those probe cores that faces the correct direction into the root part (using the reroot tool), that should do it.

 

if i make the right probe core the root part, and then reinstate the previous root part (the previous root part was NOT a command module; it was a fuel tank), will that keep the probe core as the control point?

 

Quote

Also, it really isn't that hard to zoom your camera inside a fairing to select a part and say "control from here". Just try playing with the camera a bit; it's a skill you will use dozens of times in the future.

i never tried. i had no idea it was possible

[king of nowhere]

i tried both ways, and both work poorly.

making the secondary command module a root part worked. then i restarted flight, and the piece (together with everything attached to it) had disappeared! i suppose the rover i'm launching is complex enough to attract some kraken after all.

then i tried to zoom into the fairing, but trying to hover with the mouse over the command module only seemed to select the fairing. other pieces could be selected easily, only the command module seemed to have this problem. i had to find a very specific angle to select it eventually.

[Spricigo]

 

You my also put "control from here" in an action group. 

[king of nowhere]

45 minutes ago, Spricigo said:

 

You my also put "control from here" in an action group. 

that worked. nice trick!