Welding

[CmJnWd]

Part counts can get out of control. Pretty much all of us have suffered this issue.

Is there a reason why it's not part of the vanilla game?
Out of all ksp modders, not 1 has made a successful, updated welding mod?

I dunno, it just doesn't add up. Can anyone enlighten?

[Gargamel]

Thread moved to suggestions. 
 

I have used a couple welding mods in the past, but like most mods, the modders tend to drift away from the game, and the mods lose functionality.   
 

Some of those older welding mods might still work though.   Can only try and find out.    
 

if they don’t, some of our modders here got their start modding from seeing a mod they want made or updated, and learned to mod   
 

As for stock, I don’t know what’s on the dev team’s schedule, but I don’t think part welding is high up there, although it might be getting there. 

 

Edited March 22, 2021 by Gargamel

[kerbiloid]

As I have read, the outdated famous classics

may work if take in account this post

***

Also, USI has some weldable parts.

 

[OrdinaryKerman]

2 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

As I have read, the outdated famous classics

may work if take in account this post

***

Also, USI has some weldable parts.

 

UbioZur and Konstruction ‘welding’ are different. The OP is talking about the former, where a subassembly is joined together in the VAB into one part, reducing part count, decreasing lag and crashes. The latter transforms a docked port pair into a VAB node connection (a bit like the semipermanent Common Berthing Mechanism on the ISS’ international segment), which makes for sturdier constructs but doesn’t help with part counts.

[Gargamel]

6 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

lso, USI has some weldable parts

Ehhh.   That’s not really what they mean.   I use Konstruction religiously in my station builds, being able to remove the docking ports from the station is awesome, but it’s not the same as  being able to send the entire module to the station as one giant part.  

[kerbiloid]

So, then UbioZur with forked MM is the only hope.

[jimmymcgoochie]

The only issue with having one giant part is that if you crash into it, half your station blinks out of existence in one go, not to mention the strangeness of trying to combine parts with different stress tolerances (heat, impact etc.) which could make for some very odd results. Ruthless design optimisation to cut out every unnecessary part would be the more practical option, and/or using something like KSTS to create the vessel in the VAB editor then build it in orbit as a single vessel, without the need to actually fly each launch and dock it all together.

[Arco123]

1 hour ago, jimmymcgoochie said:

The only issue with having one giant part is that if you crash into it, half your station blinks out of existence in one go, not to mention the strangeness of trying to combine parts with different stress tolerances (heat, impact etc.) which could make for some very odd results. Ruthless design optimisation to cut out every unnecessary part would be the more practical option, and/or using something like KSTS to create the vessel in the VAB editor then build it in orbit as a single vessel, without the need to actually fly each launch and dock it all together.

Would you crash into it in the first place  To be honest anything above like 20 parts together crashing creates lag for me. 

[Guest]

No I don't like this idea. It's like super-glueing your lego models together as a kid. Also, I imagine it could maybe cause issues for EVA construction & robotic parts which they've worked hard to add recently. 

[Gargamel]

2 hours ago, FruitGoose said:

No I don't like this idea. It's like super-glueing your lego models together as a kid. Also, I imagine it could maybe cause issues for EVA construction & robotic parts which they've worked hard to add recently. 

Until you've played with one of the mods, don't knock it.    It's excellent for building large structural style pieces, such as trusses or wings.  Parts that do stuff, like ailerons, shouldn't be welded, as they need to operate independently and welding more than one part with an action to a group of other parts can do weird things to the resulting single piece.   But if you're like me and enjoy building large complex stations, then being able to reduce your part count by a significant amount is a definite plus.   I've got a dozen truss pieces, a half dozen batteries, etc etc, weld those suckers together.  

It does have it's drawbacks, but when you learn to work around them, it's a great feature.   Reducing the strain on older CPU's is a major plus.    When you have a bunch of parts that really shouldn't have physics calculations be done between them, that's where welding really shines. 

[Dientus]

23 minutes ago, Gargamel said:

Reducing the strain on older CPU's is a major plus.    When you have a bunch of parts that really shouldn't have physics calculations be done between them, that's where welding really shines. 

For me, this is where I may use it... Maybe I will try out one of those mods..

[Guest]

@Gargamel doesn't it then create a new problem of getting the intricate station/vessel into space? I have used Konstruction (I know slightly different) which obviously doesn't have that issue so more appealing for me but then I don't build huge stations anymore so I guess it's whatever suits your play style.

[Gargamel]

Just now, FruitGoose said:

doesn't it then create a new problem of getting the intricate station/vessel into space?

That then comes down to your design and lifter.   You don't have to weld the entire craft into one piece.   The idea is that you take a bunch of the structural pieces and weld those.   So you turn a 50 piece station module, and knock it down to 20, or 30, or whatever.    Being able to knock 30% of your part count down can go a long way when the 'raw' design could be hundreds to thousands of parts. 

[Stone Blue]

Basic part "welding", as Gargamel speaks of, above, can be done simply with config edits, and/or MM patches. Especially since Squad moved from the old model definition of `mesh =`, to the new MODEL{} node, which has a lot moar functionality. The new method allows for using multiple, seperate models & textures, in one PART{}. You also, no longer need to create duplicate model & texture files, just because they are not in the same folder as the part config. You can re-use/share models/textures across folders now.

Granted, you wanna start simple, with MODULE{}-less and similar parts. You *can* weld parts with certain MODULE nodes, but you have to be pretty selective, and have a decent knowledge of what modules can/cant be used together on a single part, and which may conflict with others.

But welding is actually a good way to step into "modding"... and I mean in the sense of making your *own* mods...not as-in,  "modding the game", just by adding pre-made mods to your install...

Edited March 23, 2021 by Stone Blue

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Gargamel said:

That then comes down to your design and lifter.   You don't have to weld the entire craft into one piece.   The idea is that you take a bunch of the structural pieces and weld those.   So you turn a 50 piece station module, and knock it down to 20, or 30, or whatever.    Being able to knock 30% of your part count down can go a long way when the 'raw' design could be hundreds to thousands of parts. 

Hmm ok I'll admit you're bringing me around to the idea now you put it like that, can definitely see the benefits.