Procedural Fairings vs Stock?

[dlrk]

What, if any, are the differences in procedural fairings vs stock fairings?

[DeadJohn]

IMO, procedural fairings usually look nicer than stock. In terms of gameplay they work the same way.  Some modded fairings include decouplers, and can be set to automatically open at a set altitude.

I recommend the Simple Adjustable Fairings plugin mod with the KW Rocketry Fairing Pack. It provides a versatile collection of fairings.

P.S. In stock, it's possible to get a nice looking curve by clicking a bunch of points, but it's much easier and more consistent with procedural fairings.

[Xt007]

In addition PF is nice to use as an adapter between different sized stages when stock won't cut it.

[jimmymcgoochie]

There are pros and cons to both options-

• Procedural fairings are more customisable, both in terms of shape and appearance, and will automatically adjust their shape to whatever payload you attach, whereas stock fairings have a limited set of colours and you need to build their shape manually, and also have a maximum radius;
• Stock fairings can be made open-ended or connect to other parts e.g. an LES tower, which procedural fairings don’t seem to do as far as I can tell- procedural parts tend to be for one specific use e.g. a fairing, an interstage shroud or an engine boattail, whereas stock fairings are a bit more flexible and can do any/all of those things if you want (this is based on my experiences in RO/RP-1, using procedural fairings in a more regular KSP game might be different);
• Stock fairings can have multiple stack nodes to mount more than one payload, for example a set of relays, which procedural fairings do not;

In the end, it’s up to you to try them both and see which version you prefer.