Why is the "cubic" octagonal strut not cubic?

[Wallygator]

Also, why does it respond well to vertical replication and snap placement and not horizontal?

Hmmm, could it be that it is not cubic at all?

Perhaps the part should be renamed (or fixed?)

Basically, something just doesn't seem right about the mesh and the visual model.

Or am I just mad?

[Starwhip]

Yeah, it's definitely not cubic.

Then again, it is also octagonal.

Bad naming convention is bad.

[Wallygator]

true, but even though it is octagonal, it does not exhibit octagonal joint behaviour in a cubic manner.

This part needs to be fixed so I can sleep at night. ;-)

[basic.syntax]

And so tiny! No 'long version' in the category.

[Tex]

From my research, "cubic" could refer to crystallography, and there are 8-sided crystals. Maybe that's it!

[Norpo]

From my research, "cubic" could refer to crystallography, and there are 8-sided crystals. Maybe that's it!

I propose Occam's Razor, or rather "among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected. Other, more complicated solutions may ultimately prove correct, butâ€â€in the absence of certaintyâ€â€the fewer assumptions that are made, the better." -wikipedia

In other words, the devs probably just made a mistake naming it.

yes, i know your post was a joke

[Wallygator]

^^^ Yes this.

But also its behaviour in the VAB during assembly is perplexing.

[Tex]

In other words, the devs probably just made a mistake naming it.

yes, i know your post was a joke

Actually, I hadn't meant that as a joke- I wondered if "cubic" had anything to do with it, because it wasn't describing a cube, but rather an octagon(al prism). So I looked up the word "cubic" and saw that it connected to crystallography and BAM- I found an 8-sided crystal that seemed to fit

[Bill Phil]

Hmm?

It's not cubic...

But it's not an octagon, either. It's more of a rectangular prism...

According to the wiki.

[RainDreamer]

I wonder if the kerbals just named it so.

They are kerbals, you know.

[Superfluous J]

It's the worst named thing in the game. It's not a cube, it's not an octagon, and it's not even a strut!

They could have named it the "Thursday alabaster frequent" and been just as accurate.

[Whirligig Girl]

As far as I'm concerned, "Cubic" is not "Cubical" and "Cubic" is close enough to "Rectanguprismular"

And yes it is a strut. Strut=/=Strut Connector. "Strut" is any part that is a structural component.

[Superfluous J]

Struts are typically bars. Like the struts in the game that we all use far too many of. Boxy assemblages of bars with cross beams so that they have structural integrity in directions other than forward and back have a name. It's truss.

Also? It'd be less confusing for new people if the trusses in the game were at LEAST named similarly. At least the other two are called "Modular Girder Segment"s and not struts. Though we already have things in the game called Girders and while they serve a similar purpose they have very different appearances.

This kind of junk was okay when Squad was futzing around in Early Access, but they're about to release the game and these (and a thousand other little problems) are the things that make the game roughshod and confusing.

EDIT: I checked and girders aren't named "girder." They're named I-Beam which is fine. At least they're ALL named I-Beam. I'm surprised the smallest one isn't named "Capsule Girder Dodecahedron"

Edited February 19, 2015 by 5thHorseman

[John FX]

Are we all talking about the little cube or the flat octogon part?

I call them `little cube` and `flat octogon` myself.

I only use the little cube out of the two and then mostly to get an extra node where there currently isn`t one.

[BudgetHedgehog]

Are we all talking about the little cube or the flat octogon part?

The fact you even have to ask means something is wrong.

For reference, it's the little cube. Hence, 'cubic'. It's like a cube. I always took the naming scheme the be the Octagonal Strut came first, then kerbal scientists made a version that looked more like a cube, and being kerbals, called it a cubic octagonal strut. It's the Cubic version of the Octagonal Strut (but there's no excuse for the Strut part.. they're trusses. EDIT: Though they're manufactured by StrutCo. I think actually StrutCo is confused as to what they're making...). When I'm talking to myself while building, I like to refer to it as a CUBic Octagonal Strut, or CUBOS.

Edited February 19, 2015 by ObsessedWithKSP

[Bill Phil]

Well, if you think about, the Okto comes before the QBE...