Symmetry Errors - Incorrect Orientation

[CrayzeeMonkey]

Hello there!

I'm making a mod that adds a radially attachable resource container. When i radially attach it on a structural plate (with symmetry set to mirror), the parts face incorrect directions.

Here is a picture.

Basically, the green arrows is where i want both parts to face. However, one mirrored part is facing the incorrect direction as indicated by a red arrow.

I tested my mods with these copies of KSP

1. Completely clean (Except the my mod)

2. Completely clean and the mod this was made for (Of course with my mod)

I made this part with

Unity 4 (Should i use Unity 5?)

Blender 2.74

Thank you A LOT in advance. If i get this right this may be my first public release mod.

Have a good day!

[ZodiusInfuser]

Hello there!

I'm making a mod that adds a radially attachable resource container. When i radially attach it on a structural plate (with symmetry set to mirror), the parts face incorrect directions.

Here is a picture.

http://i.imgur.com/5fpiySG.png

Basically, the green arrows is where i want both parts to face. However, one mirrored part is facing the incorrect direction as indicated by a red arrow.

I tested my mods with these copies of KSP

1. Completely clean (Except the my mod)

2. Completely clean and the mod this was made for (Of course with my mod)

I made this part with

Unity 4 (Should i use Unity 5?)

Blender 2.74

Thank you A LOT in advance. If i get this right this may be my first public release mod.

Have a good day!

Its not completely clear what the issue is from that shot (as I can't tell where the mirror plane is).

The two thoughts that come to my mind are:

A) Is the orientation of the part correct to work with mirror symmetry

Is the part modelled to be asymmetric, in which case you won't be able to mirror it without a redesign

Could you show a picture of the part on its own in Unity?, making a point to have the axis widget in view.

[Quiznos323]

I had this issue too. This album I made might help you:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

It's all about which way the local axis of your part it oriented.

[CrayzeeMonkey]

ZodiusInfuser,

Here is a better view HERE.

A) I don't think so, here is the orientation of the part in Unity

No, it's modeled to be symmetric.

Quiznos323,

Your album would have solved my problem if i knew how much i should rotate my model. In the editor no matter which way i rotated the part it doesn't really go on the correct way.

Also, Unity seems to use the global axis instead of the local axis.

[ZodiusInfuser]

From those pictures it looks to me like you need to rotate your part to have its mounting plate be on the bottom in Unity rather than to the side. Note that to do this you'll need to re-import the model in the rotated state, as I've found just applying the rotation in Unity itself doesn't actually have any effect once you get in-game (you may find it works though).

I really should set some time aside to write a blog post about orienting parts to work with symmetries, as there's a specific way that is needed for both node and surface attach that not many modders get right first time.

[sumghai]

From those pictures it looks to me like you need to rotate your part to have its mounting plate be on the bottom in Unity rather than to the side. Note that to do this you'll need to re-import the model in the rotated state, as I've found just applying the rotation in Unity itself doesn't actually have any effect once you get in-game (you may find it works though).

Yeah, rotating in Unity isn't sufficient - one needs to do so in Blender itself, and then re-import the model in the rotated state.

If one wants to be 100% sure, one should also apply the rotational transformation of the part permanently in Blender (Ctrl-A > Apply Rotation)

[CrayzeeMonkey]

Got it!

I did what Zodius said and set the mounting plate on the bottom. Symmetry is just fine now. Thank you so much!

Though just a small question. My part can store 2.0 units of <resource>. I want it to only store 2 units of <resource>. Why is the extra zero important? I can set it to store 1.5 units of <resource> in the editor. Which is not what i want.

Edited April 16, 2015 by CrayzeeMonkey