Tri-coupler - the point?

[CorBlimey]

What is the point of the tri-coupler?

By the time you have 3 of any 1.25m part you are normally going to see performance gains (ISP and thrust) for virtually the same mass by using 2.5m parts (e.g. 3 * T30s compared to 1 * Skipper).

It is unlocked at essentially the same generation of the tech tree (i.e. no step-wise increase to tier 2 science facility to get 2.5m parts).

Bi-couplers and quad-couplers are useful, allowing for a little less a little more performance than then 2.5m, but the tri-seems to lack purpose (aside from using it for a 3 mini-sat payload or something).

It would be much more useful to get the other couplers (particularly bi-coupler) at the same time in the tech-tree.

Am I missing something?

edit: perhaps what I really mean is gimme dem bi-couplers sooner!

edit2: oh yeah. How did I forget about things like Ions and LV-N's. Whoops. Still, not a factor at low tech tree when bi-couplers would be more useful but I concede

Edited May 11, 2015 by CorBlimey

[Randazzo]

Three solid fuel boosters?

[CorBlimey]

Three solid fuel boosters?

useful but not much different to mounting them radially. Then, in particular, you can also use the central stack for a bit of a boost / steerage off the launch-pad while the SRBs burn into higher TWR.

Ok I suppose a small satellite with 3 SRBs underneath to boost it to altitude works well. Again, may as well stick one on the stack and mount the other 2 radially (unlike bi- or quad- which actually change things in that respect).

[r4pt0r]

I use it for mounting ion engines.

[KerikBalm]

Triple LV-Ns ?

Design freedom, to make things that look cool if you want threefold symetry for aesthetic purposes?

[Aerindel]

LV-Ns

[CorBlimey]

I use it for mounting ion engines.

whoops. Good point. I forgot about stuff with no upscaled version.

[TheXRuler]

I use them for building SRB only first stages, especially with the 2.5m to 1.25m tri and bicouplers I have managed to make a triple core 2.5m first stage.

[Majorjim!]

It allows you to attach three things, to one.

[Brofessional]

It received a new model several updates back, but the tri-coupler is one of the oldest parts in the game. From a time when there was only one size of parts.

[juanml82]

I find it useful. What I'd really like is an inline tricouple, kind of like the double one. So you have, say, an MK1 cockpit and two air intakes by the side, or attach three engines to a 1.25 jet fuel tank. Or, well, other stuff.

[zarakon]

It received a new model several updates back, but the tri-coupler is one of the oldest parts in the game. From a time when there was only one size of parts.

Back then you also couldn't radial mount liquid fuel tanks to anything else (not even radial decouplers), so the tri-coupler was the best way to get a bigger liquid core.

Now it's mostly just an aesthetic choice

[basic.syntax]

Couplers give one-to-many connections, in a single part. They can be "worked around" at a cost of adding parts to a base part, like the modular girder segment or cubic octagonal struts, to create more node connections, up to the symmetry default limit of 8. Depending on what is attached to the new nodes, strut connections may be required to brace / keep it together.

I wouldn't object to the stock game adding coupler parts for 5/6/7/8...

[Gaarst]

I find the tricoupler actually pretty useful: you can fit 3 Mk2 sized tanks without clipping which works great with LV-N on a ship that is too light/small to use Mk3 sized tanks.

It is actually the best way I found to make lighter ship efficient with LV-N: I get >8000 m/s of delta-v on a 30t ship, the 6 Mk2 jet fuel tanks weigh approximately the same as 1 Rockomax X200-32 and 1 X200-16 which give me only 5000 m/s of delta-v

[Warzouz]

Can you use them backwards and add decoupler on 3 engines ?

In Beta I had a lot of trouble to use them efficiently. I ended using them as lateral engines support (for LVN). But with the new Aero, such a design might not fit in a fairing.

[Feradose]

They are somehow asymmetrical and give lift in one direction, so I avoid to use them mostly. Unless in a fairing for triple sats.

[TheXRuler]

One possible use is for adding a single LV-N between two R.A.P.I.E.R.s on a Mk. 2 spaceplane. Using the Mk. 2 bi-adapter and two bi-couplers placed horizontally with one node overlapping in the middle and struts you could finally build a nuclear spaceplane