Is there a way to force symmetry?

[DarkGravity]

When a rocket already has four-way symmetry, and you want to add something to only 2 of the sides, do you have to do it with manual symmetry or is there a way to force 2 way symmetry onto a piece that is already doing the four-way dance?

Edited May 22, 2015 by DarkGravity

[Redhaze]

Perhaps with editor extensions. Stock, not as far as I'm aware. The best solution would be to change around your 4x to 2*2x symmetry.

[monophonic]

Mixing symmetry modes is... glitchy at best. I second the recommendation for changing to two 2x symmetry side stacks, one with the extras and the other without.

[Yukon0009]

Stick a girder thatis long enough to the center tank by clipping your camera into said tank, 2x the symmetry, then attach whatever you want on the sides.

[katateochi]

To put something onto just 2 sides of a 4-way symmetrical setup you do need to place each one manually. You can't force 2-way symmetry onto a 4-way setup.

But there are a few tricks;

- simply don't use 4-way to start with, use two sets of 2-way symmetrical placements and then you can add something with 2-way S onto one of the sets. Then it doesn't matter if there is a little offset in their placement, the craft will still be balanced. (use this method if the thing you want to add has enough mass to effect flight)

- if its something relatively small that won't effect flight then use a marker object to help line up the manual placement (say for adding a light to 2 sides of a 4-way setup). First put the lights on roughly where you want them using 4-way S. Then add another object like a small cubic strut (also with 4-way S) so it's just touching the lights. Then take the lights off, switch symmetry off and manually place your 2 lights so they are lined up with the cubic strut and then remove the cubic strut when done.

- another option is to extend something from the central object that uses 2-way symmetry and clips thought the things set with 4-way S to provide a mounting point. Say you have a central tank with 4 tanks around it, use a girder part (or a set of cubic struts) and attach it using 2 way S to the central tank so it clips through 2 of the 4 outer tanks. You may need to place the girder first and then add the 4-way outer tanks after, or zoom inside the outer tanks so you can see the central tank and place it like that. With the editor gizmos this is much easier than it used to be to get the right position and you can tweak it to be just flush with the outer tanks. Now you have a mounting point sticking out of 2 of your 4 outer tanks. (this way can cause problems if you plan to jettison the outer tanks. It may also require struts to keep it from wobbling. I'd only use it for mounting lightweight things).

edit - mostly ninja'd.....mostly.

[Vanamonde]

How-to question moved to the how-to subforum.