Please Fix Interstages

[Zucal]

This has been an issue in the game pretty much forever. Interstages for engines smaller than the tanks above them should be the size of the rocket, not the engine! I shouldn't have to meddle with fairings and cubic struts and decouplers for my rocket to look functional. This is what I'm talking about:

Edited June 17, 2015 by Zucal

[Tankman101]

The engines create the fairings, not the decoupler.

[Perry Apsis]

Tankman101, that's a valid explanation of how it works now, but I think the request is a good one. An option to resize the fairing to the diameter of the parent part (and do some strutting while you're at it!) might be nice. Procedural Fairings's interstage fairings could be a workaround here.

[Kegereneku]

"+1"

While we are at it, parts that are multiple smaller engine cobbled together but act as one engine could be interesting (knowing that you can make them using cubic-strut and fairing). Once KSP turn 64bits and isn't bothered by RAM limit of course.

[KrazyKrl]

Decouplers need to use the new fairing system.

The decouplers should autofairing to the part the engine is connected to, and to adjust their taper accordingly.

I.e. in those screenshots; it would create a cylinder fairing.

Example: If you had a 3m decoupler attached to a NERVA, which was connected to a 2.5m fuel tank; the decoupler should taper, and interstage, to the 2.5m fuel tank.

Example: If you have a 2.5m decoupler attached to a NERVA, which is on an octag truss; the decoupler should taper an autofairing to the node-end of the NERVA.

• The fairing should be editable, the decoupler should act as a fairing base.
  
• The fairing should get jettisoned one physics tick before the decoupler activates in the staging sequence. (Or the fairing could be set up to be "Simultaneous or delayed" via a tweakable. i.e. the fairing does not auto jettison on stage activation. This feature would require the part to have two staging icons, or one staging icon with two staging events. (One to jettison, one to decouple.))
  
• Decoupling needs to trigger a fairing jettison; but you may jettison the fairing first, through right-click (or action groups.)
  
• The fairing should be limited in height to the part it is decouping to. (i.e. you can only make it as tall as an engine or fuel tank.) (For dedicated fairings, you should use fairing bases imo.)

And also, the fairing interstage needs to act like a strut via the fairing.

Edited June 17, 2015 by KrazyKrl

[Tankman101]

Tankman101, that's a valid explanation of how it works now, but I think the request is a good one. An option to resize the fairing to the diameter of the parent part (and do some strutting while you're at it!) might be nice. Procedural Fairings's interstage fairings could be a workaround here.

To be honest I think the autofairing should be ditched completely, and have people use the fairings for engine shrouds (After they gain strut properties ofc).

[tater]

Simple solution. Have decouplers create an autofairing equal to their own size, always, and if their size is smaller than what they are attaching, then they make no fairing at all.

Attach a 2.5m decoupler to a 1.25m engine, and you get a 2.5m fairing. Attach a 1.25m decoupler to a 2.5m engine, no fairing. Done.

[Francois424]

Good ideas !