A second take on decluttering the craft editor tabs:

[nikokespprfan]

The main idea here is to turn the tabs into filters. This way you can have multiple tabs activated and you will see only the parts that fall under both tabs. You can , of course, also have just one tab activated at a time.

Nothing would have to change in the layout of the filter system, exept that the tabs under "filter by function" have to become togglable.

I would suggest the following tabs:

-command (any part with command capability)

-control (anything that would normally be placed in the control tab)

-crew (any part that has crew)

-linkage and separation (any part with docking port, claw, separator and decoupler-capabilities)

-fuel and resource kontainers (any part that holds resources)

-mobility and immobilty (any part along the lines of: ladders, wheels, landing legs, parchutes, launch clamps and aerobrakes etc.)

-wings (any part with lift surfaces)

-storage (any part along the lines of: service bays and cargo bays etc.)

-science and research (experiments and labs)

-transmission (any part that has the capability to transmit mits)

-electronics (drone cores, lights,batteries, solar panels, RTG's)

-earodynamics (any part currently in the aerdynamics tab)

-thermodynamics (radiarors, heat shield and all those things)

-structural (girders, structiral fuselages and what not)

-adapters (simply because there are a lot of adapters in the game)

-engines (any part that can produce thrust)

-resource convertion and capture (labs, fuel cells, drills, intakes)

-miscellaneous (just in case)

I don't have alot of time to write this, so maybe notg all details are covered in this post, I may not have all stock parts covered.

What do you think about this idea? Would this help in decluttering (or at least, making it easier to find parts) the craft editor tabs? Do I have everything covered?

I like to hear your feedback...

[nothingSpecial]

I'd like to say yes to this, but current categories do not seem to me as very good, because most of them cannot be combined (like structural or thermodynamics ones: selecting them and aything els as filter will return zero parts, as I understand).

But the general ability to click, for example, "Crew" + "2.5m" + "Resource convertion" to get lab, than uncheck "Crew" and get ISRU is something I'd really like to see in stock.

Even without mods I sometimes find myself in part clutter, and I do like to use part-heavy mods like Tantares.

[pandaman]

Nice idea. I like the concept. Categories/tabs would likely need reorganisation, but they could probably benefit from that anyway.

[nikokespprfan]

I'd like to say yes to this, but current categories do not seem to me as very good, because most of them cannot be combined (like structural or thermodynamics ones: selecting them and aything else as filter will return zero parts, as I understand).

They don't have to, as long as almost all groups of parts can be accessed by a logical set of active/inactive filters everything will be good.

[Alshain]

It needs a Two Tier System IMO.

• Command and Crew
  
  • Pods
    
  • Cockpits
    
  • Probes
    
  • Crew Cabins
    

  [*]Fuel

  • Liquid Fuel and Oxidizer (including Vernor)
    
  • Liquid Fuel
    
  • Monopropellant (including RCS)
    
  • Xenon
    

  [*]Engines

  • Liquid Fuel and Oxidizer
    
  • Liquid Fuel
    
  • Monopropellant
    
  • Xenon
    
  • Solid Fuel (I put the LES in here, it's questionable)
    

  [*]Command and Control

  • Stabilization (i.e. Reaction Wheels/SAS)
    
  • Communication (i.e. Antennas)
    

  [*]Structural

  • Structural Parts
    
  • Adapters
    

  [*]Aerodynamics

  • Wings
    
  • Winglets, Canards, and Tails
    
  • Control Surfaces (other than Winglets, Canards, and Tails of course)
    
  • Nose and Tail Cones
    
  • Air Intakes
    
  • Speed Management (i.e. Parachute and Air Brakes)
    

  [*]Utility

  • Cargo (i.e. Cargo Bay, Service Bay, and Fairings)
    
  • Heat Management (i.e. Radiators and Ablators)
    
  • Separation and Docking (Docking Ports, Separators, Decouplers)
    
  • Electrical (i.e. all storage, generators, and any consumers that don't fit elsewhere like Lights)
    
  • Legs, Wheels, and Gear
    
  • Resources
    
  • Mobility (i.e. Ladders)
    
  • Science (the location of the science group is up in the air, it was hard to place. I also put the MPL here, it could go in Crew but I felt this was a better fit)
    

If you want to try this out using the custom groups place this file in GameData\Squad\PartList. It doesn't have the 1.0.5 parts yet. EDIT: It has been updated for 1.0.5 and includes ScanSat, RemoteTech, and NRAP if you have those installed. It will still work if you do not.

I really think Squad should make this the default groups though, because constantly having to redo the list for new versions and mods is annoying.

Edited November 14, 2015 by Alshain

[FishInferno]

We also need a search bar, that would solve everything IMO

[Alshain]

We also need a search bar, that would solve everything IMO

Already announced for 1.1. That however is not the total solution, the search bar only helps if you know what you want by name.

[FishInferno]

But the search should do more than just part names. If you searched "2.5 meter" all the 2.5 meter parts would come up, and so on

[Alshain]

But the search should do more than just part names. If you searched "2.5 meter" all the 2.5 meter parts would come up, and so on

We already have that in game.