Saggy cargo

[Wanderfound]

The new Mk3 rover-ramp tail part is great.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/hAkGhgJ.jpg[/IMG]


However, there's a problem:

Any non-tiny cargo inside the bay which is docked by the nose will immediately sag through the floor if not strutted, leading to explosive consequences when undocked. In Kerbin gravity, this happens even to quite small rovers.

This behaviour is nothing new; KSP has always acted like this. But it's an issue that is especially problematic for the new cargo bays. They're designed to carry cargo that is likely to leave and reenter the bay during a mission, and spaceplanes frequently operate on higher-gravity worlds. Without a mod like KAS, it's impossible to resecure a strutted cargo.

You can work around it with belly-docking tricks and such, but those are a complicated PITA to get right.

So, how about it, Squad? There must be some way to give the cargo bays a properly solid floor.

[mattinoz]

Agree fully. Cargo bays should be able to magic occy-strap any stable cargo.
Also be good if docking wasn't required unless you want to transfer resources.

[Wanderfound]

It could probably even be fixed with a Module Manager hack. "If docking port = inside cargo bay, then joint strength = lots".

[pandaman]

Yes, a fix is needed for this. If not automatic then a 'secure cargo' option when docking to a port inside a cargo bay that keeps the load stable.

[Wjolcz]

KAS-like activities (strutting the hell outta things) would be a nice and realistic thing to have in this case. I mean, when there's a cargo rolling into the plane's cargo bay there are people who secure it. We need those fuel hoses anyway, so why shouldn't they serve as struts too?

[Alshain]

Cargo bays, Service Bays, and Fairings should be auto-strutted (to the fairing/cargo bay/service bay wall, not among itself). Procedural Fairings does this, and Squad chose not to. It needs to be done, it's needed to be done since cargo bays were introduced.

[Snikersnee]

The main problem is this: ships can collide with ships, but ships cannot collide with themselves. If you like building boats like me, you'll know to add lots of struts, and to strategically place the panels you are using to build it with. Otherwise, the deck and sides just start sagging in on itself and going through itself. The only problem is, unless you are using wing panels, the strut ends stick out and you have a spotted ship, and because when multiple ships are docked, the game thinks they are the one ship.
TL;DR, Ships cannot collide with themselves, resulting in pain.

[colmo]

Ferram dealt with this a year ago:

[quote name='ferram4'][CENTER][B][SIZE=4]The Colliders Strike Back[/SIZE][/B]
------------------[/CENTER]

[B]What it does:[/B]

This disables an optimization / improvement made early in KSP's history that disabled all intra-vessel part collisions.

Parts will not collide with themselves (to avoid issues with landing gear or cargo bays that are dependent on this functioning well), but will collide with other parts on the vessel where they previously did not. Part-clippers beware! This can be used for experiments into the nature of collisions, avoid issues with payloads clipping through payload fairings / cargo bays, and general mayhem. [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEizJ-TWua0&noredirect=1"]Also.[/URL]

[CENTER][SIZE=3][URL="https://kerbalstuff.com/mod/175/The%20Colliders%20Strike%20Back"]Download v1.0.1 from KerbalStuff![/URL]

[URL="https://github.com/ferram4/TCSB/releases/tag/v1.0.1"]Download v1.0.1 from Github![/URL][/SIZE][/CENTER]

[URL="https://github.com/ferram4/TCSB"]Source at Github[/URL]
[URL="https://github.com/ferram4/TCSB/blob/master/LICENSE"]Licensed MIT[/URL]

[B]Warning:[/B]
This has the capacity to destroy any vehicle that includes part clipping as an integral part of the design. Any and all vehicles launched / created before this was installed may spontaneously explode if they are dependent on intra-vessel collisions being disabled. It will also make part-induced framerate drops and time slowdowns a lot nastier, due to the extra expense of all the collider calculations. You have been warned.[/QUOTE]

[Pthigrivi]

Wait... is there a reason you cant strut it?

[Alshain]

[quote name='Pthigrivi']Wait... is there a reason you cant strut it?[/QUOTE]

The issue is that with a cargo ramp you expect to leave and re-enter. You can strut it the first time, but once you leave you can't strut it again.

[Pthigrivi]

Ahhhhh, gartcha. I haven't actually gotten around to using this. Interesting point.

[John FX]

Procedural Fairings auto adds invisible struts so it`s completely possible to auto strut a payload. KAS lets you add struts in the flight screen so that`s possible too.