Auto kerbal assignment

[Jimbodiah]

Is there any way to turn off the function that kerbals are put into capsules automatically? I am getting tired of finding out I have a full set of kerbals on a ship that is to be unmanned (prep missions).

[Snark]

4 hours ago, Jimbodiah said:

Is there any way to turn off the function that kerbals are put into capsules automatically? I am getting tired of finding out I have a full set of kerbals on a ship that is to be unmanned (prep missions).

Yah, that's a pain.  There's no way to do that in stock.

I've been working on a mod to help with the problem, but have run up against a stumbling block and haven't been able to find an answer yet (no answers to my post in the relevant forum; basically, "how to programmatically tell when a player has tinkered with assignments in the crew tab").

[Jimbodiah]

Hmm... annoying... too often I discover there are 6 kerbals on a craft meant to retrieve stranded kerbals...

[Reactordrone]

Usually if the root part is unmanned, e.g a probe, then any manned parts that are attached should be empty by default.

[Snark]

58 minutes ago, Reactordrone said:

Usually if the root part is unmanned, e.g a probe, then any manned parts that are attached should be empty by default.

I don't think that's reliable-- it'll do that when you first build & launch the ship, but I think it goes ahead and crews the part when you load the ship on subsequent launches.  (IIRC.  Don't have KSP in front of me at the moment to check.)

[Snark]

Okay, @Jimbodiah, I was able to solve the difficulties and have just published a mod that will do what you want:

BetterCrewAssignment

Among other things, it remembers crew assignments in the editor (as long as you save your ship after assigning).  So if you have a ship where you want slots left empty by default, just go into the editor, unassign, save, and you're good to go.

The mod is deliberately minimalistic and has no UI.  It just silently makes things better by doing what you'd probably like the editor to do by default.

Enjoy!

Edited December 8, 2015 by Snark

[Jimbodiah]

Thanks!!! downloading now!