User Definable ship boundaries(Multiphysicships)

[Arugela]

How about the ability to add or take away parts in collected sections/sectors and break up the physics and Action groups to those parts into separate chunks. This would occur even when/if the parts are connected via things besides docks or as normal parts(AKA permanently). It would allow one ship to have more separation within the game and more function. It could also break up the physics of the ship in user defined chunks to run on multiple cores to make single ships be made of multiple separate areas with their own physics threads and maintain it so docking does not make a station and any ships remain separate entities. (Both in physics calculations and in recognized sets of action groups) This would give almost unlimited function to ship design.

Then they just need a way to make those ships hold together(maybe a separate physics thread for binding separate chunks together or something that simulates if they were not seperate ships that also has a separate thread. Even at the expense of extra CPU/GPU usage overall but that can be split up over hardware.) Then you can maintain ships or parts of a ship to given parts counts and have extra action groups.

This could/would be done via a new mode. The mode would allow parts to be selected and saved as ship sections. This section could have it's own action group from the rest of the ship.(Import or export previous action group options. Or at least the ones applicable.) It could be a nice bright yellow highlight over the green and other colors. Something very visible. This would give this ship section it's own physics CPU block on loading and have separate functions. With multiple selection methods like the ability to select a first part and then hold shift or something and select all parts to the second selected part on the tree could be nice also Then you could select mass parts on the ship easily for making into sections/sectors. Just like a file browser does when selecting multiple files etc.

In flight the sections could be looked at somehow and selected to access their specific action groups etc. Good for complex ships or areas where many ships connect like space stations.

 

These sectors would maintain pre selected parts on a vessel as permanent separate "ships" to the computer so it never mixes the physics. Even when connected(permanently or temporarily). It would simply try to calculate how they should be connected given the type of connection but maintain separate threads on the CPU.

This Idea could naturally also lead to improved implementations of multiple ships in the VAB/SPH. The special mode could let you switch between them as well as define redefine new sections/sectors and control these multiple ships. This could help with putting together multiple ships/sections for launches in the VAB/SPH before launch.

 

And to control them all there could be a computer system in all cockpits that let you select between any given sections on the ship and use them. So you can go IVA and go through the available options(on top of any 3rd person access). Then as ships dock they could register with a ship/station and be controlled from there if needed. The computer could have a screen that pops up to enlarge the main screen and let you go through the options and see everything the ship/vessel has available to choose from.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Arugela