Can we get a "Swap" button?

[Martian Emigrant]

Hi.

Maybe it's been discussed IDK.

Can we get a "Swap button in the VAB?

Let me explain using this picture:

This is a common occurrence for me. I build not quite knowing what I want. Then after a test flight decide that I need to swap a part.

In this case I want way less oxidizer and more fuel. I would like to swap the "MK2 Rocket Fuselage" for a "MK2 Liquid Fuel Fuselage".

The part to be swapped has a lot of other parts "Rooted" to it so it's basically a rebuild.

I imagine an extra button with the "Place", "Move", "Rotate" and "Re-Root" buttons.

I understand that drastically different parts would produce odd if impossible configurations. Parts have after all different attachment points and orientations. So Maybe disallow weird swaps? But allow others?

Anyway. Thanks for a fun and pleasant Game.

I am off to rework that sucker.

 

ME

[pandaman]

Not a bad idea actually. 

Although someone is bound to suggest 'tweakable' fuels for this one.   

Which which may which may actually be a more doable solution.  -  Right click the tank, select the fuel type, the contents change and a suitable icon or coloured band gets applied to the tank so you can identify it.

But your idea is better in some ways because (depending on what is attached) you could swap for a different sized part.

[Corona688]

Try swapping a radially-attached wing for an axially-attached fuel tank.

Next try swapping a radially-attachable fuel tank with wings on it for a 2.5m ISRU, a part you can't radially attach to.

This feature is possible, but having this many special cases would make it really annoying.

I think configurable tanks would be an easier and better solution to this problem.  The difference between 'structural fuselage' and 'liquid fuel tank' would become a right-click and checkbox.

 

...pandaman beat me to it.  By 2 hours.  Blurgh.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Corona688

[pandaman]

24 minutes ago, Corona688 said:

 

...pandaman beat me to it.  By 2 hours.  Blurgh.

Yeah, I'd topped up on bamboo shoots just before that .  

[Corona688]

custom user title:  "Eats, shoots, and leaves".

[pandaman]

23 minutes ago, Corona688 said:

custom user title:  "Eats, shoots, and leaves".

That's an old joke .   It's all lies too - that was the other panda.

[Martian Emigrant]

All good suggestions.

I don't really care how it's implemented. I am not sure how the game does it magic in the VAB.

But having an option would be nice.

Swap with an attachment-equivalent-part. Change it's inside with a right clic. All good to me.

[Samniss Arandeen]

On 9/2/2016 at 0:03 PM, pandaman said:

Not a bad idea actually. 

Although someone is bound to suggest 'tweakable' fuels for this one.   

Which which may which may actually be a more doable solution.  -  Right click the tank, select the fuel type, the contents change and a suitable icon or coloured band gets applied to the tank so you can identify it.

But your idea is better in some ways because (depending on what is attached) you could swap for a different sized part.

Tweakable fuels would be amazing, and should be stock.

[pandaman]

 

4 hours ago, Samniss Arandeen said:

Tweakable fuels would be amazing, and should be stock.

That gets suggested quite a lot actually, that's why I worded it like that.  And yes I tend to think it would be a good addition, it would reduce clutter in the parts list quite a bit too.

But that's not what the OP is actually suggesting, which would, I think,  be a much more versatile tool,  though, unfortunately, probably very difficult to implement well enough (to deal with lots of design situations) to be as useful as it would need to be to be worth the effort doing so.

 

Edited September 6, 2016 by pandaman

[mattinoz]

We already have part filtering so why would it be hard?

Add button, pop-up compatible parts list, switch part. Simple

[Superfluous J]

10 minutes ago, mattinoz said:

We already have part filtering so why would it be hard?

Add button, pop-up compatible parts list, switch part. Simple

I look forward to trying your mod

[mattinoz]

15 minutes ago, 5thHorseman said:

I look forward to trying your mod

You might need to give me a week... or 4.