[KAS/KIS] How do I change the root part?

[DDE]

Suppose I'm strapping together a rover in the field using a pylon, anchored to the ground, as a foundation. How do I change the root part in order to pull out the pylon?

[DrLicor]

Here you go  

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Root_part

At least, if this is what you mean

read it not good, when making something in the field, the first part where something get attached to, is the root part. So when you drop a frame part, strap a wheel on it, the frame part is the rootpart. You can't change the root part when something is already build.

Edited September 27, 2016 by DrLicor

[Sharpy]

Tricky as heck.

Through "rename" set craft as probe/debris.

Put another craft (or even probe core) nearby, with a winch or KAS port. Set it as base or space station or something like that, high priority.

Strap a KAS port to the part you want to be set as root.

Link the two.

Go to KSC, or even save and quit the game.

Go back, unlink.

The port will be the root part. Detach the craft from the port Now the part that the port was attached to will be root.

...or something along these lines. I never did it on purpose, but it happened a couple times.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Sharpy

[DrLicor]

This just came on my mind, you can go to your savefiles, so outside game, and if I'm right, not totally sure, you can change the root part from there 

[Sharpy]

8 minutes ago, DrLicor said:

This just came on my mind, you can go to your savefiles, so outside game, and if I'm right, not totally sure, you can change the root part from there 

Definitely nothing that easy. The save file holds the craft structure - Part A is child of Part B is child of Part C. You can't say "Part A is now root" and expect this would work.

[Tarheel1999]

Can't you just hover over the root part and press "h" to split the rover from the pylon?  Many moons ago, a new functionality was added to KIS to separate multiple connected child parts from the parent. If it's not "h" it's another key. You can look at the settings file in the KIS directory to see what the hot keys are.  I would suggest building a simple test craft at KSC (maybe a command pod with a bunch of girders attached in different fashions) and fiddling around to find out exactly how it works.

[DDE]

1 hour ago, Tarheel1999 said:

Can't you just hover over the root part and press "h" to split the rover from the pylon?  Many moons ago, a new functionality was added to KIS to separate multiple connected child parts from the parent. If it's not "h" it's another key. You can look at the settings file in the KIS directory to see what the hot keys are.  I would suggest building a simple test craft at KSC (maybe a command pod with a bunch of girders attached in different fashions) and fiddling around to find out exactly how it works.

Tried the manual, no mention of that.

[Sharpy]

13 hours ago, Tarheel1999 said:

Can't you just hover over the root part and press "h" to split the rover from the pylon?

The new root part will be the part by which the rover was attached to the pylon. Which will likely be the rover body, with orientation of "skywards" instead of the probe core or command seat oriented forward. Every time you switch to that rover you'll have to pick "control from here" for the part you wanted to be root; without that the game gets awfully confused which way the wheels should rotate when you press "forward" or "turn" since from that point of view it isn't that there's a front and rear pair of wheels, but all four wheels are located "behind" the root part.

[Sharpy]

Okay, so I wrote a tutorial.

 

 

 

[Tarheel1999]

13 hours ago, DDE said:

Tried the manual, no mention of that.

It's probably not in the manual because it was added by the modder  who is maintaining KIS and not by the original duo who created KIS and the manual. Have you looked in the settings file? Seriously, put a command pod with three girders attached in a series on the launch pad. Then try to use "h" on the pod and then on each of girders to see what happens. Or make a quick save and use "h" on one of your existing vessels.