How to have apart NOT appear in the editor

[steedcrugeon]

After a discussion I had late the other evening I was curious to know if it was possible to have a part which is in-game, could be spawned by a little plugin (I'm thinking mod X adds part Y into the SOI of planets W, V and U in a given planet pack).

This part would act like any other part but it would normally, save for not being buildable/accessible in the VAB/SPH or any other editor.

[TheRagingIrishman]

Simple. If you set the part's research node to anything that isn't an actual node (ex: TechRequired = Unresearchable), it will never be able to be used in VAB/SPH but will function as a normal part in all other ways. Squad uses this exact mechanic for asteroids.

[steedcrugeon]

4 hours ago, TheRagingIrishman said:

Simple. If you set the part's research node to anything that isn't an actual node (ex: TechRequired = Unresearchable), it will never be able to be used in VAB/SPH but will function as a normal part in all other ways. Squad uses this exact mechanic for asteroids.

does this apply for Sandbox mode aswell? come to think of it I have never seen an asteroid in there . so I'm guessing yes. excellent!

[TheRagingIrishman]

24 minutes ago, steedcrugeon said:

does this apply for Sandbox mode aswell? come to think of it I have never seen an asteroid in there . so I'm guessing yes. excellent!

Yes it does. 

[Streetwind]

You sure of that?

It could also be setting category = none. This prevents the part from showing up in the editor, because it is not sorted into any existing editor category. If you want to remove a part from being accessible, you should set both TechRequired and category to a bogus value. On that ensures it's really gone from all game modes.

[Kerbart]

Would the Janitor's Closet mod be of any use for this?

[steedcrugeon]

3 hours ago, Kerbart said:

Would the Janitor's Closet mod be of any use for this?

Oh interesting,  but this is a different rationale behind my question. I don't wish to temporarily exclude a part I have downloaded, I wish for a part I have created to not be readily accessible . 

[monstah]

"Readily" as in, you need to unlock it? Why not use the techtree for that?

[steedcrugeon]

1 hour ago, monstah said:

"Readily" as in, you need to unlock it? Why not use the techtree for that?

no, nothing to do with the tech tree. At no point should the player be able to build this part, simply they would discover it already in orbit of a planet (this part 'injection' would be done via a plugin of some sort).

[monstah]

4 hours ago, steedcrugeon said:

no, nothing to do with the tech tree. At no point should the player be able to build this part, simply they would discover it already in orbit of a planet (this part 'injection' would be done via a plugin of some sort).

Oh, got it.  Like @TheRagingIrishman said, that's what they use for the asteroids, so I guess it'll work for you

[JPLRepo]

Set TechRequired = Unresearchable and category = none in the part config is all you need.