Autostrut default?

[TMS]

Is there a way of changing the autostrut default to always be "heaviest part"?

[swjr-swis]

1) You don't want this. No, really. Even for huge heavy vessels (talking hundreds to thousands of tons here, I do not kid around), you need only a relatively small number of well-chosen autostruts to immensely rigidify the craft. But just slightly beyond the optimum, and I mean sometimes literally just one more autostrut, and the whole thing will explodify right at loading.

2) In stock, no.

3) If you accept mods: with the Module Manager mod, you can write a quick tiny cfg that sets the line 'autostruts = Heaviest' for every single part in your install.

[TMS]

Hmmm... I installed the editor extensions mod and the ability to apply autostruts to every part is a feature.

Not had any exploding yet...

yet.

[ForScience6686]

It's not how many use, but how they are placed.  You shouldn't have to place so many struts that's it's a workout to hit the button a few more times.

[Draalo]

I add my question here instead of posting a new thread:

Is it possible to change all engines and boosters to "autostrut root part" and all probecores/capsules to "autostrut heaviest part"?

That would cover 99% of the vessels i ve build so far.

(Maybe editing the parts definition with a text editor? Totall N00b here...)

[AeroGav]

Actually I find I'm ok with autostrutting almost every part to the root.     The thing to avoid seems to be conflicts - using a mixture of grandparent part, root, and heaviest part in a chain of parts, so that different objects within the chain of parts are trying to sync their movement to different items that may be moving in different directions.   This can lead to a feedback loop and self disassembly of the ship.

I also worry about autostrut to heaviest part,  since this is subject to change as fuel burns off/you stage/unload cargo

[JonathanPerregaux]

I use autostrut sparingly. If I had a nickel for every time an over-strutted ship twisted itself to bits because the weight shifted...

Larger rocket monstrosities (which are my specialty, like Sith Lords) require at least some amount of strutting, but I do so with a careful hand. Two things I've learned to bank on in every design: Autostrutting my center engine to the root part avoids a lot of wiggle-wiggly on taller stacks without RUD issues. Also, radially-attached SRBs usually autostrut well to the heaviest part. Everything else is case-by-case. I'll even bust out a manual strut part if I have a kooky design that defies autostrutting.

I do find it helpful that I can autostrut on the fly as well. Comes in handy when I've missed something, or I see something new begin to bend or wiggle, and I can just strut it in-flight.

Edited May 8, 2017 by JonathanPerregaux