TOPping Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 (edited) I was mucking around and am trying to make a a large, generic Science-Fiction ship in the SpacePlane hanger. For the central structure of the ship I had planned on using a Tri-Coupler like this;http://imgur.com/a/WMIU5to make up the spine of the ship. However as you can see the Tri-Coupler at the back of the ship only attaches itself to 1 of the 3 pieces that make up the spine and the other 2 are left flapping about.This was my first attempt: http://i.imgur.com/2Egq2.jpg Amazingly that 'thing' can actually produce enough thrust to get airborne and only crashes due to incorrect weight distribution. Unfortunately about 60% of the time it blows to pieces on the runway due to the Tri-Couplers behaving in the way I described above which then results in this: http://i.imgur.com/U8niJ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/i0jPy.jpgWhich then leads to this: http://i.imgur.com/B9MIZ.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/Zy1RV.jpgI assume this is because the Tri-Couplers were never programmed to work this way? Or is it a bug or something wrong on my end? If they are meant to work like this how do I do it because I really don't want to have a ship littered with Strut Connectors Edited August 22, 2012 by TOPping Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoup Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 You're correct in thinking that tri-couplers, as well as other parts, were not designed to really have multiple connections in the way you're describing them. You might want to try having the fuel tanks/fuselages meet in the middle instead of at the ends and then try to tie them together with struts, but apart from that there's not much you can do. I have the same problem when designing planes, I'm unable to place fuel tanks in sequence and attached to a wing at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awaras Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 (edited) Yeah, as things stand now, all parts can only have one 'parent' part - only one part they are connected to.This is limiting the design freedom of the players, but I am sure there is a good technical reason for this.Still, I hope they will be able to implement the possibility of multiple 'parent' connections.In your case, you can probably 'hack a solution using fuel lines and struts to secure the connections. Something like this:Note that you need to COMPLETELY bypass the rear tricoupler - you need to place some parts that do NOT have fuel crossfeed in front of it OR behind it (i used SAS modules in front) and then connect the fuel lines directly to the engine (alternatively, you can place a small fuel tank instead of the engine, connect the fuel lines to that fuel tank and then feed everything from that fuel tank... This is because the tricoupler is intended to transfer fuel from the single connection to the three connections. If you let fuel flow through it you will get uneven fuel distribution which will unbalance your craft.Also, I tried to replicate your design, but the ship still isn't very stable... It seems that the spaceplane fuselages are pushing against each other which makes the ship I posted fall apart at the slightest provocation... MOAR STRUTS! Edited August 22, 2012 by Awaras Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOPping Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 You're correct in thinking that tri-couplers, as well as other parts, were not designed to really have multiple connections in the way you're describing them. Yeah, as things stand now, all parts can only have one 'parent' part - only one part they are connected to. So many crushed dreams... In your case, you can probably 'hack a solution using fuel lines and struts to secure the connections. Something like this: I will try that out on my next build but so far this ship is working okay:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jFbb_yt_0c(Well, not really but atleast it makes it off the runway) I felt it flew pretty good for a ship with no fins, flaps or wings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awaras Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Another attempt, I used radial decouplers to bypass the tricoupler in this one because the small LFE fuel tanks do not leave enough clearance to place fuel lines... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt'n Skunky Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Yeah, as things stand now, all parts can only have one 'parent' part - only one part they are connected to.This is limiting the design freedom of the players, but I am sure there is a good technical reason for this.You are correct. This is a limitation of the Unity engine in that it only supports one parent to many children. There's nothing you can do short of using struts and fuel lines. But you need to be careful with the fuel lines to not create a circular path for fuel to flow or really weird stuff happens.Cheers!Capt'n SkunkyKSP Community Manager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndlessWaves Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I'd have thought maximum rigidity would be gained by splitting the lower two stacks in half and mounting one half to each tricoupler, you can then join them together in the middle using just two struts if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerbalConfetti Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 That is a beautiful monstrosity. I'm also glad I'm not the only one trying to use tri-couplers this way. What's the likelyhood of a unity update to remedy this? I've ran into a few situations where multiple connections would be beneficial, even just for craft strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carthaginian Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Would a possible solution be (either officially of fan-made) a second tri-coupler style part that is set with the connection points reversed?Instead of a 'Tri-coupler,' call it a 'Tri-reducer.' Also, has anyone thought about making Quad-couplers, Sextuple-couplers and Octo-couplers?And better still, bases for the double diameter fuel tanks allowing us to stack multiple smaller engines under them Soviet-style (like the 30 main engines of the N1)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash73 Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 There's a DerpCo reverse tricoupler which holds the tanks together structurally iirc, but it only takes fuel from one tank. Avoids the need for struts etc though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashrutoraman Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 (edited) where can i find DerpCo reverse tricoupler? couldnt find on search... and is there any fix for this issue on in next versions? or future? Edited September 12, 2012 by ashrutoraman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash73 Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 The search engine on here is pretty poor for finding mods, here you go...Delta Engineering & Rocket Production Co. - here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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