How to place something in a Mk3 cargo bay

[Interstellar Yeet]

This might be the dumbest question ever but I seriously can not place the science junior in a Mk3 cargo bay. Reaction wheels and a lot of other stuff is fine for me to attach in there, but the science junior never ever sticks. I have to just glitch it inside of the wall and try to make it looks as nice as I can, but it's really bothering me. I managed to do it once on accident, and never since. I am rotating it everywhere and turning on and off autosnap, and I've just tried for so long now and it's not working! It won't snap. And since we're talking about the cargo bays, how do you guys go on about putting labs and bases and stuff in the cargo bay? I've seen tons of videos where people open them up and fly out their base, or roll it out the back with a ramp. But I have yet to figure out how to actually place stuff in there. I've tried to use docking ports to attach stuff, but they don't dock, it just sorta gets stuck and I'm unable to take my cargo out. And also, how can I place a lab with wheels on it in there, and drive it out? Whenever I put wheels on something the wheels just clip outside of the cargo bay and are working but they just spin in the air. 

[4x4cheesecake]

Well, in general you have two options to put stuff into a cargo bay:

1) Build it inside the cargo bay

2) Build it separately and merge both crafts together

Before I'm going into more details: The whole trick might be to hold down the alt key to enforce node snapping...this helps a lot when you try to build stuff close to other parts

Let's take a look at the build options:

In general, a docking port is always a good option inside a cargo bay, in this case, let's pick the MK3 cargo bay and a Docking Port Sr:

Now you can do two different things: Build the cargo inside the cargo bay or build it separately.
Let's try to build something within the cargo bay, so we add another docking port (be sure the ports are facing each other with the correct side) and put a few science stuff on top of it. As soon as we try to add the SC-9001 Science Jr, the fun begins because it doesn't want to stick (like you said):

By enforcing the node snapping, even the SC-9001 Science Jr will stick to other parts within the cargo bay

Continue this until the payload is finished.

Well, sometimes a payload needs to be a bit more complicated, in this case I would suggest to build it separately and merge the two crafts together.

So, let's start with a new craft and build the cargo of your dreams, but still keep in mind that it needs to fit inside thr cargo bay...you can do this during construction by adding a cargo bay on top and move it via the 'move' tool:

Don't forget to add docking ports so you can put it into the cargobay of your craft. There is one detail you should looking for: Add one more docking port on top of the craft and re-root the whole craft to it. It is not necessary but I would recommend this method:

Now, you can enable the advanced mode, switch to the 'sub-assembly' section, pick up everything except the root part and drop everything in the 'SUBASSEMBLY DROP ZONE' in the lower left corner:

This will bring up a dialog to save the craft as a sub-assembly. Type in a name/describtion and hit 'save'.

Now, you can open or build a craft which got a cargo bay and open the sub-assembly area of the editor again. Every subassembly is available from this window and as soon as you click on one of them, the whole craft becomes available to place inside your new craft:

The sub-assembly will always have just a single node available and it is always the one which was connected to the root part. Well, if you want to use a different node, you can still re-root the 'ghost' craft to another part, in the same way you re-root regular crafts
You may need to enforce the node snappping again to place the sub-assembly:

There is another way to merge crafts via the 'load craft' window, but using a sub-assembly is a bit more handy to me
If you want to try it anyway, you need the carrier and cargo saved as a regular craft file. Load the carrier craft into the editor first, then try to open the cargo but instead of using the 'load' button, hit on 'merge' instead:

The result is basically the same: The second craft will become available as a ghost part. The only difference is: You don't have to add an additional docking port when you save the cargo and the merged craft will use the node on the root part to connect.

 

5 hours ago, Interstellar Yeet said:

And also, how can I place a lab with wheels on it in there, and drive it out? Whenever I put wheels on something the wheels just clip outside of the cargo bay and are working but they just spin in the air. 

I'm afraid someone else has to continue for this part because I hate driving stuff out of the cargo bay since it never works properly for me

Edited November 11, 2018 by 4x4cheesecake

[bewing]

5 hours ago, Interstellar Yeet said:

And also, how can I place a lab with wheels on it in there, and drive it out? Whenever I put wheels on something the wheels just clip outside of the cargo bay and are working but they just spin in the air. 

You kinda need to understand a couple things. First, the driveable "deck" of the cargo bay is pretty narrow. Second, your rover needs to be suspended above the deck while in flight. If your wheels clip through the cargo bay or the deck while in flight then the whole thing won't work. As soon as you detach the rover, both craft will probably explode. To get a fair sized rover to fit properly in a cargo bay so that you can drive it out -- some part clipping (especially the wheels) is pretty much mandatory.

And probably the best way to learn is just to go to the KerbalX website, and download some rovers and trucks and stuff that other people have already designed to fit in cargo bays.

 

[Interstellar Yeet]

9 hours ago, 4x4cheesecake said:

Well, in general you have two options to put stuff into a cargo bay:

1) Build it inside the cargo bay

2) Build it separately and merge both crafts together

Before I'm going into more details: The whole trick might be to hold down the alt key to enforce node snapping...this helps a lot when you try to build stuff close to other parts

Let's take a look at the build options:

In general, a docking port is always a good option inside a cargo bay, in this case, let's pick the MK3 cargo bay and a Docking Port Sr:

Now you can do two different things: Build the cargo inside the cargo bay or build it separately.
Let's try to build something within the cargo bay, so we add another docking port (be sure the ports are facing each other with the correct side) and put a few science stuff on top of it. As soon as we try to add the SC-9001 Science Jr, the fun begins because it doesn't want to stick (like you said):

By enforcing the node snapping, even the SC-9001 Science Jr will stick to other parts within the cargo bay

Continue this until the payload is finished.

Well, sometimes a payload needs to be a bit more complicated, in this case I would suggest to build it separately and merge the two crafts together.

So, let's start with a new craft and build the cargo of your dreams, but still keep in mind that it needs to fit inside thr cargo bay...you can do this during construction by adding a cargo bay on top and move it via the 'move' tool:

Don't forget to add docking ports so you can put it into the cargobay of your craft. There is one detail you should looking for: Add one more docking port on top of the craft and re-root the whole craft to it. It is not necessary but I would recommend this method:

Now, you can enable the advanced mode, switch to the 'sub-assembly' section, pick up everything except the root part and drop everything in the 'SUBASSEMBLY DROP ZONE' in the lower left corner:

This will bring up a dialog to save the craft as a sub-assembly. Type in a name/describtion and hit 'save'.

Now, you can open or build a craft which got a cargo bay and open the sub-assembly area of the editor again. Every subassembly is available from this window and as soon as you click on one of them, the whole craft becomes available to place inside your new craft:

The sub-assembly will always have just a single node available and it is always the one which was connected to the root part. Well, if you want to use a different node, you can still re-root the 'ghost' craft to another part, in the same way you re-root regular crafts
You may need to enforce the node snappping again to place the sub-assembly:

There is another way to merge crafts via the 'load craft' window, but using a sub-assembly is a bit more handy to me
If you want to try it anyway, you need the carrier and cargo saved as a regular craft file. Load the carrier craft into the editor first, then try to open the cargo but instead of using the 'load' button, hit on 'merge' instead:

The result is basically the same: The second craft will become available as a ghost part. The only difference is: You don't have to add an additional docking port when you save the cargo and the merged craft will use the node on the root part to connect.

 

I'm afraid someone else has to continue for this part because I hate driving stuff out of the cargo bay since it never works properly for me

Amazing! That's what I've tried before, the part where you use a sub assembly, but I didn't manage to place it. So you re root everything to the docking port, then make a sub assembly with it, then you use the snap point for the docking port to place the payload to the docking port? And thanks so much for a good answer, I have been so annoyed with these cargo bays haha, but no more!

[4x4cheesecake]

51 minutes ago, Interstellar Yeet said:

That's what I've tried before, the part where you use a sub assembly, but I didn't manage to place it. So you re root everything to the docking port, then make a sub assembly with it, then you use the snap point for the docking port to place the payload to the docking port?

Correct. Sub-assemblies don't allow any root parts so by adding an additional docking port (or any other part) and re-root the whole craft to it, allows you to save the whole craft as a sub-assembly.

53 minutes ago, Interstellar Yeet said:

I have been so annoyed with these cargo bays haha, but no more!

Glad to hear