How do i use several Custom Action Groups At a different times?

[KoalaCtrl]

I'm brand new to KSP, and I am trying to figure out how to successfully make fun interesting ships,  and trying to use the thuds liquid fuel engines separately, and use my mammoth engine separately. so they don't activate at the same time. how do you use multiple custom action groups at different times?

 

[king of nowhere]

9 hours ago, KoalaCtrl said:

I'm brand new to KSP, and I am trying to figure out how to successfully make fun interesting ships,  and trying to use the thuds liquid fuel engines separately, and use my mammoth engine separately. so they don't activate at the same time. how do you use multiple custom action groups at different times?

 

what do you mean, how do you use them? you use different numbers for your different engines, and you press the relevant keys at different times depending on what you want to use. is there some specific problem with it?

[jimmymcgoochie]

1. Do you have a level 3 VAB? If not, you'll only have limited action groups available.
2. In the VAB editor there are four blue buttons at the top- click the second one which will bring up the action groups list on the left, click Custom1-10, select the part(s) you want to add an action group to and add the relevant actions e.g. toggle engine. You can then activate these in flight with the keys 1234567890 at the top of the keyboard.
3. Why are you putting Thuds and Mammoths on the same stage anyway? I'm struggling to see any circumstances where the Mammoth alone wouldn't provide the thrust and/or gimbal control that adding Thuds would provide, plus the Thud is less efficient and just adds more dead weight.