Replacing Already-Launched Craft with Persistence Editing

[Commander Zoom]

I have a few probes (so no crew, which I hope makes things simpler) that I'd like to replace with the updated model - a few more parts, etc. I would prefer to keep not only the same orbits, but the same launch dates/mission times, etc (so HyperEdit, while an option, is not the preferred one) - just a swap of the new for the old. What do I need to paste in, and what should I leave as-is?

(I've done a little of this before, so you don't have to start from zero; I just need a little help dotting my Ts.)

Edited July 29, 2013 by Commander Zoom

[stupid_chris]

If you go in the quicksave file, you should find all the orbit parameters for your old craft at the beginning. Copy those and paste them in a txt file or keep them somewhere. You can completely delete that craft now. Then just go in your game, put your new craft (without launcher, just what you want in space) on the launchpad, quicksave, then go back in the quicksave file. From there, change the flight status from "LANDED" to "ORBITING", change the landed line to False, empty the landedAt line and replace all the orbital parameters with those of the old craft that you saved somewhere. Go back in the game, quickload, and you should load in space where your old craft was

[Commander Zoom]

Got that, thanks. And the MET, etc?

[Commander Zoom]

A bump to clarify my intent, and request further information: I don't just want the probes to be in the same orbit, I want them (as far as the game is concerned) to have been in that orbit for the last ___ days.

What lines of data from the original craft do I need to grab and paste into the new entry to accomplish this?

Is there a particular reason I should be editing the quicksave rather than the current persistence file?

[stupid_chris]

MET is Mission Elapse Time, so yeah, just drop them there with the same MET as the previous craft. And using the quicksave is just a safemode: If you screw something up, your persistance isn't done for. It also allows for quicker fixing, if you forgot a parameter or pasted one wrong, you can just open the quicksave again, edit the file and then quickload again.

[Commander Zoom]

Followed the advice, though I ended up going at part of it almost backwards - copying the parts block from the probe sitting on the pad over the existing probe, then deleting the scrap from the end of the quicksave - and it seems to have worked. Thanks.