Fixing wobble with procedurally generated struts

[Paul Kingtiger]

When building rockets I add struts between each part in the stack. This is a nice way of removing rocket wobble.

Would it be possible to procedurally generate invisible struts between each part in the vertical stack to remove wobble but still have craft that can fall apart if badly designed?

[vexx32]

Possible? Yes. Good idea? Probably not. It'd just exacerbate the lag problem that a lot of users are having at this point in time.

[miracmert]

Possible? Yes. Good idea? Probably not. It'd just exacerbate the lag problem that a lot of users are having at this point in time.

Why would it create lag? It's the same thing as putting on struts, that way nobody would need struts.

[leax256]

Why would it create lag? It's the same thing as putting on struts, that way nobody would need struts.

because it only solves inline wobble(if even) and still leaves radial wobble to strut, increasing part count.

[NoMrBond]

If the single parent/child limitation of current vessel construction could be fixed (allowing multiple connections per part), then you could give parts multiple attach points instead, as well as opening up a lot of possibilities for ship construction.

[Eric S]

Why would it create lag? It's the same thing as putting on struts, that way nobody would need struts.

Because it would always place struts, even if they're not needed. Knowing how the craft is used (and is failing) lets me know what force I need to deal with, which lets me know where to place the struts, rather than just strutting everything.

[miracmert]

because it only solves inline wobble(if even) and still leaves radial wobble to strut, increasing part count.

Because it would always place struts, even if they're not needed. Knowing how the craft is used (and is failing) lets me know what force I need to deal with, which lets me know where to place the struts, rather than just strutting everything.

I think you both are right. But then the solution for wobbling could be as simple as:

If the single parent/child limitation of current vessel construction could be fixed (allowing multiple connections per part), then you could give parts multiple attach points instead, as well as opening up a lot of possibilities for ship construction.

We need tight connections between main part bodies..

[NoMrBond]

I think you both are right. But then the solution for wobbling could be as simple as:

We need tight connections between main part bodies..

If you go into the part.cfg files and boost the connection strengths to insane levels, the 'point' connections still wobble, the part chains still flex, twist and contort, the connections don't break but because they're zero wide, it's like shaking a chain of paperclips.

If the game supported multiple connections between parts, you could have, well, multiple connections between parts instead of one centered 'point' connection. Struts allow this in a limited way, but because the physics part of the engine is currently highly limiting, you don't want to have that extra physics overhead per part just to make the connections solid

If parts connected at multiple points you can put the strength there, or spread the connection strength over the length/width/surface of the contact between parts, things would flex less because the connections would have dimensionality (length or even area vs point).