Feeing kerbals trapped in modules?

[Agent86]

While I was building my Minmus base, it included a stacked hitchhiker module, to which I attached a ladder for ease of access. After landing and docking the module, I found that I could move newly arrived kerbals to the module and board it, but once boarded, they could not exit due to the ladder being attached near to the hatch.

I tried percussively persuading the ladder to detach, via repeated deliberate impacts with the surface, but it won't comply. Is there any way I can get my kerbals out of their tomb without having to bring the crew module back to kerbal and recovering the craft? I'd happily dispose of the faulty cans if I could at least save the dudes inside.

[blizzy78]

Does it feature a docking port? If so, you can try to dock with it, then use the Crew Manifest mod to do IVA crew transfer (as opposed to exiting the hatch, then entering another hatch.) Other than that, I think they're doomed :-(

[Amoun]

Yeaaah...I would also say use a docking port if you have one.

That must be frustrating as hell though.

If neither one of those (all the ideas) works, then I am afraid you might have to bring the pod back to Kerbin.

[Vanamonde]

This is why it's important to test things as you build them, step by step. It never ceases to amaze me how many people fly all the way to Mun or even a planet before realizing that their landing legs don't extend past their engines. Though it's not as if I've never made this kind of mistake. Doors seem especially picky, and things that don't appear to be anywhere near them can still block access.

[WillHop]

Possibly you could use Whack-A-Kerbal to try and hit the ladder off? Quicksave first obviously but it might just save them. Alt F12 brings up the debug menu and then click Whack-A-Kerbal just in case you didn't know.

[sal_vager]

It might be possible to edit out the ladder in the persistent.sfs, I strongly recommend you make a backup of the file first though.

As the ladder does not attach to nodes it should be enough to just delete it as its parent part won't reference it.

[blizzy78]

Only deleting the ladder might confuse part indexes.

[Geschosskopf]

Possibly you could use Whack-A-Kerbal to try and hit the ladder off? Quicksave first obviously but it might just save them. Alt F12 brings up the debug menu and then click Whack-A-Kerbal just in case you didn't know.

Don't laugh. This is actually a very good idea. And if it doesn't work, you can vent your frustration by obliterating the whole thing, say it was destroyed by an alien invasion, and start over

[TheDarkStar]

If you have two opposite-facing seperatrons and put them on either side of the ladder, you might be able to make it explode from overheating. Be sure to quicksave before this in case the Hitchhiker explodes because you moved the seperatrons too far forward.