step by step guide on how to change the root part of a ship with craft file editing

[seagull42]

So first off, I am not an expert on how KSP works and I have no programming skills. All of the instructions below are a result of trying to see what works and what doesn't.

I've read somewhere that the order in which the parts are listed determines which part is the root but that's not the case. For each part it is determined what is attached to it, which looks likte this:

"link = part x"

The root part is the only part which is not attached to anything because everything is attached to the root part.

What you have to do:

Here the tiny fuel tank is the root part and the strutcube is attached to it.

To make the strutcube the root part you just have to edit the file so the fuel tank is attached to the strutcube

(I saved it as a subassembly)

This was just a very simple example, you can also do it with more complex things such as rovers:

I've built a rover with a modular girder segment (trusspiece1x...) as the root part and wanted to stick it on top of a lander (It's VTOL capable so it can decouple and fly away from it).

In order to do that I had to make the decoupler the new root part.

The decoupler was attached to a cubic octagonal strut (strutcube...) which was attached to the girder segment.

I found the root part because I knew what was attached to it, if you don't know what is attached to your rootpart you can't locate it (except there are no other similar parts on the ship)

editing the .CRAFT file...

now the trusspiece is attached to the strutcube and not the other way round

editing the .CRAFT file...

now the strutcube is attached to the decoupler and not the other way round. The decoupler now is the new root part

I hope I could help you! Have fun

PS: A mod that does that would be great, but sadly I don't know how to create mods. If you know how to do it it would be great if you could do it!!!

PPS: Sorry for any English mistakes, it's not my first language.

Edited October 15, 2013 by seagull42

[HeadHunter67]

Thanks for taking the time to make this guide!

There is a plugin called SelectRoot that does this, for those who don't feel comfortable editing a .cfg file.