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Sub-Assemblies & Root Part Connection Nodes


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Howdy,

The addition of the sub assemblies in the stock functionality is indeed a welcomed feature. But I was curious about whether it's currently working as intended.

Prior to the stock functionality, I was using the sub-assembly mod. And similarly to the stock subassembly, you could only save a selection of parts which the root part of the craft, or of the ghosted selection had a free connection node.

I made a montage of screenshots to showcase what I'm referring too. Made 2 variations of a tiny probe. The first example (top left) the root part has a parachute on top and a fuel tank at the bottom. The center top screenshot shows you can't save it, then the top right screenshot shows that there are infact nodes to connect the vessel 'as a whole'.

The I just show that if you remove the parachute (bottom right), you can save it (bottom center).

This rather limits the way you can use subassemblies. I have a work around because I use the rootpart selector, so I can reassign the engine as the root part and then allows me to save it as a sub assembly.

Is this working as intended, or should we be allowed to save a vessel as a whole even if the root part has no more stack nodes left?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/01bbuj4m0qwr6ro/Sub_Assembly_Root_Part_Only.jpg

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You cannot save anything as a subassembly that has the root part of the craft in it. The root part is the part that you started to build the craft with, usually the command pod.

Respectfully, this is incorrect, you can save anything, including the entire craft, if you like, but the root part must have a free connection node

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You cannot save anything as a subassembly that has the root part of the craft in it. The root part is the part that you started to build the craft with, usually the command pod.

Yes you can. Look at my screenshots, the root part is the probe center. And it can be saved. It just can't be saved if it has no attachments left. I'm wondering if this is stock functionality or not. When using the root selector mod you can pretty much save any premade crafts, you just select the part you want it to be connectable from. That vastly improves the usefulness of the subassembly. Without it all your constructions need to have the root part as the 'base'.

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This is especially useful when you like to build probes that you would want "pre-packaged" in their shrouds. Simply reassign the root part to the fairings base.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8x8ee35elylrmef/Premade-Probe.png

The only way I see how to pull that off in the current implementation would be that you select a random root part, then build that thing on top of it, then disconnect the fairings base from it and save that. Just feels a little intuitive in a way, since you'd be building your probe from the engines up.

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I think the best and most logical solution to this is to have the root-selector plugin be integrated into KSP proper. Let it have some limitations perhaps, but part trees can already be jumbled in any given direction by the docking system - having it available in the VAB would be a great help.

And of course the bug I mentioned in the subassembly manager thread should be fixed. Root parts at the moment do not get checked for their surface-attachment node, so a craft built around a fuselage or a fuel tank (i.e. a custom booster or spaceplane) will not be saveable as a a subassembly if both of its stack nodes are occupied, despite the surface attach node being free - something that works easily with identical constructions detached from a surface.

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