De-symmetrize parts in editor

[fatcargo]

Add ability to convert symmetry part to real standalone parts, as if two were placed individually.

[TwoHedWlf]

I don't know what you mean. You can place parts without symmetry, or you can place them without symmetry, X cycles through the options.

Or are you wanting to be able to, say have 4 parts placed symmetrically around a tank and be able to click on a single one and move it without moving the other 3? Rather than having to go and place each of the 4 individually?

[vexx32]

I think the latter is the request... though I can really only think of a handful of situations where it'd be anywhere near useful off the top of my head.

[AlamoVampire]

the only time i can think such an ability would be viable is in the placement of say batteries or something that would have no atmospheric drag, because honestly, if it takes on a drag force, its gonna do bad things if its not symmetrical :S

[Dunbaratu]

I think the post was asking for the ability to pick up just one part from a group of parts that were placed as part of a symmetrical set, leaving the other parts behind.

So you put down one girder with 6-way symmetry turned on, then want to remove just one of the girders, leaving the other 5 behind, rather than removing all 6 when you pick one up. To active this, you'd have some sort of ability to hit a key or click a context menu that would "remove the symmetry" from a group of symmetrically placed parts. What this would mean is that the game would, instead of saying "this is a single part that was cloned 5 times.", it would now say "there are now 6 individual parts here that have nothing to do with each other. They just happen to be currently placed in a symmetrical pattern purely by 'coincidence'."

[nhnifong]

I would use this very frequently. I'm constantly thinking of my rocket designs in terms of the nearest symmetric design and it would be very handy to have this.

[Bobe]

Or are you wanting to be able to, say have 4 parts placed symmetrically around a tank and be able to click on a single one and move it without moving the other 3? Rather than having to go and place each of the 4 individually?

I would like this very much. It may seem like a small thing, but I find myself more often than not wanting to place a different part on just one side of a quad symmetry arrangement. Being the stubborn perfectionist that I am, I just can't deal with placing the other three parts separately.

[Dunbaratu]

the only time i can think such an ability would be viable is in the placement of say batteries or something that would have no atmospheric drag, because honestly, if it takes on a drag force, its gonna do bad things if its not symmetrical :S

It would be very handy for setting up asparagus staging. Right now if you want, say, a ring of 6 asparagus staged sections, you actually have to make 3 separate pairs of 2 sections each, and manually eyeball it to get the symmetry right between the 3 sets, or else the symmetry is all wrong when placing the yellow fuel hoses and they end up being placed with 6-way symmetry. What this would open up is the chance to place the sections using 6-way symmetry, then break the group up into 6 separate parts for the purpose of placing the hoses individually.

Another thing it would do is allow you to make x-wing symmetry. i.e. you place with 6-way symmetry, then remove a pair of two opposite parts, leaving 4 behind, so the 4 are placed at 'compass points' 60,120, 240, 300 rather than at 0,90,180,270.

But I think the mess that it would create probably outweighs the benefits. Once you "split symmetry" like this you wouldn't be able to re-join it if you change your mind.

[Hotblack Desiato]

I would like to have this feature too:

situation: I have a subassemly-module: docking port, bunch of girders, command module, docking port, and on the side, there are 4 girders +docking ports in 4x and in 2x symmetry aswell for modules to attach.

and I frequently attach 2 different types of ships (landers, probes, as subassemblies) to these side-ports. and I'd like to change the symmetry of that stuff if necessary.

EDIT: another thing I'd like to see: exchange one object with another one. for example: a plane with a lot of stuff on one fuselage. and I'd like to exchange the fuselage with a rocket tank. or at a rocket: I'd like to exchange one tank with another without harming the radial decouplers.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Hotblack Desiato

[fatcargo]

Another thing it would do is allow you to make x-wing symmetry. i.e. you place with 6-way symmetry, then remove a pair of two opposite parts, leaving 4 behind, so the 4 are placed at 'compass points' 60,120, 240, 300 rather than at 0,90,180,270.

But I think the mess that it would create probably outweighs the benefits. Once you "split symmetry" like this you wouldn't be able to re-join it if you change your mind.

This is also my idea behind de-symmetrizing. And also i thought of problematic situation where builder would select a part that has children and then whole hierarchy is copied to "real" parts, so any attempt later on add symmetrical geometry will end up on single selected part.

Also, this could be avoided altogether if parts could have more than just even-spread part symmetry, but also have other modes (like the above "x-wing" style for example). Ability to rotate parts once set on their parent's nodes/surfaces would also greatly help creating perfectly matched part groups, personally it would help my SPH lifter designs.

The "x-wing" alternate symmetry mode could be realised as this : builder selects as usual a symmetry count, target part and parent part. Now, by using a hotkey builder can choose to "squeeze" parts along a single axis perpendicular to symmetry axis, and then as usual use mouse to rotate this axis.

This symmetry mode would for part placement assume not a normal circle, but an ellipse, where target parts would be closely "bunched" together at points of transverse diameter. I just realised this only makes sense for even-numbered symmetry, odd-numbered ones would leave one part "hanging".

More advanced part symmetry already is essential when making any type of lifters since amount of power used is stressing components so much that any disecrepancy creates huge torsion forces (try making a catamaran-style SPH by manually aligning parts without using symmetry, then use RCSBuildAid and it will show you a quite large torsion vector - it is a pitty that it can't analyze a design and point to a part that causes this).

Edited January 13, 2014 by fatcargo
refining

[Kasuha]

I'd really love if it was possible to combine symmeties. I.e. place e.g. in symmetry-2 on symmetry-6 part.

Or have a part placed in symmetry-6 and break it up into three symmetry-2 groups, so they remain placed equally but I can put the part into action groups in couples instead of all six at once.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Kasuha

[fatcargo]

Here is what i mean "x-wing" symmetry mode.

Normal radial

"X-Wing" type

EDIT: Ugh, i just realized i hijacked my own thread with this OT, i guess that's a price to pay when developing ideas...

Edited January 13, 2014 by fatcargo

[asmi]

You can do it already using EditorTools mod. Just set snap angle to whatever you need to depending on what kind of "symmetry" you need - and here you go - your cursor would only snap at correct locations.