KSP Vehicle Assembly

[TrevorPhillips]

I realize this game is in alpha, but the vehicle assembly portion of KSP is seriously one of the most frustrating bits of game design I've experienced in a long, long time.

Any time your construction gets even remotely large and complex, it becomes progressively more and more impossible to link new parts. If the part you're trying to link to is surrounded by other parts, from what I can tell, you're largely out of luck.

[vexx32]

Moved to Development Discussion.

A bit of camera trickery with fiddling with the angles and zooming in and out can usually get you into any place you need to go, no matter how small. I know people use camera trickery to get struts to go inside parts...

That said, it can be a bit unwieldy at times... But I feel that that's pretty true to life for how real rockets' build process kind of goes, though naturally they're planned out to the last detail so there's minimal fiddling.

[Tw1]

You might be having a problem with parts clipping- by default, parts don't like to overlap. Sometimes the game may consider them overlapping even if they don't look it. Sometimes sticking a section on elsewhere first can convince a part to go on properly when you try to put it where you want it, a second time.

Alternatively, have you tried using the Alt + F12 cheats/debug thing to let parts overlap? Though, without clear access to an attachment node, getting a part to stick there is still really tricky.

Sometimes, you just have to plan a craft carefully, and hope for the best.

Some tips you many find useful:

The lack of camera angles can sometimes be overcome by flipping the whole craft over.

Build from the center out, if possible.

Find alternative construction methods- perhaps a segment could be constructed on the end of a long set of truss pieces, to keep it clear of other parts. Then the trusses could be removed, and the segment placed where it needs to go.

[spinomonkey]

I kinda have to agree with the poster though, I mean building a new building just for rover construction might be a bit much. BUT, maybe a few refined tools for just building rovers could come in handy. Sorta like how the space plane hanger tweaks the tools to be better for space plane construction. Maybe a smaller "rover facility" could be added as a room inside the rocket construction facility to keep it separated *shrugs*

[pizzaoverhead]

Construction is awkward in this game. For one thing, many flat-sided parts have cylindrical attachment colliders. Changing the angle of the root part completely breaks symmetrical attachment. The Editor Tools mod makes things a bit easier however.

[Red Iron Crown]

I wish the VAB camera could be put in a free range of motion mode, rather than always having to be centered on the main axis of the ship. Would help greatly with strutting complex ships.

[Doc.Solveberg]

Since I first played KSP I've always disliked the construction part because of said reasons. It's really rage inducing sometimes, e.g.: I loaded my subassembly and wanted to attach it vertically, but no, not working. It only attaches horizontally.

I really wish the devs would focus more on finishing the basic stuff like the construction instead of just adding and adding new features.

[Red Iron Crown]

The Editor Tools mod makes things a bit easier however.

I can't recommend this mod enough. The vertical snap is a gift from heaven when arranging asparagus staging, and the additional snap-to and symmetry modes are excellent. Highly recommended.