[WIP] SurfaceNodes: Make part placement make sense. v0.2

[cantab]

SurfaceNodes: Make part placement make sense.

Download SurfaceNodes v0.2

What does SurfaceNodes do?

SurfaceNodes rectifies this sort of limitation in the stock game:

If you can't see the image, in stock KSP I can attach a pair of 1.25m fuel tanks to a 1.25m RCS tank, but I cannot attach a pair of 1.25m RCS tanks to a 1.25m fuel tank.

More specifically, for any part that in stock:

• Cannot be surface attached (AKA radially attached) to another part.
  
• Can have other parts surface attached to it.
  
• Will look reasonably sensible if surface attached to another part.
  

SurfaceNodes will provide a suitable attachment point and enable surface attachment.

SurfaceNodes will not change the behaviour of parts that can already be surface attached, even if the stock behaviour is a bit odd (for example the Launch Escape System). Nor will SurfaceNodes do anything to parts that currently cannot have other parts stuck onto them, which includes most engines.

Can I see some example ships that use it?

A small lander using surface-attached Oscar-B tanks.

What parts are done?

As of v0.2:

• 1.25 m and 2.5 m RCS tanks
  
• Oscar-B tank
  
• All reaction wheels/SAS modules
  
• Octagonal Strut
  
• All stack batteries
  

How do I install it?

Download the zip file (see above) and unzip it into your GameData folder.

What parts will be done? What parts won't?

See the comments in SurfaceNodes.cfg in the download.

I am still unsure on how to treat the manned command pods, though I do intend on ultimately including them. Since they are not rotationally symmetric, a single surface attachment node will restrict the designs possible.

Doesn't Editor Extensions let me enable surface attachment?

Yes and no. Editor Extensions enables surface attachment, but it doesn't configure the attachment points properly so you get significant part clipping, like this.

Will craft made using SurfaceNodes work in stock?

I don't know. Why not try it?

What's the license?

SurfaceNodes is copyright 2014 Thomas Swift. SurfaceNodes is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

SurfaceNodes includes Module Manager, copyright 2013-2014 Ialdabaoth and sarbian. ModuleManager is licensed under "a CC share-alike license".

Can I contribute?

Sure! If you want to develop part patches, post the parts you're going to work on here so others don't duplicate the effort. You can also help by testing, or by creating craft that showcase the mod.

Edited April 30, 2014 by cantab
v0.2 release

[Runescope]

In editor extensions (http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/editor-extensions/ ) you can toggle the ability to surface attach any piece, amongst a host of other options. This might be easier to use.

Edit: Nevermind

[cantab]

Yeah. There may be some option or other I'm missing, but it didn't give the desired behaviour for me.

[cantab]

v0.2 release out, adds more parts.

[Red Iron Crown]

I'm interested in this, being able to radially attach Oscar-Bs in particular is something I've wished for more than once. May I suggest/request that the cylindrical xenon tanks get the same treatment?

[BudgetHedgehog]

Any update news?

[Justin Kerbice]

I have a hard time finding this mod (I remember just the feature, and unable to find it with "search" engine ), but as Runescope wrote, EE have a similar feature which apply to ALL parts (I just discover command pods/probes are not surface attachable !) despite its issue, maybe EE author may add some translation feature to its attachment (move part n steps left/right up/down forward/backward, with a step yet to define = 1 cm, 10 cm, 50 cm, 1m, ... ?)

[Red Iron Crown]

EE's feature doesn't quite do the same thing, it permits radial attachment but doesn't add appropriate attachment nodes; instead it uses the existing axial nodes. So if you mount an Oscar-B radially the opposite node faces outward rather than downward, not very useful for mounting engines. This mod adds the "missing" radial nodes so the attached part stays parallel to the stack to which it is attaching.