Giving the root part (the command capsule) symmetry while building.

[PTNLemay]

In one of his videos covering the 0.24 update, Scott Manley built a rocket with dual command capsules in order to perform the Kerbonaut rescue mission. I've been studying the video and I'm quite at a loss as to how he managed to build that thing.

http://i.imgur.com/cxdec3A.png

http://i.imgur.com/4y3qjsj.png

http://i.imgur.com/OYVBtG2.png

You can build the whole thing, up till the point where you need to attach the two command pods. Even if I add a 2nd pod, or throw away the first one and add a new one, the thing I've build will demand that I attach the root at the bottom. The top doesn't have any attachement points. So... how did he build it?

This is the video in question, http://youtu.be/SRUEOdliFns?t=8m

Edited July 27, 2014 by PTNLemay

[BudgetHedgehog]

Start with the top fuel tank as the root part and build out from there.

[PTNLemay]

Huh... I didn't realize that fuel tanks could be root parts.

Well... thanks! That was easy.

[Master Tao]

And thanks to Kasuha, if you're decoupling them, remember to do it by hand, not staging.

[BudgetHedgehog]

Huh... I didn't realize that fuel tanks could be root parts.

For future reference, anything that A, allows surface attachment to it and B, has at least 1 stack attach node will be made rootable by default. No coding or cfg definitions needed, it's just the way it is. Experiment a little, you'll be surprised what can be a root part - it comes in handy when trying to build subassemblies

[PTNLemay]

This also totally explains the mind-numbing conundrum I was having in this other thread: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/85849-Sticking-a-fuselage-to-a-radial-attachment-point-from-the-side

All I had to do was make that big fuel tank in the middle the root, and build down from it... Again, thanks a lot for clearing this up.