looking for ways to add dockingports to debris

[passinglurker]

Ok so I got a sweet tooth for salvaging and repurposing debris its something I want to do but short of going down a checklist and making sure to add a docking port for future repurposing and upgrades to every stage that may wind up in orbit there doesn't seem to be a way to play the game like this(not to mention docking ports inconvenient placement in the tech tree means I have plenty of portless debris by the time I unlock it). The problem is I can't find a good way to add docking ports(or seemingly any part) after launch here's what I've tried so far...

Stock grappler klaw: unlike with asteroids there is no target center of mass option for debris so any attachment made with these is going to be wildly off center. It simply isn't practical for making ships maybe fixed space stations but there isn't really a use for those.

KAS: turns out there is no form of angle snap or stack attachment option I can find so it suffers from all the same problems that the klaw does just the act of attaching itself is less hellish(if a klaw fails to attach you then have an uncontrolled and spinning piece of debris)

Extra planetary launchpads: If I wanted to just grind the whole thing into metal shavings and re cast the vehicle from scratch then sure but I wanted to macgyver and make due with what I have in orbit so EPL is actually overkill for my needs(I don't need the ability to turn dirt into any space ship I want) and it's getting progressively more and more complex to use.

Is there a mod or trick I've missed that would help me fulfill my lofty and narrow ambitions as an orbital garbage man?

[Mitchz95]

Try downloading KAS and adding the following to addModule.cfg:

///////// dockingPort3 ///////

GRAB

{

stockPartName = dockingPort3

evaPartPos = (0.0, 0.09, -0.23)

evaPartDir = (0,0,-1)

storable = true

storedSize = 20

attachOnPart = True

attachOnEva = True

attachOnStatic = False

attachSendMsgOnly = False

}

That will allow you to attach Clamp-o-tron Jr. docking ports to whatever you want, allowing you to dock with them.

[passinglurker]

Try downloading KAS and adding the following to addModule.cfg:

///////// dockingPort3 ///////

GRAB

{

stockPartName = dockingPort3

evaPartPos = (0.0, 0.09, -0.23)

evaPartDir = (0,0,-1)

storable = true

storedSize = 20

attachOnPart = True

attachOnEva = True

attachOnStatic = False

attachSendMsgOnly = False

}

That will allow you to attach Clamp-o-tron Jr. docking ports to whatever you want, allowing you to dock with them.

Yes I tried this and as I said I can't attach parts on straight with KAS which makes it useless for making ships that are meant to go places because this would bring the center of mass and center of thrust out of alignment

[Mitchz95]

Well, if you're actually trying to string pieces of debris together to make a workable ship there's really no way to be precise. Best you can do is adjust the thrust of your engines to compensate for the uneven thrust.

Realistically, the best way to "repurpose" debris is to attach a parachute to it using KAS and then nudge it out of orbit so that it lands close to the KSC and you can recover most of the funds. Or you could just suck the fuel out of a piece of debris for use in another ship.

Sorry if that doesn't help much. If you do manage to build something that works, be sure to post it here!

Edited November 15, 2014 by Mitchz95

[passinglurker]

Yeah landing debris is boring I spent the effort to get it into space so I'd want to use it in space and if I'm gonna take the time to intercept with it I'd want to send it somewhere better than back home.

I could simply just use MM to adding docking nodes to everything... seems kinda cheaty though I mean what's the point of docking ports if you make everything a port? if ports had gender I could make the everywhere ports simply the same gender so they can only be used with a dedicated opposite gender part but unfortunately that isn't something that is possible yet