Why do pre-designed craft have mis-aligned parts?

[xaf]

In previous versions of KSP, I noticed the landing legs on the lunar lander in the Mun scenario weren't aligned properly - they were rotated 15 degrees (or thereabouts) off of symmetric. Didn't seem to affect performance, but was odd, considering that the designers of the game wouldn't seem likely to make that kind of mistake.

Now in 0.90, in the Asteroid Rendezvous scenario (or training, I don't remember), the second stage vehicle has at least one of it's engines misaligned. If you thrust more than about 10%, the RCS can't keep the vehicle oriented properly, and it spins out of control. This seems like it would cause huge headaches for people using these scenarios to learn how to play the game.

Edited December 24, 2014 by xaf

[Pecan]

Don't know about the tutorials but the stock craft in-game contain deliberate mistakes because Squad don't think it would be fun to be handed functional designs from the start.

[ptonca]

And another resign to love squad!

[xaf]

Don't know about the tutorials but the stock craft in-game contain deliberate mistakes because Squad don't think it would be fun to be handed functional designs from the start.

I went back and verified it was in a training section - Asteroid Redirect Mission, Part 1.

It would be horrible if this was intentional. This game already has a fairly steep learning curve, and these training missions should help get new players comfortable with the game, not frustrate them to the point they don't want to play. A new player will not be able to recognize why the craft spins out of control.

[Pecan]

Agreed. I expect the tutorials to get a lot of attention during beta.

@Rowsdower (if you're reading this) - I'll write the manual if you haven't assigned it yet!