Overhaul of subassembly system - make it usable

[av8r1]

I've come up with an Apollo-like system of spacecraft that work to explore each planet. It consists of a small space station for science processing and refueling, a CSM-like crew return vehicle, a lander, and a reusable rover that can reattach to the lander via a Clamp-O-Tron Jr. But, each planet or moon has it's own hardware requirements. My rover is practically useless on Minmus-sized bodies for lack of traction, so I might as well not take it with, opting instead for more fuel. For planets without atmosphere, barometers and parachutes are useless so I might as well not take them.

So I would like to be able to build each component as a subassembly and stack them together with minor modifications to each so I can spend less time building the same parts from scratch over and over again. Problem is, the subassembly system seems to be designed specifically to prevent this. Build anything resembling a whole space ship and inevitably it says the part is "unattachable." I've never once been able to just glue on my standard rover or lander to a stack. You can't start with a subassembly, so you can't do "I want to launch *this* ship with *this* booster, change this Poodle to a Skipper, and go."

Unless I just don't know what I'm doing.

[Sirrobert]

It's unattachable because the ROOT part is the only part in a subassambly that can be attatched to anything after loading it. That's how the system works. Since the root part is usually surrounded by parts on all sides on a full sized craft, there are no open connection points on the root part.

We now have a stock system to change the root part. So move the root part to whatever the part is that you want to connect to the rocket after loading the subassambly.

It's perfectly usable, you're just missing a step

[Supernovy]

You're right that you can't start a craft with a subassembly. What you have to do in that case is save the first bit as a craft (by rebuilding, or attaching it onto a part re-rooting and removing that part) then load that craft and add the subassemblies onto that.

For example, if you wanted to send a probe into space you might build it, then add an orbital stage subassembly, then add a booster stage subassembly. If you wanted to change the launch vehicle, you'd have to load the probe on its own and add different subassembies on, then save it again (with a different name).

[monstah]

Like they said, you can't attach a whole craft. What you can save as an subassembly is a part which is attached to the main craft. Here are workarounds:

You can start from a placeholder decoupler, and build your probe BOTTOM-UP from there; it will be possible to make it a subassembly then (by selecting from it's bottom-most part).

Or, you could build it TOP-DOWN like usual, put a placeholder decoupler where the second-to-last stage will begin, and re-root the ship to that decoupler. The resulting probe can then be used like the above case.

Now, when you want to use the subassembly (probe, rover) to build a craft, you must start from a placeholder decoupler too (or a fully built lower stage), and place the subassembly on top of it (you might have to rotate it when you select it from the subassemblies - those pesky docking ports like to face up!).

If the lower stages are also subassemblies (i.e., your rocket is entirely modular - awesome!), what you do is re-root your ship to the probe core from the subassembly you just placed, and then throw away the placeholder decoupler. Lower stage can be added then!

Edited February 3, 2015 by monstah

[av8r1]

Okay, so there's a way to accomplish my goal, but it's unintuitive and inelegant.

[Bilfr3d]

Okay, so there's a way to accomplish my goal, but it's unintuitive and inelegant.

They're called "subassemblies" for a reason. If you were to start a craft from a sub-assembly it wouldnt be called a "subassembly" now, would it?