cant find this in google or discussions about auto strut.

[MythN7]

If you are making a payload that is like a rover or a satalite or modular base part.

Should I NOT!!! use auto strut heaviest, because when I do this, it never targets something in any part of its final stage.

What happends to target heaviest when you stage out something it had drawn an orange line to in construction?

such as the wheels and lander legs, they are locked i noticed on heaviest, so does this mean they break the connection after staging?

[Manwith Noname]

I believe autostruts continually seek their target. Generally, it's not advisable to use heaviest part as this can change during flight. Not sure if it's still happening but early in their introduction people would have all sorts of problems with large craft and docking to stations where things would violently explode. From memory, setting autostruts to parent or grandparent solved it.

I noticed recently, the options available for autostrut target were reduced, not sure parent exists anymore.

[MythN7]

Originally posted by Manwith Noname:

I believe autostruts continually seek their target. Generally, it's not advisable to use heaviest part as this can change during flight. Not sure if it's still happening but early in their introduction people would have all sorts of problems with large craft and docking to stations where things would violently explode. From memory, setting autostruts to parent or grandparent solved it.

I noticed recently, the options available for autostrut target were reduced, not sure parent exists anymore.

for me theres onlly root, grandparent, heaviest and disabled.

seems many parts in the robotics line like pistons act like a root for anything attached to them.

But with the wheels and landing gear being locked on heaviest, not sure why that is.

so for parts that im using as landing gear like structual framing boxes, since it says they can take like 50m/s impact, on heavy ground base parts or very large landers.

would I want to just suck up the drag and mass of using the visible struts to be safe?

edit:
also, why does the parts keep reverting back to disabled often when i pull a part off and put it back on?

at least i think thats what causing this.

but sometimes that does not happen, so mabye its somethign else?

[Manwith Noname]

I might be mistaken but I seem to recall a parent option when they first appeared, that's the only one I "think" existed but haven't seen recently.

[MythN7]

Originally posted by Manwith Noname:

I might be mistaken but I seem to recall a parent option when they first appeared, that's the only one I "think" existed but haven't seen recently.

according to the way the orange line draws, it looks like it goign to the part immediatly attached to it, so wouldent that be parrent? cause you would think logically it would go 2 parts down lol.

[Manwith Noname]

On the robotics thing. If they allowed autostruts over the part, you get issues with the part moving and autostruts fighting it.

Reverting is just how parts are handled I guess. Values are stored once attached but removing a part clears that part from the tree of a craft file. When you attach it again, it's effectively a new part.

[MythN7]

Originally posted by Manwith Noname:

On the robotics thing. If they allowed autostruts over the part, you get issues with the part moving and autostruts fighting it.

Reverting is just how parts are handled I guess. Values are stored once attached but removing a part clears that part from the tree of a craft file. When you attach it again, it's effectively a new part.

right, but sometimes this does not happen. like the part that is holding my fairings, they all lose theere auto strut setings even tho all but the 1st one in the chain are only targeting each other.

But other things like If i grabbed half the vehicle or a side mounted thruster with other side mounted thrusters, they seem to keep the auto strut in tact.

hmm, i recall in the VAB using the manual visible sturts to attach accross hinges, and the wire between them moved with like an elastic.

only it dident work with the others, only 1 was attached on launch if i used symmetry or mirror, but maybe this is why my parts never seemed to have enough torque, cause now that i use auto strut, those small parts seem to be able to move massive amounts of weight.