I've read a few times on here that scaled rotors tend to cause problems, bugs, etc. Can I get some specifics on this? I used tiny scaled rotors on builds before reading about them, and they didn't seem to cause any trouble. Reason is, I need to hide a whole bunch in the wings of my current project and I'd hate to have to go back and redesign everything after I'm done.
@AstleyIndustries Hey, I just noticed I forgot to thank you. So, THANK YOU. I think it's really cool how you help people out so much on here.
@ChiChiWerx You hit the nail on the head with that one. I use mirror to duplicate, but not attach, all the time. I have noticed that mirrored rotors can be unpredicatable, and I usually have to modify them to get them to behave the way I intended. Thank you very much for your thoughts.
So, I would advise: You not only have the problems in mirroring rotators, but anything connected to a wing surface. When I build a complex project, I may mirror a part simply to duplicate it, but I do so away from the wing itself, which necessitates my manually reattaching both parts on each side, as close as possible to the exact opposite point. It's actually a little easier than it sounds, as there are a finite number of attach points. I then nudge both parts into their respective positions after reattaching, whether its a rotator or fuselage part.
I've never had any problems with scaled rotators. The only problems I've ever experienced is when mirroring rotators, for the reasons @AstleyIndustries describes: In short, when scaling or even (as I've seen it) when nudging, then mirroring, SP chooses the nearest attach point to the newly mirrored object, not the one that's necessarily symmetrical to the other side. Will also cause roll tendencies that so many encounter. I even posted on this earlier. While I've only observed how it happens and how to avoid it, @AstleyIndustries uses the correct terminologies of "mesh" and 3D models and probably better understands why it's happening.
@F104Deathtrap yes, they work fine when scaled
@AstleyIndustries That would certainly explain a wide variety of problems I have encountered. I periodically drop-test my projects as I work on them because quite often they fly apart as soon as they load, pretty hilarious. Back on topic: So assuming I am wary of unpleasantness caused by the mirror function, scaled rotors will work fine assuming I ensure the connections are correct? I often find myself nudging objects out, reconnecting them and nudging them back in.
The way mirrored objects connect to the other side is due to partial hard-coding; this causes problems in connection point(s)
- the game uses a preset mesh and 3D model and transfers to the other side, ignoring scale
- attach points must be close enough to another attach point to form a connection
- as the mesh, model and attach points are transferred ignoring the scale, often, the attach points will not connect with the object that should be on the other side
- this may also cause parts connecting to the wrong parts, damaging complex mechanical parts
- this often also results in the 'Failed to mirror' error message