Variable number of segments for a directional sensor

[Lurkily]

So I was thinking about a ship I made a while ago with vectored thrust, and why it was so difficult to make it behave intelligently.  I needed it to be able to orient straight down, or straight back at need, and the only way to do that was to inch it backward, then rotate downward at full speed whenever I detected dirt too close.

It would be nice if I could have logic output hinge controls IF low altitude AND being off-target were both true.  AND it would be nice if I could level them off at altitude, too.  But my ship had three thrusters, a detector, and a directional sensor on each hinge, and they already wanted to shake to pieces.  So a solution came to me.

Let's have a three-part directional sensor, and a four-part, and an eight-part.  Three-part would enable specific behavior for a ship that's flipped fully upside-down. (Which will sometimes have thrusters that WOULD keep you upright jam you into the ground, instead.)  Four-part would enable more complex navigational or scanning responses on parts that would, otherwise require lots of sensors. I once had to make a ship with four directional sensors, to provide eight navigational responses.  Putting something like that on a HINGE is just a mess, and right now directional sensors are the only way to determine a hinge's facing.