Unable to complete orbital construction site (it escapes faster than my ship can fly)

[Suremaker]

Hello Everyone,

I am unable to land on the Orbital Construction Site: Stiles Terminal in HIP 1893 because the construction site moves away faster than my ship.
Interestingly, I know that such issues often happen if another station/carrier is within 1Mm distance, but in this case, the nearest stations are further away.

At the beginning of May, I contacted the Support Team, but they redirected me to track https://issues.frontierstore.net/issue-detail/75180 issue, which has now expired.

I wonder how many Commanders have a similar issue with completing orbital stations - I hope that Frontier is still looking into correcting such issues, but as there are already 3 months passed since I raised the issue, my hopes are low... There is no undo button for orbital constructions, so it feels like my site will be orbiting the HIP 1893 1 b a planet forever....

O7

 

[Archvillain]

First thing, check you aren't using a console or steamdeck. If you are, their suspend (or sleep) feature can pause the game time, putting you out of sync, so the game tries to gracefully get you back on schedule by speeding up your local game time, which results in fast orbits (and other fast stuff). However when it happens to me, the orbital speed has a hopping motion, and you didn't describe that so I'm guessing this isn't your issue. (When it is, you can quit the game completely and restart it in order to reset the time gap)

However, even though your orbit speed might have a different cause, my other trick might still work: when I'm faced with a station outrunning me, I switch on orbit lines in the HUD, and follow its orbit in the opposite direction, slow down as it comes around the planet, and then let it come to me, and drop from supercruise as soon as it's in the blue. It's finicky but it works.

Annoying to have to do that at a construction site though, when you just want to dock, leave, and repeat the trip!

 

[kofeyh]

Mitterrand hollow is a good example of high speed intercept. You can get in front of the orbit and as it comes racing towards you, you'll be scooped up in its gravity.

Stations and construction have a similar, albeit smaller mass. If you target it to identify the orbit then get well in front, as long as you are inside the ~800km gravity well, it should scoop you up as it whizzes by.

If it's really moving, nothing short of being run over by it will likely let you intercept.

 

[Suremaker]

Thank you both for the replies.

One point of clarification - this issue is not about catching up with station in supercruise but in normal space. When I leave SC next to it, the construction site flies away so quickly that after a short while it is 200km away from me - there is no way to dock.

I use PC and have no problems with visiting other locations.

 

[PilotB]

One point of clarification - this issue is not about catching up with station in supercruise but in normal space. When I leave SC next to it, the construction site flies away so quickly that after a short while it is 200km away from me - there is no way to dock.

This is what they're suggesting there are other fast objects that are so fast you drop in and they're gone such as Mitterrand Hollow. You drop in ahead of it. Turn FA off turn to point the direction it's going boost boost boost and hope that the object instance collects you on the way past.

That construction site is probably a write off. There's no current fix and while you might get in with a lot of messing around it's probably not going to be worth the time effort or irritation so just wait for a delete key or try contacting support for them to move it.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Thank you both for the replies.

One point of clarification - this issue is not about catching up with station in supercruise but in normal space. When I leave SC next to it, the construction site flies away so quickly that after a short while it is 200km away from me - there is no way to dock.

I use PC and have no problems with visiting other locations.

That sounds like when you're dropping out you're not dropping into the same frame of reference as it, meaning the game is locking you to a different frame of reference, possibly that of the planet its orbiting.

Nasty bug and not sure it is possible to do anything about that one.

 

[kofeyh]

Thank you both for the replies.

One point of clarification - this issue is not about catching up with station in supercruise but in normal space. When I leave SC next to it, the construction site flies away so quickly that after a short while it is 200km away from me - there is no way to dock.

I use PC and have no problems with visiting other locations.

Oh yeah that's a bug. Has to be. Super unfortunate.

It may be better to look at building elsewhere in the system in the interim. This makes better use of your time, and surely would feel a bit more rewarding, vs trying to struggle with the existing build. Once the bug is resolved, it may be possible to resume work on it, so not necessarily a full write off.