Cannot dock after filling up cargo

loli · Dec 24, 2014

Hi, when I try to dock, I do not have anymore the UI displaying my ship and its distance/position from the ground when approaching the dock. I don't know if this is related, but this occurred after a bought some bauxite from the market and filled up my cargo. What can I do ?

Feldspar · Dec 24, 2014

Judge it by eye. I've had this several times, but it has resolved itself, it does not stop you from docking. Also make sure you're on the right pad

Conestoga · Dec 24, 2014

Turn away, then turn back. Also, your compass will show you the way to your pad even if the guide isn't on.

starjump · Dec 24, 2014

Sometimes it can be a little buggy. I havent had this bug in a long time. But you can sometimes go down as Feldspar say and land anyway. Just carefully and move back and forth on the pad. However, another thing you can do is to ask for docking permission again and try.

loli · Dec 24, 2014

Thanks guys, I'll try. Besides this bug, the complexity of docking in this game is really ridiculous, if not aligned to the pixel it doesn't work, I have already wasted hours doing this, without guide it should be even worse. We have the technology to hyperspace but not yet the technology to dock

cygnusa · Dec 24, 2014

Docking gets far easier with lots of practice. A decent controller helps immensely. Use all 6dof (six degrees of freedom) to maneuver in. It certainly doesn't come intuitively. Alignment is important, but it isn't quite as precise as it would seem. You just need to be in the 'ballpark' of the blue zone when landing.

I've played flight and space sims for decades, but even with Elite Dangerous, it was tough to dock when I started out. I crashed and burned a few times. Now I can whip in at near full speed, drop gear, and glide down onto the pad. However, I often play with a few beers on the table next to me.. docking, and yes.. egress from a station.. doesn't always go so swimmingly HAHA. Thankfully few deaths as a result, but I've had my share of ship repair bills.

Use a combo of throttle with horizontal and vertical thrusters to maneuver. Dropping gear slows the ship down substantially (not very realistic... aero-braking in space). I zoom into range of the pad, drop gear a good few seconds ahead of time. Gear kick in. The ship suddenly slows... then down onto the pad.

kurush · Dec 24, 2014

loli said:
Thanks guys, I'll try. Besides this bug, the complexity of docking in this game is really ridiculous, if not aligned to the pixel it doesn't work, I have already wasted hours doing this, without guide it should be even worse. We have the technology to hyperspace but not yet the technology to dock

No way, you can dock almost sideways, just make sure you are generally facing the right direction. It is really annoying to do it every time though, so I mostly use the docking computer. It does some hillarious s**t to my Type 6 - tries to bring it down, hits the pad, skids to the left all the way to its edge and then somehow connects when still way off center

It could be expensive without shields, but with them it is a non issue.
And as other people mentioned, if you find it hard you probably don't have the right controns bound. You do need up/down/left/right and gradual accel/decel controls to make manual docking.

Morgo_the_MonkeyGod · Dec 24, 2014

Tip. Drop landing gear before entering the slot. Landing gear deployed, limits max speed and disables boost. More fine control available. Also use a HOTAS, if you can. Might want to consider using full throttle range...works better for me can reverse easily if overshooting blue spot.