Newcomer / Intro tried to land at my first docking

and i landed on right base, way within my timelimit.. suddenly i was wanted... and the base blew up my ship... how do i equipt docking computer? Can i afford that as noob?
 
You might have flown to close to another pad than your designated one....

it depend's on your current credits status, I believe the docking computer cost 1000 cr. and take up 1 internal slot, and you don't have many of those in a sidey.... If you are having trouble with the landing pert of the game you shoul try the tourials part 1 I believe is covering this vital part of the game....
 
i landed at my pad.. it was blinking yellow with the arrows down.. and the docking beeper was going crazy, when suddenly i became wanted..
 
Did you land on the right pad? If you accidentally tried to land on the wrong pad that will get you marked "wanted" really quick.
I don't think the docking computer is affordable. I tried one early in the Beta and decided to give it up. Docking on your own is just another skill to learn... once you have it down you'll find docking to be a (usually) enjoyable experience.
 
i landed at my pad.. it was blinking yellow with the arrows down.. and the docking beeper was going crazy, when suddenly i became wanted..

It would still be blinking yellow with the arrows down if someone else was trying to dock there. The yellow docking indicators aren't part of your hud... they are projected by the station so you'll see you're pad illuminated and everyone else's. The beeper would also be going crazy at the same time with a loud angry beep.
 
There should be a number blinking above the arrows that should correspond with the landing pad you have been assigned.

Don't be disheartened by docking. You'll learn it pretty quick. In the zero-G environment it will help if you think of yourself more like a fly landing on a wall, rather than a fighter jet coming in on a landing strip. You can fly up next to the pad and align yourself with yaws and thrusters before landing with the downwards thrusters. The 10 minutes you have to get it right is plenty of time.
 
Just over the radar display, it tells you which pad you're supposed to go to. Especially on the larger stations where you fly inside, there will be multiple pads lit up. You have to pick the right one.

Of course on the smaller outposts, the pad you get assigned always seems to be on the other side and upside-down from whatever direction you're approaching.
 
You did remember to request docking permission first?

Try the docking tutorial a number of times to get the hang of it. You need to constantly dock so getting good at docking is a necessary skill. You could get a docking computer but they are slow and can be unreliable.
 
i landed at my pad.. it was blinking yellow with the arrows down.
The "chevron" symbols on the pad shown in the docking asssist display must be pointing forward. If they are pointing toward you then your ship is reversed and you can't dock.
 
Also, "your" pad isn't the only one lit up. Especially on the larger stations, many of them will be lit. You just have to look at the numbers and pick the right one.
 
I would strongly suggest not getting a docking computer. At least not yet.

Docking can be challenging, but you will get the hang up of it. Sooner than it might think at first.
 
I would strongly suggest not getting a docking computer. At least not yet.

Docking can be challenging, but you will get the hang up of it. Sooner than it might think at first.

I'd also add that docking is integral to the gameplay experience (and always has been with Elite). Trying to bypass it is like missing out on a large part of the game.
 
Did the computer say "Docking successful; engines disengaged."? If so it was the correct pad, so pad loitering (over an adjacent pad) could be the answer, although you get a very obvious noise and red warning messages if you loiter.
 
yeah docking is fairly easy now.. but time consuming

Time consuming? Even in a slug of a cargo freighter, it can be done in a few seconds. :)

OP: Do the docking tutorial a few times, get the hand of using the compass and pad number to find the right pad, then land facing the right way. It's not hard, but does require a little attention to your surroundings- you'll soon get the hang of it.
 
The most expensive part of the docking computer is - if i assume correctly - it will wreck your ship due to poor AI. On big stations, i hear the lasers go crazy every 5 minutes or so Which means thelanding AI effes up every 5 minutes.

Landing isn't too hard but you have to be carefull. I Suppose you probably tried to land on the wrong pad - or where you already in the stations-services?

1. step: request docking - if you don't do that you get a fine for loitering or trespassing after a short countdown. - Check your communications monitor for red messages and read them. - If you get any kind of warning.. back off. Read the message and try to figure out what you need to change.
2. step: use your pad - Other posts have already covered that topic. - If you try to land on the wrong pad, you'll also get a warning first.
3. don't forget your landing gear ;-) Even though your ships computer will warn you it's way easyer to maneuver when the gear is out because you can't go as fast as before.
4. Don't Hurry. 10 minutes are more than enought even for a rookie. It's not a race.
5. Even though it makes no visual sense. The pads are direction-sensitive. You have to face the number of your pad to be able to dock. when you're close to the ground, just yaw in the direction you need to be. It also gives you a sense how much tollerance there is for unprecise landing. (it's actually quite forgiving)

6. This is semi advanced and related to step 5: When i try to land on an outpost or shoot over my pad in a big station, i like to face down the pad vertically to use rotate to get my top back in the right direction. Then i pull up and use the downwards thrusters on the same time. It's way faster thatn using yaw or flying away and retrying. Once the sensors switch to landing assiance i make the usual smaller adjustments and go down.


p.S. did anyone link this yet? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weAoY7kw2NM
 
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