The Docking Computer thread.
- Thread starter Caledonian
- Start date
It docked me into the underside of an outpost last week. I got stuck in the girders and had to log out before I exploded. Now I make sure the pad is in sight before throttling down.
After the horror stories I've read regarding the DC, I've never left it unattended and never will. As you say, it's a change of pace, especially when hauling in the Type 9.
Only use it in the Type 9, so have never had the pleasure of using the DC for an Outpost.
Dose the auto dock work now
Haven't played in a long time last time the auto dock computer would alway kill you did they ever fix that
Haven't played in a long time last time the auto dock computer would alway kill you did they ever fix that
Yes. Its safe and quite fast now. Plus you're exempt from the speeding laws.
It has couple quirks now and then at crowded places, but it certainly works fine in general.
its even able to avoid other players trying to ram you. 
just with outposts, you should not use it without shields.
just with outposts, you should not use it without shields.
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its even able to avoid other players trying to ram you.
just with outposts, you should not use it without shields.
And never, ever, enable it and go AFK. Mr. Murphy (or one of his nefarious relatives) will reach over and screw with the controls, increasing the chance of your ship becoming the latest pizza shaped Rorsach blot on the station wall.
Travelling between 2 stations on a community goal I made over 300 landings without so much as a hiccup. Felt safe to go AFK and top up on coffee etc.
Would not rely on it for outposts etc but if you confirm it works with X station then that station should theoretically always be safe.
I've found about a 99% safety record when going to different stations. As above, it is great but trust it for a moment and it will take advantage
Would not rely on it for outposts etc but if you confirm it works with X station then that station should theoretically always be safe.
I've found about a 99% safety record when going to different stations. As above, it is great but trust it for a moment and it will take advantage
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Ok so don't use it on outposts and don't go AFK. Any other things I should watch for?
Silly players not realising you are on Auto-dock and trying to fly their ship through yours
To be honest I'd say just give it a go and find out for yourself. Keep a watchful eye the first few times and then get used to it and relax. Be aware the computer does boost now, I nearly needed a new pair of trousers the first time I saw the new version
Travelling between 2 stations on a community goal I made over 300 landings without so much as a hiccup. Felt safe to go AFK and top up on coffee etc.
Would not rely on it for outposts etc but if you confirm it works with X station then that station should theoretically always be safe.
I've found about a 99% safety record when going to different stations. As above, it is great but trust it for a moment and it will take advantage
can't confirm that. i had 100% perfect landings and full-speed collisions with the same outpost. I think it depends on your ships mass and the direction you are approaching from.
Since the Docking computer also manages your power distribution, its always full power on shields during that critical phase.
and i went afk for a moment this week while docking a coriolis station. I've noticed some "action" around me, and later got the message "under attack". A player was trying to kill my dropship with his clipper, by removing my shields with a ramming manouver. He failed so often, that he was in stations defense range when he finally hit me. He was dead before i couldn't even read his name, while my shields where still up, and no fine due to Docking Computer
I've been using it constantly, flying an Asp for the most part, for the past three months. I've never had it blow up my ship, though it did crash into an outpost once, when the landing pad happened to be perfectly aligned with my approach vector - it just went boost, boost boost and never even bothered slowing down. It's also crashed into the dome on the back wall of a palm-tree station, once.
I always alt-tab out when auto-docking. Or use the time to check the galactic map for my next destination. I certainly don't bother sitting there, watching the thing, unless the scenery is different or unusual - to me, that kind of defeats the purpose.
Don't use it if you're smuggling. The thing seems to be programmed to fly right towards where the cops can see you, and sit there and wait while you get scanned.
It seems to work fine on most ships, but last I heard it still had difficulty landing an Imperial Clipper - apparently it doesn't know just how wide those wings are.
I always alt-tab out when auto-docking. Or use the time to check the galactic map for my next destination. I certainly don't bother sitting there, watching the thing, unless the scenery is different or unusual - to me, that kind of defeats the purpose.
Don't use it if you're smuggling. The thing seems to be programmed to fly right towards where the cops can see you, and sit there and wait while you get scanned.
It seems to work fine on most ships, but last I heard it still had difficulty landing an Imperial Clipper - apparently it doesn't know just how wide those wings are.
I have had a 99.44% success rate with the DC. No deaths were involved in that .56% but it did run me into the spire on an outpost once, and boosted right down onto Pad 3 on an outpost, and tried to land on Pad 3 while the pad was resetting after the last Commander left it during the Hutton CG.
So it seems it only messes up for me at Outposts. Never an issue with a large station.
So it seems it only messes up for me at Outposts. Never an issue with a large station.
Hmm, IDK, it's never had problems landing my Clipper (aside once powerslide ramming Ocellus station when dodging a T9).
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Yes, it is certainly much better than it was. I like the way it lets you do the flying until you get close, then when you drop the throttle back it just takes over - quietly, without fuss. Another improvement is that it will dock you if you engage it in the station, sounds odd but when I am smuggling in my Anaconda, once through the slot I just go to full stop, switch it back on and let it sort out the mess I have just got myself in.
All horror stories aside, it should be ok for the most part. I still don't trust it enough to go AFK when I use it (tho these days most of my ships don't have it, but that will likely change for the T9 and/or Anaconda), but don't have an issue kicking it in while I'm looking something up in another window, watching something on TV, etc..
Too many times where it's done something ridiculously stupid (before our wonderful AI Goddess™ tweaked it some for us) for me to ever trust it completely. When it consistently tries to land your ship on every surface other than the one the engineer put your landing gear on... Well, you learn to be a wee bit wary after the bill comes due for the insurance claims. LOL
I don't have a 'modern era' shot of it acting the fool, but I still have one from Beta when I was submitting bug reports. The silly thing was trying to dock my Cobra on it's wing at an outpost. Something about the pathing confuses it, and it just keeps smashing it's face into the wall until either you blow up, or turn it off. If this was inside a station and you were AFK, you'd have come back to lasers flashing and pieces of your ship floating around the interior.
Too many times where it's done something ridiculously stupid (before our wonderful AI Goddess™ tweaked it some for us) for me to ever trust it completely. When it consistently tries to land your ship on every surface other than the one the engineer put your landing gear on... Well, you learn to be a wee bit wary after the bill comes due for the insurance claims. LOL
I don't have a 'modern era' shot of it acting the fool, but I still have one from Beta when I was submitting bug reports. The silly thing was trying to dock my Cobra on it's wing at an outpost. Something about the pathing confuses it, and it just keeps smashing it's face into the wall until either you blow up, or turn it off. If this was inside a station and you were AFK, you'd have come back to lasers flashing and pieces of your ship floating around the interior.
Do use it for smuggling - but only enable it (throttle 0) the moment you are at top speed inside the mail slot.