Learn something new every day...

I've been playing this game for a couple of years now, and I've only just realised that there's an easy way to tell which way you're supposed to approach a docking bay...the numbers are always at the rear.

Can't believe I've only just noticed this. That'll save me some time at outposts and planetary bases...

o7 Every Day Is A School Day! o7

P.S. … and if you look closely; the yellow pad number is ALWAYS orientated the right way round so you can read it from both back and front (it changes to correct "read" orientation as you shift position/view! i.e. looking from both the back or front of pad.)
 
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Do you mean the yellow holographic number? I'm convinced this is always at the front on the landing bay.....
Maybe I'm confused

It think that the OP means that, just saying it differently, as in, if you approach the landing pad, the number is at the back/far end of the pad.
 
Ah yeah that makes sense. I guess I consider front and back of the bay in relation to where your ship sits on it. For example, your nose is at the front of the pad not the back
 
The crane is always on your right. On an outpost the approach is always the shorter distance to the edge of the platform. On planetary bases you land facing towards the "center" of the base.
 
..the wireframe display of your target has arrows on it for coriolis stations pointing to the mailslot.
Yeah, but only when you're in normal space where you can infer where the slot is because the station always rotates anticlockwise.

They really need to put those in the target wireframe when you are approaching in supercruise too.
 
I've been playing this game for a couple of years now, and I've only just realised that there's an easy way to tell which way you're supposed to approach a docking bay...the numbers are always at the rear.

Can't believe I've only just noticed this. That'll save me some time at outposts and planetary bases...

Only been playing the game for 3 months (tops) and I knew that already. Lol
 
I've been playing this game for a couple of years now, and I've only just realised that there's an easy way to tell which way you're supposed to approach a docking bay...the numbers are always at the rear.

Can't believe I've only just noticed this. That'll save me some time at outposts and planetary bases...

Sheesh...thats better than an early Q4 for you. What a new lease on life! lol

We've all been there. I remember the day that I realized the stations rotation in SC matches up to real space and I could align with the mail slot in SC. Glory!
 
I'd leave a station in a large ship, boost straight away from the toast rack - I thought that was the quickest way to get out of mass lock - only when I'd cleared mass lock would I engage jump drive, line up perfectly with my jump target - then wonder why I was getting the 'Align with Target' message.

I've only just realised that it doesn't matter how perfectly you're aligned with the target system: the game won't consider you to be properly aligned till you stop drifting - and big ships do a lot of drifting.

Now, if I'm in a large ship, I boost turn onto my target system heading as soon as I get clear of the toast rack, so that I've stopped drifting by the time I'm clear of mass lock and can jump without waiting for the drift to stop.



Try a second boost once aligned with the target system, it will correct the drift a lot faster.
 
We've all been there. I remember the day that I realized the stations rotation in SC matches up to real space and I could align with the mail slot in SC. Glory!

Having played Elite 1984, this was the first thing I checked when I started playing this game, lol. Docking is much more forgiving in this game than the original.
 
When I was in a new system after scanning the star I would then select the next nearest object from the Navigation panel.
I hated it when it turned out to be an Asteroid Cluster.
Imagine my delight when I found out you can turn off Asteroid Clusters from being listed by using the Set Navigation Filters settings.
You can also turn off a load of other things as well.
 
Boost towards the target system, engage Frame shift, and the the game itself will align Your ship before the jump. ;)

You can also do a normal roll which will stabilize the drift - especially good for Exploration ships with no boost :)

I've been playing this game for a couple of years now, and I've only just realised that there's an easy way to tell which way you're supposed to approach a docking bay...the numbers are always at the rear.

Can't believe I've only just noticed this. That'll save me some time at outposts and planetary bases...

There is also a ramp on the approach which has arrows on it pointing to the direct vector.
 
mailslots always face the parent body as well, at a slight angle. good way to tell from a distance whether its behind or in frnt of it's parent body, if you can see the mailslot from distance, you know you'll know you'll need to go around the planet. Also, the wireframe display of your target has arrows on it for coriolis stations pointing to the mailslot.

Mailslots are 45 degrees from the planet body's main axis (north/south)
 
You can always drop out in front of the letterbox by flying a curve rather than a straight line in SC. Select the station, dive 90 degreees so that the station is just at the top border of your screen, and use your joystick to keep it there until you see the letterbox on the hologram. From there on you just need some fine tuning and you are good. Works everytime.
 
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