I just don't understand why station architects didn't just build an entrance and an exit seperately? Entrance on one end, the exit on the other. This way they could save alot of money on mono-directional docking platforms... And there can still be scanning on both entrance and exit.. and anyone wanting to enter though the exit is gonna be extremely suspicious anyway.
3 common annoyances encountered during docking procedures. Traders know what I mean...
- Thread starter Vyn Halcyon
- Start date
I just don't understand why station architects didn't just build an entrance and an exit seperately? Entrance on one end, the exit on the other. This way they could save alot of money on mono-directional docking platforms... And there can still be scanning on both entrance and exit.. and anyone wanting to enter though the exit is gonna be extremely suspicious anyway.
Ignoring the fact that it's out of respect to the original Elite docking bay, I kind of understand it.
You can't have an entrance and exit at either end of the docking tube without losing all of the structures behind it, so that's out. That means you'd have to split the docking entrance into two entrances - which means reducing the size and thereby preventing a Type 9 from docking, or increasing the overall size of the station which obviously increases cost.
I've never had an issue with the large ships that are "stuck" at the entrance, though the biggest ship I've flown is a type-6. Is it only an issue for ships larger than this?
Then putting a letterbox exit above the letterbox entrance in the center is a good idea, considering most starships are flat anyway. Let the original entrance be the entrance since it's easier to align to something in the center of a spinning object. Whereas when you are exiting the starport, you are masslocked and thus it's easier to align to the off-center exit slot above the center entrance slot.
The Entrance slot should be green light ifnront, red light at the back. The exit slot vice versa.
The fact that they are are inverted means there is no "green side". There are arrows on BOTH sides and the ALL point in, none of them point out, and not all stations have them. The reason the AI goes thru the centre is coz that's where you are supposed to go. Anacondas, Pythons, and T9's HAVE to go thru the centre. At one point in the beta they even had gravity fields that would push you into the centre but they caused more problems than they fixed so they were scrapped. You can go through the archived beta forums and read all the complaints about them there.
That really depends where.you are. Channel markers here flash. And traffic lights DON'T flash. And not all station lights flash anyway.
It's far more simple to think that spaceships that move more like planes or ships and don't have roads like cars would use navigation markers like planes or ships, and not traffic lights like cars.
In game reasons: entrances are weak points, entrances need special, expensive shields to keep the atmosphere inside, and the back of the docking area (where the central tower now is) which would have an exit has the rest of the space station behind it.
Real reason: because the original elite had these stations and they are staying true to their legacy as much as they can, and coz David Braben likes these stations and it's his baby.
FYI stations don't scan anyone, that's the police outside. That's why it's sometimes possible to get in without being scanned. The stations however will shoot you if the police report you as a criminal, or if you attack the station.
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Seriously, if you're in a bigger ship then move to the side a bit. I'm tired of people drifting through the entrance like they haven't figured out how to use the accelerate control.
As far as I'm concerned there's no excuse for drifting into the dock entrance and not getting in and out of the way. You could drop down or push straight up into a clear space to get your bearings towards your docking pad.
If I take off and head towards the entrance, I always bear to the side of the docking port and accelerate to get out into space and away, carefully watching where people are coming in. If someone is stupid and selfish enough to drift in like a zombie through the dead centre of the port then they deserve everything they get when I scream 'GET OUTTA MY WAY!' and bounce them off, hurtling into the side of the station, sometimes turning into a bouncy fireball.
Some people may call me selfish, but the truth is I actually check carefully and do everything I can to avoid other ships, but I'm not going to sit and waste away whilst they dither the day away. So consider other people and enter/exit at one of the sides.
Of course, if a huge ship comes through first I make room - they can't always make room, but even they get the 'GET OUTTA MY WAY!' treatment if they are clearly dithering down the centre in the most selfish manner. I don't mind some damage, money is easy to re-earn - but I'm sure they aren't too pleased.
To my mind, this is one of those things that WE players can establish and do good. Just because it's not enforced in code doesn't mean it wouldn't be a good idea for us player to adopt it as a convention to minimize hassle.
They're inverted so that when you're leaving the "green side" is the "red side" to anyone entering. So being inverted is an absolute clear indication to one side being used.
You can fit two T9's side by side through the port. They don't have to go through the middle at all.
The reason the AI ones do it is simply a matter of coding. There's less chance of collision by making an AI go through the middle because it's larger. Even then it has issues.
That was before the red/green lights were added, so it's a moot point.
ALL stations that have a docking port having flashing red lights. And this is not traffic lights, this is an indication of what side to use. There is a difference.
Again no one is saying they're traffic lights, that's words you have used. They are navigation lights AND warning lights - the red flashing lights being a warning on oncoming traffic. That isn't a traffic light system since they never turn green.
Shipping in the modern world does exactly this with green and flashing red lights in busy ports, so that's obviously where FD got insperation from and it makes total sense that space ships would adopt the same systems as marine ships.
There has always been and there will always be players who are new to this. And mostly only people who read the forums are informed of this convention to begin with. A convention is only a convention when it get's placed into practice by a grand majority, and it becomes common enough to become common practice.
An intuitive system needs to be put in place, like I suggested, an exit above the entrance.
My original point was that expecting others to abide by a rule that not only is unenforced but also doesn't really exist is a recipe for collision.
I understand that, but whenever this comes up there are always people who swear that this is not a "thing" and they will not abide by it. I was talking to those people.
Shipping has laws on who passes on on which side REGARDLESS of if they're in a channel or the open sea. Navigation lights don't determine who passes on the left or right... channel markers (flashing or otherwise) are just there to mark the channel - same as on the space port.
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Thing is that until FD puts in mechanics to MAKE it a thing it's NOT a thing, and expecting others to abide by it will just get you run into.
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The Green and Red lights are not to indicate which side to dock at. They are there to indicate what orientation you should have when entering the station. They a reminiscent of the green and red navigation lights on the bridge wings of naval vessels which were historically used for navigating when another ship was spotted at night or in fog. Both ships would attempt to match colours in order to avoid a collision. The idea was to pass another ship port to port or starboard to starboard, the green light being the starboard light and the red light being the port side light.
When docking in-game we should, by right, be orientated with green on our starboard side and red on our port side or to put it more simply, green on the right and red on the left.
The idea of keeping to the green side on the docking portal is also a good idea as it will ensure that you are not in the way of a player or the idiot npcs. We as a player base should adopt to this as it will significantly improve the safety of docking especially if you are in a smaller ship. I know it would be difficult for larger ships like the anaconda to do this so people flying them should stick to the center of the docking portal. If we all stick to this it will allow large and small ships to dock without getting in each others way.
Another good practice should be to check your contacts and radar to see where and what type of npcs are present near the station. If you do this instead of mindlessly boosting to the station, especially if you are smuggling, it will enable you to plan how you are going to dock and anticipate any idiot npcs getting in your way.
That is my 5 cents. I hope it helps.
When docking in-game we should, by right, be orientated with green on our starboard side and red on our port side or to put it more simply, green on the right and red on the left.
The idea of keeping to the green side on the docking portal is also a good idea as it will ensure that you are not in the way of a player or the idiot npcs. We as a player base should adopt to this as it will significantly improve the safety of docking especially if you are in a smaller ship. I know it would be difficult for larger ships like the anaconda to do this so people flying them should stick to the center of the docking portal. If we all stick to this it will allow large and small ships to dock without getting in each others way.
Another good practice should be to check your contacts and radar to see where and what type of npcs are present near the station. If you do this instead of mindlessly boosting to the station, especially if you are smuggling, it will enable you to plan how you are going to dock and anticipate any idiot npcs getting in your way.
That is my 5 cents. I hope it helps.
No it isn't, you'll have craft entering/exiting criss-crossing inside the station trying to line up with a slot that isn't central and is skewing around.
The only true solution is to have an exit on the opposite wall, Let the drag racing begin YAY!
The only real solution is to leave it as it is, stick your afterburners on and go for it!
I'd consider the NPC's going thru the middle a "bug", and if they used the right hand side at all times it becomes much less an issue.
Well, I guess we can all agree about one thing: "Thank god for solo mode".
Not to necro an old post, but it appears with 1.2 the devs have finally ended this argument.
NPC ships are now entering/leaving the access corridor on the side of the green lights. That means, as myself and others have been saying all along, the green lights DO indicate which side to dock at.
It was pretty obvious to begin with anyway, but since NPC ships even keep to the right, I really don't see that there is any further argument to be had.
Clearly sticking to the green lights is good docking etiquette that even AI now keeps to.