Newcomer / Intro Having some startup problems

[Dr. Hoads]

Hi All,

Just picked up this game and am having a bunch of trouble figuring it out. I took a combat mission but could not find the enemy.. Now I picked up a cargo mission, but I cant dock at the station to drop off my cargo (request denied). I have been waiting for 15 min and it is only a 1 hour mission. How do I get into this station to drop off the goods?

I also am having a TON of trouble getting to the station... fast/slow... slower... bored... faster... missed it.... turn around... slower... bored.... faster... missed it... fine... go slow until I get there... lol... Is there no autopilot to just pick a location and have it auto nav you there (like in independence war 2?).

Same question for docking... Is there an autopilot so I don't have to try to land on that pad?

Thanks!!!!

 

[dragn]

Probably not going to like this answer but...

Practice, practice, practice.

Using a combination of your up/down/left/right thrusters and regular engines get the hang of it. I've only been playing since launch and after about 30 docks I can now dock in less than 2 minutes once positioned right.

There is an auto-docking module but its rather pricey and will fill up a precious module slot. I'd only buy and use it if you REALLY REALLY have trouble docking after a considerable amount of practice.

As for combat missions, can't help ya there, I'm still just exploring.

The docking queues in the starter systems are apparently log-jammed. I wouldn't know, I've already travelled about 100 systems away
Might wanna move out of there.

 

[Betty Jade]

For the combat mission, it'll likely say what system(s) they can be found in. In order to find them, you will have to visit Unidentified Signal Sources (Think of these as gateways to random events).

Whenever you can't get access to dock at a station or outpost, it's most likely because it's overcrowded. For now, the best solution is to exit to the main menu, and jump into a Solo session instead. Once you're docked, you can swap back to Open session again.

There are a couple of tricks to reaching a target neatly without risking to miss it. Personally, I like to keep my throttle within the blue portion of the speedometer. That way your ship will automatically adjust its velocity to match your target's distance. Just make sure you actually have it targeted. I've found that this works 9/10 times.

There is an autopilot for docking, although I don't know whether it's working properly now or not. Last I checked was during the Beta, during which it was extremely slow and inaccurate. You can buy it from one of the hard point modules in the Outfitting section while being docked.

 

[Dr. Hoads]

Thanks Betty Jade. The blue bar tip for the speed is a great help. I noticed it doing something but did not put 2 and 2 together. I had to give up an quit out after 40 minutes, no dock available for my mission. I see some other people posted about the same thing and the tips were to leave where you started. Will have to try. I am concerned that I have not made any money and I keep buying fuel. What happens if I run out of money for fuel before I can actually make any?

Bummer on the auto pilot to a destination, I prefer to spend my time doing combat and trading/mapping, but in reading some other posts it seems that ED players in particular believe in piloting to destination manually. Looks like I will have to suck it up..