Newcomer / Intro Planetary Landing Tips

Skürt Avil

Skürt Avil
What is the best approach to Planetary Landings?
Is there a way to get to your landing spot without having to boost through normal space for a ~200km?
Can I go straight down and not crash into the surface?
Is there a 6 second rule?
 

Fullo111

F
Don't go below 7 seconds. Come in around 35 to 45 degrees pointing towards the station.
If you're too steep, you'll see red hatchings.
Deploy your landing gear as soon as you drop out as it stops you accidentally boosting towards the ground.
 

Fullo111

F
Some planets do have high gravity and a shallower approach is needed so you don't drop like a stone.
Best to keep the landing gear retracted in this case so you can boost back up and away from the ground but it is very rare.
The system map will tell you the planet's gravity clearer than it does on the bottom right of the HUD when in Orbital Cruise.
 

varonica

varonica
If you come in at a steep angle quarter throttle, if you come in at a shallow angle anything up to full throttle, just keep an eye on your speed as you approach the yellow glide line, it should be at most a couple of kps above 2500.

If you exit 200klms away from you target enter SC again then set a very shallow angle of climb, around 7%, towards your target, this will bring you to your target faster and only 20 or so kilometers up.

Practice is all it takes until you get used to angles and throttle setting, then you can land on top of anything in a couple of minutes.
 

Skürt Avil

Skürt Avil
Well, Thank you CMDRs.
I've been coming in at <15°. I've found that the gravity of the planet affects when I enter glide mode, so been trying to work out how to delay that till I'm <200km from target.
 

Codger

Codger
Approach the planet at 50% throttle.

Aim for 35 to 45 degrees angle to the target, adjust your path as needed to achieve that.

While doing this, watch your altitude, and notice where the drop line is. You want to drop out no farther than 100km from the target. Otherwise you won't be able to glide far enough and you'll have to fly slowly the rest of the way.

When you drop into glide mode, zero your throttle and just wait for the glide to end. If you do it right you'll be 7-10km from the station.
 

varonica

varonica
dysonl said:
Well, Thank you CMDRs.
I've been coming in at <15°. I've found that the gravity of the planet affects when I enter glide mode, so been trying to work out how to delay that till I'm <200km from target.
Click to expand...

The only thing that affects glide mode is height, if you have orbit lines turned on you will see the yellow line that marks exit from orbital cruise, it will vary depending on the size of the body, not gravity. You can glide a huge distance at only 7% drop, but what you want is to be dropping around 30-45% angle directly at your target, basically your height and distance from the target should be no more than a 2:1 ratio. So if you are 150klms up you should be less than 300klms from your target. I have a lot of experience and generally try and keep it at a 1:1 ratio if I can, that gives me a fast approach but you really have to watch your approach speed, you will find a shallower angle more forgiving of approaching to fast. After entering glide this should drop you around 7klm up and around 15klms away from the target.

As mentioned earlier if it is a hgh grav level out the moment you exit glide and plan your descent from there, if it is a low grav you can just about run straight in until close enough to dock.
 

Greasetrap42

Greasetrap42
... oh and another good tip. If you plan on going exploring its best to practice planetary landing a bunch of times BEFORE your big exploration trip. Using your exploration ship just practice landing 10 or 20 times on different planets. From experience.... it reeeaally sucks to crash your ship when exploring far out from the bubble.

Edit: In hindsight its probably best to intentionally bang your ship around intentionally so you have a good idea what kind of beating it can take. If you don't mind losing the credits maybe crash it a couple times too. Seriously. Then you know the ship's limits and know what to expect.
 
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aRJay

aRJay
dysonl said:
  1. What is the best approach to Planetary Landings?
  2. Is there a way to get to your landing spot without having to boost through normal space for a ~200km?
  3. Can I go straight down and not crash into the surface?
  4. Is there a 6 second rule?
Click to expand...
  1. A careful one.
  2. Yes
  3. Yes but it isn’t easy at higher gravities the best approach is to glide in at 40-50 degrees down.
  4. There is but it is usually better to aim for around 12 seconds when the planet starts to show as a small disk otherwise you can fail to glide because of too much speed.
2 Target the surface installation you are heading for then manoeuvre so that you approach it in a way that when you reach the HUD transition you are able to easily line up at an angle of less than 55 degrees but more than 30 degrees I zero the throttle just before I hit the drop altitude and usually take my hands off the stick as too much manoeuvring can pull you out of glide. The glide should end 4 to 15 km out just fly in normally from there however if the gravity is over 2g try to keep the ship level and with FA on otherwise it has a tendency to fall.

If you are flying to coordinates not a target then as soon as the hud changes level out then you can navigate using the compass headings until you get close then head down to the surface.
 

SlickPBW

S
When you have practiced, try landing here:

KYLOALL CL-Y G1518 D 1

That planet is 11G’s. If you can land here, you can land anywhere. Warning, it’s not near the bubble.
 

Tetra Trash

Tetra Trash
Couple other potentially useful things subject to correction by more experienced players: it helps to fly upside down (canopy facing the surface) in orbital cruise so you can keep a better eye on the target, and just flip upright as you're nearing the end of glide phase. If you're in orbital cruise and still have a long way to go to your target, you'll fly much faster at an angle of 0 +/- 5 degrees. If you do this you'll need to slow yourself down before going into glide - if you listen to the sound ship makes you can get a sense as to whether you may be going to fast to go into glide (for lack of a better description, it's the wub-wub-wub-roar sound). The vertical speed bar to the right of the altimeter bar on the HUD also appears to change color if you're going too fast to transition to glide (and if you're dropping too fast when landing). The "DRP" line on the altimeter is another indication (along with the yellow line that Varonica described above) that you are getting close to the transition to glide. If you see your altitude approaching that line and you're too far out to glide in at 30 degrees or so, pitch up to 0 degrees or slightly positive to move yourself closer to the target before you drop out (depending on ship this is easier to judge upside down, with canopy facing the surface).
 

SlickPBW

S
First attempt was clumsy and I knew it early but I stupidly tried to save it. It was too steep and I boosted up and initially saved it. What I should have done is re-enter SC and start all over. I almost made it but I never fully regained a controllable descent and sploded. With a sizable amount of explo data I might add. Just stupidity on my part and I paid for it.

Round 2 was textbook. Easy really. Just enter at a shallow angle. Use maximum patience. Level your ship and never roll or pitch more than a few degrees. Do not use up or down thrusters because of the way that FA on works. Lower ship by cycling FA-off off-then-on. It’s a good idea to temporarily change the FA off control to the setting where it is only FA off while you are holding the button. Not at my computer atm so I cannot remember the exact setting, but it’s the opposite of toggle. Anyway cycle FA off momentarily to drop and let FA on stop your descent. When you get close to the ground lower landing gear and using yaw only find a landing spot. Touch down by cycling FA off very quickly and wait till stable before touchdown. ED cheats to allow any thrusters you have installed be able to overcome any gravity so that nobody gets stranded. But this is only true for your “up” and “forward” thrusters.

To lift off, use up thrusters with ship level and do not stop for any reason or you will crash. Keep increasing altitude till you are at a safe altitude. I waited till 10km. While continuing to thrust up, go to to full speed forward. After achieving full speed while thrusting up, pitch up, boost and slowly release thrusting up while continuing to boost. That should get you back to SC.
 
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