Spacestation docking

[CobraMK2]

Hi

1. will the dockingport on spacestations be facing the planet it's orbiting ?

2. will spacestation be rotating so manual docking won't be too easy

Personally I found the docking experience in the old Elite games (C64/Amiga500) very frustrating at first, but very rewarding once I mastered it.

 

[Out2lunch]

1. I would think so, why change the legacy.

2. Again I would think so, well some stations for sure.

Landing on some of the larger ships I would imagine will be straight in ie not rotating.

The rotating station is to provide artificial gravity for the station, if I remember correctly.

 

[Mobius]

Hi

1. will the dockingport on spacestations be facing the planet it's orbiting ?

2. will spacestation be rotating so manual docking won't be too easy

Personally I found the docking experience in the old Elite games (C64/Amiga500) very frustrating at first, but very rewarding once I mastered it.

Welcome to the forums CobraMK2,

regarding your questions,
1 no one knows! as nothing has been said.
2 I would think so.

 

[Slawkenbergius]

Given the size difference between a Sidewinder and a Panther Clipper, I don't think it will be too difficult to get in through the slot.

 

[Karl]

2. will spacestation be rotating so manual docking won't be too easy

If this is realistic, it won't matter; if rotating you have to match its rotation speed, and if not you'd still have to cancel whatever rotation speed you already have. Similarly, if ship have "auto leveling device" as a fly-by-wire mechanic or autopilot thingie, the same device should be able to match a target reference rotation.

Personally, I prefer some kind of help simply because it feels more realistic. If todays planes can do autolandings in great forward momentum "fighting" gravity and some turbulence and wind using only a single thrust vector (usually ), I'm pretty sure future docking computers can do a lot more precise job without external forces affecting it while managing a lot more thrusters.

I'm all for complex and hard games (pretty much none around anymore, sadly), but they have to be complex in the right places, and not feel arbitrary hard for reasons that doesn't make sense. Okay, so maybe navigational aid and stabilizing thrusters or whatever could be destroyed in a fight - at least it would help on the explanation level.

Just saying.

 

[el_tel]

Give players a basic docking computer by default, which requires a bit of manual intervention. With enough credits, upgrades can be bought.
All DCs can be damaged in combat though, so manual docking skills are always needed.

 

[Giskard]

I'm hoping that some ships will be too small or not high tech enough to carry a docking computer.

I'm assuming this will be the case because surely not all ships will be able to carry all equipment. (ie, it won't be purely down to hull space; there will be a physical restriction on the types of equipment some ships can be fitted with).

 

[Flavio]

If some ships are too small to have a docking computer then I would guess that its widest point will be smaller than an Asps narrowest point and if you go to a main station which has an entry slot to accommodate an Asp then you will not need to rotate your ship as it will still fit into the slot and you will still be able to dock but you may find that you have landed on your side or roof which will create a little damage and you will have to pay to have your ship righted as well as pay a fine for improper docking procedure but you won't crash and die.

 

[CobraMK2]

1. I would think so, why change the legacy.

Yahh, you're right, why change the legacy ? - it was a core part of the game when one started a new "career" and couldn't yet afford a docking computer.

Landing on some of the larger ships I would imagine will be straight in ie not rotating.

I think you're right in your imagination - now, I won't be speculating in why ships don't rotate in order to create artificial gravity when spacestations might have to, as it is supposed to be a game and not a simulation.

 

[Giskard]

I'm presuming that any ship that docks in such a station (regardless of size) would have to synchronise orientation.

Also, it seems to me that being able to equip a docking computer may have have more dependencies than just hull space.

 

[Cody]

I would be just a tad disappointed if I didn't have to match rotation manually - at least early on, anyway.

 

[Patrick_68000]

I found the docking experience in the old Elite games (C64/Amiga500) very frustrating at first, but very rewarding once I mastered it.

I had the same sensation for planetary landings (in Frontier).

 

[Captain N]

Also, it seems to me that being able to equip a docking computer may have have more dependencies than just hull space.

It seems to me that a docking computer would be the size of a pinhead and cost half a credit.

 

[TheDoctor]

I never even bothered with matching rotations on the BBC versions I always got in and no scrapes.

The Docking computer though on the BBC disc version could be a bit tempermental at times and if you approached the station on it's rear side and engaged the DC the computer would see the shortest route to the entrance as straight through the station and you would be killed.

Perhaps going back to basics with very limited DC's like that

 

[TheDoctor]

It seems to me that a docking computer would be the size of a pinhead and cost half a credit.

I would thought it would be a software add on to your navigational computer and it costs a 1000cr in liscensing to the company you bought it from.

 

[1stBiker]

it would be cool to have something to do when docking instead of just listening the 'dockingsound' and wait for the acceleration-enabled thingy

same applies to orbital landing later - once its implemented

theses things were always a heartbeat increase and I really like to have that feeling again

<<<1stBiker

 

[CobraMK2]

I never even bothered with matching rotations on the BBC versions I always got in and no scrapes.

Well, I have personally had a few bad experiences when docking due to not paying enough attention at the crucial moment.

As a side note I can say that one of friends was able to dock at full speed - I remember that I sorta envied his flying skills back in those days...

The Docking computer though on the BBC disc version could be a bit tempermental at times and if you approached the station on it's rear side and engaged the DC the computer would see the shortest route to the entrance as straight through the station and you would be killed.

I have had the exact same experience - pretty annoying to first arrive a long distance away from the planet (then you knew that there were troubles ahead) and then fend off a few waves of pirates all eager to get a share of your precious cargo and then end up dying due to some wrong calculations from the docking computer.

I have also have the experience of having a head on collision with a departing ship while I was almost flying through the "sweetspot" - GAME OVER and please reload a saved game !

I blame the staff responsible for traffic control on this one - maybe the developers should implement accidents like this, as things do go wrong at times.

it would be cool to have something to do when docking instead of just listening the 'dockingsound' and wait for the acceleration-enabled thingy

same applies to orbital landing later - once its implemented

Yahh, that's why we should be able to choose whether to use a docking computer or not - I can't imagine what tasks we should or could do while the docking computer takes care of the docking.

If the developers made some tasks we had to do while docking then this would also apply when doing manual docking/landing and I fear it would hurt the fun-factor of the game.

theses things were always a heartbeat increase and I really like to have that feeling again

I think that the majority of us are with you on this one !

 

[DigitalDuck]

As a side note I can say that one of friends was able to dock at full speed - I remember that I sorta envied his flying skills back in those days...

That's what I do all the time. Just fly in from wherever I happen to be flying in from, and aim straight at the hole, doing some last-second turning to get through. Easy with a bit of practice, and looks awesome to everyone watching.

 

[Cody]

... was able to dock at full speed...

Is there any other way? Docking on injectors (in Oolite) is pretty cool too.

 

[jan]

i had lots a fun docking manualy, so more often than not i turned auto pilot off after it started its docking run and tryed see how fast i cud dock whit out crashing, it was rather easy then just needed roll the ship at last second to line up to the docking port.