The most expensive part of the docking computer is - if i assume correctly - it will wreck your ship due to poor AI. On big stations, i hear the lasers go crazy every 5 minutes or so Which means thelanding AI effes up every 5 minutes.
Landing isn't too hard but you have to be carefull. I Suppose you probably tried to land on the wrong pad - or where you already in the stations-services?
1. step: request docking - if you don't do that you get a fine for loitering or trespassing after a short countdown. - Check your communications monitor for red messages and read them. - If you get any kind of warning.. back off. Read the message and try to figure out what you need to change.
2. step: use
your pad - Other posts have already covered that topic. - If you try to land on the wrong pad, you'll also get a warning first.
3. don't forget your landing gear ;-) Even though your ships computer will warn you it's way easyer to maneuver when the gear is out because you can't go as fast as before.
4. Don't Hurry. 10 minutes are more than enought even for a rookie. It's not a race.
5. Even though it makes no visual sense. The pads are direction-sensitive. You have to face the number of your pad to be able to dock. when you're close to the ground, just yaw in the direction you need to be. It also gives you a sense how much tollerance there is for unprecise landing. (it's actually quite forgiving)
6. This is semi advanced and related to step 5: When i try to land on an outpost or shoot over my pad in a big station, i like to face down the pad vertically to use rotate to get my top back in the right direction. Then i pull up and use the downwards thrusters on the same time. It's way faster thatn using yaw or flying away and retrying. Once the sensors switch to landing assiance i make the usual smaller adjustments and go down.
p.S. did anyone link this yet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weAoY7kw2NM