Docking Computer

[hiran]

I think I found it.
Apparently a station is a ship but it has a dock, which is a ship as well. But the important part is that as soon as docking is requested it is the dock that gives instructions and guides the ships in.

The algorithm can be seen here:
https://ooliteproject.github.io/oolite/ ... 857e24f59c

I guess this was chosen since it allows to be reused for player ships with docking computer and all other ships, it allows to be used in stations and freighters or other ships with a docking port.

[Cholmondely]

I think I found it.
Apparently a station is a ship but it has a dock, which is a ship as well. But the important part is that as soon as docking is requested it is the dock that gives instructions and guides the ships in.

The algorithm can be seen here:
https://ooliteproject.github.io/oolite/ ... 857e24f59c

I guess this was chosen since it allows to be reused for player ships with docking computer and all other ships, it allows to be used in stations and freighters or other ships with a docking port.

Good-oh! O Mighty and Magnificent Master of the Mysteries of the Silicon Chips!!

Now - tell me - is it possible to enable external docking in Oolite?

Can we allow a liner to dock with one of KW's Nuit stations?

Or allow a player to dock with a cheap rock hermit as per limbo's comment:

Stephen Donaldson's Gap Cycle is how I imagine space would be. Grotty, sleazy, life being cheap. Making Weimar Berlin look like a teddy bear's marshmallow picnic.
Traders and miners and such would need to wear EVA to get inside. The high cost of personal storage at a station would necessitate having to wear the suit inside. And there would probably be areas where the owners of the station wouldn't oxygenate.
Only the very very wealthy would have any form of... niceties.

Nuit station docking strut

[Killer Wolf]

i think it's possible you could get an NPC to dock at the Nuit struts, for eye candy; patrolAIs etc seem to direct a ship to a point and i see there's a "gotowaypointAI" - possibly we could specify a point at the end of the dock arm and have a ship fly there? aligning it logically is, i'd think, another problem though!

another thought - tweak the OXP to spawn a ship at a dock point w/ and AI to have ti pause there for 'x' seconds - you might not get to see a ship dock, but you could see one docked, and leaving to go about its route1AI business or whatever?

[hiran]

Now - tell me - is it possible to enable external docking in Oolite?

Can we allow a liner to dock with one of KW's Nuit stations?

Or allow a player to dock with a cheap rock hermit as per limbo's comment...

I assume all three questions are connected. But without real knowledge I am just guesstimating on what I saw in the code.

So it is the dock that guides ships in. For this the ships need to follow an approach pattern that ends inside the dock cubicle (touching the rear wall).
Imagine we create a docking cubicle with zero length. The rear wall would be identical to the front wall, and the cubicle is just a molecular thin sheet of <whatever docks are made of>. It should be possible to plaster this sheet to the outside of any station, generating some kind of landing pad.

Would that kind of suffice the request for external docking?

I'd be interested to see if that idea works, and also if one station (or ship) can be equipped with multiple such landing pads.

BTW, I tried to document what I understood from the docking procedure.
https://ooliteproject.github.io/oolite/ ... 857e24f59c
What do the magic numbers 10000, 5000, 12500 etc mean?

And just now I understood the control points are hardcoded in this method:
https://ooliteproject.github.io/oolite/ ... a28ed38a6b

It would be nicer if they were just a default and could possibly be overridden by station authors. KW's huge Isis Interstellar might need a more elaborate approach pattern.

[Cholmondely]

Now - tell me - is it possible to enable external docking in Oolite?

Can we allow a liner to dock with one of KW's Nuit stations?

Or allow a player to dock with a cheap rock hermit as per limbo's comment...

I assume all three questions are connected. But without real knowledge I am just guesstimating on what I saw in the code.

So it is the dock that guides ships in. For this the ships need to follow an approach pattern that ends inside the dock cubicle (touching the rear wall).
Imagine we create a docking cubicle with zero length. The rear wall would be identical to the front wall, and the cubicle is just a molecular thin sheet of <whatever docks are made of>. It should be possible to plaster this sheet to the outside of any station, generating some kind of landing pad.

Would that kind of suffice the request for external docking?

I'd be interested to see if that idea works, and also if one station (or ship) can be equipped with multiple such landing pads.

BTW, I tried to document what I understood from the docking procedure.
https://ooliteproject.github.io/oolite/ ... 857e24f59c
What do the magic numbers 10000, 5000, 12500 etc mean?

And just now I understood the control points are hardcoded in this method:
https://ooliteproject.github.io/oolite/ ... a28ed38a6b

There's a bit more to it though, isn't there?

When you successfully dock in Oolite you dematerialise magically into the back of the dock! And your ship can no longer be damaged. And you lose your outside views.

[hiran]

There's a bit more to it though, isn't there?

When you successfully dock in Oolite you dematerialise magically into the back of the dock! And your ship can no longer be damaged. And you lose your outside views.

Well, as long as you walk around inside the station these outside views do not really make sense. All ships would have to dock with their nose to the station, so showing a picture of the station surface/landing pad would be sufficient. Docking sunny side up would require that the ship can actually move sideways, or downwards. I have only seen ships moving forward with this aristoteles drive.

But watching AI ships dock, then vanish is strange indeed. A landing pad would never look occupied. Hence my first question: could a station handle several such pads/docks? I fear for a realistic behaviour changing the Oolite core is inevitable.

[Cholmondely]

There's a bit more to it though, isn't there?

When you successfully dock in Oolite you dematerialise magically into the back of the dock! And your ship can no longer be damaged. And you lose your outside views.

Well, as long as you walk around inside the station these outside views do not really make sense. All ships would have to dock with their nose to the station, so showing a picture of the station surface/landing pad would be sufficient. Docking sunny side up would require that the ship can actually move sideways, or downwards. I have only seen ships moving forward with this aristoteles drive.

But watching AI ships dock, then vanish is strange indeed. A landing pad would never look occupied. Hence my first question: could a station handle several such pads/docks? I fear for a realistic behaviour changing the Oolite core is inevitable.

But!

Unless you have LitF loaded, the presumption is that you are sitting in your ship, using the F4 interfaces between your ship and the station you are docked at. And this was reinforced by inter alia KW's early HUDs (see below).

To do something else (visit the bar, visit the rock hermit's mining contracts office) you have to make a different choice at the F4 screen. And these choices are all from very recent OXPs.


Killer Wolf's Dynamic HUD (2010)

[Killer Wolf]

BTW, I tried to document what I understood from the docking procedure.
https://ooliteproject.github.io/oolite/ ... 857e24f59c
What do the magic numbers 10000, 5000, 12500 etc mean?

are they not the relevant distances, as per algorithm note 3? so if it's 10000 you can approach, if it gets to 5000 you "BACK_OFF" etc etc?

[hiran]

BTW, I tried to document what I understood from the docking procedure.
https://ooliteproject.github.io/oolite/ ... 857e24f59c
What do the magic numbers 10000, 5000, 12500 etc mean?

are they not the relevant distances, as per algorithm note 3? so if it's 10000 you can approach, if it gets to 5000 you "BACK_OFF" etc etc?

Ok, I had understood that much. Let me rephrase the question:

What is the measurement? In the UI I see distances in kilometres but am unsure if it is always that. Is the core calculating in kilometres or something else? And what would these values mean for a ship, a station or a big station?

Obviously the distance to back off is less than collisionradius1+1000+collisionradius2 so it can adapt. But 12000, 5000 and 10000 are hardcoded so station engineers should be aware to not exceed these dimensions. Or we need to make them configurable.

[Cholmondely]

From my campaign for complete cavezzification of the Ooniverse:

The km labels for waypoints and reticle targets are unfortunately hardcoded. You cannot change then with an OXP.

[hiran]

From my campaign for complete cavezzification of the Ooniverse:

The km labels for waypoints and reticle targets are unfortunately hardcoded. You cannot change then with an OXP.

So we agree these numbers are all kilometers.

I added the numbers with the km unit to the documentation. Please check the algorithm carefully:
https://ooliteproject.github.io/oolite/ ... 857e24f59c

If ship is not on approach list and beyond scanner range (25 km?), approach the station
Add ship to approach list
If ship is within distance of 1000 km between station's and ship's collision radius, move away from station
If ship is approaching from behind, move to the side of the station (perpendicular on direction to station and launch vector)
If ship is further away than 12000 km, approach the station

I think the unit is not correct.

[Cholmondely]

From my campaign for complete cavezzification of the Ooniverse:

The km labels for waypoints and reticle targets are unfortunately hardcoded. You cannot change then with an OXP.

So we agree these numbers are all kilometers.

I added the numbers with the km unit to the documentation. Please check the algorithm carefully:
https://ooliteproject.github.io/oolite/ ... 857e24f59c

If ship is not on approach list and beyond scanner range (25 km?), approach the station
Add ship to approach list
If ship is within distance of 1000 km between station's and ship's collision radius, move away from station
If ship is approaching from behind, move to the side of the station (perpendicular on direction to station and launch vector)
If ship is further away than 12000 km, approach the station

I think the unit is not correct.

If it's not km, might it be just metres? It won't be feet or miles or anything civilised...

[hiran]

From my campaign for complete cavezzification of the Ooniverse:

So we agree these numbers are all kilometers.

I added the numbers with the km unit to the documentation. Please check the algorithm carefully:
https://ooliteproject.github.io/oolite/ ... 857e24f59c

If ship is not on approach list and beyond scanner range (25 km?), approach the station
Add ship to approach list
If ship is within distance of 1000 km between station's and ship's collision radius, move away from station
If ship is approaching from behind, move to the side of the station (perpendicular on direction to station and launch vector)
If ship is further away than 12000 km, approach the station

I think the unit is not correct.

If it's not km, might it be just metres? It won't be feet or miles or anything civilised...

It may be even more uncivilized than expected...

no_draw_distance = 100000.0; // 10 km

So the unit would be decimetres?

Let's add some confusion.

Cubes created by Wings3D measure one unit on a side. In Oolite these units are meters and a 1m x 1m x 1m spaceship is a bit small, so we're going to scale it to 30m wide, 10m tall, and 30m long.

So the unit would be metres?

var range = 30000; // 30 km default

Now the unit is a km?

if (range < 0.001f) range = 0.0f; // avoids the occasional -0.001 km distance.

Whee, here the unit is a km again.

[hiran]

Units in Oolite

Oolite is a space simulation game that features various units for different aspects of gameplay. In this game, the primary units used are as follows:

Length: In Oolite, the primary unit of length is the Light-Year (ly). This unit is used to measure the distance between stars, systems, and other celestial bodies. A light-year is the distance traveled by light in one Earth year, approximately 9.461 trillion kilometers (5.878 trillion miles).

Mass: Mass is measured in tons (t) in Oolite. This unit is used to represent the size and weight of spaceships, cargo, and other in-game objects. One ton in Oolite is equivalent to approximately 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds).

Velocity: Velocity is expressed in terms of speed and direction in Oolite. The primary unit of speed is the speed of light, which is approximately 299,792 kilometers per second (186,282 miles per second). This speed is used to represent the maximum speed of a spaceship or the speed of various in-game objects.

Time: Time is measured in seconds (s) in Oolite. This unit is used to represent the passage of time in the game and is essential for various game mechanics, such as ship movement, combat, and navigation.

Temperature: Temperature is measured in Kelvin (K) in Oolite. This unit is used to represent the heat or coldness of celestial bodies and other in-game objects. Kelvin is an absolute temperature scale, with 0 K being absolute zero, the lowest possible temperature.

Currency: In Oolite, the primary unit of currency is the Credit (Cr). This unit is used to represent the economic value of various goods, services, and ships. One Credit in Oolite is worth approximately 1/100,000 of a Galactic Credit, the standard currency used throughout the game universe.

Authoritative Reference Titles

Oolite Wiki - The Oolite Wiki provides comprehensive information about the game, its mechanics, and its various elements. It was used to gather information about the units used in Oolite, such as length, mass, velocity, and temperature.

The Oolite Forums - The Oolite Forums serve as a community hub for players and developers to discuss the game, its mechanics, and its various aspects. It was used to gain a deeper understanding of the game’s units and how they are used in different gameplay situations.

Europa Universalis IV Wiki - Although not directly related to Oolite, the Europa Universalis IV Wiki was used as a reference for understanding the concept of units and their usage in video games. This knowledge was then applied to the understanding of units in Oolite.

[hiran]

Internal Units Used in Oolite

In Oolite, the units used internally are primarily based on the metric system. The game uses meters for distance measurements, kilograms for mass, and seconds for time. These units are commonly used in physics and engineering, providing a consistent and standardized way to represent various quantities within the game.

Distance Measurements In Oolite, distance measurements are represented in meters. This unit of length is widely used in scientific and engineering applications due to its simplicity and compatibility with other metric units. Whether it’s the distance between celestial bodies, the size of space stations, or the range of weapons, meters serve as the fundamental unit for measuring distances within the game.

Mass The game utilizes kilograms as the unit of mass. Whether it’s the mass of ships, cargo, or celestial objects, kilograms provide a standardized measure of mass within Oolite. This allows for accurate calculations related to gravitational forces, acceleration, and momentum, contributing to the realism and consistency of the game’s physics engine.

Time Oolite uses seconds as the standard unit for time measurements. Whether it’s tracking mission durations, calculating travel times between systems, or determining weapon firing rates, seconds serve as the fundamental unit for representing time-related aspects within the game. This consistent time measurement system contributes to the overall coherence of in-game events and interactions.

Top 3 Authoritative Reference Publications or Domain Names Used:

Oolite Wiki: The Oolite Wiki provides detailed information about the game mechanics, including internal units and measurements used within Oolite.
Official Oolite Forums: The official forums offer discussions and insights from developers and experienced players regarding various aspects of Oolite, including its internal units.
GitHub Repository for Oolite: The GitHub repository for Oolite may contain technical documentation or discussions related to the game’s internal workings and units used.

These sources were consulted to ensure accuracy and reliability in providing information about the internal units used in Oolite.