While aligning, please take into account what I said above about the difference between your viewpoint and your ship's centre. It's like driving a car. Your driver seat is excentric, either on the left side or on the right side of your car. If you try to drive through a small gate in a way that your seat is exactly in the middle between the gate posts, you will crash your front fender. You have to get your whole car through the gate, not only your seat. I hope you get the analogy.
And if you haven't aligned correctly, why don't you turn and fly back far away? Then try to align from the distance and enter the structure dead centre.
That is not the problem. I know if I am aligned 90 degrees I can adjust to the centre with .,
Your picture 3 shows the station tilted at an angle. That's the problem, it's called orientaion. Pictue 4 shows orientation correct with ship at 90 degrees to entrance. Getting from 3 to 4 is THE problem. None of the controls are capable of doing that.
Since I first posted ALL the fueling points I have been satellites, so no problem. I just wish someone could understand what I am saying.
I don't see the problem here. To be able to play oolite you must have docked the main station quite often. And that one if even more difficult to align and dock with.
And when you have still problems with the fuel station, do it as did on my first encounter:
The first time I came from the side and saw al kind of square openings along it. I knew it was for docking fuel and I couldn't see the big openings on its sides do I headed for one of the ventilation holes and entered the station that way. Also with a boa. Only when inside and turning around, looking through which slot I should leave, I noticed the two big openings it also had.
If you rotate 90 degrees, and then go Up that's the same as going side to side.
I don't have a Boa Cruiser, but I have done it numerous times with my Moray Star Boat.
You have to approach it carefully.
If it's not lined up, I come to a stop somewhat away from it.
I rotate until it's straight up and down. I aim below it and go forward until it passes overhead. I wait a very short bit. Full stop, and then point upwards.
It I am lined up then Great!
If I am short, go back down and advance a bit further, stop and repeat
Too far, turn around and try again.
If it's not lined up, I come to a stop somewhat away from it.
I rotate until it's straight up and down. I aim below it and go forward until it passes overhead. I wait a very short bit. Full stop, and then point upwards.
It I am lined up then Great!
If I am short, go back down and advance a bit further, stop and repeat
Too far, turn around and try again.
I place the fuel station in the top corner of the screen, draw a mental line through the middle of it and aim for that line.
As I get closer I keep the entrance to the fuel station at the top corner of the screen. That way, I can use fuel injection all the way to it, and glide on in under impulse engines for the last wee bit.
A trumble a day keeps the doctor away, and the tax man;
even the Grim Reaper keeps his distance.
-- Paul Wilkins
I'm currently uploading a demo video to YouTube which shows Fuel-Station docking using only Pitch and Roll, and then again with Pitch, Roll and Yaw. If you still haven't got the hang of it by the time it's uploaded, hopefully that will help..
It should be uploaded in about 8 hours according to YT.. then when I get home from work I'll add some captions to make things clearer. I estimate I should have a link up here in about 20-21 hours from the time this message was posted.
Most games have some sort of paddling-pool-and-water-wings beginning to ease you in: Oolite takes the rather more Darwinian approach of heaving you straight into the ocean, often with a brick or two in your pockets for luck. ~ Disembodied
If it's not lined up, I come to a stop somewhat away from it.
I rotate until it's straight up and down. I aim below it and go forward until it passes overhead. I wait a very short bit. Full stop, and then point upwards.
It I am lined up then Great!
If I am short, go back down and advance a bit further, stop and repeat
Too far, turn around and try again.
Sounds complicated I use the side-views to line up at 90°, come to a stop, swing the ship around and dock. Simples.
Well, I just don't know. I have pitch, roll and yaw, all on the keyboard as per instructions. Whatever I use the angled orientation always stays. Fly up from different angles and directions, use all the controls. You must all have a different program to me.I even went out and bought a joystick but the configuring wouldn't work right, left was right and right was left - very confusing and impossible to use. The throttle stayed on full and could not be stopped. I give up.
I grabbed a screen shot but could not find an upload function on this board. maybe someone could tell me how that is done.
PS I am not a newbie on either Elite or computer stuff. I created and run a forum for machinima. I create websites and have been into computers since 1978 (Apple) and have played Elite on the Amstrad PC and the Amiga. What I don't do is write code - life's too short for that.
PPS Yes I docked with the main station a few times until I got a dockinjg computer. The difference is that the main station has a beacon for lining up to the correct orientation i.e. 90 degrees to the entrance. It's then only a matter of up/down, side to side for centering.
Just as a thought, can you try with a standard Cobra Mk3 and see if that works any better?
Also can you dock with normal stations and such, or do they give you the same orientation problems? As others have said, the fuel station is designed to be easy to "dock with" (fly through). Even with just pitch and roll you should be able to fly around it and orient yourself so you can go straight through it.
You mention that you're using a joystick, but can you try with just the keyboard and the standard key layout? Cursor keys and acceleration/deceleration should be enough, yaw is a bonus here that you can do without.
Alternatively, fly at right angles across the end face of the station (keep a fair distance from it) and watch out of the side view. Does the station orientation change towards you as you fly past it, or does it "twist" as it would/should in real life?
For posting screenshots, you need to host the image somewhere (many use photobucket.com) and then make a link to it with the img tags.
I use the side-views to line up at 90°, come to a stop, swing the ship around and dock. Simples.
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