Oolite Bulletins

And tdmerch thinks mine's scary!

disembodied and meister cody's docking styles are meant for the sophisto mussos, not for us nondescript traders.

toto d merchant wrote:

disembodied and meister cody's docking styles are meant for the sophisto mussos, not for us nondescript traders.

It takes a bit of practice, is all. The scanner is a very useful bit of kit in locating the direct point between a buoy and its station without having to make visual checks, and you can get greater accuracy by increasing the scanner's zoom facility, too. Like my old docking instructor used to say, "When the lollipops meet, you're lined up sweet!"

Aye, as Big D says, a little practice is all it takes. Thing is, docking is actually easier at speed.

Cody wrote:

Thing is, docking is actually easier at speed.

...and less painful if it all goes horribly wrong. It's over so fast you don't feel a thing!

toto d merchant wrote:

ils is a steal for 50 credits, and makes me feel like a fool for saving up for the docking computer.

If time is money then you can buy time for your credits with [wiki]ILS[/wiki] and approach the dock using Injectors, except in the last stage until you have not experience.

Docking Computer cost more but can rotate also if you want full service and time is less important. If you have not any urgent delivery just want save your real time then either press Shift+C (need a station where fast docking is not restricted) or you can use 16xTAF while Docking Computer do the slow approach, just switch back to 1x right before the dock to avoid a collision due to the inaccuracy in TAF.

Norby wrote:

toto d merchant wrote:

ils is a steal for 50 credits, and makes me feel like a fool for saving up for the docking computer.

If time is money then you can buy time for your credits with [wiki]ILS[/wiki] and approach the dock using Injectors, except in the last stage until you have not experience.

Docking Computer cost more but can rotate also if you want full service and time is less important. If you have not any urgent delivery just want save your real time then either press Shift+C (need a station where fast docking is not restricted) or you can use 16xTAF while Docking Computer do the slow approach, just switch back to 1x right before the dock to avoid a collision due to the inaccuracy in TAF.

i only use the docking computer when i feel like listening to music sir norby. i replaced the blue danube with a tune from the rosenberg trio's samois concert. so it's django reinhardt music playing gloriously while i'm docking.

Well, to me, both systems (ILS and DC) are very comparable. Both have issues with a few Rock Hermits and Mining Outposts (but the problems are with different dockables, there are Rock Hermits where ILS plummets you in the wall next to the entrance, and there are Rock Hermits where DC apparently does not find how to rotate on final approach (or sometimes it does too late)
By the way, at 30% of my station approaches, ILS does not work completely, it shows the white bubble but it does not automatically change your heading.

The "full service" of DC has its own merit. If I do "L" and get the message that I am on number 6 on approach (and the occasional Fugu tanker in queue), I can imagine how long it takes (considering that, in that time, very probably a pack of slow trader plus escorts want to leave the same station), I do "c" and go fetch a beer from the fridge. Sometimes (the occasional bug) I come back 10 minutes later to find that I am still in queue and not one single ship moves... but well, that's life.

Disembodied wrote:

toto d merchant wrote:

disembodied and meister cody's docking styles are meant for the sophisto mussos, not for us nondescript traders.

It takes a bit of practice, is all. The scanner is a very useful bit of kit in locating the direct point between a buoy and its station without having to make visual checks, and you can get greater accuracy by increasing the scanner's zoom facility, too. Like my old docking instructor used to say, "When the lollipops meet, you're lined up sweet!"

i tried professor disembodied's "meeting of the lollipops." it's the road to martyrdom i tells you.

toto d merchant wrote:

i tried professor disembodied's "meeting of the lollipops." it's the road to martyrdom i tells you.

A bit of courage, and a bit of speed! Don't go in slow. And when lining up, aim for the sides of the dock where the interior walls are visible until they balance out - e.g. in the instance below, you'd aim towards the cross until you could see the interior dock walls equally all round:

Disembodied wrote:

A bit of courage, and a bit of speed! Don't go in slow.

Indeed.. going in too slow is a common mistake newcomers make. Understandable, because flying at that big spinning wall is kinda scary.. but when you go too slowly, you end up spending far too long inside the slot itself, before actually getting docked. And the tiniest error whilst in there can end up being fatal. Going in quickly means you're past the danger zone that much faster. I recommend using at least 1/3 throttle for docking, and as others have said, the faster you go, the easier it actually is.

Line up as good as you can, not too far away from the station. If you need it, do so by looking out of the side window.
Center the station in the front window, adjust rotation rate, keeping the stations entrance horizontally and hit the injector button.

Having mastered this, I feel free to cut this short by pressing Shift-C as soon as I enter the station aegis. There are more interesting aspects of the game than docking.


( I still have to find a non mass locked Rock Hermit to try Codys Thorus docking...) I shall blast that bloody ore transport out of the sky next time.

ralph_hh wrote:

I still have to find a non mass locked Rock Hermit to try Codys Thorus docking...

<smirks> I found one last night, and from a long way out spotted that I was almost perfectly aligned - that was the fastest I've ever docked!

Crikey, you young whippersnappers... Always in a bloody hurry. I hope you don't make love that way! Seriously, I never use the DC and I don't line up with or fly toward the beacon. When given the go ahead, I fly up to the station entrance whilst making use of either port or starboard view. Time comes around when the way looks good I switch to the forward view, pitch and roll, and casually fly in. If the Imperial March is playing on HyperRadio, all the better an experience it is.

CaptSolo wrote:

Crikey, you young whippersnappers... Always in a bloody hurry.

Time is money in the courier business, old man - gotta get those early-delivery bonuses!