Oolite Bulletins

What is a Docking Computer actually meant to be for?
Only immediate docking by SHIFT-C ?
For any other purposes it seems to be completely useless. Well, except of course if you like the music.

I had an unlucky encounter with a fast rotating con-store, after which I had to press space... I tried again, flew to the beacon, lined up perfectly well and decided to let my Docking Computer do the rest. SHIFT-C does not work here, so, here we go. Straight in please. Well, the crazy machine had other plans. It went steep down first, then around, then after a few minutes, it was almost where it started from, that's when I lost patience and docked manually again. I tried the same thing again on another occasion, same result. Instead of marginal corrections which may have been necessary, the computer decided to have a look around - well, can't blame him, after being asleep for days, why should he head for the dock immediately?

Is this intention? Punish the unable player for the foolish idea to rely on a computer?

Not that I use one much anymore - as you are finding out, it's too much of a hassle. I've found though, that activating it somewhere on the way into an approach position is the best. That way, the DC can do what it likes without any 'helpful' positioning by the pesky pilot and I can go off and put the kettle on!

There may be oxp conflicts of course, but I'll leave that for others with better knowledge than me.

never use it either , i installed delightful docking. dock manually...

I don't use it much in normal play, although 'insta-dock' is handy sometimes when testing. I don't use insta-dock when playing, but on the rare occassions that I use the DC, I'll activate it some way out and join Steve at the kettle then sit back and enjoy the show.

Well, the problem is, I like tea, but usually I don't drink tea when playing. But to open a beer or pour some juice does not take long enough to allow that docking machine to do its job... Tricky...
I usually use instant docking, I've proven often enough that I can do it manually, so finally, I prefere the quick method. But it seems I have to improve my skills on that fast rotating con stores.

ralph_hh wrote:

But it seems I have to improve my skills on that fast rotating con stores.

Well, keep up the practice, and who knows, eventually you might become like Cody, who docks using injectors and even (at Rock Hermits) the Torus drive..

Diziet Sma wrote:

ralph_hh wrote:

But it seems I have to improve my skills on that fast rotating con stores.

Well, keep up the practice, and who knows, eventually you might become like Cody, who docks using injectors and even (at Rock Hermits) the Torus drive..

I dock with injectors on Coriolis Stations and Space Bars.

I aimed the semi-automatic [wiki]ILS[/wiki] to be the golden mean, where you can handle the speed and roll so you will dock pretty fast, even on Injectors if you want to improve your reflexes.

Diziet Sma wrote:

... docks using injectors even (at Rock Hermits) the Torus drive..

Gotta admit that my eyes light-up when I find an unattended rock hermit - the thrill of docking on Torus outweighs the risk. What's also fun is when launching from such a rock hermit, as soon as you have control come to a dead-stop, switch to aft view, then hit the Torus drive - pure speed!

Please don't ever be tempted to have a look into a barrel when a gun is fired. The speed must be impressive, however...


Can't wait til I find my next rock hermit.
I need a new keyboard anyway, so why not use the space bar a bit...

I too would like to know the logic behind the docking computer flight path. Why go all over the place? Surely it should fly close to the beacon, line up, join the queue then straight in.

I always use ILS.

Fuel injectors and docking computer is a must have for money runs. Real life means time is limited. Why waste time in docking? Did the docking early in game, nothing to prove

What do you mean by 'money runs'? If you are running contracts then manual docking will save in-game time. Instant docking takes some time in-game (20 mins?) so you might run out of time on a tight schedule.

Rich industrial-poor agricultural rack up the money before kitting up the ship. Its a big grind. I take contracts that hasn't run out of game time either. Even do ship maintenance without missing target. I do some sun skimming to avoid entering station.

Contract times are - as far as I know - calculated based on the minimum number of long distance jumps. By doing shorts jumps, you can safe considerable time. This allows you to do some jobs in parallel, use a docking computer and other things. Time can become critical as soon as you chose to deliver a few more contracts simultaneously.