Why people never use docking mode.

[Onesmallstep]

Well hello there im new here! Why do people never use docking mode?!?!?

I Always use it when docking and also i dont even know how to use rcs in flight mode.

Can you please tell me how to use rcs in flight mode???

 

Thanks!

[Nich]

h, n, j, k, l, i from staging mode.

I use docking mode all the time.

[FullMetalMachinist]

1 hour ago, Nich said:

h, n, j, k, l, i from staging mode.

I use docking mode all the time.

+1 to this. Also, you can press 'v' to cycle through the camera modes until you get to "locked", then rotate the camera so that it's behind your ship. Now the translation RCS keys will correspond to the directions that makes sense. So 'i' will be up, 'k' down, 'j' left, 'l' right, 'h' forward, 'n' backward (well, to be really technical, those keys always go that way, regardless of what camera mode you're in. This just makes it so that "left" for your ship is also "left" on your screen). 

[Superfluous J]

I don't use docking mode because I instinctively know how to use wasdqe for orientation and ijklhn for translation. Retraining my brain to use different keys for one specific thing, when I've already mastered all the controls, seems like a waste of time at best.

Also, one of those controls you need to retrain is the spacebar, and considering what that does outside of docking mode, it's just asking for trouble.

Completely unrelated to KSP and too long to just watch on a whim video hidden below

Spoiler

 

 

[Rocket In My Pocket]

56 minutes ago, 5thHorseman said:

Completely unrelated to KSP and too long to just watch on a whim video hidden below

Great video, really interesting!

Now I want to try and ride that bike!

[Pecan]

I have two hands, left for rotation and right for translation.  Why would I change mode, just because I'm docking?  (And, since I've got the navball, why would I change camera mode.  Then again, I do have NavballDockingAlignmentIndicator).

[Kerbart]

3 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

I don't use docking mode because I instinctively know how to use wasdqe for orientation and ijklhn for translation. Retraining my brain to use different keys for one specific thing, when I've already mastered all the controls, seems like a waste of time at best.

Also, one of those controls you need to retrain is the spacebar, and considering what that does outside of docking mode, it's just asking for trouble.

Mainly this.

I started out in Docking Mode, mainly because it seemed easier (just ASWD to worry about). When I got a bit more comfortable with docking, and after many unwanted stagings (when I was not in Docking Mode when I thought I was), I took the leap to stop using it. Yes, it will take a little while to get used to using IJKL for translation, but it's worth it:

• It makes it easier to switch rover steering over to IJKL (not interfering with SAS modules) which is a Good Thing
• No more unintended staging!
• You can adjust direction and position at the same time while docking, without having to switch back and forth between the various modes (and encounter the ever so nasty rotating-while-intending-to-translate event, or vice versa)

Looking back I actually wonder why Docking Mode was created. It's not really making things easier (like putting up cross hairs, or switching to a different kind of navball) and it introduces the chance of making some very unfortunate (LOLZ Kerbal?)  mistakes. That's hindsight. But coming from somebody who, at one point, swore by docking mode.

[Superfluous J]

asdf

1 hour ago, Kerbart said:

 

• It makes it easier to switch rover steering over to IJKL (not interfering with SAS modules) which is a Good Thing
• No more unintended staging!
• You can adjust direction and position at the same time while docking, without having to switch back and forth between the various modes (and encounter the ever so nasty rotating-while-intending-to-translate event, or vice versa)

One more:

• When you're landing and trying to nail it within a few meters (or less, when landing on say a docking port), you'll need to be able to control roll and translation at the same time. Perfecting that skill in the far more safe and forgiving environment of orbital docking means your learning curve will be shallower.

[zarakon]

I never learned how docking mode even works.  Never felt like regular mode had any lack of controls

[Empiro]

I think Docking Mode is something that has poor usability. Having the same key do two completely different things (in the same scene) is generally a bad idea.

From a psychological standpoint, it's good to have consistency -- if you know that WASD always rotates when you're looking at your ship, then you can commit it to instinct and muscle memory, giving you quicker reactions and less mental overhead. After a little while, you also instinctively know to use IJLK to translate.

[Mahnarch]

There's a docking mode?

 

I keeed!

[Jetski]

I use docking mode always, haven't had any problems.  Definitely switch camera to Locked mode, though, makes it much simpler.

[Johnsky7]

I've been playing the game since the early 2010's, about 1500 hours logged.

I think I tried using the docking mode once... that's it. I didn't see the point of docking mode. It just moves your RCS controls into a new, less versatile layout.

I had expected the docking mode to give me some kind of angle of approach indication, but all it does is shows momentary velocity change as you make it which is kinda useless as you already know you changed velocity, you're the one who fired the thruster, lol. It has no practical use, you're still having to line up your docking ports by eye anyways, so why bother entering yet another control mode to do it?

I've checked back occasionally after various updates hoping they've actually made the docking mode useful (by adding actual alignment angles to target) , but they never did.

[king of nowhere]

i learned to dock without using the RCS at all.

after that, doing it as i already knew was easier than learning a new way. i tried the new way, and couldn't make it work.

[peteletroll]

Because pressing space scares me 

[Klapaucius]

On 4/16/2016 at 11:58 PM, Superfluous J said:

Completely unrelated to KSP and too long to just watch on a whim video hidden below

  Hide contents

 

 

Thanks for sharing that. Loved it.  Will be emailing it a lot to friends and family.

Edited July 3, 2020 by Klapaucius