no acquire force

[jriggio3]

iv been struggling big time to get things docked in orbit. even when i get direct hits they seem to bump off each other and i have to start over. now i see that everyone is adjusting the acquire force to help connect the ports and i dont have this option available when i open the actions menu... why? is acquire force a mod how can i make this a little easier?

[bewing]

You probably need to click the button in the settings for "Enable Advanced Tweakables." But if you got your game from Steam, you probably also want to verify your file integrity.

 

[king of nowhere]

anyway, you should try to go slow. if you are moving fast, your vessels will bump into each other and then separate. if you are slow, they can stick together

[antipro]

1 hour ago, king of nowhere said:

anyway, you should try to go slow. if you are moving fast, your vessels will bump into each other and then separate. if you are slow, they can stick together

correct, indeed I never needed to increase magnets force, they have enough attractive force by default.

anyway to dock 2 ships:
Rendezvous them, when they are few meters close:
- set both docking ports as a target
- set both docking ports as "control from here"
- auto-aim both the ports to each other, so they continue to align their-self.
- when they are still, use RCS to gently approach one probe to the other.
- at about 2m distance, the magnets do the job.

Example docking: https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ww5fo2orfj18m9/docking.mkv?dl=0

Edited December 22, 2020 by antipro

[Zhetaan]

2 hours ago, jriggio3 said:

iv been struggling big time to get things docked in orbit. even when i get direct hits they seem to bump off each other and i have to start over.

Welcome to the forum!  Thanks for stopping by.

Generally, docking is best done slowly; you'll want to keep your closing velocity under .3 metres per second.  Keeping it to .2 or even .1 is arguably better.  If you're bumping hard enough that you need to start over, then you're going too fast.

Mating docking ports is a subtle touch, not a smash-and-grab.  This requires some finesse, but since you are able to get direct hits, I will assume that you have the aiming part of that finesse more or less figured out and need only to reduce speed.  That being said, it is possible that you have a bug in one or the other of your ports where it fails to set a ready state for docking; the magnets only work when the port is in a ready state.

Also, for future reference, the Advanced Grabbing Unit does require some speed for a good acquisition, but it operates on a different principle.

Edited December 22, 2020 by Zhetaan

[AHHans]

4 hours ago, jriggio3 said:

even when i get direct hits they seem to bump off each other and i have to start over.

Another possibility than coming in too fast is that you are trying to dock two differently sized docking ports together. At first glance the regular clamp-o-tron and the clamp-o-tron junior can be easily confused.

P.S. Yes, easily! I did it often enough, so it is easy without loads of experience!

[Corona688]

3 hours ago, king of nowhere said:

anyway, you should try to go slow.

I only started getting anywhere with docking when I disregarded this advice:  "going slow" means tons and tons of drift.  You want a good meter per second at least, until you're almost on top of it.  Then slow down and let them catch.

[18Watt]

For heavy vessels, I find it helpful to turn off SAS just prior to contact.   Sometimes the alignment is off a few degrees, and with SAS active the reaction wheels are trying to keep the vessels misaligned.

Also, it’s easy to put the large docking port on upside down- worth checking.

[king of nowhere]

2 hours ago, Corona688 said:

I only started getting anywhere with docking when I disregarded this advice:  "going slow" means tons and tons of drift.  You want a good meter per second at least, until you're almost on top of it.  Then slow down and let them catch.

yes, of course. we mean to go slow when you touch. when you are still 50 meters from your target, you should go a bit faster

[ConArt70]

I always do the final few metres at 0.1m/s and just before contact I turn SAS off. Make sure your alignment is straight too

[Superfluous J]

Pictures of your ships would help.

When humans were learning docking they sent up two simple ships and practiced with them. I suggest you do the same.

I'm talking, top-down, a Jr port, mk1 capsule, small fuel tank, small engine. Put a couple solar panels on it and four 4-way rcs jets radially mounted, centered vertically on the center of mass.

Launch two of those. Rendezvous with them. Dock them. Turn on infinite propellant and/or power of you need to. Practice.

This isn't a checkbox on an achievement here. This is a skill you're learning to be able to get the most out of the game.

[Snark]

11 hours ago, jriggio3 said:

iv been struggling big time to get things docked in orbit. even when i get direct hits they seem to bump off each other and i have to start over.

1. Could you post a screenshot of your ships about to dock?  We really need to see what's going on to be able to offer advice.
2. How fast are your ships moving relative to each other when you're trying to dock?