Docking creates an unwanted decoupling

[Wobbly Av8r]

I have an odd problem that I'm hoping someone here has encountered and can help me to correct, or at least to understand what is going on:

I am docking two ships around Minmus, one that has transported Kerbonauts from Kerbin to Minmus orbit, and a lander craft that I dock with, refuel and transport the required Kerbals to the Minmus surface and back. This has worked "famously" for a few missions until now. As I docked with the lander vessel (I docked by flying the lander because it has the RCS system, not the transport) immediately, upon docking, the TD-25 Decoupler performed an uncommanded separation followed by a sound which is best described as a Geiger Counter clicking combined the operation of a steam engine. IOW, I have no idea what sound file is called, but it's not a decoupler sound file!

In any case, I've Alt-L 'd to prevent staging (which is not illustrated below, but it was tried), I've deselected each of the docking port Jr's options to not stage, I've tried to dock while flying the non-RCS transport ship and no matter what I try, upon docking the decoupler does its thing and my fuel and engines go bye-bye, along with that weird sound. I verified the file integrity.

Of interest, on my transport ship staging information displays NOTHING; no decoupler (or parachutes, which are also attached) or engines and while my total dV is displayed, none of the two stages (both which are labeled "4") have any dV associated with them. I have no problem firing the engines but, again, they are not displayed anywhere in the stack on the left either.

What is going on? Is this just a corrupt file? I've checked the .sfs and the vessel has all the components in that file as exists on the ship but none of the status displays seems to think so AND docking creates a weird decoupling/sound. Suggestions?

Spoiler

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by Wobbly Av8r

[Serenity]

46 minutes ago, Wobbly Av8r said:

What is going on? Is this just a corrupt file? I've checked the .sfs and the vessel has all the components in that file as exists on the ship but none of the status displays seems to think so AND docking creates a weird decoupling/sound. Suggestions?

It's been a while but i had similar experiences, i think that sound is the fairing being re-deployed breaking the staging and maybe even detaching some parts causing debris/confusion to the game.

Putting the fairing deploy in an action group and removing it from staging prevents this from happening if that's what you experiencing.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Serenity

[Wobbly Av8r]

Thank you, @Serenity, I will give that a try.

[Wobbly Av8r]

Well, I re-engineered the vessel - I even unstaged the fairing but found out that the transition to [the problem] occurs immediately after I pick up a stranded scientist and EVA the Kerbal to an empty EAS-1 seat that is located in the payload bay - the moment I clicked on "Board EAS-1 seat", the staging status on the left goes into the "You have two stage 4's that are both empty" as described above, and opening up that seat again does not change it back. Funny thing was that didn't happen the first time I picked up the stranded Kerbal... maybe things changed when I updated to 1.11.2?  I was previously running 10.2 prior to the upgrade...

Edited August 9, 2021 by Wobbly Av8r

[Serenity]

27 minutes ago, Wobbly Av8r said:

Well, I re-engineered the vessel - I even unstaged the fairing but found out that the transition to [the problem] occurs immediately after I pick up a stranded scientist and EVA the Kerbal to an empty EAS-1 seat that is located in the payload bay - the moment I clicked on "Board EAS-1 seat", the staging status on the left goes into the "You have two stage 4's that are both empty" as described above, and opening up that seat again does not change it back. Funny thing was that didn't happen the first time I picked up the stranded Kerbal... maybe things changed when I updated to 1.11.2?  I was previously running 10.2 prior to the upgrade...

Hmm interesting, taking a wild guess here, it sounds like maybe a physics related bug/problem.

Try before EVA or emptying the seat to time warp for few seconds and then do the transitions and see if it happens again.

Time warping for just a tiny bit usually normalizes any physics wonkiness...but ofcourse maybe your problem is something entirely different, maybe a bug with the seat.

Are you using heavy or root autostruts?If yes try sticking with grandparent ones, they attract the kraken less.

Maybe a log or something but i have no idea how to read those, someone else might help.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Serenity

[Wobbly Av8r]

Well, looking at it, no autostruts are enabled for the vessel at all, and the result isn't so much Kraken-like as it seems to *possibly* be a bug introduced when the good folks at Squad made it so passengers couldn't EVA - I think that was one of the modifications that occurred between 1.10 and 1.11.

I'm wondering if this issue isn't some side-effect of that decision, even though the Kerbal occupying the EAS-1 is a scientist (There are pilots and an engineer in some of the other EAS-1 seats in the payload bay... But what has me mystified is the noise that it makes, completely unassociated with any actions taking place and the undesired staging. Very odd.

In any case, thank you, @Serenity for taking the time to respond and offer your ideas.

 

[Serenity]

3 hours ago, Wobbly Av8r said:

In any case, thank you, @Serenity for taking the time to respond and offer your ideas.

Last random guess, seat ejection, the kerbal's parachute deployment, they can deploy it while in the seat right?

Anyways, i ll stop now too many guesses .

Edited August 10, 2021 by Serenity