Space station disappeared

[Chik Sneadlov]

I decided to try docking with a fuel station in space during sandbox mode. I set it as a target and got very close, but never actually touched it as far as I know. I reentered Kerbin, landed and recovered. Then I went back up in a new rocket and the fuel station was no longer there. Its no longer there no matter how many times I launch new rockets. Do you "use up" a space station when you try to dock with it? I think I might have got into the fuel station at one point, but it was in a pretty stable orbit about 600 km up. I don't think taping it or taping the thrusters would have changed much of anything. 

[Rocket In My Pocket]

So, you don't see it any where on the map view orbiting the planet?

Edited December 30, 2017 by Rocket In My Pocket

[Geonovast]

Did you have a probe core, or command pod on it?

If not, it may have been marked debris and deleted.

[Harry Rhodan]

4 minutes ago, Geonovast said:

If not, it may have been marked debris and deleted.

Or just hidden by the filter options.

[HvP]

3 hours ago, Harry Rhodan said:

Or just hidden by the filter options.

It's probably this.

@Chik Sneadlov be sure to check which icons are highlighted in the row that drops down at the top of the map view screen. Certain types of vessels won't show up in map view if their icons are toggled off.

[Chik Sneadlov]

It was a huge ship with a Kerbal piloting it.

That's probably it, Harry and HvP, the filter options. I totally forgot. Been doing the scenarios to try to familiarize myself with RCS controls while docking. Its the first time I've ever done scenarios.

I just did a survey of Eeloo scenario. A you tuber doing the same scenario gets a button under the "i" button that I don't. I don't get that info about ore. I see the different overlays and I assume the bright pinkish or reddish areas have the most ore, but... 

[Rocket In My Pocket]

2 hours ago, Chik Sneadlov said:

I just did a survey of Eeloo scenario. A you tuber doing the same scenario gets a button under the "i" button that I don't. I don't get that info about ore. I see the different overlays and I assume the bright pinkish or reddish areas have the most ore, but... 

You'd have to scan it with a survey scanner first.

https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/M700_Survey_Scanner

Haven't played said scenario so I can;t speak to specifics, perhaps one is made available to you?

[HvP]

On 12/30/2017 at 12:48 PM, Chik Sneadlov said:

a button under the "i" button that I don't. I don't get that info about ore. I see the different overlays and I assume the bright pinkish or reddish areas have the most ore, but... 

Yea, the ore readouts are a little tricky to understand. The planet has to be the focus of the camera in order to see the ore concentration filters, so make sure you double-click on the planet or moon itself so that the camera switches focus to the body you are wanting to check.

You will next have to click on the planet resources icon in the toolbar. This is not the same as the "i" info icon. The resources icon looks like a sphere with a triangular wedge cut into it. If that icon isn't showing then it means that you haven't selected the planet as the focus. When you click the resources icon it will show you the resources panel with "Surface", "Ocean" and "Atmos." tabs at the top. Make sure "Surface" is selected then click on the "Ore" filter below it. The other tabs are really only there for mods to take advantage of. Now you should have the cutoff percentages and color scheme filters available at the bottom.

The tricky thing to understand is that this map from the orbital scanner only shows you the odds that you will find any ore in those biomes due to the average distribution of ore in that region. It does not guarantee you will find ore in those sites, it just shows the probability of of finding ore in that biome. However, if you take the Surface Scanning Module down to the surface and "Run Analysis" it will tell you the ore concentration at that exact spot. It will also make the orbital scan overlay more accurate for those biomes you have analyzed from the surface.

The difference is subtle but important. The Orbital Scanner cutoff percentage shows you the overall odds that you might find some ore in those highlighted biomes (20% chance, 50% chance, etc.) The Surface Scanning Module tells you the concentration of ore directly beneath you at that point, or in other words what percentage of ore is mixed in with the soil in that spot. The concentration percentage determines how efficient your mining operation will be and how quickly you can harvest ore.

So in this screenshot, note the icon on the right toolbar that is selected to show the resources panel. And for your previous problem of disappearing ships, note the filter toolbar at the top of the screen that appears when you move your mouse to the top of the screen.

The last thing to mention, I suppose, is the M4435 Narrow-Band Scanner. This is the one that looks like a hexagon rotating on a post. What this does is let you sample the ore concentration of the site you are over if you have performed an orbital survey. It's not that useful if you haven't run an analysis with the surface scanner first though. Without that surface analysis the Narrow-Band Scanner will only give you an average of the ore concentration within that biome. You'll still need the surface scanner to tell you the actual concentration at any specific site, but once you do then you'll be able to drag the pointer across the Narrow-Band Scanner readout to see the exact concentration of ore at any specific point in order to target the best site to set up a mining base.

Edited December 31, 2017 by HvP