What The Dock?

[Bakkerbaard]

Okay. I've dun did it. I'm playing Kerbal on PC now and MechJeb is my new favourite thing. That said, this isn't about MechJeb.

I wanna see how far I can get with a spacestation. So far I'm screwing around in sandbox, so funds and stuff aren't an issue, but I'm getting a little tired of sending up craft for the sole purpose of finding out my idea was wrong. Even with MechJeb.

So, how do I properly work a docking port? I figured I'd slap a docking port over a hatch and then later sending up another section with, say, a science bay and have my Kerbal buddy hamstercrawl from one pod to the next. But when I stick a port on a hatch the notifier in the bottom right says "hatch obstructed". I'm reluctant to send up the module because of that, so I'm wondering: Is that hatch really obstructed, or is it it obstructed in the same way a hatch is when you put fairings over it?

Then my next question: Am I right in assuming I just slap a docking port on a fueltank and I can just stick any other docking ported ship on it to refuel?

I think that's what I wanted to ask...

[RizzoTheRat]

The position doesn't matter.  Wherever the port is, once 2 vessels are docked they become one vessel and you can transfer crew between pods and fuel between tanks anywhere on the ship.  Leave the hatches free to let them get outside and place the ports where you can get a clear run at them with your docking vessel

[4x4cheesecake]

You don't need to put a docking port on a hatch, your Kerbals can crawl through everything (even a fueltank), so place your port where ever you want. But If you really place a docking port on a hatch, this will be obstructed and kerbals cannot go out for EVA through this hatch.

Refuelling CAN be different because there is a difficulty option for "parts obey crossfeed rules" (or similar, should be off by default on normal difficulty, dont know for other difficulty settings). If this is ENABELD, you can not refuel if there is a heatshield or some other parts between your dockingport and the tank. Sometimes you can place fuellines to cross the section which does not allow fuel crossfeed but don't forget that fuelline can only transfort fuel in one direction, so you MUST place two lines (one for each direction). Parts that don't allow fuel crossfeed are labeled in the editor.

If this option is disabled in your difficulty settings, you can always refuel a docked vessel.

Edited May 8, 2018 by 4x4cheesecake

[Vanamonde]

Quote

I'm getting a little tired of sending up craft for the sole purpose of finding out my idea was wrong.  

This is pretty much the definition of playing Kerbal Space Program. Even for experienced players. It's a complex game and half the stuff you build is not going to work as intended. If you're expecting to progress past this stage of the experience, it's not going to happen.

[4x4cheesecake]

32 minutes ago, Vanamonde said:

This is pretty much the definition of playing Kerbal Space Program. Even for experienced players. It's a complex game and half the stuff you build is not going to work as intended. If you're expecting to progress past this stage of the experience, it's not going to happen.

Well, selfmade rescue missions are actually fun^^

[klesh]

2 hours ago, Bakkerbaard said:

Then my next question: Am I right in assuming I just slap a docking port on a fueltank and I can just stick any other docking ported ship on it to refuel?

I think that's what I wanted to ask... 

 

One thing to keep in mind is that docking ports will only dock to a similarly-sized port.  Jr.'s will only dock with other Jr.'s and the Inflatable Airlock. Regular sized docking port will dock with itself, the shielded, and the inline ports.  Docking Sr. will only dock with itself.

[Bakkerbaard]

1 hour ago, Vanamonde said:

This is pretty much the definition of playing Kerbal Space Program. Even for experienced players. It's a complex game and half the stuff you build is not going to work as intended. If you're expecting to progress past this stage of the experience, it's not going to happen.

I may have implied differently, but I wholeheartedly agree. If I send up something somewhere with a thought out plan and construction and I accidentally turn left into the sun, I have a little memorial for Jeb, explain to my girlfriend why I'm crying and then try again. That is the fun.

It just gets a little tiresome to send a part up into space just to see how it works. Knowing that the job you're doing isn't gonna matter in the end makes it a little harder. Don't tell my boss. You're not my boss are you?

Anyway, boss, would launchpad tests be a reasonable alternative? (Among the accepted answers may be: "Why don't you go and try, lazy git.")

50 minutes ago, 4x4cheesecake said:

Well, selfmade rescue missions are actually fun

Which is exactly what my docking port experiment turned into. ;o)

[4x4cheesecake]

11 minutes ago, Bakkerbaard said:

It just gets a little tiresome to send a part up into space just to see how it works. Knowing that the job you're doing isn't gonna matter in the end makes it a little harder. Don't tell my boss. You're not my boss are you?

Do you know about the debug menu? mod + F12 (can be strg+mod+F12 if you have a NVIDIA GPU and GeForce Experience installed) brings up the debug menu and there are also some cheat options available, for example: setting an orbit. So whenever you want to test something, you can place it on your launchepad and bring it to orbit with one click. There is also an option to rendevouz another vessel which will place your active vessel in ~100m distance to the choosen target. As long as you dont want to test your launchvehicle, this will help a lot.

Be carefull when using the "Hack Gravity" option, that can mess up the orbits of EVERY vessel you have in space (gravity changes are applied to the whole universe, not just the planet/moon you are on).

Edited May 8, 2018 by 4x4cheesecake

[foamyesque]

Personally, as a self-imposed challenge, I try to avoid docking mismatched craft elements if I intend to move material through it: I will dock tanks to tanks and crew to crew (with major structural pieces, e.g. the adapters, available for either). Basically if I can't see how a thing could go from on place to another, I don't let it do so.

 

But the game doesn't care. You can run ten billion gallons of fuel a second and fifty kerbals through an empty girder somehow :p

[Ultimate Steve]

Again, how to transfer crew, because it isn't here. Mouseover the hatch of the part with the Kerbal in it until a popup appears, then left click. It will bring up a list of Kerbals inside with an option that says transfer. Choose that, and the rest is straightforward.

[GrouchyDevotee]

Set symmetry to 4, and attach 4 docking collars to a science lab, make sure to leave the hatch unobstructed. Leave yourself some room for docking by putting your solar panels as far away from the docking points as you can get them.

Put some lights on your station as well, so if/when you have to dock in the dark you will be able to.

Later on you may decide to add something, and an extra couple of docking points is nice.

Edited May 9, 2018 by GrouchyDevotee

[Gargamel]

11 hours ago, Bakkerbaard said:

I accidentally turn left into the sun

Don't worry, Accidentally turning left into the sun is very very hard to do.  It's very hard to do even intentionally.    Go to a solar orbit sometime and note your velocity.  You'll have to get rid of most of that to reach the sun.   That's a lot to do accidentally

[Lisias]

48 minutes ago, Gargamel said:

Go to a solar orbit sometime and note your velocity.  You'll have to get rid of most of that to reach the sun.   That's a lot to do accidentally

Yeah, right. Get stuck in a ship with a Infinite Improbability Drive and say that again! =D

[Gargamel]

Just now, Lisias said:

Yeah, right. Get stuck in a ship with a Infinite Improbability Drive and say that again! =D

Just drink the cup of tea and you'll be fine. 

[Bakkerbaard]

13 hours ago, Vanamonde said:

This is pretty much the definition of playing Kerbal Space Program. Even for experienced players. It's a complex game and half the stuff you build is not going to work as intended. If you're expecting to progress past this stage of the experience, it's not going to happen.

Oddly, I seem to have replied to this before you posted it... Either way, we agree.

 

12 hours ago, 4x4cheesecake said:

Do you know about the debug menu?

I did not know. And I have a feeling I shouldn't screw with it either, but it's good to know it's there.

 

5 hours ago, foamyesque said:

Personally, as a self-imposed challenge, I try to avoid docking mismatched craft elements if I intend to move material through it: I will dock tanks to tanks and crew to crew (with major structural pieces, e.g. the adapters, available for either). Basically if I can't see how a thing could go from on place to another, I don't let it do so.

I try to keep a balance between real and fun, but for me this is mostly about firing off rockets and figuring out what part of the plan didn't work. I will set up a rescue mission instead of going to a previous save. So, self-imposed challenges, yeah.

 

53 minutes ago, Gargamel said:

Accidentally turning left into the sun is very very hard to do.

Let me rephrase that then: Accidentally do something stupid. Turning left into the sun seemed like something stupid to do. ;o)

 

@Gargamel 

@Lisias

+1 for the Hitchhiker's references. Is that a mod yet?

Edited May 9, 2018 by Bakkerbaard
Hitchhiker's Guide references.

[Gargamel]

9 minutes ago, Bakkerbaard said:

+1 for the Hitchhiker's references. Is that a mod yet? 

There are surprisingly few HHGTTG mods out there.  I guess that's a testament to how weird Adams made that universe.  There's very few things that would work within the confines of physics. 

12 minutes ago, Bakkerbaard said:

I did not know. And I have a feeling I shouldn't screw with it either, but it's good to know it's there.

You should take a look at it.  There are a lot of utility type functions in there.  Contract modification is great for when you know you completed the a contract, but it won't give you credit for it.  The object thrower is unbeatable when it comes to general mayhem and getting rid of unwanted things.   Or turning off crash damage when you land on Mt Whoopstooshort, and need this ship to survive the roll down the mountain. 

[Bakkerbaard]

On 5/9/2018 at 10:34 AM, Gargamel said:

Or turning off crash damage when you land on Mt Whoopstooshort, and need this ship to survive the roll down the mountain.

Most of the time I land on the Plains Of Whoah-The-Altimeter-Still-Says-300ft! But if I want the debris from that to survive a roll down a mountain, I'll know where to look. :o)

Edited May 11, 2018 by Bakkerbaard
Type-o

[Lisias]

14 hours ago, Vanamonde said:

This is pretty much the definition of playing Kerbal Space Program. Even for experienced players. It's a complex game and half the stuff you build is not going to work as intended.

HALF?!?!? You manage to make HALF of your designs to work? Half of my designs is what I manage to get off the ground!

From that half, half I manage to keep flying. From that last half, only half I manage to land. From that very last half, only half flies again! =P

[4x4cheesecake]

6 hours ago, Bakkerbaard said:

I did not know. And I have a feeling I shouldn't screw with it either, but it's good to know it's there.

If you are worried, copy the crafts you want to test into a separate sandbox game (or get a mod that can import ships from other savegames if you dont want to switch between desktop and game).