Docking contracts need re-wording

[Neilski]

Hi folks. I hope I'm posting this in the right place...

I recently fell foul of a very simple but long-standing problem: contracts which require you to dock two craft don't state that they must come from separate launches.
This bites everyone who launches, for example, a craft with a lander which leaves its parent, lands on a moon, and returns to refuel.
It would be very easy to add to the wording the explicit requirement that the two craft must be from separate launches. Most other contracts has everything carefully spelled out which makes this all the more anomalous.

I replied to an old thread on this topic to say that the problem is still there, but @Snark responded and then locked the thread so I was unable to reply. Here goes: in response to the assertion that it's not a bug but in fact by design, you must mean the behaviour itself. And yes, despite the fact that many contracts are already nonsensically simple (e.g. test engine on launch pad), you're probably right about that.

However, the issue that both I and (I believe) the OP in the old post are bothered about isn't the fact that you need two launches (because that's a good thing), it's the fact that the contract description doesn't say so.
This is the bug which should be addressed. I don't believe for a moment that the missing/unclear wording is by design.

[Geonovast]

I agree.  This has bothered me for some time.  That's why I just F12 them to complete after I do them, which is typically in an apollo-style mission.  That way the difficulty is the same as if it was two separate ships.

 

Also moving to Suggestions since this is a request to change something in the stock game, not a technical issue with running the game.

[Superfluous J]

No argument here. I tend to put docking ports on my "rendezvous" contract ships and then hope I get the two contracts in sequence.

[OHara]

There are some bug reports in this area, one (link) being very similar.

I suppose the fix to suggest is just this rewording :
Localization {     en-us {
#autoLOC_284207 = Dock two vessels, that were launched  separately, on or around <<1>>
                 \\ was:  Dock two vessels on or around <<1>>
}}
but Squad might want to wait until a good time to repair it in all languages at once.

On a similar bug report about the part descriptions being misleading in some cases, I collected all my corrections into one file (keeping the distinctive un-serious style but now un-seriously describing the truth) hoping  there is an opportunity at some pass through the translations.

[Neilski]

18 hours ago, OHara said:

I suppose the fix to suggest is just this rewording

Yup, I reckon that would do it, and stop people from pulling their hair out ;-)

(Incidentally, how on earth does one persuade this forum to email a notification when a followed post gets a reply? I've tried all the options I can find so far, but no dice. Maybe it's just utterly broken :-/)

[Electrollama]

I heard there is a work-around to complete these in one launch, I believe by changing sphere of influence as two separate crafts, or maybe something with loading a save. But I agree that the re-wording would help.