My first Modular Ship!...and the Woes of Docking

[skygunner58203]

So, I've been playing with the Kerbals for a while. And normally, with all the mods and whatnot, MechJeb is my best friend. I remember looking at a mod with a triple docking port and saw just how stable it was with the stuff docked to it. So I made my own using the parts I had. Then the trouble started. No matter what I did, I couldn't get all three to latch together at once even with MJ2. My solution? I learned to dock manually...completely manually. I'll post pics later tonite...or tomorrow morning. DSP and LLL mods have some great ship parts.

[Sirrobert]

Manual docking worked better than smart ASS asissted docking?

[Guest]

Manual docking with IJKLHN and the navball, once you get the hang of it, is probably one of the easier and most satisfying things you can do in the game. I personally don't trust an autopilot to not waste my fuel and I stopped using docking mode about a week ago.

[skygunner58203]

It did for me anyway. Single dock points work well with mechjeb. A triple link....not so much as it only worries about a single link. But you are correct rejex. It was very satisfying to dock it correctly after almost 3 hours or trying.

[Guest]

It did for me anyway. Single dock points work well with mechjeb. A triple link....not so much as it only worries about a single link. But you are correct rejex. It was very satisfying to dock it correctly after almost 3 hours or trying.

Run a few Gemini-esque missions to get some practice using the navball and the RCS controls. You can even let MechJeb run a few to get started; watch how it sets things up, watch the navball, get educated. Once you get that down, docking huge things is more just a matter of patience. Learning how to do it manually will ensure you are always prepared, and MechJeb can take care of the rest.

[Whackjob]

Congrats, skyrunner! Hope you have more success than I did, in making a modular space ship.

[espm400]

I've had MechJeb for the majority of the time I've owned KSP (had it on a buddy's borrowed computer w/o MechJeb for a few months prior), and I've used it precisely twice for anything other than information. I tried using it for docking, just to see what it was like, and though it did the whole process faster than I usually do, it used more than five times the Monoprop. The second was last night when I tried to use Smart A.S.S. to keep me pointed retrograde while I tried to get a Mun landing with the latest possible burn. Unfortunately I didn't turn it off quickly enough when I reached zero velocity, and it flipped me right above the ground.

As for docking multiple ports at once, I prefer the quad-couplers from Nuke's 'Half-metre parts' to the stock tri-coupler for the ability to dock in 90* increments.

[Ralathon]

If I were you I'd use the big docking ports instead. Those are rock solid and much easier to dock than clusters of ports.

[llamatoes]

Once you have muscle memory of the translation keys mapped out, and have a basic grasp of orbital mechanics, docking becomes simple. I don't if I am special, but I find triple docking really easy, but the new docking ports are amazing for orbital construction.

[Skyrunner27]

Congrats, skyrunner! Hope you have more success than I did, in making a modular space ship.

I have no Idea what I did but thanks. Sorry just had to.

[Sirrobert]

When you say 'with mechjeb', do you use the docking autopilot, or smart ASS?

It sounds like you use the autopilot, which for docking is horribly inefficent, and does indeed not care about rotation.

Just use smart ASS to line up the docking ports, and than translate to them by hand

[Jeff Bird]

Gratz on learning to dock manually. On of my favorite parts of the game. I find it easiest if I don't use the docking mode and watch in chase view.

[skygunner58203]

I usually use the autopilot. When I docked last night, I used the rendezvous auotpilot to get within 200 meters and did the whole thing manually. No smart A.S.S. at all

[wolfedg]

Once you have muscle memory of the translation keys mapped out, and have a basic grasp of orbital mechanics, docking becomes simple. I don't if I am special, but I find triple docking really easy, but the new docking ports are amazing for orbital construction.

I remapped the keys for forward and aft thrusting to [shift] and [control] an the lateral ones back to the wsad keys to make it a bit less confusing.

[ComradeGoat]

Manual docking with IJKLHN and the navball, once you get the hang of it, is probably one of the easier and most satisfying things you can do in the game. I personally don't trust an autopilot to not waste my fuel and I stopped using docking mode about a week ago.

Agreed. When you get good at it, you can dock with utterly minimal monoprop usage. Docking is one of those things that is impossible the first time (I got so very frustrated and felt like giving up), but easy to do in your sleep once learned. It's worth learning.

[espm400]

If I were you I'd use the big docking ports instead. Those are rock solid and much easier to dock than clusters of ports.

Naw, I prefer clusters. with the Lazor Docking Cam it's easy enough to dock all four ports at once, and on top of that the part you're adding to your station/ship always snaps to a 90* increment. I can get a straight dock most of the time with a single port, but using a quad-coupler eliminates any guess work as well as any minor errors increasing the more parts you dock. It just bugs me when one of the parts on my station isn't perfectly square with the rest. I guess it just comes down to preference.

[KerbMav]

To decrease part count: There was a post somewhere with a pic of a very innovative use of structural panels to make/force two docking ports to align perfectly. I think it would be possible to half the number of parts from 8 docking ports + 2 quad-couplers to 2 ports and 2 + 1 plates - depending on the number of docked modules this might make a difference in the long run.

[skygunner58203]

Well, Here's a couple of pics of the completed ship. It's got 3 sections. The command module, science and habitat module, and interplanetary drive.