Any docking cheats or better docking scripts than mech jeb?

[crazyewok]

I don't know why this one thing is frustrating you so, so much when there are literally, an indefinite number of things you can do without docking.

Because I want to build stations and large ships in orbit.

And it's not even that hard.

Maybe for someone with perfect motor skills.

[Max Grant]

couldn't dock for the life of me, even after watching the tutorials, even in chase mode, until I stopped looking at the ship(s) and started looking at the navball markers almost exclusively

That is how it is done. I actually can do an entire rendezvous and docking and I only look up at the ship in the last few minutes.

[theend3r]

Maybe for someone with perfect motor skills.

You're just making excuses. No one is equal to others, our buildings skill are different and our piloting skills too, someone's better and someone worse. If you think we just magically mastered docking the first time we tried it after watching a tutorial then you're mistaken. It took me days at least to improve my skills to some practical level and about a month or two to be able to dock reliably with ease.

[sojourner]

Personally, I prefer not to use dev builds unless the last public build just doesn't work (i.e., got broken by a KSP update). If it's good and stable enough to release, release it.

The original programmer (R4m0n) isn't around much to update the mod to "official" releases. Sarbian has been doing a superb job of fixing things and adding features, but you will have to access the dev builds to see them.

[vetrox]

once you learn how to place rcs and use the docking controls its easy. You can take all the time in the world so even without any motor skills or coordination you will be able to dock. Make sure sas is enabled on both ships too.

As long as you are able to rondevous easily then docking shouldnt be too difficult. You dont even need to look at your craft. You only need the nav ball. The rest of the screen is just eye candy

[DerekL1963]

You're just making excuses.

You know, I'm getting very sick and tired of hearing BS replies like this. Whether you believe it or not there *are* people who lack the fine motor skills and/or eye hand coordination to master docking (I'm one of those too).

For some it's a simple lack of ability (not all people are create physically equal), for others it's a result of some trauma or disease, for others it's consequence of a full-on disability, for others... well, there are a wide variety of causes. But either way I'm getting very tired of me and people like me getting insulted and belittled by people like you who cannot grasp that. It's not an excuse, it's a daily reality we live with.

[relin]

Then you're using an outdated build, try downloading the latest stable dev build. I've never had a problem with it flying around to reach the right side of a port.

I have, and it hasn't fixed the problem. It's not even that big of a deal, considering how easy it is to point the docking ports at one another with targeting, but it is a problem that's existed for a while. It's certainly not new to 2.1.1, nor is it an edge case.

Like most autopilots, MechJeb doesn't do all the work for you. And I don't expect it to

[TimMartland]

I'm confused why mechjeb is not enough. For me, it can flawlessly rendezvous and dock two quite unwieldy payloads in record time without be doin anything but telling it where to go.

Also, DCD is a geniune thing and I can understand how hard it could be to do docking with such issues. But don't cheat man, you will regret it. From personal experience.

[theend3r]

You know, I'm getting very sick and tired of hearing BS replies like this. Whether you believe it or not there *are* people who lack the fine motor skills and/or eye hand coordination to master docking (I'm one of those too).

For some it's a simple lack of ability (not all people are create physically equal), for others it's a result of some trauma or disease, for others it's consequence of a full-on disability, for others... well, there are a wide variety of causes. But either way I'm getting very tired of me and people like me getting insulted and belittled by people like you who cannot grasp that. It's not an excuse, it's a daily reality we live with.

Ok, you're right. I apologise for saying that.

[dreamsofspace]

I use the NavyFish docking UI, it won't dock for you, but it gives you a good idea where the other ship is in relationship to yours, and it makes docking a lot easier. In addition, there are tutorials on Youtube that may help. I struggle with this as well, but the NavyFish UI makes aligning the two craft much easier.

[Kerbart]

Yup, I can dock from 80 meters away with 87.5 rcs at the start, and somewhere around 35-50 at the end. I usually go closer though.

Hahaha. Now that capsules come with RCS tanks I don't even bother putting them on my shuttles anymore. Docking takes me 2, 3 RCS max. (3 RCS is for my Jumbo 64 fuel tankers).

My best sofar was docking two ships in five minutes. Game time.

Really, the navy fish docking alignment indicator makes it peanuts.

[m4rt14n]

Hows navy fish docking compared to lazordocking cam? The second is what I use, but seem to show me nothing in the dark.

[Taki117]

Hows navy fish docking compared to lazordocking cam? The second is what I use, but seem to show me nothing in the dark.

I love Navyfish's docking port alignment indicator. All it does is pop up a guide UI that shows your position relative to your target docking port. It doesn't depend on lighting conditions at all.

[xcorps]

delete please

Edited February 23, 2014 by xcorps

[xcorps]

I don't know why my post didn't get in, but:

Is all you need. Prior to watching that video, I tried Mechjeb once and failed. I never tried manually docking before tonight. I watched the video, made a rocket with (ugh) radial docking ports, and docked successfully without Mechjeb or Engineer even on. It took a while, but now I has space junk in all my orbits from 10 fuel transfer launches.

It's a long video (longest game tutorial I ever watched at 36 minutes) but the narration is well done. The speaker has a clear voice, the diction is clear and paced perfectly, he explains what and why he is doing what it is that he is doing and why you should do it to. He also makes almost no mistakes, with the sole exception of some superfluous dialogue being drowned out by rockets during a launch. He's pretty damned good at manually piloting his rockets too.