Easier Multi-port docking

[r4pt0r]

with the larger/more powerful ARM parts, and better fps with higher part counts, ive been getting into building large 2 part ships in orbit. that said i have a subassembly saved to ensure both sides of my docking ports(a sr with 3 normals aranged around it) are the same.

i propose that in a craft where 2 docking ports are touching, but not docked, that the player can right click both ports and select a "connect" button. when 2 docking ports of the same ship are in connect mode, very close proximity, and facing each other, an invisible strut is spawned between them. at that point they would act like normal ports as far as gameplay.

this way, once you get your multiple ports lined up and get 1 of them connected, its MUCH less of a hassel getting all ports engaged.

Edited April 18, 2014 by r4pt0r

[Javster]

Not a bad idea, or a temporary increase in attraction provided one port is docked.

[r4pt0r]

if they would remain attracted after one is already connected that would be delightful

[Sirrobert]

The problem is that when one is connected in such a rotation that the other one isn't perfectly alligned, it can't dock without bending the ship.

I agree there needs to be an easier way to do this though

[r4pt0r]

yeah, thats why i suggest a small window of insta spawn "close enough struts" i always see ports touching that wont connect

[DoToH]

Why not adding the ability to place struts while in EVA? (KAS style). Seems to me much more simple. No more multi-port needed.

[Monger]

I still hope that we will get expandable parts at some point, which can be retracted and expanded steplessly variable. This would make docking - and especially multidocking - a lot easier.

[Dunbaratu]

The solution to the "twist the ship" problem is the same solution that to some extent makes a lot of the reason for mutli-docking ports moot in the first place: Allow a player to rotate the docking port connection post-atachment. Often times the reason for the multiple docking port arrangement is to force the alignment to be oriented the way you want, which is hard to do by hand with one central docking port because the control over roll rotation is too touchy and you can't get it to stop where you want it (even with caps lock on). (i.e. you tap the "Q" key for as short a time as is humanly possible and you're rotating too much to the left, then you tap the "E" key for as short a time as is humanly possible and you're now rotating too much to the right. The controls are oversensitive and that makes it impossible to get the darn thing to fully stop. This stems from the fact that the keyboard controls are all or nothing. They don't have an analog "push just a little bit" ability. It may be easier with a joystick.)

But at any rate the fix is to stop locking the roll rotation permanently when docked. Allow docking rings to have a small electric motor that slowly rotates on the roll axis, to bring the two ships to the exact alignment you want. Something like this: The right click menu would have a button for "lock/unlock roll". When unlocked, the ports are still attached, but now you can rotate the attachment a bit, then lock it again when done.

[Capt. Hunt]

on that note, is it any more rigid if I dock things using the claw instead of docking ports? If it is, that would be a lot easier then multi-docking.

[Nuke]

do this by adding a second step to docking. first you dock like normal, but this would be a soft dock, the port is held in place as if it were docked but is free to rotate on the roll axis, and flex a small amount on the pitch and yaw axes. when all ports in dock range are soft docked, then you enter hard dock mode. hard dock clamps down the rotation and flexing.

[BudgetHedgehog]

Are people just forgetting that Infernal Robotics has docking washers precisely to help this kind of thing?

[Nuke]

no, thats where i got my idea. but thats another part in a chain of things that can break.

[Alewx]

I really would love to see a native implementation of multiport docking, external savegame tools or doing it by hand is quite annoying.

[qm3ster]

Are people just forgetting that Infernal Robotics has docking washers precisely to help this kind of thing?

Jesus christ, I will come to your house in the middle of the night and I don't know wow.

I literally just thought of that, then clicked 'next page' and there you are. Wow.

- - - Updated - - -

I really would love to see a native implementation of multiport docking, external savegame tools or doing it by hand is quite annoying.

And what would such a savegame tool be?

[Higgs]

While IR is nice and all it would be nice to have something of the like stock.

[r4pt0r]

Now this is a blast from the past. Hopefully something stock for this still comes to us in the future

[sumghai]

As a workaround for such situations, I generally use MechJeb's Docking Autopilot to set the desired relative orientation angle between the ports on both vessels, which aligns every pair of ports in multi-port docking perfectly.

[Javster]

Now this is a blast from the past. Hopefully something stock for this still comes to us in the future

IKR! And my first reply is there too!

[qm3ster]

Are Multi-Quotes broken?

Now this is a blast from the past. Hopefully something stock for this still comes to us in the future

As a workaround for such situations, I generally use MechJeb's Docking Autopilot to set the desired relative orientation angle between the ports on both vessels, which aligns every pair of ports in multi-port docking perfectly.

Spinny things (which is a major mechanics extension, and requires new parts) can wait.

I think it would be much better to include docking alignment (only roll, or including opposite orientation, I don't really care) on high-level probes and 4-5 star pilots.