Am i the only one with Docking port connections?

[TK421d]

since 23.5 docking ports are useless to me.

in space, dont i cant ever use a craft with ports, the wobble will tear it apart.

on a launchpad, a craft with 1 port (regular or Sr) will bend over 30-45 degrees, a craft with 2 or more will turn into a macaroni noodle and the tip will rest on the ground.

any docking port, even when i try to add any custom modded port, has no stiffness at all, and acts like a universal joint, that will bend and flex at a slight breeze.

an example (not that i'd try to launch a ship like this)

no installed mods other than the nasa pack and editor extensions.

[Taki117]

That is...unusual? I don't think I've ever seen that happen before. A temporary fix would be to add struts. You could also uninstall Editor Extensions and see if that fixes the issue

[arise257]

Better to use stack decouplers than docking ports for this purpose. The real reason to use docking ports is for Apollo-style missions, collecting science on other worlds.

Also, you don't need one per tank, unless that's really your intent. Just stack your tanks up directly. Staging is best done with an engine after each decoupler.

NEVERMIND:

Honestly? Save your crafts and reinstall. I don't know why your parts don't at least connect to the tanks with stiffness.

Edited April 17, 2014 by arise257
better understanding of OP

[Tinyboss]

We could have a lot of fun captioning that picture!

On a serious note: where is your physics slider set? My ships act that way when I activate physics warp, so maybe a high value for the physics step could cause the same thing without warp?

[Claw]

Ha, that's pretty epic looking.

I would also recommend uninstalling mods, or at least double checking that they are updated. I launched 10t components last night hooked together with regular docking ports and didn't see this.

I'll give the fuel tanks a try later in case it's a bug specific to them. This isn't a typical design method for me.

[TK421d]

the physics is at 1:1

i dont build crafts like this to fly, this one was just so i could get a quick screenshot.

the problem it creates for me makes refuling stations unstable, docking with stations unreliable, etc.

I'm sure it has something to do with the changes to joint strength, but KJR doesnt help at all

I tried with the editor removed also to no avail.

[Claw]

KJR was updated so make sure you have the most recent. Previous versions caused similar events with KSP 0.23.5.

Edit:

Also, your physics slider should read something like 0.3, so I'm not sure what you mean by 1:1.

[Bessy]

yeah i often have 300+ parts with docking ports an all that jizz tehe and its not that bad unless i physics time warp to X3+ make sure u dont mess with the time step slider in the options .. my friend had some weird issues that sounded similar to this hes the turn everything to max person with out reading what it does check your options make sure its not set silly by accident

[Tortoise]

That.....Wow.

[X-SR71]

You should add two radial fuel tanks to the base of that rocket and see what it looks like

[iBeej]

I generally don't launch with docked components unless I absolutely have to. I hope someday, SQUAD makes clamp/locking dock connectors which make them stable on their own. I'm not sure what the limitation might be with Unity to do this...

But the work-around I have used on the launchpad is simply using struts, which has worked perfectly for me each time I needed to do it.

[TK421d]

KJR was updated so make sure you have the most recent. Previous versions caused similar events with KSP 0.23.5.

Edit:

Also, your physics slider should read something like 0.3, so I'm not sure what you mean by 1:1.

derp... i misunderstood the original question. slider is at .07/s

[Claw]

I just built your example craft in my stock version of KSP 0.23.5.464 and did not see any problems. I was even able to sway the whole stack back and forth a little with pod torque but it stayed upright.

Perhaps if you had mods previously installed, you might want to reinstall the game completely fresh. Sometimes they make changes that don't go away even after you delete the mod folders.

Other than that, check your Debug log by pressing ALT+F12, then click on the "debug" tab at the top. Scrolls all the way to the bottom and look for any yellow or red flags. You can also check your ksp_log.txt and see if mods are still floating around in there.

[Othuyeg]

You should add two radial fuel tanks to the base of that rocket and see what it looks like

There is already a class of ships that you are describing. It is called the phallistic missile.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Othuyeg

[FenrirWolf]

If anything you should stop using KJR or make totally sure you're on the latest version. It tends to actually make things less stable if you still have the old one.

[TK421d]

as i mentioned its an unmodded install for fast-load mod-testing purposes, the editor extensions was the only thing regularly used, and yes, its 23.5.464

[SpenSpaceCorp]

Try Viagra (or Kiagra)

[Claw]

as i mentioned its an unmodded install for fast-load mod-testing purposes, the editor extensions was the only thing regularly used, and yes, its 23.5.464

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to harp on "uninstall mods" or that I don't believe you. What I'm suggesting is that if you had mods installed, then subsequently deleted them, sometimes they leave things behind even if you think you got it all. I read the thread again and it's unclear to me if your install has been "de-modified" or if it is completely fresh out of the zip file.

That's also why I suggested looking at your log file. If there's a piece of a mod floating around in there, it might show up that it's trying to load. Especially if you ever had KJR, because it was broken pretty badly when 0.23.5 came out.

I don't know if you tried running your physics slider all the way down (although I tested it at 0.07 with no problems). Other than that, I have no idea. I just spent the whole night docking things together and didn't have any problems with jr or regular docking ports.

[RocketPilot573]

I suggest reinstalling the game.

[Liowen]

I just launched a ship that has another docked to it upside down without issue, however I did use struts to secure it to its location. Might want to try 4x struts on it to see if that adds extra stability, also when it bends hit F3 and see if something is failing. All else fails try reinstalling , but this is normally the last thing on my list.

*Edit* I just did a test on my save using what I could see from the picture, and without the struts it did not fold over. It did bounce around though, and if you had SAS on it might cause it to fail at the docks. Picture below without struts.

With struts I did not have any bouncing at all, and I even tried to move the command pod left and right but nothing happened. Picture below w/ struts.

I even slapped the white radial engines (it is near midnight so the name eludes me at the moment) to the one with struts and flew it at max throttle without any kind of flexing or breaking. It could be that you have an issue with the design, or you need to reinstall like it has been suggested. I use no mods that effect anything relating to physics of the game, or anthing that makes joints even stronger. 100% stock it worked just fine. Hope it helps

Edited April 18, 2014 by Liowen

[RW-1]

Got to go with Liowen on this, as I've been building and launching station parts, I've played with 0.25 as well in this regard, no issues.

However, I only have my tug at top docked to the lower module that I'm launching.

At the bottom of the station module, I have a docking port, and attached to that is a decoupler, and that area is strutted. No issues.

If my stack is too high, I add (in a set of four) three modular girder segments extending out and use that as an anchor point both upwards to teh upper stage or station module, and down to the booster stage(s), it strengthens the whole vehicle.