Multiple docking port fails

[Assault Bunny]

I've been updating my Arrow design, and with it the Longbow (see sig). I love the Mk2 inline docking port, so I've incorporated it into the design facing down, so now the Arrow attached to the Longbow by the two shielded ports on top and the inline port facing down. This design, while a bit more fiddly to dock with, is a much better design from an overall combined craft stability point of view, but I'm having the wonderful problem of only one or two ports wanting to attach at the same time, leaving the remaining ones in contact but not locked together. This wouldn't be so bad if the fix wasn't to completely release, back off X distance, and try the whole thing again.

My question is; Is there any way to force a docking port to lock on to another without having to back way off again?

Example picture:

It's only attached by the bottom one in this shot.

Edited November 14, 2014 by Assault Bunny

[Slam_Jones]

Not that I've found. Usually, for my crafts, I don't need to move more than a few meters. I think you just need to get out of the "magnet" zone and back into it, which is no more than a few meters.

[Laie]

My question is; Is there any way to force a docking port to lock on to another without having to back way off again?

Undock, quicksave, quickload. Docking ports will re-attach without you needing to back off.

From the description of your problem, I suspect that some of your ports may already be stuck in a state that prevents them from connecting. If the above trick doesn't work, that's the next thing you should look into.

More generally, I suspect that every time you undock/redock without the vessels leaving each other's physics range, there is a non-zero chance of ports becoming stuck in some state or another. Even if the above trick does work, I suggest you should save the game again and immediately try whether the ports are still able to undock.

Edited November 14, 2014 by Laie

[Assault Bunny]

That did the trick, though it still took about 3 tries. Thanks for that