Docking is Really Hard.
01 Feb 2016NickTheGrey
I had hoped that since selling off the Rotarran and buying a Cobra MkIII in its place that the docking computer software glitches would have been resolved but this was not to be. The first few automatic docking maneuvers were okay but then I had a couple of instances of the computer holding station just a couple of clicks away from the station. The tried-and-tested "reboot the computer" fix seemed to work fine and the next few attempts went off without a hitch.Until I tried to land at a planetside facility. The docking computer brought me in over the pad and just sat us there as the timer counted down. I noticed the problem and immediately powered off the docking computer and began the descent manually. Since the pad was below the ship I couldn't tell exactly where it was so I had to rely on the scanner on approach to see where I had to correct the path.
It was at this point as I watched the ship's nose attempt to bury itself in the dirt that I realised I had grossly misjudged my position relative to the dock. The shields were damaged and went offline almost immediately as the ship started to bounce across the surface. I was able to get back in the air and started to slowly move back toward the outpost. I eventually found the pad and circled around for another pass, this time taking it real easy on the thrusters as I did. As daft as it sounds, docking at a space station is a very different proposition to landing on a planet.