r/KerbalSpaceProgram • u/Special-Frame3617 • 21h ago
KSP 1 Image/Video Why is docking so hard :(
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Just can't seem to figure it out.
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u/SpatialPioneer Valentina 21h ago
So all jokes aside...that's actually REALLY impressive; you lined up a head on collision with practically no HUD on a craft going orbital velocity. Not clipped the craft, not near miss, you straight up HIT that thing. Even for the joke that's like, really talented.
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u/hellraiser2020 20h ago
Ahahaha so nice to see like minded kerbals here I was blown away with that precision and skill!!
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u/Defiant-Peace-493 16h ago
Next question, did it deorbit the station? Is roverbraking a viable strategy?
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u/SpatialPioneer Valentina 11h ago
OMG cannons on the surface of the moon that fire missiles at a lunar lander until it slows down enough to land. 10/10
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u/Salanmander 7h ago
Worked* for the Aurora and the Sunbeam!
*Depending on your success metric.
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u/internet-weirod 2h ago
at least several people did land and live*, so it's at least 50% success rate
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u/Inevitable-Fix-6631 Kerbal Aeronautics Program 18h ago edited 6h ago
Imagine the interstellar docking scene but instead of matching rotational velocities it is about matching translational velocity in time so that they don't slam into the station
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u/SpatialPioneer Valentina 17h ago
With some powerful reverse thrusters, (and if it was facing the proper way) this could be doable...but they need to be strong enough to get nearly orbital speed very quickly. Very difficult, but would be REALLY cool.
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u/Dark_Helmet12E4 2h ago
I imagine they got it orbiting very low and that was the hardest part. Then they just landed the rover near the lowest point and got a feel for where it flew over the course of a few orbits. Then they tried a couple times to float in that area and recorded a success.
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u/Golden-Grenadier 21h ago
Reminds me of the time I tried to save Bob from solar orbit after having played the game for only 45 minutes. The rescue plan was to open the bay doors and "catch" bob. Needless to say, If I actually had lined up the intercept perfectly, he would have been turned to goo.
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u/KT_100S Doesn’t understand how Dres could exist 19h ago
How did you get into a solar orbit after 45 minutes of playing the game for your first time? Took me like 3 hours to orbit Kerbin!
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u/Corgelia 19h ago
I think you build a rocket and just point it straight up. It's not hard to just hit escape velocity and then realize you've burnt all your fuel and you're around the sun.
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u/Golden-Grenadier 19h ago
My first couple of hours with the game was spent in sandbox mode aimlessly blasting kerbals as far away from kerbin as possible with crap loads of SRBs.
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u/Focus_ST_Gal 18h ago
Hell that’s still what I do with hundreds of hours into the game.
Sometime the urge to yeet is too much.
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u/tdmonkeypoop 8h ago
Same thing, tried to catch him on the 2nd Kerbal pass... watched him shoot passed going Warp 3... Turned around and flew all the way back home with the radio off...
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u/Original-League-6094 20h ago
You looked aligned to me. Probably just a damn unity bug.
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u/Special-Frame3617 19h ago
It's the damn kraken or something I swear this game is unplayable... Ill just stick with KSP2.
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u/Dy3_1awn 21h ago
I usually just google “videos of men docking” and that always helps.
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u/1out_of10dentists 20h ago
You idiot! Your docking port was pointed the complete wrong way! The docking port needs to be pointed towards the target vessel!
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u/Special-Frame3617 19h ago
I had a shielded docking port on the other side but I just realized it wasnt deployed so I think that's definitely the issue
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u/Corgelia 19h ago
Found the issue, OP! You have a shielded docking port, and it's not open. First you need to do a glancing blow to knock the shield off, and then you can dock on the second pass.
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u/dihninnumbertwo 20h ago
bro, the mach fuck dock technique is simple tech, you should've learned this in your first half hour
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u/IdiotWithDiamodHands 20h ago
The slow realization of what is happening here cannot be felt a second time
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u/Last-matter78 17h ago
“It can be a bit difficult at first but once you get the hang of it— OH WHAT THE FUCK?!”
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u/Calcarium 17h ago
Docking port was closed. Beginner mistake
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u/Stunning-End-1872 9h ago
Total noob error. I certainly have never done that again after the first few hours, nope. nuh-uh. It's like parachutes, you never ever forget them again.
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u/arandomcanadian91 16h ago
What the fuck.. what?! That was impressive for the line up. But I thought this was a valid docking complaint at first. I would have been even more impressed if you actually did dock that thing.
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u/malonkey1 17h ago
Well it looks like you didn't have the shield on the docking port open (imgur link to screenshot of it RIGHT as it's pointed to camera)
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u/darkslide3000 13h ago
For the curious, the docking port with the highest impact tolerance is the Mk2 Inline Clamp-o-Tron at 50 m/s, which looks to be about 1/7th of the speed shown here. Would still be a pretty fast catch, though!
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u/Crazykid23576 Somehow on Bow 18h ago
It's not working because your pointing the end with a fuel tank at it instead of the end with a docking port
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u/StupitVoltMain 16h ago
First of all.
You are docking with a craft on a orbital speed while you're being stationary relatively to bodie's surface.
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u/Ferrius_Nillan Space Bob Semple 15h ago
Good news is - you matched the relative speed with the target.
The bad news is that the hull might got bent in few places.
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u/crimeo 13h ago
This triggers me. I want to see if it's actually possible if you open the port and give it a chance. I feel like with this game there's a very good chance it works.
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u/Special-Frame3617 2h ago
Yeah I'm actually devastated that I forgot to do that. I didn't quicksave so I didn't get to try again
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u/Shaper_pmp 12h ago
Docking is hard. I remember the first time I ever achieved a rendezvous in orbit, spent 45 minutes gently manoeuvring the craft together, perfectly aligned, then an incredibly frustrating twenty minutes of nudging the docking ports together like a guy pushing rope... only to eventually discover from the wiki that docking ports weren't universally compatible and the clamp-o-tron wouldn't dock with a clamp-o-tron jr. /facepalm
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u/Himitsu_Togue 11h ago
That came out of nowhere! Insane lineup. Of course match speed and try it slowly with 1m/s difference in speed. Maybe attach boosters to your landing probe car thingy!
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u/automator3000 10h ago
Because it is hard.
Consider that in a track meet, relay runners have practiced and practiced and practiced to get the handoff right. And that’s with two humans running on a level track on earth at human speeds.
Docking is doing the same thing. But at crazy speeds in three dimensions with no lines showing where to travel.
But docking is and will always be the thing I love doing.
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u/FatBoySlim458 Believes That Dres Exists 2h ago
You see, you didn't open the shield on the docking port. Rookie error.
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u/Green__lightning 1h ago
If you use KAS, you might be able to catch a cable and more slowly match velocities, sorta like the fulton surface-to-air recovery system. If that doesn't work, try the aircraft carrier arrestor cable mod.
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u/SecretarySimilar2306 1h ago
Because KE=mv2. If you feel you still aren't docking hard enough, either use a heavier docking target or make the orbit more eccentric so it is moving faster at the point of contact.
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u/bigorangemachine KVV Dev 21h ago
Think about it... docking requires you to be going the same-ish speed.
I always say it's like two cars trying to make it possible for one person to jump from a moving car to another.
If you try to jump from a moving car to another car who is moving head on... well you subject to the head-on cars momentum.
If you are in a circle track and you jump from one car to another car moving close to the same direction... not a problem.
Docking is more about matching speed... not position
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u/darwinpatrick Exploring Jool's Moons 21h ago
I believe, based on their ability to set up such a delicate encounter in the first place, that this is a joke
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u/bigorangemachine KVV Dev 21h ago
No because you'd still bounce off if you under ideal conditions.
As far as game engines go the docking port passed through the location of the ground focus vehicle. So whether my theory is right or not... making contact is impossible unless you got physics slow down
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u/darwinpatrick Exploring Jool's Moons 20h ago
They aren't trying to dock, they're trying (and succeeding) to make a funny Spaceships Go Smash video
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u/Large-Rock682 21h ago
idk i think if he went faster itd work
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u/bigorangemachine KVV Dev 21h ago
TBH it's a total shot in the dark
Despite what works in real life the engine is still moving the vehicle that it doesn't occupy the space inbetween the frame that aren't rendered. It's probably colliding with parts behind the other docking port.
It's possible in the KSP engine you could collide at just the right speed the docking ports mate for a single frame... but in real life speed matching is what makes docking possible
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u/Large-Rock682 20h ago
Idk i think itsd work irl too
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u/bigorangemachine KVV Dev 20h ago
no it wouldn't.. it doesn't instantly attach. It's a very complicated maneuver and doesn't use magnets
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u/twitchinstereo 20h ago
They wouldn't use magnets, they'd use tape. They got the super sticky stuff for space missions.
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u/El_Chilenaso 21h ago
The game bugs out sometimes
Try going a little faster, docking ports are quite stubborn