Ideas for solving the AI Station Docking and Auto Docking Without Player Input

[StormWing0]

We've already got most of the parts needed we just need a way to tell the AI how it should dock to certain things.

In any event one of the bigger problems is the AI coming into port at full speed with no hint of slamming on the breaks while doing so.

First check when coming in to dock at a station or another ship. If moving too fast to stop in time change course to end up flying path the station or ship and swing back around at a slower speed until able to dock without slamming into the ship or station.

Next go into Orbit around the station or ship until a valid docking point is clear. This could be marked by a pickup point or some kind of new block that acts as a targeting block for the rail docking beam on AI ships.


In this case we're using a new block called a Docking Marker Point, this block marks a rail like a pickup point does but rather than fly up to is before docking the AI will randomly pick a rail docker on it's ship that is valid for what its roll is and space requirements. This block could be able to have options for selection what roll ship is allowed to dock on X point, also when using this block while it is on a rail docker it has a different behavior instead of telling the AI where to dock it tells it what rail dockers to use for what.

If you for example have a Rail docker with one of these docking markers on it set to mining or trade it will use that rail docker for loading or offloading cargo. This also opens up being able to dock in ways the current pickup point is unable to since the AI will be firing a docking beam rather than risking flying up to the dock first.


There are other ways to fix this without making a totally new block like adding functionality to existing ones or just making the AI slam on the dang breaks a sector and a half out and change its flight path as needed to avoid slamming into the things in the way. >.<


In any event anyone else got some ideas?

 

[Lone_Puppy]

I like your orbit idea! I remember fleets use to have a cool way of disengaging engines a sector out or at the out edge of the sector. To then coast to the centre. I would prefer a means to dock using the carrier mechanic, where we can name and store these the same way we do sector coordinates. Except, apply them to a rail pickup. Perhaps using the new display module functionality.

Perhaps store the name of the pickup point in a display module and slave it to the pickup point.
Then in the ship, have a display module connected/slaved to the docker where you have destination pickup point(s). Could be a single point or maybe a set for primary, secondary, tertiary docking etc in the case the port may already be taken.

With the ability to swap Display contents, you can use simple logic methods to update it with a bank of display modules preloaded wit pickup point destinations.

 

[Lone_Puppy]

Last time I tried this the ship you're breaking just poops out asteroid parts and then crashes the games. I was in single play though. So my computer probably not beefy enough or the code is memory leaky.

This has been discussed various times before.