Recognized by Council Invisible, Intangible Rail Dockers

[Edymnion]

Ever since we switched to rails and dockers, actually docking a ship has become far more painful than it really needs to be. In ye olden times, the docking beam came from the core so you could always see it, and docking would simply position the core over the docker. If the ship had extra bits below the rest of the hull it would just sit down as far as it could and call it done. The two block did not have to physically touch.

Now you have to make sure of where the docker is, if you've got any bits sticking too far out or else it can't move, and you have to build the dock and the ship in such a way as to where you can easily both see the docking beam to hit the dock and be able to pilot the ship out of the dock because you now have a physical barrier in the way.

Proposal for a solution? Make the rail docker invisible and intangible, like the rail pickup blocks.

You can now put the rail docker outside of your hull, free floating in space where it becomes much easier to position in such a way to allow for easy docking. Its invisible so you don't see it while flying around, and being intangible means it will pass through the dock easily, meaning you don't have to fiddle with having to extract it from a tight space.

It also means the we can put the docker on the very outside edge of our ship's bounding box no matter what the design is, which can help reduce lag from collision checks if the bounding box of the ship and station don't have to overlap in order to get the docker that is built into the hull into position.

 

[Valck]

As much as I prefer rails over the old docking system, allowing arbitrarily shaped ships to dock inside a given volume, no questions asked, was one aspect of it that I sorely miss.

Make the rail docker invisible and intangible, like the rail pickup blocks.

I'd prefer having a new block with those properties, much in the same way you have a pick-up point and a regular rail to dock to. You would still have the rail docker for physical connections, but in addition to that, there could be an "anchor point" if you will.

Such an invisible anchor point at a standardized location would allow ships to land at runways/landing platforms without having to worry about physical interfaces, without having to have the hull extend to the bounding box.
This would also allow "extendable" docking tubes et cetera.

 

[kiddan]

Such an invisible anchor point at a standardized location would allow ships to land at runways/landing platforms without having to worry about physical interfaces, without having to have the hull extend to the bounding box.
This would also allow "extendable" docking tubes et cetera.

Something like this would be nice, otherwise we could just have the docker hover above the rail (as many blocks high as there is blocks obstructing) if obstructed and maybe have a beam going between the rail and the docker to show that they are connected?

 

[nightrune]

Docking is really easy if you know how to use the new rails in a fun way.

I've got docking points floating away from my station that slowly pull you in now.

Spoiler: USD Tow Ins

 

[Lecic]

Or we could just fix bounding box lag...

I like being able to shoot/cut people's dockers off so they can't dock at their HB to try and escape boarders. No thanks.

 

[Edymnion]

I like being able to shoot/cut people's dockers off so they can't dock at their HB to try and escape boarders. No thanks.

All the more reason to do it then.

Because apparently people are griefing with the current system.

 

[Lecic]

All the more reason to do it then.

Because apparently people are griefing with the current system.

LMAO

Boarding isn't griefing my dude.

It's the hardest tactic in the entire game to successfully pull off against even a slightly competent enemy, and you want to make it even harder?

 

[FlyingDebris]

That'd be the first I've ever heard of something like that. At any rate, people turtling up in an HB is sort of an issue already tbh.

 

[Edymnion]

LMAO

Boarding isn't griefing my dude.

You're cutting off their dockers so that people who are so desperate not to fight you that they run all the way back to their home station to try and dock to get you to stop can't dock just so you can steal/destroy their ship.

Somebody turtling in their home base doesn't want to fight you. Period, end of story. No means no, go away and leave them alone.

Removing their ability to save their ship just because you decided that they shouldn't be able to use the strongest anti-griefer measure in the game is just... I don't know a better word to describe it.
[DOUBLEPOST=1459983457,1459983289][/DOUBLEPOST]Honestly upon hearing this, I'd be all for extending home base protection to the entire damned sector.

 

[Lecic]

You're cutting off their dockers so that people who are so desperate not to fight you that they run all the way back to their home station to try and dock to get you to stop can't dock just so you can steal/destroy their ship.

People don't typically fly around warships when they're not interested in fighting. This is not "griefing." It's stopping a person trying to flee from a fight they know they're going to lose, and it should remain in the game for the same reason that stop weapons and inhibitors are in the game.

 

[Edymnion]

People don't typically fly around warships when they're not interested in fighting.

I do.

I have a pretty decent warship and I'm currently building a bigger, stronger one, and I have no interest in fighting another player what-so-ever.

Half the reason I have warships is because griefers don't try to jump somebody that can put up a fair fight, they only attack somebody they can walk over with no risk to themselves. My experience, if you can put sizeable holes in their ships, they don't pick on you.

 

[FlyingDebris]

Paraphrasing Master_Artificer,

"If they don't want to fight, why are they not in singleplayer or a private server?"

 

[Edymnion]

"If they don't want to fight, why are they not in singleplayer or a private server?"

Because they like having someone to talk to while they build? Because they like being able to fly over and visit the neighbors and see what they're building? Because they like to help teach other people how to build and play the game?

You know, that quote literally boils down to "If you didn't want me to shoot you in the face, why did you leave your house?"

 

[Sven_The_Slayer]

As much as I prefer rails over the old docking system, allowing arbitrarily shaped ships to dock inside a given volume, no questions asked, was one aspect of it that I sorely miss.

Yes I've been saying since the new docking was introduced that we needed an alternative to mimic what we lost with the old system. Not everybody builds their ships in the same way so a way to still dock odd shape ships would be very much appreciated.

I would also like to point out just because they are invisible and have no collision with other blocks doesn't mean they will not be hit by weapons fire. The Pickup rails can still be destroyed as this block would too.

 

[Master_Artificer]

Paraphrasing Master_Artificer,

"If they don't want to fight, why are they not in singleplayer or a private server?"

I WAS SUMMONED!
Also just wanted to throw in my 2 cents, is this really a issue? I mean, sniping off a docker is difficult (sniping any block is hard when both targets are moving).

and we switched to rail dockers a long time ago. Perviously it was add more docking expanders in a ugly T or X formation and try to dock again, and it made docking ugly.

Now all you need is open space and it is easy to understand and deep in its mechanics.

I feel like this is not the solution to whatever perceived problem their is.

 

[Lecic]

I do.

I have a pretty decent warship and I'm currently building a bigger, stronger one, and I have no interest in fighting another player what-so-ever.

Half the reason I have warships is because griefers don't try to jump somebody that can put up a fair fight, they only attack somebody they can walk over with no risk to themselves. My experience, if you can put sizeable holes in their ships, they don't pick on you.

If you're playing on a PvP server, EXPECT PVP. It's not griefing when someone attacks one on a PVP SERVER.

I would also like to point out just because they are invisible and have no collision with other blocks doesn't mean they will not be hit by weapons fire. The Pickup rails can still be destroyed as this block would too.

Yeah, uh... finding an invisible block in astronaut mode. That's a funny joke.

 

[Sven_The_Slayer]

Yeah, uh... finding an invisible block in astronaut mode. That's a funny joke.

Hold f9

 

[Lecic]

Hold f9

"Just use this debug function to find a single block that could be floating hundreds of meters away from the main ship!"

Yeah, how about we not have to rely on some debug function that could get removed some day to make boarding possible.

 

[Edymnion]

If you're playing on a PvP server, EXPECT PVP. It's not griefing when someone attacks one on a PVP SERVER.

1) Griefers don't care if its a PvP server or not, they're just there to grief.
2) Have you looked lately? There aren't any pure PvE servers anymore.

 

[Lecic]

1) Griefers don't care if its a PvP server or not, they're just there to grief.

Then maybe take it up with the admins? And not ruin boarding?