Two way docking

[Numinak]

It would be nice to be able to make a ship dock to you (with permission block of course to prevent just anyone forcing you to dock), as well as the current system of being able to dock to other things.

Simple solution would be to allow 'rail' blocks to fire a beam as well, to connect to the rail-docker block. It would make the ship dock with yours, without the need to climb out and physically dock each ship.

(I run a lot of civilian/shipping ships, and having to dock each cargo pod gets annoying).

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Ithirahad]

There's a "magnetic docking" system that will make this work automatically, but in the meantime I wonder why we can't have rail dockers be able to dock to each other, or fire their beam with logic?

 

[EricBlank]

Well, the devs intended to switch to magnetic docking eventually, which means, as I understand it, that an object with an active docking module will snap onto a rail automatically if the rail is close enough.

So, that will do exactly this, once you get in range, and have wireless logic to toggle the docker on (I assume it will have to be togglable.)

 

[elantzb]

The hurdle that I'm seeing with two-way docking is a possible exploit where a factioned ship might dock to an allied/neutral mothership, the faction block on the mothership is destroyed and then belongs to the first ship. But I'm sure that whatever system the devs devise will have this in mind.