Connectors are to strong!

[Wanderer]

As we all know, connectors have some kind of magnetic behaviour, holding each other in the right position while in proximity, even if unconnected.

Now I've built a real small ship for grinding an welding in my shipyard at some places which are quite difficult to reach. Due to its size it has only two small thruster for each direction.

Unfortunately, they generate not enough thrust to leave the field of attraction of the connectors again after disconnecting! Even turning off the connector-block completely has no effect.

Has someone a workaround for this problem? I think, the proximity-effect should be terminated on shutting down the connector-block down completely, so one can simply fly away.

[Darkaiser]

I've experienced the same problem on certain designs. DO you have room for 2 small Pistons? You can use them to puch far enough away to break the mag seal.

Barring that, having the thrusters that you're using facing the Connector set farther apart seems to help because it allows you to shear away at an angle and break the lock.

[Wanderer]

Thats's an interesting idea! I do not have in mind yet if there is space two blocks deep at the position the pistons need to be placed, so I have to see if it works for me...

Currently I'm using the way you explained second, but there's so little thrust, that if I don't get the right angle in the right moment, my ship bounces back to the connector an by this sometimes even to the wall behind... so it's not my favourite tactics.

However, a simple block-option to turn the magnetic seal off completely would be fine for one of the next patches!

[The_Mell]

Procedure for undocking:
1) switch both connectors on
2) switch both connectors off
3) press 'p' and connectors turn grey wihtout any magnetic force left

Problem is that an offline connector is switched into an invisible on-mode if an other connector connects. Turning it on&off is neccessary to really turn it off.

[Skipachu]

I recently made a small mining ship and had this problem. When I use A or D to strafe while also thrusting forward, I am able to escape the connector.

[Wanderer]

@The_Mell: How did hit upon such an idea? I don't have the time to test your suggestion this weekend, but if it works, I'm fine with that solution, however doing the whole procedure every time might become annoying if one dock on and off more often...

@Skipachu: I tried all directions of thrust and angle and just bumped back to the wall behind most the time. How many thrusters do you use?

[The_Mell]

It's a standard procedure.
http://youtu.be/nn2FB1P_Mn8

Hot keys might help.
Last time i tried it there was some trouble (hotkey deleted) with it either when leaving cockpit or at least when loading a saved world (can't remeber).
Maybe now with antennas and remote access give it a try...

[Fixitman64]

Hey I put my the connector on my mother ship on top of a piston so I can raise & lower it (needed some extra space to avoid thruster damage from big ship docking). I noticed the magnetic force was greatly reduced for some reason. I'm guessing it's less than 1/4 as strong as it used to be (when connector was on solid conveyor). Maybe this could be your quick fix.

[Wanderer]

Originally posted by The_Mell:

It's a standard procedure. :Khappy:

No, turning it off and on again is the standard procedure! Turning on and off is something completely different! :-| Just kidding. ;-)

The effect of pistons on the strength of the magnetic seal sounds interesting, but I need much more space for a docking station by this. A large piston is longer than my complete small ship I'm talking about!

So I think, the solution by "turning it off an on again" (spoken with the annoyed voice of the IT-specialist) will be my favourite.

Currently I don't have the time to test it, but I will post the working and hotkey-eased solution as soon as I could. For the future, I hope a patch will reduce the magnetic effect... there is no need for this strength.

Thank you all for your replys and suggestions!

[Wanderer]

So, finally I got some time to try out your suggestions, so here follows, as promised, a working and hotkey-eased solution:

At first: One of the connectors has to be permanently turned off (I chose the station-side one, but which one you choose should not be important). In my ship, I've set two hotkeys, one for turning the shipside connector on/off and one to lock/unlock it.
Now, if I want to connect my ship, I switch the connector on, what switches the station-side connector to auto-on as soon as I'm close enough. If this happened, I can lock them.
If I'm done with the transfer and want to fly away again, I first switch the connector off and then unlock it. By this, the connectors do not stay in auto-on mode, so I can simply fly away. No need for doing anything station-side or using remote connections, just two hotkeys on my ship.

I hope this works for you, too, and will be helpful for anyone having a similar problem.

[✿ BewareImSniper ✿]

I do too have problems with connecting small ships but connecting large ships, it feels like the connectors hardly connect. I could move my large ship with ease even when attached to the connector.

[Zorlond]

I've encountered this as well, since I use a very similar design to the OP (two small thrusters in each direction). But I've found that you can wrench free if you combine thrust away from the connector to a strong turn away from it. My ship's got two gyroscopes, so it can twist pretty hard. Between the twist and the thrust, I can get free of the connector's magnetic grip every time.

Would be nice to set how strong the connector's pull is, though.

[Tal Maru]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=294153941
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=294153970
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=294153995

[Aikagi]

rehashing an old subject it seems. What happened in the latest update? The connectors are like gravity wells now! ONE connector yanked a 3,700,988 mass ship into position like it was NOTHING. my welder cant even take off unless i turn the connector off. I have to only play with block destruction off Id be wrecking my ships like mad! please do something with the connectors they are way to freaking strong for heavy ships.

[Vyradder]

I've actually smashed the shipside connector trying to dock with the station connector today because it jerks the connectors together with such force. I think they need to turn down the magnetic force, or put a slider in so we can control it.