Question about anchor

[Mykepatch]

Hi,
when is anchor in use? when its light is red, or when it's green?
I first thought it was active when green (as red after placing it), but I lost my ship, that drifted too far from the base to teleport back to it! Is it more complicated that simply toggle it to green, or red, to activate it?
What exactly is its function? Just prevent the ship from drifting, or really anchor it? Whenever red or gree, I can move the ship.

[coconut_willy_97]

Green is on. With that said, I regularly have seen my ships drift a little when I use them. If I leave the area and come back they tend to move. The problem is worse for stations that have asteroids that spawn around them. They tend to create a current that pushes your ships away.

They are supposed to maintain their position in space (stations and planets included: nothing really orbits or moves away on their own). Also, for only 5 power usage, consider it a best effort attempt that keeps your ship mostly stationary that is very cheap to use power wise when you consider a single thruster is 5 power.

I use it on a couple of ships, but they aren't perfect. I have a bathtub toy ship that I can build that I can use to run out and get them if they move away, and you can place a spawner, materializer thingy, on them, store your gear and then respawn on the ship, too.

[baddoggs]

I have never used an anchor. Does it try to pin you to a specific point in space
or can you "atach/anchor" yourself to ..say an large astroid or a base?

[coconut_willy_97]

To a point in space, but again you drift a little when you are not looking at it ... like those Weeping Angels...

[Johnno]

Originally posted by Mykepatch:

Hi,
when is anchor in use? when its light is red, or when it's green?

Is that an honest question? Genuinely, are you asking if something is on when its light is red, or green? Let's assume that the developers are conscious thinking breathing living people like you and me. Which do you think would signify "on"... green, or red?

I first thought it was active when green (as red after placing it), but I lost my ship, that drifted too far from the base to teleport back to it!

Before even going into detail, could it be that you don't fully comprehend the game, or that you did something wrong? Like, let's say (from experience), that you had it switched on, then modified the ship/station... and it drifted away. *gasp*

Is it more complicated that simply toggle it to green, or red, to activate it?

Did you, or did you not, modify the ship/station after toggling it the first time around?

The complicated part is having to toggle it after spawning/modifying the ship *gasp*, much difficult, very wow!

What exactly is its function? Just prevent the ship from drifting, or really anchor it?

To "anchor" it at a specific point, that is drag the station back to that point once it's no longer affected by exterior forces.

Whenever red or gree, I can move the ship.

Uh huh. And what happens when you stop "moving" the ship? Does it slowly move back to the original position where you enabled the anchor? *more gasp* such functionality, very wow!

[baddoggs]

Originally posted by coconut_willy_97:

To a point in space, but again you drift a little when you are not looking at it ... like those Weeping Angels...

Ha, like the Dr Who ref...

[coconut_willy_97]

@Mykepatch, I was using a ship with the anchor and I see what you are saying.
Handle down, light Green I get drift
Handle UP, light Red and I get drift
I cycled it up and down three times to get it to finally stop the drifting (down and green). I haven't tested it over time and when i travel away from it, but yes, the continued drift is real if all you do is flip the handle and walk away.
Good catch

[coconut_willy_97]

Not to necro this too much. I had the gravity anchor set, but then I ran out of power. I got power restarted, but the gravity anchor remained off and I drifted away...