Docking Q&A: What it means, and what it doesn't.

柳三公子

So, people have been asking a lot of questions about the upcoming docking system on 0.18, so I decided to post all the questions and answers here, before they start getting lost in the comments.

Q: Originally Posted by Androsynth
The main utility that I always imagine getting out of docking is the ability to transfer fuel. Is that going to be possible yet, given that the system is as simple as merging ships together and breaking them apart? It sounds like it won't be, but it'd be good to confirm.
A: Transferring resources is a separate feature to docking, but we are going to implement at least a simple version of it for 0.18. Basically the idea is that you'll be able to select two parts on a vessel, and transfer resources between them (provided both parts can store the same resource, of course). It will be simple, but it should be good enough for now.



Q:  Originally Posted by iamaphazael
So, does this implementation allow for building a docked vessel in the VAB (two command pods connected by a docking ring that can be separated after launch, for Apollo-style missions), or is that still a little further down the road?
A: It does. In the editor, you attach things normally. Docking nodes that allow you to stack parts to them are aware of parts attached to their associated attach nodes, and they start up in a pre-attached mode. In pre-attached mode, the first undocking works like a normal decoupling operation. Afterwards, the node starts functioning normally again.


Q:  Originally Posted by Adslegend
Will it be possible to have multiple command pods or will that be a feature added later?
A: We are also working on that here. Docking makes it possible to connect vessels with multiple command pods already, so we are setting up a system to make that work more fluidly. Once that's done, there will be absolutely no reason to not allow you to place multiple pods on a vessel in the editor.

Q:  Originally Posted by stanNL_97
Will it be possible to have NO command pod on your vessel? Or a very small robot thing to steer it?

A: That's already possible, though not in the editors. Whenever you eject a stage, you've created a vessel that has no command pod.

A vessel does need a root part though, but that can be anything. It doesn't need to look like a capsule or hold crew.

The plan now is to have a system to determine which part is supposed to be the 'main' one on a vessel (not necessarily the root part either). That part will define some things for the vessel, such as which way is 'forward', for instance.

How exactly that will get implemented is something we're still discussing, but once we have a solid plan, it should be relatively simple to implement.

Q:  Originally Posted by iamaphazael
That reminds me. Are there any plans to allow for vessels to have multiple connectivity (ie, crafts that can be described by a graph rather than by a tree), or would that be more trouble than it was worth?
A: There are no plans to make vessels not be a tree-type structure, however, there are plans for more 'compound parts', like Strut connectors and fuel lines.

With modules, that adds a slew of new possibilities.

No plans on that for 0.18 though.


Q:  Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen
I foresee a problem with this implementation. Namely, staging, engines, and their functions.
A: That's another reason why docking wasn't done until now. While Chad (C7) and me are working on recoding parts into modules and implementing docking, Mike (Mu) is working on the new Action Groups and Staging system, which will allow for much greater flexibility. That bit wasn't shown on the livestream, because it's not exactly presentable yet, but it's a completely new system to control parts, being built from the ground up, and with docking in mind.


Q:  Originally Posted by Vanamonde
Does this mean that after a ship crashes, it might be possible for the Kerbals to superglue some of the wreckage back together and make the damaged ship fly again? 'Cause that would be AWESOME. I mean, a few updates down the line, of course, when repair EVAs are implemented, but this would seem to allow for that possibility. Imagine your Kerbals limping home on a frankenstein-ship stiched together out of bits left over from their crash.
A: Docking doesn't imply ship repairs. Not for now at least. We talked about this here, and decided that ship repairs would be best done by some other way.


That's about it for now.

柳三公子

排版有点渣，主要是找不到论坛相应的功能来区分Q和A

大致是说0.18将支持官方docking，当然也包括一个非常简单的油料传输系统。主要是在编辑界面现在可以直接添加多个指挥舱了。

Cesrate

Well……I hope every docked part to be all right when warping……

Cesrate

I wanna point out...最后一个Q很神很awesome啊……

Cesrate

关于Docking...从这些描述可以看出制作组显然打算弱化“一艘飞船”的定义了……在Dock的过程中结合体如何命名呢？以原飞船？新飞船？还是加入一个重命名工具？