Drones will not dock

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Nanook
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Post by Nanook » Wed, 28. Sep 11, 20:29

I haven't done it myself; my freight drone usage usually consists of collecting loot or doing one-shot buys from a factory. I have read where others have done what you want, but I don't know the exact commands they used. So I believe it is possible.
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Post by StarSword » Wed, 28. Sep 11, 21:46

I've always had problems getting freight drones to transfer cargo to my Panther. The only time it ever worked was when I was OOS in the X-shuttle while giving the Transfer Freight command.

But the funny thing is, it works fine for my TL fleet, even if I give the order IS. I think the "return" code is buggy only when the originating ship has the player aboard at the time the order is given.
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Re: Patches!

Post by Shadowofpeace » Thu, 29. Sep 11, 02:20

David Howland wrote:Shadowofpeace it does not really matter to us whether the drones use the hangar or not, so I will not get hung up on it. Things would have been different if ES were willing to certify more upgrades but when they announced Rebirth they unfortunately said, there would be no more official upgrades to TC (and I presume all previous X games).
In this affair I note the old users of freight drones still have no problems but new F. drone users seem to be running into this problem. I think maybe on auto scripts the game engine may learn to use them! If players used the F. drones before recent patches, their engine may have learnt then what to do and retain the capability. During recent patches the engines learning ability may have been impaired therefore new F. drone users are picking up this problem. No doubt the establishment will claim this idea fanciful?
I am quite sure that 'stick in the muds' will continue to kid themselves that the failure of the Return command is a figment of our imaginations!
It matters little, unless ES can be made to change their minds on issuing further official patches for TC? So if we want to use F. drones in future we had better get used spending half an hour in a TL scooping them up.
I might even use my Aran for bulk cargo transport, at least I can use mistrals to unload it and will have plenty of time to take in the scenery!
When I buy a game and i dose one thing and i get changed and it will not be made to do what i did before then i get unhappy. For a few reason.

1. The principle of it. I do not expect something that once worked or did something one way. To be changed or removed unless in is not working. General get fix first then if cannot be fix then maybe remove or change the way it dose.
2. If the F. Drone try and use the back of the ship to enter the cargo-bay to enter ship but running in to cargo with the front of your ship and it ends up in the cargo-bay then why do not the F. Drone just enter the ship form any area of the ship. They classed as cargo just commendable and portable.
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Post by Vyrebird » Thu, 29. Sep 11, 03:50

StarSword wrote:But the funny thing is, it works fine for my TL fleet, even if I give the order IS. I think the "return" code is buggy only when the originating ship has the player aboard at the time the order is given.
That sounds plausible to me. My main use of freight drones is to restock TLs remotely (IS or OOS) using the Trade->'Transfer Freight via Drones', and it's worked just fine nearly all of the time. The two memorable exceptions were when I was trying to restock the Boreas I was piloting, and when I was trying to restock the Elephant I was piloting. The Boreas can be explained by the lack of docking bays, but the Elephant would require something more - and 'script does not cooperate with a player in the ship at time of ordering' would fit.

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X Development!

Post by David Howland » Thu, 29. Sep 11, 11:05

Shadowofpeace,
You mention your preference for games that work and continue the same.
X games until Rebirth have not been like that. X games have been much improved after release by mods and scripts not developed by ES but by the Devs comunity. These patches selected released by ES improve the game mightily but there are sometimes minor impairments caused by patches which often can be corrected by later patches except ES took the unprecedented step on announcing Rebirth that patches for TC are ended!
It has begun to look like Rebirth has been designed for a future release on a console. Although the devs community have been promised future involvement on Rebirth it is difficult to see how this can work the same for a console game, which has to be perfect on release and not change until the next release? So you may find Rebirth more to your taste!
Vyrebird,
The IS thing does not work with my Elephant experience as I was OOS when the problem occurred and when I gave the return command which was ignored for half an hour before I jumped IS in my Hyperion, to collect them manually and transfer them back onto my Elephant!
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The Truth Please

Post by Shadowofpeace » Sun, 2. Oct 11, 13:37

Moderators keep telling me that the freight drones do not use the docking-bay to dock but they will try to enter via cargo-bay. But they also say you need one free hanger-bay (via docking-bay) for them to work. dose not make since if you need a hanger-bay for them to dock but they are not mean to dock via hanger-bay but by enter via cargo-bay. Why need a free hanger/docking-bay if they do not use it?

please answer as i fell i am getting the run around.

all worked fine in my old disk version 1.4 but with the new version on this disk i now use version 3.0 they do not work like they are meant to and i can no longer tell my fighter drones to dock at my TM. but could in V1.4

Which means either they are meant do dock via the hanger-bays just like M5-M3s and end in the cargo bay.. my marines if escape a ship to badly damaged to finish taking over. they will dock at my TM if i am flying it and it is the only other ship that can carry marine. they enter via hanger and end up where there are meant to be in the ship.

if you where to fly a m5 and try do dock at a ship without a docking-bay which connect to the hangers where they are stored en-til called upon. the docking bay is the entry point of the ship so marines, freight drones and fighter drone all should be able to use the docks dose not mean they are going to be stored in the hanger. if it was so the M5-M3 would be in the cargo-bay not hanger
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Alan Phipps
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Post by Alan Phipps » Sun, 2. Oct 11, 14:13

I cannot answer your question exactly but here is what I think happens. If you have no (or no free) hanger docking spaces then the only way to pick up drones (fighter or freight) is to run into them, ideally when they are inactive. As soon as you do they (and any freight) are converted into ware items and are added to the cargo if there is room.

If you do have a spare hangar docking space then the drones running the right scripts (follow, protect - if no enemy, deliver etc) should act as if they were normal light ships and try to dock all by themselves, but as soon as they get to the ship's collision boundary, they (and any freight) will be converted into wares and put into cargo if there is room, so leaving the dock free for the next drone or ship.

Does that help?
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Shadowofpeace
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sorry that dose not help

Post by Shadowofpeace » Tue, 4. Oct 11, 12:58

It dose not help because i do have a free hanger bay for them do dock not try to teleport into cargo bay. if i wanted them to us cargo bay to enter ship i will not ask them to dock. dock means using docking bay just like drones dock at station. they do not try to enter the station cargo hold they (DOCK) at the docking claps and or docking bays. that is why it is call docking.

in v1.4 the drones would enter docking path and dock the same way as M5 ships then would be in cargo bay after they docked.

just like when i dock at my TM i end up in the pilot set in the TM from what ever ship i have entered
for the last time if something is meant to dock it must dock. not try to enter through the ship. when freight drone try and enter ship it try to enter threw the back as it make no sense as you can pick in up in space with the front of your ship so while not enter the ship form any location of the ship and any angle.

so why is there meant to be a free hanger if the drone/s are not going to use or enter via it. make no scene. just like giving someone a bag to full and getting them to fill a box but they must have a empty bag which is not being use and has no peruse.

i can not be the only one that have found out that something what changed or a bug has happen when they patch to a new version. just want it fix and to work how it use to, that is all
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Shadowofpeace!

Post by David Howland » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 09:02

Hi again Shadowofpeace,
If the idea of a bug is seriously worrying you, you may to take this problem to the tech. support forum but if they do not find anything definite they will probably suggest re-installing and restarting a new game. I have had that advice a few times during my present game, in both forums. I am however, two and a half years later, enjoying exploring an X universe according to some advisers totally unique but then we all do that to some extent!
Good Luck whichever path you decide to take!
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Post by Alan Phipps » Wed, 5. Oct 11, 11:25

ShadowofPeace wrote: ... in v1.4 the drones would enter docking path and dock the same way as M5 ships then would be in cargo bay after they docked.
I have done some tests (vanilla 3.1.1) and freight drones now tend to move to the 'ship follow' position when they need to dock. They head there at normal speed until close, then slow and then inch their way to the correct distance (going from stopped to 1m/s and back - just like Player ships inching forwards and upwards just below docking arms at stations when IS). Eventually they meet the collision envelope and are taken inside the cargobay. I think there may be a conflict between the docking and collision avoidance scripts acting on the drone that causes this tortuously slow final approach. There are no such issues OOS of course.

If freight drone behaviour of landing in docks was there in 1.4 then I think that was at a time that the main cargo-collection role of freight drones was considered broken; that was improved in a later patch. So if we have indeed lost that original docking behaviour then maybe the overall gain outweighs that loss. I hope you can move on and successfully use them as they are.
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Re:

Post by Shadowofpeace » Mon, 20. Sep 21, 01:18

Alan Phipps wrote:
Tue, 27. Sep 11, 11:54
"But flying over fighter drones needs a spare hanger bay to quickly pick them up."
Simon, I am convinced you are confusing fighter drones with something else. You do not need free or even any hangar spaces to pick up fighter drones by flying into them. Just run into them with your ship (any) and they either go straight into cargo if there is suitable cargospace or explode if there is not. If you have a free ship dock space then both freight and fighter drones generally used to auto-dock on their own when instructed or scripted to do so. This thread is about how freight drones don't seem to do that now.
Thank you for the clarification and your reply to this issues,
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Shadowofpeace
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Re:

Post by Shadowofpeace » Mon, 20. Sep 21, 01:21

Alan Phipps wrote:
Wed, 5. Oct 11, 11:25
ShadowofPeace wrote: ... in v1.4 the drones would enter docking path and dock the same way as M5 ships then would be in cargo bay after they docked.
I have done some tests (vanilla 3.1.1) and freight drones now tend to move to the 'ship follow' position when they need to dock. They head there at normal speed until close, then slow and then inch their way to the correct distance (going from stopped to 1m/s and back - just like Player ships inching forwards and upwards just below docking arms at stations when IS). Eventually they meet the collision envelope and are taken inside the cargobay. I think there may be a conflict between the docking and collision avoidance scripts acting on the drone that causes this tortuously slow final approach. There are no such issues OOS of course.

If freight drone behaviour of landing in docks was there in 1.4 then I think that was at a time that the main cargo-collection role of freight drones was considered broken; that was improved in a later patch. So if we have indeed lost that original docking behaviour then maybe the overall gain outweighs that loss. I hope you can move on and successfully use them as they are.
Thanks for your reply. much appreciated
Palidor86

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Re: Drones will not dock

Post by Alan Phipps » Mon, 20. Sep 21, 11:21

No problem, even if my replies were 10 years ago. :D
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