Space Shuttle Docking

[StanJr]

I am playing Game 2, as I am trying to get the hang of this game (which I cannot seem to do).

 

And I CANNOT dock with the satellite. I get into orbit, shut down the engines at 205 (or as close to it as possible). I then turn them back on, set pitch to 28, and shut down again and open the bay doors. I then proceed to set my Z axis to 0, my Y axis to 0, and then mess with my speed until the x axis is approaching 0 (either by slowing up to meet the satellite, or speeding up to catch it). As the sattelite approaches, I try to hit mach 23.9 or as close to it as I can. Despite all of this the Orbiter NEVER appears, nor have I ever docked with it, EVER.

 

What am I doing wrong? Please help

 

Ground Control to Major Tom! Can you hear me Major Tom? Can you hear me Major Tom.....

[Cupcakus]

I am the Space Shuttle Master :-)

 

All you have to do is get all axis to 0... simple :-)

 

Set Z to 0 and Y to 0 and then check your speed to see if you need to speed up or slow down to catch the satellite... When it starts getting close to your position speed up or slow down so you are approaching it slowly... when the next radar screen comes on you have a left screen and a right screen...

 

You have to get the blinking square in each window, into the square box in the middle.... you won't see the satellite in the window until you're close...

 

The Z axis and Y axis drift over time, sometimes dramatically... once you get close to the satellite you will definetly have to correct all of your axis again....

[MaxSpeed]

I won 25 cart lot on eBay that has this and look forward to trying this game. But the game I am most excited about is Pitfall II - Thanks Stan !

[StanJr]

Yeah, but see Cupcakus, I think I am doing all of that. I just don't get it. The X axis should be at 0, but it only stays there for like a second. No way I can correct the other axis before it shifts! Or am I still doing something wrong?

[Cupcakus]

You have to match your speed perfectly with the satellite... You are still moving too slow/fast if the X axis changes after a second... you need to speed up/slow down to keep the X axis in place for about 3 or 4 seconds to get a dock...

[Cupcakus]

If the other axis are off, and the X axis is drifting away, correct the other axis first, then speed up/slow to to catch the satelllite and try again... It shouldn't get too far away.. The X axis is the hardest one to get to stay at 0

[StanJr]

ok, 3 or 4 seconds, I'll try that

 

Thanks Cupcakus, you rule!

[Sir Plus]

The X axis is the hardest one to get to stay at 0

 

For me, it was always the Y axis.

 

"#%&@$%@!!!!"

[Cupcakus]

Here's a vid of me doing it in PCAE on game #2

 

I still got it :-)

 

I hope this helps

space.zip

[Cupcakus]

The X axis is the hardest one to get to stay at 0

 

For me, it was always the Y axis.

 

"#%&@$%@!!!!"

 

The worst is when you are seconds from docking and the Z axis wacks out, it takes all day to correct that stupid axis... This actually happened to me in the vid I took... I had everything set for docking when all of a sudden the Z axis jumps to +2, and I had to correct it before I could proceed...

 

But that is what makes me a superior space shuttle pilot

[Sir Plus]

True. Unless you are moving at exactly orbit speed (when correcting X), the Z axis WILL change. I alternate between X and Z by using the button when tapping the stick. Another thing that sometimes works is to drift PAST the satellite by +001 before correcting Z and then Y (since each movement you make will slow you down momentarily).... and X will correct itself that way (though it takes a bit longer since the satellite has to drift back into the window).

[Cupcakus]

So.... How'd you do Stan??? Did the vid help??? :-)

[Sir Plus]

Since there are no controllers being broken, I'd guess yes.

[StanJr]

I'll be making another attempt later tonight, I'll keep you posted. Thanks again!

[Cupcakus]

Bump!

 

Stan... what's up... did you get cut from the space program????

[MaxSpeed]

C'mon Stan, We know you can do it ! I do not have this game yet, but this is a challenge we as Atari collectors all must someday face.

Please let us know when you dock.

[Cupcakus]

Bump! again....

 

I think Stan is still ashamed he can't do it.... If they find out about it, they're going to make him clean the toilets in the space program instead of fly the shuttles.

 

So what is it Stan? Did you get it to dock?

[ccc---]

Reminds me of those 1984 x-mas holiday, when I borrowed my cousin's 2600, doing nothing else than playing Space Shuttle ... and it was honored with a "Pilot" patch by Activision

 

Pity I never managed that 6th docking within those few days which would have provided me a "Commander" Patch ...

[Nukey Shay]

Good God...that 6th satellite is REALLY erratic. The Y-axis jumps once a second, so you need to anticipate which way it's going to jump go get enough docking time to register. By then, I always lost too much fuel...you need to land with at least 7500 units. Once you dock, the fuel jumps back up...but I think that it's impossible unless you begin deorbit burn with the maximum amount of fuel (9999). That too is impossible, since you have to wait until the satellite is out of range before you can perform deorbit burn. And once the satellite is away, the Z-axis often jumps by a large amount (I've seen it add +12!)...making you waste even more fuel. But the special display does exist...which is something that I could only wonder about back then. If it is -really- possible...that is another question.

[Cupcakus]

Good God...that 6th satellite is REALLY erratic.  The Y-axis jumps once a second, so you need to anticipate which way it's going to jump go get enough docking time to register.  By then, I always lost too much fuel...you need to land with at least 7500 units.  Once you dock, the fuel jumps back up...but I think that it's impossible unless you begin deorbit burn with the maximum amount of fuel (9999).  That too is impossible, since you have to wait until the satellite is out of range before you can perform deorbit burn.  And once the satellite is away, the Z-axis often jumps by a large amount (I've seen it add +12!)...making you waste even more fuel.  But the special display does exist...which is something that I could only wonder about back then.  If it is -really- possible...that is another question.

 

 

I have heard of no one that has accomplished it. You can begin deorbit butn before the stellite is at X-Axis 127 unlike what the book says... as long as you are not right on top of the satellite when you start to reenter you will not get a mission abort.... I have trouble making "profit" from the satellite docks.... You have to dock quickly enough to make more fuel from a dock then it took you to make that dock in the first place... that is really hard to do.

[Nukey Shay]

If your altitude has not yet reached about 203 or so, the Z-axis has a habit of jumping by a very large amount when the satellite stops moving away. So I guess the timing would be tricky (since you need to turn completely around "by the book")...but I suppose that you could just try to reduce speed/altitude normally (I could never do that without burning up or skipping off when I attempted it before...anyone else?). And one trick to quick dockings is using the main engines occasionally to speed up quicker...saving on backup fuel that you use for corrections. As the manual states, it's always better to tap the controller rather than hold it. There's a thread around here someplace that has the "race" Scott and I had to land with six dockings (while cheating) in order to get that picture. Steve...er...Ms.Stevens really made it tough. We both did it about simultanously.

In one of ActiVision's newsletters, there was a picture of a guy who won (I think) every patch that they issued...he was given a tour of the facility. But I don't know if he actually had wings or just the regualr patch.

[MaxSpeed]

OK, I am going to try this game. I got the cart, but now it looks like I need a overlay or something. Cool graphics, but after trying for awhile I know I need to read the manual.

[Nukey Shay]

Nah...you don't really need an overlay to play the game. After a while, you don't even notice that it's missing.

 

Instructions in a nutshell...click here

[StanJr]

I can't do it. I just cannot do it. I spent 2 hours tonight on Game 2 trying to find that damn satellite and it never appeared. I did everything you people have told me, set all my axis, matched the speed of the satellite for 5+ seconds, everything, but the damn satellite never even appeared on the screen. I don't know what else to do! I'm going to look at Cupcakus video again, but I'm at wits end at this point. If I bring the game to Philly will someone please demo this if I have not done it by then?

 

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

 

Massive Frustration Stan

[Nukey Shay]

If it's not showing up, it sounds like that either the pitch or yaw is off a bit. Y needs to be pretty far off for the satellite not to appear at all...same goes for Z. Once X is within a few clicks, you should see it (or a smaller sprite of it) on the screen someplace.