No worries, and glad to hear it was such an easy fix :D

Ah yes, the little details that are so very important but SE makes anything but obvious. I have successfully docked my first Calpini. After like two dozen splosions and catapults. Thanks for the help!

Thanks, I had a good laugh xD

Also, I think I may know the problem, you hinge head on the little platform is the wrong way around.

First, the little indentations on the hinge head should be the other way around, underneath the segments, not on top (check the screenshot of the drone trailer to see what I mean). So when it docks, Klang tries to make one or both of the grids to a 180 degree flip (I learnt this the hard way with the vehicles and trailers).

Second, the hinge base on the drone is set up to dock a hinge head facing forward, not up, so on docking, Klang will also make the drone jump 90 degrees.

I hope that helps!

Well, so far I've got a pretty effective catapult system https://vimeo.com/549495039

Sounds like a good plan, if you're using a sub-grid anyway, why not make the bed angled downward slightly? so after you turn the dampeners off it can just slide into place.

I think I've got an idea from looking at your trailer. The drone goes bananas because it's got the dampeners on. I need to be able to turn them off before attaching the hinge. Which means I need to make a bed for it with the hinge sticking out.

I'm actually trying to dock them to my hangar. Maybe hinge on a rotor just isn't a good idea. I've tried 5 drones and none survived. Maybe I should try in creative, this is starting to get expensive.

Actually, one thing you could try is lowering the upper limit of the hinge to ~80-85 degrees, so that there is a bit more of a gap between the trailer and drone.

I haven't been able to get any explosions in testing, but that doesn't mean much. Do you have any ideas?

Hey Kaito, unfortunately I don't have any secrets for you on this one. How often does the explosive docking happen? And in what kind fo game, single player, multiplayer or dedicated server?

Docking this thing with the hinge sure is an adventure. Any tips or tricks? Last attempt resulted in a hole in the ground.

Once that is done, there are a few autopilot scripts I would recommend for different purposes:

SAMv2 - Automated docking an pathfinding for shuttles
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/workshop/filedetails/?id=1653875433

PAM - Automated docking, shuttle routes, mining & grinding. However the docking and shuttle routes need to be run through manually once to be set up, and the mining & grinding also need to be set up initially.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/workshop/filedetails/?id=1507646929

Spug's Easy Autodocking 2 - Automated Docking, even to moving motherships
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2146371052

Avaness' Formation System - get one or more ships to follow a leader in formation
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/workshop/filedetails/?id=1542975902

Well I would say that it is a good idea to mess around in creative mode with the vanilla autopilot, just so you have an idea of what it can and can't do.

If you haven't yet, take a look at Splitise's Autopilot tutorials: https://youtu.be/EoXHqKlQPdE

Quite welcome, I used your shuttle design to simulate my first trip to space, so I have some clue what I'll be facing in my first survival mode attempt. Seems like I ran across a discussion of autopilot scripts somewhere but I cant find it again now, I've been watching videos and trying to learn how to do cargo drones with the vanilla tools, but it seems like the script tools were developed for good reason. Which do you think are the best for a beginner to work with, for cargo and mining?

Thanks, I'm they're useful for you

Really appreciiate your content. Using them as a "deconstruct tutorial" has helped my understanding a lot.

Thanks, it can just about work, but I’d still recommend the hydrogen version for Pertam

This drone is underpowered for the highest plateaus of Pertam. If you need to fly at that altitude, keep the drone aligned 45° down, so that the forward facing thrusters can assist with lift. It's OK to land on the docking trailer in that attitude, and to level off and attach after making contact.