Fri Jun 20, 2003 9:44 am by bogsnot
Lets look at a few things.
1) Elite. What was the first thing most people went and bought as soon as they had the money?? Docking Computers
2) You own a space station that people can dock with. Would you
a) Let any drunk moron drive his ship through the side of your station, causing who knows what damage and costing $XXX,XXX,XXX.49 to repair.
b) Invest in a tractor beam to pull them in safely at a set rate and flight path
3) You are President/Mayor/King/Grand Poobah of a planet. The choices are
a) tractors beams,
b) docking rings,
c) space elevator,
d) let any moron re-enter atmosphere as they wish, burning up due to the wrong angle of approach, spreading space junk and radioactive dust over the planet.
I know manual docking and landing can be fun, but lets face it. The biggest danger in any form of transportation is the loose nut behind the wheel.
Lets face it, if it were my station or my planet, you wouldnt be landing or docking unless it was my computer in control.
Just my $0.02, but it could just be the cardamine talking.
Nil Mortifi Sine Lucre