Docking instead of stumbling in. Until now the trading post opened on its own as soon as you came within 70 px of a station’s center — even if you only wanted to fly through.
- Within docking range (190 px), a DOCK button hovers above the station and the docking area lights up. Confirm with E, up on the D-pad or by clicking/tapping the button.
- Approach: The ship turns its nose toward the station and flies at it in a little over a second, getting smaller (down to a quarter) and paler as it goes — it dives into the depth toward the hangar bay. That way the station looks like what it is: much bigger than the ship, just far away. Then the post opens.
- Undocking: When you close it, the ship grows back out of the station and flies off 150 px in the direction it came from. It’s invulnerable while doing so.
- Cargo is delivered when you dock rather than when you fly past.
- The camera as a counter-movement: During the approach the camera zooms in on the station by a good 20 % — the station grows while the ship shrinks. While docked, the Orbit view stays still behind the trading window, and on undocking the camera pulls back out.