All-Vessels Communication Methods

Ship Designators

All ships must have a designator consisting of the owner's faction tag, a dash (-), and a unique identifier. The identifier may be in a format prescribed by the faction. Example: UPL-IS-1.
The faction tag is UPL. The faction-specific identifier is IS-1.

Inter-Grid Communication (IGC) Messages

All messages

{entity id}:{designator};message...
entity id - the CubeGrid.EntityId of the vessel's grid. If there are multiple grids, any will work.
designator - as discussed above.
message - defined below for each tag. After this section, the preceding entity id and designator will be omitted for clarity.

Docking Control messages (tag: dockctl)

Docking Request

req;{dock size};{dock access};[extra]
Requests an available dock for the given size and access. Note this message may be broadcast if the vessel does not require a particular location.
dock size - the size of the dock required for the vessel:

• sm - Small connector
• md - Connector (standard)
• mdseal - Small Airlock Connector
• lgseal - Large Airlock Connector (large-grid only)
• pad - Flat landing surface (dock access is ignored)

dock access - the connector access type:

• trd - Trading connector
• any - Normal connector (Trading Mode OFF), no specific access required
• chg - Normal connector with power access
• air - Normal connector with power and oxygen access
• fuel - Normal connector with power and hydrogen access
• car - Normal connector with power and cargo access
• full - Normal connector with power, hydrogen, and cargo access

extra - comma-separated list of tags requiring additional features of the dock:

• pad - requires wide area to support recessed docking port or large ship
• bay - requires dock to be inside a sealed bay, responder must specify clearances
• dmg - requests (not required) dock to be inside service bay/repair ward
• cmn - requests (not required) airlock dock to have personnel access to one of the station's common area
• Any tag preceded by "x-" may be used freely

Docking Request Positive Response

acc;{block id};{coords};{vector};[extra]
Informs the vessel of an available dock meeting the request parameters. This message may be sent for multiple docks simultaneously to offer multiple docks to the vessel.
block id - the IMyCubeBlock.EntityId of the connector
coords - the world-space coordinates of the connector block, space-separated
vector - the world-space unit vector representing the center of the connection direction
extra - comma-separated list of tags identifying additional features of the dock:

• trd - Trading connector
• prg - Programmable access (further communication required to select access)
• pad - Dock is on a pad
• bay - Dock is in a bay, clearances must be provided in extra tags, vessel may have to wait after confirming for sealable door to open
• srv - Dock is in service area
• wcl - Dock may have low clearances due to other ships docked nearby
• ddr - Clearance of the bay door (in meters, space separated elements) immediately after tag (ex.: ...,ddr10 5,...)
• dby - Clearance inside the bay (in meters, space separated elements) immediately after tag (ex.: ...,dby15 20 40,...)
• cmn - Airlock dock has personnel access to a common area

Docking Request Negative Response

den;[reason]
Informs the vessel it is not permitted to dock with the station at this time.
reason - optional reason for the request denial:

• unavail - There are no available docking ports meeting the request criteria
• access - The vessel is not authorized to dock at this station
• secure - The station does not currently permit docking
• manual - The vessel is not permitted to dock automatically, but manual docking is still authorized

Docking Request Confirmation

con;{block id}
Informs the station of the vessel's choice of available dock.
block id - the block id specified in the station's message