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My struggle with building train signals

Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 8:44 am
by Achilleshiel
Hey,

There are a lot of threads about the "correct" way of placing signals at junctions and stations. In my case it was always quite simple. Maybe my 1000+ hours of openTTD helped a tiny bit. Anyway, my method of laying track is using the ghost planner. I plan double railtrack and will build it with my robonetwork while I drive the locomotive over the freshly laid track. While i'm pressing double-u to move forward, I will also drop some bigpoles. The only thing that is not automatically spaced are the signals.

From my openTTD background I really like the feature that a section of track could be automatically signaled. This means that every x-tiles a signal would be build. The workaround in this case is to make a blueprint that include the signals as well. But blueprints have a fixed length and then I have to do the last 15 tiles by hand, which is do-able. However, I love optimizing. Therefore, sometimes I would like to move all the signals by 2 tiles. Just because it will increase the train troughput.

I have searched for mods which can do this. But I was not able to find one. So would it be possible to build signals like electric poles or undergrounds? With a setting for the distance between signals.
Is it even possible to mod this feature? Or should it be added by the devs?

TL:DR
Is it possible to place/plan train signals with a fixed spacing along rail sections?
If yes - Is there a mod already?
If no - Is possible to mod?
If no - Should devs add this feature?

https://wiki.openttd.org/Building_signa ... of_signals

I'm currious about what your ideas are.

PS: I'm a really good (quantity) talker, so the information density could be better.

Re: My struggle with building train signals

Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 9:44 am
by zOldBulldog
I think the solution you are looking for are chunk-aligned blueprints.

You can find them on the forum (share your creations), on factorioprints,.com or by googling. Or you can make your own (but I recommend trying other people's blueprints first so that you discover various nuances and tricks).

Some basic principles of chunk-aligned blueprints:

- You show the chunk by pressing F4, checking Show Tile Grid (I hope I remembered that name right), F4.
- You can include power poles (with green and red wire), signals (usually one per lane), lamps, and anything else that makes your blueprint yours.
- It is usually a good idea to have one power pole extend past the end of the chunk in each direction. It makes connecting blueprints easier.
- The hardest bit is to come up with a design that let's your various rail blueprints connect without having to redo the signals (or at least minimize the redo) . This is usually tricky for intersection blueprints.

If trains are your thing, look into the mods LTN and FARL. I have not yet tried them but they seem to be the gold standard.

Somebody came up with a design/method to not just lay down the track, but also have blueprints for the mine, train station, robo ports and supply delivery The rain so that bots do it all, from construction to deconstruction of the mine. You might enjoy it. Try googling for it.

Re: My struggle with building train signals

Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 10:36 am
by Achilleshiel
I don't like the blueprint option. As you lock yourself to a fixed number of options.

LTN is awesome and already in my collection. I had a quick peek at FARL and it look promissing. However, it probably ends up being used in a non intended fasion.

Re: My struggle with building train signals

Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 4:00 pm
by adam_bise
What exactly is it about BPs that aren't working for you?

You can make a BP with only 2 signals between x number of tracks. Place it down on an existing track or ghost and the signals will be placed and properly spaced. You can place 1 signal ghost and then align your BP to the 1st signal so the other is placed according to your spacing needs.

If you have need of several spacing options, create a BP book with different spacing and mouse wheel between them.

Or are you referring to the difficulty of placing very long BPs? If that is the case, us a BP that is long enough to handle with 2 signals between tracks and place it at the 1st signal, then place the next and cancel the previous signal ghost. Then count how many times the BP should be placed for long spacing.

Or make your BP spaced with an acceptable denominator, and place several signals along your track with a BP that is short enough to handle, then use a signal filtered decon planner and drag across your signals until the right # of signals appears next to the decon selection box to achieve long accurate spacing.

Re: My struggle with building train signals

Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 6:02 am
by Bauer
...and keep in mind that you can also configure the deconstruction planner.
In order to "shift" signals, this feature makes it easy to deconstruct only all signals. Make sure, the tracks are free because your trains will cause havoc if you remove all signals.

Re: My struggle with building train signals

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 12:46 pm
by steinio
Yeah use self made blueprints with rails Power poles and signals. Chunk alignment is not neccessary - only with OCD.

Just wondering about anyone using the ghost rail planner. It's horrible.

Re: My struggle with building train signals

Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2018 11:21 am
by DaBibo
The ghost-planer is very usefull.
Tried to turn your tile with r while using it ?