Factorio Forums

TL;DR

Interrupts/Temp train stations option 'Return to previous station' (or a generic destination placeholder for any previous station)

What?

Manipulating train behavior for Interrupts / temp train stations with a checkbox or something: returning to the previous station instead of the next station in the original schedule.

Alternatively, a generic interrupt parameter for train stations, such as 'next station' and 'previous station', so that you don't need to build an actual generic central waiting station/depot for when that interrupt 'destination full/no path' gets executed.

Why?

If a train sits or arrives in a station and never leaves it because the next scheduled station is inactive or whatever, and then somehow still decides to move (interrupts or for player temporary stations), on the arrival of said temporary stations, it will still have ''dest full or no path' in the original schedule and block the interrupting station/temp station forever.

I.e., trains with 1 supply station to multiple varying unloading stations that can be deactivated.

Train returns to supply station. No unload station is active. Train decides to interrupt itself to load fuel. Blocking the refueling station indefinitely since no unloading station is active.

Assume the player doesn't like building large central depots for trains which could be fitting as a generic destination for a 'destination full/no path' interrupt interrupting all other interrupts.
Ideally, that train should've just returned to the supply station. How do you get the train to go exactly where it came from in a generic way for all circumstances and schedules?

(This was just one example; I also like using inactive trains as temporary taxis to pick me up or to deliver some of their fuel to me; they will wait forever on arrival instead of returning by themselves.)

Ideally, a temp station wouldn't even advance the original train schedule to begin with IMO and return to where it came from no matter what. Or this could be an optional checkbox. Possibly an option if the temp station/interrupt is inserted before the current scheduled station (and then gets executed) instead of after it, so that a loop is performed at all times.

And an alternative idea: New generic train station parameters to be used as destination stations for interrupts, such as 'previous station' and 'next station' (of the original schedule). That might also be useful for some of the interrupt conditions. Imagine checking 'at specified station', 'station is full' / 'station is not full' with this.