Introduce an upper bound for construction robot response time

[Till223]

TL;DR

Every time a ghost is created, the amount of ghosts checked per tick could be adjusted to ensure an upper limit on the response time to new materials in the logistic system.

What ?

Right now, when new construction materials are added to a logistic network, it can take anywhere from 1 tick to 2 minutes to an hour for the construction bots to realize the change and use the materials. My suggestion is to check every time a new ghost is created how many ghosts are already on the map (maybe just keep track of it in a variable) and then adjust the checked ghosts per tick to ensure an upper limit. With this change, players who have few ghosts still have the same performance and players who have many ghosts have decreased performance but consistent response time.

Why ?

Usually, slow construction robots aren't a big issue and it's the players fault for keeping too many unbuildable ghosts around. However, I use separate logistic networks and deliver construction materials via trains. The train unloaders work on a feedback basis, meaning the train unloads a small amount of items, then it waits for the construction robots to consume said items to then unload some more. The issue here is, that I can't let my train wait around forever, I have to assume at some point that no items are required anymore and the train can leave. But I can't assume anything while the response time fluctuates this greatly. I also can't just remove the unbuildable ghosts, because everything is unbuildable until the train arrives to deliver the materials. Performance of this system also heavily relies on response time, but I can work around this by just unloading more items once usage is detected.

[ssilk]

That is eventually because what counts is the total number of ghosts. As I watched it, the game goes through the lists of ghosts on map and puts 600 or so in a queue. So it can take some while, even if the current network has nothing to do.

And to your problem: I recommend using the https://mods.factorio.com/mod/GhostScanner

That displays your train station the open ghosts. Not 100% exact, but good enough and better than waiting.