Show priority of train station in overview

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T3rm1
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Show priority of train station in overview

Post by T3rm1 »

12-20-2024, 12-55-51.png
12-20-2024, 12-55-51.png (106.53 KiB) Viewed 377 times
Please add the priority of the station to the overview.
Fulz
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Re: Show priority of train station in overview

Post by Fulz »

yes, please! It's very hard to get an overview of train station priorities currently
rosilisk
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Re: Show priority of train station in overview

Post by rosilisk »

+1 from me, this would be a nice feature that seems relatively easy to fit into the UI. I'll expand on this idea using the recommended format to help gain visibility.
TL;DR
Add train station priority in the stations tab of the train overview.

What?
Train station priority is a powerful tool to manage large networks of trains and train stations, introduced for 2.0 https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-395. I personally use a timing circuit that measures how long a station has been waiting for a resource drop, convert it to minutes and take the square root (so it's bounded by about 0 to 100), and use that value to set the priority. Therefore, stations that have been waiting longer get higher priority, which is especially important for limited resources. I've also thought of using it to set high-priority inputs - eg. outputs of core mining from Space Exploration - but I use splitter priority for that task for now.

However, monitoring the status of these priorities in a large base is challenging, especially when leveraging the logistical power of trains to drop off resources all over the map. To see how long it's been since a drop-off, I have to (1) find each station handling a specific resource, and (2) mouse over the local combinator logic. Alternatively, I can set alarms when the time goes over a certain threshold, but that solution is limited and I don't like having a base full of alarms. The train overview is a perfect place to house this information, because it gathers all stations with a similar name together, and their relative priority determines which one will be selected first.

I (and the OP) propose that the "Stations" tab of the "Train overview" GUI, shown in the OP's first image, be expanded to include the priority of each station. Perhaps right next to the "Trains: 1/1", where there is empty space. The box for each train station would easily fit something like "Priority: 50", and it could maybe even indicate whether that priority is set by the circuit network or not (similar to how it displays the train limit).
Why?
Trains are a powerful tool for large, distributed bases, and monitoring them is a challenge from both a game design perspective and a game player perspective. Merging the excellent (and relatively new!) priority system with the also excellent Train overview GUI seems like an easy choice.

Thanks for reading!
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