Train pathfinding on stations with same name

[Engimage]

I've been thinking on smart train systems and came up with several ideas on how to improve train behaviour when you got several stations with same name.

1. Add a circuit controlled pathfinding penalty to stations. This will help balancing stations based on their cargo. Would be cool for both outpost (provider) sides and unloading (consumer) sides. You will expose the penalty of a given station just like inserter stack size is currently exposed - you can either set it manually or by circuit network.

2. Add a circuit network readable counter for currently incoming trains. Every train en route to this station will increase the counter. I think this can be really easily implementer as the train routes exactly to a station (not a name really) and names are used only to filter out stations before creating a list of paths to choose from. Using this counter you could multiply it and increase station penalty accordingly. Ofcourse this makes sense only if (1) is implemented.

Updated 0.16:
Currently a workaround for the new behaviour is the mod exposed constant for the penalty which is applied to busy stations. However this alone can't provide desired functionality so I think my optiong will really be useful.

[ssilk]

Added to viewtopic.php?f=80&t=21899 Control Train Pathfinder (Passthru stations, Add Penalty)

[lovely_santa]

+1

We can make complicated waiting systems as of now, but a train always path to the closest station, and controling each junctions by stoping a train, read it's ID to decide where you want it to go to limits the throughput a lot....

[Engimage]

I want to up this idea as 0.16 "fixed" some pathfinding behaviour for stations with the same name

[16.0] Regression: Trains ignore whether station is occupied
[0.16.0] Trains queued at occupied station not rerouting