Linking Train Depots through names

ThePhantasm · Post by **ThePhantasm** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 5:03 am

TL;DR

Would be nice if I have multiple train depots that share a name - a train will simply path to the nearest open one

What ?

Similar to how OpenTTD/Transport Tycoon allows the creation of a train stop with multiple entries...

Factorio's use of the train stop currently precludes the creation of a linked train stop.
But you can copy-paste a train stop name to another train-stop. It would be great if the replicated names actually linked the stops. This would reduce the need to name stops like DropOil1, DropOil2, DropOil3.

Why ?

Most mega-bases, and even many smaller bases do this anyway - it's sort of annoying and fiddly having to manually schedule trains and manually balancing them.

Optera · Post by **Optera** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 5:50 am

Trains already go to the nearest station of a given name.

I assume you want Factorio to do path finding into platforms similar to OTTD.
OTTD scans only a few tiles ahead and decides at each junction where to go. That means trains will nicly balance into platforms but get lost a lot in complex networks without waypoints.
Factorio decides on the whole path when starting a journey. This allows trains to always find a path no matter how complicated a network is, but also leads to trains waiting in front of multi platform stations (multiple stops with same name) because the stop they picked when starting was taken by another train.

Factorio could easily remedy this by reducing wait time on blue chain signals before re-pathing happens. Currently it seems to be set to a few minutes.

christian · Post by **christian** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 6:56 am

ThePhantasm wrote:
TL;DR
Would be nice if I have multiple train depots that share a name - a train will simply path to the nearest open one

Lol Factorio already does that.

bobingabout · Post by **bobingabout** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:10 am

Optera wrote:Trains already go to the nearest station of a given name.

I assume you want Factorio to do path finding into platforms similar to OTTD.
OTTD scans only a few tiles ahead and decides at each junction where to go. That means trains will nicly balance into platforms but get lost a lot in complex networks without waypoints.
Factorio decides on the whole path when starting a journey. This allows trains to always find a path no matter how complicated a network is, but also leads to trains waiting in front of multi platform stations (multiple stops with same name) because the stop they picked when starting was taken by another train.

Factorio could easily remedy this by reducing wait time on blue chain signals before re-pathing happens. Currently it seems to be set to a few minutes.

isn't that what the smart signal is for? put it just before the station branches and it reconsiders which to use when it gets to the signal. kinda like presignals in OTTD

mrvn · Post by **mrvn** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:58 am

You can also disable a station with a train in it for instant repaths.

Optera · Post by **Optera** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:51 pm

Somewhat recently my old trick of forcing trains to recalculate paths by having them pass through a circuit controlled signal stopped working.

Tekky · Post by **Tekky** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 4:02 pm

In this suggestion thread and in my counter-proposal, it has been suggested that it should be possible to influence the train pathfinder using train conditions and circuit network conditions.

If this route restriction were evaluated several times, once during the initial pathfind of the train and once again when the train passes a certain location, it could also solve the problem of trains finding an empty station platform.

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