New state for train stops: closing

[mrvn]

TL;DR

Sometimes I want to disable a train stop but first allow all trains already on the way to reach it.

What ?

I would like to have a extended option for enable/disable train stop. The new third option would allow all trains already headed to the stop to arrive but would not allow new trains to pick the stop as destination. A "closing" state.

The circuit interface for this could use colors by default, green for enabled, yellow for closing and red for disabled. The signals to use for each state would be modifiable in the train stations GUI.

Why ?

Currently one can enable or disable a train stop using circuit logic. Disabling a train stop causes all trains destined to that stop to pick another stop. Sometimes that means they will be stuck with nowhere to go in the middle of the track. This generally breaks the whole train network.

Using the "closing" state would allow players or the circuit network to safely shut down a train station. It would also allow using circuit logic to control the number of trains send to each stop by enabling each in turn, wait for N trains to leave and then set them to "closing".

[Tekky]

Although I agree with your suggestion, I don't really like the feature of shutting down a station for all trains. Therefore, I believe that the following suggestion may offer a more flexible solution to the problem you described:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=49214 Train entry condition

See this thread for a more general discussion of conditional train orders (with further links to other threads):

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=64362 Dynamic train schedule

[mrvn]

Those two threads talk about train schedules. That's something the train decides and not something the station decides. You would have to construct a complicated train schedule on all trains beforehand just in case you might want to close down a station at some point in the future. Very inflexible.

[Darinth]

I still feel like the better option to resolve this issue is a circuit controllable limit on the number of trains that can be pathing to & parked at a station. So if a station has been set to only allow 1 train, after that first train has started pathing there all others will regard it as closed until that first train leaves the station, at which point the station will be considered open and another can begin pathing.

Combining it with circuit controllable station priority and you've got a lot of control in vanilla over where trains will path. Fixes the herd of trains issue & allows enough control to prevent train dropoff starvation.

Adding in a circuit output to control the number of trains that are currently pathing to a station, and you've got a tremendous amount of power to control train pathing in vanilla factorio.

[mrvn]

I still feel like the better option to resolve this issue is a circuit controllable limit on the number of trains that can be pathing to & parked at a station. So if a station has been set to only allow 1 train, after that first train has started pathing there all others will regard it as closed until that first train leaves the station, at which point the station will be considered open and another can begin pathing.

Combining it with circuit controllable station priority and you've got a lot of control in vanilla over where trains will path. Fixes the herd of trains issue & allows enough control to prevent train dropoff starvation.

Adding in a circuit output to control the number of trains that are currently pathing to a station, and you've got a tremendous amount of power to control train pathing in vanilla factorio.

While overlapping that's a different issue.

[Darinth]

While overlapping that's a different issue.

I had to go and re-read your original post to realize I apparently misread a line in there somewhere and why you wanted this. It still seems like a funky mechanic, at least in this implementation and I'm unsure of what to do to fix it. Other suggestions have been raised to provide ways of giving trains a 'default' location, which would mean trains always have a location to go. I feel like that might be the better alternative to resolve this issue.