TL;DR
Unique train IDs should reuse lower numbers when possible instead of continuously counting up to make them more interesting to play around with.What?
Main idea:When constructing a train or modifying its length, it receives a new unique ID, causing the ID number to increase each time.
Additionally, when you undo a train deconstruction, it gets a new ID rather than reverting to its old one, also causing the ID number to increase each time.
Why not reuse unused or removed low numbers?
The system should use the first available lower number to maintain uniqueness while keeping the numbers low.
Optional addition:
Each train would also have an identifier so you can easily tell which planet they are on when reading on the radar.
For example:
On planet A, the count starts at 1,000,000 → 1,000,001 → 1,000,002 → ...
On planet B, the count starts at 2,000,000 → 2,000,001 → 2,000,002 → ...
For example, 1,000,043 would represent train 43 on Nauvis.
Why millions?
Well, let’s just safely assume nobody will have a million trains!
Why?
I'm playing around with the unique IDs from the trains, but over time, the ID numbers become excessively high (especially in mega bases with a lot of trains), and they become far apart from each other. This makes looping through them with a clock take longer and longer, reducing the efficiency of using them as unique identifiers.By reusing the numbers, everything becomes more efficient.
Will this benefit everybody?
Probably not, but in my opinion, it will make train IDs more attractive to play with.