Factorio Forums

Locomotives should do work regardless of travel direction. I am annoyed that double header trains have dead weight on the end. real locomotives provide the same power forward that they do in reverse. I tried to make them do this with lua/modding but there is no functions for it. there is no event that I could use to know when a train leaves or arrives at a station. I haven't found a way to rotate a locomotive using lua (no functions) so that it can do work while the train is moving, and one can not rotate a locomotive until it is completely disconnected from other cars. I could destroy the locomotive and create a new one, but that creates other problems which make it too much work; one of which I'm not sure I can pick which direction it'll face.

If the devs don't want to change the locomotives, can we at least get the tools to make the changes in a mod?

you've got my support. if a train has two engines, as long as one is facing the traveling direction they should both put out 100% torque.

I have no feelings either way with this idea, but had a thought on the modding it into the game. Instead of trying to modify the loco's orientation, maybe a modification of the locomotives maximum speeds / accelerations. I only raise this because the DyTec mods had (have not played in a long time) the enhanced fuel that increases the acceleration of the vehicles its placed in. It may be possible to do something similar with the trains based on the number of locomotives, distributing a proportional amount of acceleration amongst the locos. It would only have to be done when a loco is attached/detached.

Anyway, I have not looked at the vehicle entity data, so I have absolutely no idea if it's even on the correct track.

By default, an engine travels backwards with less power than forwards. The MK3 locomotive in my mod however (Since this ratio is now modable) travels backwards at 100% power. When you look at it that way... it really should help push the train when traveling in reverse.

Realistically speaking okay maybe but much of the game is about tradeoffs. With rails, there are tradeoffs between loops and junctions, likewise with trains there are tradeoffs between one-way and two-way in terms of cost, rail and station complexity, and of course power.

Perhaps this should be a moddable thing? But I prefer the base game the way it is. It actually makes it a decision between one and two direction.

BenSeidel wrote:I have no feelings either way with this idea, but had a thought on the modding it into the game. Instead of trying to modify the loco's orientation, maybe a modification of the locomotives maximum speeds / accelerations. I only raise this because the DyTec mods had (have not played in a long time) the enhanced fuel that increases the acceleration of the vehicles its placed in. It may be possible to do something similar with the trains based on the number of locomotives, distributing a proportional amount of acceleration amongst the locos. It would only have to be done when a loco is attached/detached.

Anyway, I have not looked at the vehicle entity data, so I have absolutely no idea if it's even on the correct track.

Perhaps something along those lines - why I didn't think of it? That should be easy enough to do...

Something had been playing in my mind on the subject of not wanting to travel in reverse.

Oh, there is no expanse of the mind, the will cannot traverse,
or physically the distance laid across the universe.
There's blessings, many in the stars, save one lamented curse,
that 16th Rygel, glory me, must travel in reverse.