Factorio Forums

How about a "Smart Train Stop"? Instead of setting a timeout on the train, the train stop decides whether to give a green or red light and the train waits until the train stop says "go".


I imagine the train stop being connected to the logistics network via red/green cables similar to smart chests/inserters, having a similar dialog (no filtering, but red/green/logistics network conditions).
My concrete imagination stops there: finding the best way to control your smart station is up to the player and part of the fun!

Pros:

• better control over your trains
• more opportunities to use the red/green cables
• suddenly the control network may become much larger, adding more depth to the whole concept

Cons:

• adds to the complexity of trains (they don't seem to be understood very well as they are). On the other hand: this game is about understanding and optimizing complex processes – so why not a complex train technologie?
• I don't know how trains interact with train stops. Who controls when the train gets going again? The way the train system is currently implemented has a big impact of the effort needed to implement my suggestion.

PS: I tried to do it with a mod but failed at the point where a) train stops and smart $item are different base items and b) I failed to start/stop/yield a train with LUA.
PPS: This is a follow up to https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... f=6&t=4738 . Initially a direct answer in this thread I deviated from the "smart train" idea and so decided to open a new topic. Both are strongly related, but still not the same.

Thanks for reading my suggestion.

Being able to manually control signals could work as well, not only for this, but other places where you might want more control over where / how the trains go.

You could for example have an extra siding for an idle train, and using the signals, you could deploy it to your line when demand is high enough.

Possibilities to control the train stop are planned for 0.12.

See also https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... ?f=3&t=678
and some FFF's.

Hanse00 wrote:Being able to manually control signals could work as well, not only for this, but other places where you might want more control over where / how the trains go.

You could for example have an extra siding for an idle train, and using the signals, you could deploy it to your line when demand is high enough.

Not with the current implementation:

• Put a signal behind a train stop.
• Occupy the block behing the signal → signal turns red.
• Have the train loaded and time-out.
• → The train drives up to the signal and loading stops.

Not exactly what I wanted.

Controllable signals are nice, too. Maybe the smart train stop could be a combination of a train stop and a controllable signal.

ssilk wrote:Possibilities to control the train stop are planned for 0.12.

See also https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... ?f=3&t=678
and some FFF's.

I must have overlooked the part on train stops, sorry. Looking forward to 0.12 then.

There is/was a mod that can do it by JLBShecky
https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... 927#p49835

Unfortunately it wasn't updated to use the new "train changed state" events and relies on a timer.

This morning I searched some mods:
https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... =32&t=7480 SmartTrains 0.2.0 [0.11.5+] (Work in progress)
https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... =32&t=8522 [MOD 0.11.x][WIP] Sensors 0.0.1 (Work in progress)

Uhh imagine logistic trains!