Dragable Train signals

[PirateAE]

TL;DR

Effectively Being Able to drag signals along a track, where they place along the track once they reach the given train length. Similar to how poles do so for max length between poles.

What ?

Say you have a track signaled for 10 car trains, and you want to re signal for something smaller or bigger, Your two avenues right now are either manually going section by section, signal by signal, or blueprinting a section, then having to remove all the signals that are there, and then blueprint and place. The idea Is being able to assign a length, say 2 cars, and being able to click and drag like poles, the signals will only place so its two cars between signals.

A bonus would be to auto deconstruct/mark for such any non matching signals

[Kalanndok]

You actually can do that with blueprint and the relative grid positions.
You make your blueprint and then just drag-ride with a 289 km/h-train and a bunch of constructor-spiders following you around

[ssilk]

There is also the raillayer mod.

But I think that’s a really cool idea and should be simple to implement. The good question for me is: how can I assign the train length?

[cbhj1]

by using the spacing to the signal before where you start dragging.

[Kalanndok]

Which one? The one coming from the left fork or the one coming from the right fork or the one coming from the half-left fork (no, there is not straight)?

Or to be more specific:
How long is the block size supposed to be when dragging a signal to the right in this scenario?

https://imgur.com/a/rJqrYMW

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

Copy blueprint

[Nosferatu]

You start the dragging process by clicking on an existing signal. That's where the distance calculation starts.

There is already an option for displaying train lengths when placing signals.
Reuse/rename that or make a second one

[ssilk]

But that is the question: if you click on a signal and the algorithm can choose between some former signals, because there is a switch, what one to choose the distance from?

[LoneWolf_LWP]

But that is the question: if you click on a signal and the algorithm can choose between some former signals, because there is a switch, what one to choose the distance from?

i think the logical answer would be the to look so that no section will be smaller then required lenght needed.
assuming it would be looking at the display train lenght for example the smallest block would be that length and the other would be a bit bigger. since bigger is ok but smaller is not if you want your train to fit in a section and not occupie 2 sections.

[ickputzdirwech]

A really nice suggestion! Using blueprints for signals is always a bit finicky.

The train length should be measured from the signal you started dragging from or the last placed signal imo.

[Kyralessa]

It's a nice idea, but it's hard to say how it would work out practically. How would the signals know how long the space should be?

Of course, in one sense you can do this already, using a blueprint with a grid.

[wobbycarly]

It's a nice idea, but it's hard to say how it would work out practically. How would the signals know how long the space should be?

Of course, in one sense you can do this already, using a blueprint with a grid.

100% agree. For example, I often use trains of different lengths within the same map, so using a global "train length" setting - similar to the existing method of showing train segments - wouldn't always be suitable.

[ssilk]

This needs to know for which of your current trains this should be build.

How would it be, if you can select one train and say “use this as template-train to place the signals with that method”?

[ickputzdirwech]

It is advisable to always use the length of the longest automatically operating train in your network anyway. So I don‘t think this would be an issue (unless someone has different networks for trains of different lengths). Also changing the setting wouldn’t take that long.

If you really want a way to adjust the signal distance on the fly I would suggest using SHIFT + scroll wheel, similar to tile placement size.

Edit: Changed the order of some sentences, so it makes more sense.

[cbhj1]

Let's get back to the actual use case for the topic, rather than the worst case scenario that falls outside of the reason to ask for such a feature.

I believe this would be for signalling long stretches of straight rail, by signalling the first block, then hopping into a train and doing high speed dragging.

[Kyralessa]

Let's get back to the actual use case for the topic, rather than the worst case scenario that falls outside of the reason to ask for such a feature.

I believe this would be for signalling long stretches of straight rail, by signalling the first block, then hopping into a train and doing high speed dragging.

That could certainly resolve the difficulty of how far apart the signals should be: Far apart enough to hold the train being driven.

[jodokus31]

What about the train visualisation length as default space?

train_length.png (19.88 KiB) Viewed 4933 times

[5thHorseman]

I'd rather be able to click a rail and say "signal this segment for length-3 trains" and have it just slap the signals down. Or ghosts of them more reasonably.

[ssilk]

I would say this is the point, where we need a modder, that implements it somehow and then we will see.

[steinio]

I would say this is the point, where we need a modder, that implements it somehow and then we will see.

Imho if there would be a need for this mod there would be one already.

[5thHorseman]

I would say this is the point, where we need a modder, that implements it somehow and then we will see.

Imho if there would be a need for this mod there would be one already.

Then no more mods should be required for the game as if anybody wanted it it'd already have been written.

To have a mod, someone must exist that wants the mod more than they want to not put the work into making the mod. That just hasn't happened for this particular idea yet. It may never happen, but there's no reason it cannot.