Do you just host this as is, or are you planning on replacing Folk's custom UI with the normal Train UI from 0.17?

I was kinda looking to see how many people are actually using it before I decide if its worth the effort to do anything further with it. For myself the mod does what i need it to do (mostly), but if people have suggestions about how it could be better or new features that could be added I am quite willing to make some changes.

Ideally I would like it to be able to operate similarly to the LTN system so that shuttle stops are also set by combinator signals and the Shuttle Trains return to Depots after set periods of inactivity so they don't clog up the stops for other players, but that is a sizable project for a mod with a very small userbase so i'm not sure if its worth it at this time.

All ideas I have for the mod would trim it down considerably.
I'd save circuit controls for later, but keeping the Depot always in schedule similar to LTN would certainly be nice.
That would require some changes on how it operates, until there's almost nothing left of the way Folk did it. ;)

• Folks stop search gui can be completely replaced by automatically opening the schedule when players enter a shuttle
  That way you can search for existing stop names or use ctrl-click on a track to order it around.

• when setting a temporary stop for a shuttle instead of 5s inactivity it should switch to manual mode after reaching the stop. That way the player has to manually send it back and it wont just dash of if all he wanted was fix one combinator. (Happens all the time to me)

• calling the shuttle can be done via click button on top or shortcut ctrl-shift-j to be in line with the manual toggle j
  called shuttles should use either existing stops or temporary again switching to manual so it doesnt rush back to depot after 5s

The ideas are somewhat fleshed out since I planned on creating the described mod myself as a successor to Shuttle Train using 0.17 methods.

Well i never like working with other peoples code anyways so a rewrite is probably just as easy as hacking at it to make it work at this stage.

To address your points in order :

1. I like the idea the of being able to search for stops and use the temporary stations easier, but i do find the schedule UI a bit large and cumbersome, because every facility I build has its own PAS stop I find 95% of my time I just jump in the shuttle and hit the button I want and its very non invasive, where as having the UI pop up every time I jumped in a shuttle would probably annoy the hell out of me. Perhaps this could be available as an option (Express/Normal UI Mode)

2. Totally agree with that, the new Temporary stations feature is not handled well by the mod in its current form.

3. A key shortcut for calling trains was also on my list of planned features, personally i would like to be able set a prefix so that called trains would only use stations including that prefix or if one is not found within say 30 tiles then create a temporary one

In all honesty hearing that your already visualising the project makes me wonder if its worth my doing anything, you clearly have way more knowledge and experience of the Factorio API than I do. So while I'm quite excited by the idea of improving the mod I know it will take some time for me to even understand how it all works, where as you can probably knock the whole thing out in a week :P

That being said if you do decide to go ahead with your project I am more than willing to pitch in with whatever help/assistance you might need.

While I might be able to hack something working together in one or two days, the more modders capable of creating quality content the community has the better. You've seen how many quality of life mods Folk left behind.

Besides I'd like some time to check what I can improve on my existing mods with 0.17 and maybe also find time to play the game. ;)

Haha, i can totally respect that, finding time to actually play is indeed a challenge when your maintaining a popular mod. My new game is full Bobs but i decided to try and make a totally modular LTN based system which is why i needed Shuttle Train, I'm already up to 70 train stations and i haven't even automated blue science yet, having to build separate stations for different stack sizes is slowing me down, would be nice to be able to set provide/request thresholds per item, but I'm guessing that would require a much more complex signal system.

I'll tear the shuttle train code apart in the next day or so and see if i can understand what makes it tick and go from there i guess, I've been modding in Rimworld recently which allows direct C# assembly injection so working within the confines of the Factorio API will be a challenge though.

Hello, I'm still using this mod but I modified it a little to be more usefull for me. I added a new option to set a station name (the shuttle depot), and when you get out of the shuttle it goes back automatically to the shuttle depot. You can have multiple shuttle depot sharing the same name.
Usefull if you dont want to clog station with shuttle and to make sure your shuttles are where you want them.

I can send you my code but I'm sure you can implement that better than me if you like the idea.

Hi, I'm currently in the middle of upgrading the mod to perform better with the new 0.17 features. The thing that's become clear to me in the last few days is that people use the mod in different ways, some people (like me) have set stations they want to use and just want a fast way between them and others just want to use a shuttle for temporary transport and then have it return to a set location, so making something that will suit everyone is gonna take some working out.

I should have a new version out at the weekend with a few new features (choice of UIs on entering a shuttle, auto call will now use filtered stations or create temporary stops) and allowing it to better deal with the new temporary stations (no more leaving you stranded after a temporary stop expires) but my final goal is to have a shuttle depot system like you described, but some users (including myself) don't want shuttles running off as soon as they get out, so some sort of configuration will need to be applied, probably in the form of a timeout after which the shuttles would "self-park" at stations with a specified prefix.

Glad to see people are still interested in the mod though and I hope eventually to get things to a point where it fulfills everyone's needs and wishes without losing that easy to use feeling :)

I'm eager to test the new features you're talking about! As for your timeout idea it's great, and you could also add another shortcut to send it back. Ctrl+J to call it and ctrl+k to send it back, for exemple. Of course it means you need to remember the last shuttle used.

It's great that your are still developing this mod!

Using another hotkey to park the train hadn't occured to me before but I think its an excellent idea and I will definitely incorporate that into my roadmap of new features. Now I just need a hotkey to create more hours in a day so i have time to work on it :D

Trains leaving automatically definitely needs to be optional. I do want them to stay where they are so I can get back

One change I'd like is the option to use a white list instead of a black list for visible station names. A default black list makes sense of course since a default white list would be empty. But if you know what you're doing a white list has its uses.

But if you know what you're doing a white list has its uses.

I was just thinking earlier that one could set up a rail system with a bunch of stations all labeled "PAX: Outpost name" or similar, and then whitelist shuttles to use only stations containing "PAX". Shuttles would then never occupy a loading/unloading station and block factory ops.

Yeah, for example that. It's actually very easy to edit the mod to make it that way. Just required removing one "not". What I did for naming is to put the "PAX" at the end (e.g. "Iron Mine 1 - PAX") and add only stations that end in 'X'. But that's personal preference

But as said, you can't really have only a white list as that would require everyone to learn Lua pattern matching for any station at all to show up in the list.
Or alternatively scrap the black list and by default have all stations appear and then the white list can be used as an option. But that would remove a feature some people may use

What you guys are describing is basically the filter system that already exists and functions just like a whitelist, just put the PAX extension into the filter bar on the GUI and only stations with PAX will be displayed, this is how i run my system already. By simply adding a dedicated passenger stop to each location called PAX-station name and putting PAX in the GUI filter it will just list all passenger stations, I don't quite see what you guys are asking for that isn't already there tbh.

Don't you have to do that each time you hop into the a train and the menu is loaded? Or does it remember what you entered the next time?
We're talking about a permanent white list where it only shows stations you want in the list. And then you can filter against those if you want.

If you uncheck the Clear filters checkbox in settings then it will stay the same each time you enter a shuttle, I don't see the point in filtering the list twice tbh.

Would it be possible to make the new "Shuttle Trains will now go dormant when you leave the train" feature optional?
I used to sometimes jump out before I arrived at the station to build something and then catch up to the train or wait for it to make a U-turn. Also when there's already a train at the destination and it has to wait at a signal I can't just jump out because then the train will just sit at the signal and not drive up to the station when it's empty.

Would it be possible to make the new "Shuttle Trains will now go dormant when you leave the train" feature optional?

Yes, that's gonna be available in the next release (this weekend hopefully) should have been in already but I was pressed for time this week

If you uncheck the Clear filters checkbox in settings then it will stay the same each time you enter a shuttle

Ah, I missed that :(

@s8472 No problems a lot of people seem to miss it, I guess i should work up some better documentation when i have time :)

Just to voice my opinion: I use it with a base station and to reach out to outpost quickly. I works fine as it is now to me.

I would could benefit from two very short lists at the beginning of the alphabetic list: last two (configurable) stations and two top most station (configurable). Implementation might be easy, I didn't look into the code, thought.

More work seem to be a pin to glue stations at the top of the list. Is it worth? I dont know.

I quite like the idea of having certain frequently used stations appear at the top of the list selectively, I'm currently solving this problem in my game by just renaming my stations with an "AA" before the names but I will look into a better solution.