[UPDATED]: PLEASE CREATE A NEW DISCUSSION IF YOU WANT TO SUGGEST ANYTHING!
(I didn't realise you guys would come up with such interesting ideas so quickly)

Hi,

What would you like to see as a feature of this mod? It could be a new item, research, or mechanic. High-level descriptions are okay, we can work through some implementations!

Post what you'd like to see in this thread, I look forward to reading your ideas,

Nerf

My ideas as of right now, some recycled from the original mod page, some new:

An artillery wagon that carries 20% more shells than a regular one, and fits the electric theme in general.
Passenger wagons that look like bullet train cars and can carry a couple of players (4, maybe configurable).
A battery wagon that doesn't provide any motive power but can be charged if parked right next to a battery charger and powers the engines when charged, providing an expensive alternative to battery pack logistics.

A "regenerative braking" research that allows electric trains to force power back into any attached battery wagons when they apply their brakes. Has multiple levels, starting at perhaps 15% power recovery and capping at 50%.

Some kind of "alkaline battery pack" that acts as a fourth option. They're a lot cheaper than the other batteries, and are extremely energy dense with modest acceleration and unchanged top speed, but CANNOT BE RECHARGED, only refurbished.

My ideas as of right now, some recycled from the original mod page, some new:

An artillery wagon that carries 20% more shells than a regular one, and fits the electric theme in general.
Passenger wagons that look like bullet train cars and can carry a couple of players (4, maybe configurable).
A battery wagon that doesn't provide any motive power but can be charged if parked right next to a battery charger and powers the engines when charged, providing an expensive alternative to battery pack logistics.

A "regenerative braking" research that allows electric trains to force power back into any attached battery wagons when they apply their brakes. Has multiple levels, starting at perhaps 15% power recovery and capping at 50%.

Some kind of "alkaline battery pack" that acts as a fourth option. They're a lot cheaper than the other batteries, and are extremely energy dense with modest acceleration and unchanged top speed, but CANNOT BE RECHARGED, only refurbished.

Love this, thank you! I can definitely see the perks of these and I will look into the artillery wagon, passenger wagon, and alkaline battery pack first, as I think they are most feasible at the moment. :)

I love the regen braking idea! I will need to come up with a workaround for the game engine research modifiers (it may end up requiring a reload) but it is a super cool concept.

Cheers

How do you see the above mentioned "alkaline battery pack" working? What is the used item result? How does refurbishment work to recharge the cell, is it 100% successful? Do we need it? Where in the research tree should this be? (I'm thinking early on, so people can go down this logistic saving route if they'd like)

I'd love to see a setting (Default disabled) that changes the recipe/tech to allow early adoption.
So you could start your locomotive journey with Electric Trains

I'd love to see a setting (Default disabled) that changes the recipe/tech to allow early adoption.
So you could start your locomotive journey with Electric Trains

Hmmm, I can see the appeal of this, but the issue I have is if I were to bypass the significant technology required to unlock electric locomotives, then I would have to change the recipes to not include expensive items such as rocket control units and electric engine units.

I would argue that the logistics, and charging (especially higher tier packs) does put significant load on power consumption alone.

Both of these are to say that almost all recipes and energy costs would need to be shifted to be accessible early game, and then takes away the fulfilment late game. And I think the futuristic looks and function justifies the wait and cost. I mean you could get to them in about 5 hours of gameplay if you are on "There is no spoon" pace.

If enough people ask for this, then I will look into having alternative values for recipes/buildings for those who wanna start out earlier with electric trains.

It should be possible to copy the vanilla locomotive recipes.

I'd also argue that electric trains would make it harder. You're converting a lot of chemical energy to electric, which generates pollution potentially causing biter issues.
For the player that creates a dedicated area to charge them from solar, it's a good logistical challenge.

Controlling the fulfillment of players is a futile effort. Mods already bypass any 'restrictions' the game places. You're just giving players and option to play it a different way.

You could limit the charger to just be a slower one early, justifying the Tech later

It should be possible to copy the vanilla locomotive recipes.

I'd also argue that electric trains would make it harder. You're converting a lot of chemical energy to electric, which generates pollution potentially causing biter issues.
For the player that creates a dedicated area to charge them from solar, it's a good logistical challenge.

Controlling the fulfillment of players is a futile effort. Mods already bypass any 'restrictions' the game places. You're just giving players and option to play it a different way.

You could limit the charger to just be a slower one early, justifying the Tech later

Yeah I know how to change recipes, haha.

I'll take it into consideration :)

How do you see the above mentioned "alkaline battery pack" working? What is the used item result? How does refurbishment work to recharge the cell, is it 100% successful? Do we need it? Where in the research tree should this be? (I'm thinking early on, so people can go down this logistic saving route if they'd like)

I'd imagine that it's got as much stored energy as 4 or 6 regular battery packs, and produces a "dead alkaline battery pack" when discharged. You'd refurbish it with sulfuric acid and it'd probably be ~60% successful refurbishment rate. It should ideally produce multiple cells per craft (when making fresh cells, rather than refurbishing), maybe 5 or 10. I'd imagine these would be used at opposite extremes: where you can't afford to make tons of regular battery cells (at the start of upgrading your trains to electric), and when resources are so available that you can afford to just trash battery cells after use (at megabase and above scales). The increased energy density would also be useful as it would let trains run for longer, as a stack of alkaline battery cells would be equivalent to 4-6 stacks of regular battery cells.

Another idea: a "logistics wagon" that functions as a rolling roboport, with robot storage, an inventory, and logistic filters, to supplement construction trains.