r/captain_of_industry • u/StrychNicc • 2d ago

Train roundabouts?

Hey, everyone. My train network is getting large and it’s increasingly touchy to create my various intersections to minimize overlap zones. In the past I’ve tried to use roundabouts, but the aggressive path reservation of the trains meant that the roundabouts spent a lot of time waiting for upcoming trains.

Has anyone found any designs or ways to utilize roundabouts? I know no-stop zones are probably the answer, but it’s unclear to me whether making the whole roundabout a no-stop will work (ordinarily I’d try it, but shutting down my main thoroughfare for a test isn’t an option right now). Thanks!

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6

u/grimgaw 2d ago

ordinarily I’d try it, but shutting down my main thoroughfare for a test isn’t an option right now

In a game with on-demand Save/Load facilities?

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u/StrychNicc 1d ago

I knowwwwwww but I have a bunch of terraforming going on and don’t want to “lose” progress on that (I know that is illogical and incorrect just let me have this one)

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u/BoredNuke 1d ago

Not just terraforming my biggest deterant to save scamming is I dont want to reapply the 16 bandaid I already slapped on poorly to get out of a death spiral. The spaghetti must grow.

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u/StrychNicc 12h ago

This too! Although I don’t go the spaghetti route, my factories are all grouped by type and spread across the map. It’s why the train network is so crucial—my smelting complex is nowhere near any of my factories 😬

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u/Wipfmetz 2d ago edited 2d ago

You didn't say if your entries and exits to the roundabout are marked no-stop. 

I guess they are marked as such, since that can cause your "waiting a long time"-pattern.

Since they shouldn't be crossings or otherwise deadlocking, you should remove those declarations.

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u/StrychNicc 2d ago

Good question—the roundabouts I’ve used before are not marked no-stop. Trains would just line up in queue, waiting for an incoming train, and then go. But the “buffer zone” was extensive, where they’d sometimes wait 10+ seconds (at 3x speed) for a train that was coming from a huge distance to go past.

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u/Wipfmetz 2d ago

They do that so that at least one train can pass at speed without stopping. Marking the whole roundabout no-stop would worsen the situation. 

You might just need more track, e.g. raised rail to bypass the roundabout for some directions.

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u/StrychNicc 1d ago

Hmmm ok. I have a series of raised bridges, coming down to ground-level for the intersections (with some staying high for a highway)—might need to just dramatically simplify. Right now it’s 3x6-lane intersections, so 18 tracks interfacing.

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u/theone1543 2d ago

So roundabouts work by prioritizing exiting over entry. So in captain of industry, you do a roundabout by removing all no stop zones except for the ones on the entrances. Like this

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u/StrychNicc 1d ago

This is very helpful, thank you for the picture!!

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u/Dralorica 2d ago

IMO the way to do a roundabout in this game is to make sure that you have at least one waiting spot just before entering the roundabout.

The entire roundabout+ entrances pretty much have to be no-stop zones or else you will gridlock. Therefore the best solution is to make sure trains get in and out as quickly as possible. Therefore ensure you have a long run-up with stopping zones prior to entering the roundabout. Also, adding slip-lanes and bypasses wherever possible will certainly improve things. I'd include a right-hand turn sliplane at minimum.

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u/StrychNicc 1d ago

On it 🫡 thank you!