There is a slight deviation on this important thread, and I hope someone at N3V is following, at least to get more information on these "we can't replicate the fault". My view is that this thread is divided on two things: When the program crashes to desktop and or when the MIN does not function as intended. Having 1000 plus commodities is a little crazy. How many times/hours of running you need to load all these? and how many cars, trains etc. ? Plus, the look of the commodities is almost the same, a box is a box, and a steel coil maybe of different color or shape, but still a coil. Not to change your preferences, but it is my point of view that when too many on almost the same creates problems, is better to simplify the commodity choice. At some point we have to compromise and do with what we have. Me as a driver can't care the less if the boxes are square or sit vertical on the flat cars, or the fluid is petrol or diesel (unless your receiving station is made for one or the other only). The important thing is that you carry goods from here to there, loads and unloads.
But it is a different scenario when the M.I.N. does not preform as it should. Due to too many commodities? Due to faulty script? Or due to too many M.I.N.'s on the route. Don't know. Picture this basic test: Set the M.I.N., one of these N10 with the green arrows. They were usable until 09 or 12 I think. Then they failed as you could not add more than 4 commodities, to some people was only 1 commodity. The Auran one with red arrow still accepted as many as you could insert but they were too large or not so compact as the smaller ones, plus, in case no body mention it, the "radius of asset interaction: was way too large, and you could not move a near asset as it will interfere with the M.I.N. As I understand this effect is not so hard to fix, but N3V choose to ignore it and leave it as it is still today. Finally, a New M.I.N has been produced by N3V, I recognize it by the underscores under the space between words, and it can accept many commodities. Note: Having to go through 1000 commodities to find which one is faulty is really crazy. I try to keep things simple using just about 20 well known ones that are not faulty by any means. Just to try, set properly configured wagons, and do an "instant load" on this consist of wagons: They load? they are not faulty and should work on an M.I.N. Now configure the M.I.N. with the same commodities and bring the same wagons to it, by driving your self or by a "drive TO" on AI. Here is what get's interesting. Normally everything loads properly. But in some instances, only the front wagon loads, leaving the rest to continue passing but not loading. M.I.N. is configured to carry let's say 500 boxes and the cars carry 4 each, so there is plenty of box supply. But for some other commodity, it loads properly each wagon! Why? If you set a test track on a simple route with nothing more (no other M.I.N.'s), the systems performs perfectly and no matter how hard you try, it does not fail. So, in conclusion having too many M.I.N.'s degrades the performance?
Then we get to the unload part. Your consist if happily loaded and reaches destination. Sometimes it unloads, sometimes don't and sits there or passes by, while you can still see the unload icon on the bottom command actions menu. Train may then continue on a merry go round going to nowhere and obviously not by the schedule, just as if being driven by that RUN command I never use. However, if you try this on that test track I set for the loading part, it works perfectly once again.
My conclusion to this long reply is that the number of M.I.N.'s has an effect on the results. Not so much because the M.I,N. is faulty but because the program can't take all the things that happen perhaps at the same time, or simple, much is too much, and someone should find what is the reasonable limit. I would not be offended if N3V would issue an statement saying: Using more than 35 M.I.N.'s on a route could result on unintended consequences or performance (as an example). I don't think I am telling anyone more than what you already hint or know, but at least It is all in one paragraph. Thank you for reading (intended for N3V people).