Submarine Idea: Coelacanth. (with 3D render)

ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
edited September 2016 in Ideas and Suggestions
From Planetary Science & Research Technica. Alterra Corp.
Notice to Submersible Design Office - New London.

Design Request 94-383-C

Basic Request:
The PSRT is circulating this design request to all design and manufacture companies for competition of design for a new submarine for forward base use. Specifically a submarine specialized for long endurance resource-gathering missions in shallow to moderate depths.

Design Requirements:
*Very long endurance.
*Very large storage capability.
*Moderate to low maximum depth.
*Maximum unit cost of 4,000,000 Credits.

Winning design will receive an order for 400 units and an up-front bonus of 9,000,000 credits to cover development and tooling costs.

Thank you for your participation.

PSRT general secretary, Alterra Corp.
Malissa Warden.
____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Submersible Design Office - New London to PSRT.

Greetings Malissa,
We have below our proposal for the requirements you offered in the recent DR# 94-383-C.

All design criteria have been met and at about half estimated budget.

We proudly present; the Coelacanth.

Maximum depth: 350 meters. An available upgrade increases max depth to 700 meters.

Maximum speed: 20 knots (10.2 m/s)

Maximum range: 15,000 meters per charge.

Cargo capability: Two storage lockers with 10x10 storage each. (one on each side of vehicle)

Two hatches: One on top and one underneath.

Coelacanth cannot dock in moonpool or Cyclops. Customization is done on board (like the Cyclops)

When aboard the Coelacanth, the user can select the centrally located pilots chair to operate the vehicle. Or the user can access a side control panel that allows for customization of the vessel. There is also direct access to the storage lockers built into the inner walls for user access. There is access for power cells in the rear.

Control relies on simple tilting thrusters and variable thrust to control vehicle in all axis'.

Powerful lights provide lighting fore, aft, sides and below. Lights can be turned on with a remote control for the diver's benefit while foraging for resources. Lights remain on for two minutes. Location marking lights are always on.

coelacanth-mk-i-a_orig.jpg
coelacanth-mk-i-b_orig.jpg
dive-van_orig.jpg


Also; Coelacanth can be upgraded with a docking tray and controls for the Remote Operated Submersible "Lobster" which will be revealed in my next communique.



Thank you for considering our proposal.

Submersible Design Office - New London.
Harold Lutz.

Comments

  • ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
    edited September 2016
    By the way...my scale is wrong. The vehicle should be 8 feet for the body thickness not 5 feet. so the player can walk inside. The length should be more like 22 feet long. I will correct the size and update the drawing.
  • ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
    I'm thinking this should be just able to dock in the moonpool but too large for the Cyclops. Or maybe we need a large moonpool / drydock.
  • CaptagearCaptagear Join Date: 2016-08-28 Member: 221804Members
    @Artorius I'm sorry but I actually prefer this a lot more than your other small sub. Feels like it has a better "fit" into the games seamoth and cyclops. No docking would work as if has a platform to position itself on.

    My ownly negative is its mobility. It looks like it has nothing to make it steer, strafe, or learn forwards/backwards. (If it leaned to much pressure would flip it over. As for being slow and bulky, I think it suits.
  • ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
    Thanks for the feedback! I will work on the control system and see if I can give it the needed mobility. I agree, like most things in life, the cargo van is more useful than the sports car. Hahaha!
    I'm also working on an armored & tethered remote control submarine that is a part upgrade for this sub that helps boost its usefulness more. It's specially for gathering stuff from dangerous areas. (gathering crash powder without getting blown up, gathering kelp pods while being safe from Stalkers, gathering items from volcanic vents etc. ) it only holds one item at a time but you're safe in your sub while doing it. Not as efficient as the PRAWN suit but potentially very useful. ...i think?

  • ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
    Oh, and the thrusters are supposed to tilt and pan. But I now think that may not be enough by itself.
  • ScrabquidScrabquid Germany Join Date: 2016-09-05 Member: 222092Members
    Agree with Captagear, this one looks far more let me say "classical" in design. It reminds me strongly of a (don't laugh :p ) LEGO submarine I had as a kid back in the days :)

    May I suggest adding fins to the rear to make steering more comfortable :)

    Nonthelesss, great job and keep up
  • ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
    @Scrabquid you're right!! I had that one too!
  • ScrabquidScrabquid Germany Join Date: 2016-09-05 Member: 222092Members
    Awesome! do you remember the Aquazone theme series? Aquanauts vs. Aquasharks? those were amazing Sets and kits
  • ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
    Yeah I remember those. Loved them. I traded a boom box CD player for a box a Legos when I was 12 because the set had the sharks and divers.
  • ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
    Funny thing, my mom still has all my Legos. My nieces and nephews play with them when the family gets together.
  • ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
    Fixed the control issues, by simply adding two more thrusters. Combined with the tilting top 'quad-rotors' the horizontal motors would give good Y-axis control. Allowing the vehicle to remain basically upright in the fashion of the Cyclops.

    coelacanth-mk-2-a_orig.jpg
    coelacanth-mk-2-b_orig.jpg
    coelacanth-mk-2-c_orig.jpg

  • ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
    I will try to update the original post with the new images as soon as I get back to my work computer.
  • EvilSmooEvilSmoo Join Date: 2008-02-16 Member: 63662Members
    What's the role? A Cyclops allows for gardening and you can slap down a bunch of lockers. This looks much smaller, so no gardening, so you'd need to dedicate storage space to cured fish and water. What does this offer that cannot be gained from a Cyclops/Seamoth combination?

    Also, perhaps you are overthinking the propulsion? A Seamoth has that neat omnidirectional propulsion thing. Take that, divide it in half, scale it up a little, change it up a little to look good, and you have a perfectly good propulsion solution replacing the six propellers.
  • ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
    EvilSmoo wrote: »
    What's the role? A Cyclops allows for gardening and you can slap down a bunch of lockers. This looks much smaller, so no gardening, so you'd need to dedicate storage space to cured fish and water. What does this offer that cannot be gained from a Cyclops/Seamoth combination?

    Also, perhaps you are overthinking the propulsion? A Seamoth has that neat omnidirectional propulsion thing. Take that, divide it in half, scale it up a little, change it up a little to look good, and you have a perfectly good propulsion solution replacing the six propellers.

    Very good points. I was thinking it could be a vehicle that comes before the Cyclops. Essentially being replaced by the Cyclops.
    But you also make a good argument for it being redundant. And I can't argue with that.

    The controls were only meant to give it some odd and unique look. But really not needed. Only the two side thrusters would be needed. Vertical motion could be done with ballast.
  • Julian1337331nailuJJulian1337331nailuJ The Grand Reef Gubtorial Election Or Something. Join Date: 2016-11-12 Member: 223824Members
    This Looks Like It Can Fly. Is That The Main Intention?
  • ArtoriusArtorius Indiana USA Join Date: 2016-09-02 Member: 221998Members
    This Looks Like It Can Fly. Is That The Main Intention?

    It was meant to be a workhorse and to kind of hover over the seabed. That was the purpose of the vertical thrusters. But they can easily be replaced by dynamic ballasting.

    I liked the idea of starting with a certain level of equipment that you eventually abandon for better or maybe even just *other* options.
    I mean, we go from swimming and digging minerals by hand to using the Prawn to do that. There is a short period where we use the combination of the Seamoth and swimming and then the Cyclops and swimming. But once you have the Prawn you have reached the pinnacle.
    My thoughts (although not clear to myself when I originally posted this model idea) was to have a full step between the Seamoth and the Cyclops. Or even a step BEFORE the Seamoth. The Coelacanth is slow, doesn't dive deep and doesn't have huge storage. It can hold about 3-4 times as much as a Seamoth with two cargo pods. So it does have pretty good storage ability. But slow, and limited. Intended to be outclassed in performance by the Seamoth, and outclassed in capacity by the Cyclops. But to remain useful for foraging by being energy efficient and basically an all-round 'minivan' of a sub. You wouldn't explore with this, you wouldn't travel long ranges with this. You would keep it near the base for going on shopping runs for nearby materials. Giving it the ability to solar charge itself when parked near the surface would make it unique and useful for early game when power cells are rare and valuable.

    The idea and intent behind it is simple.
    However, the physical design I proposed needs to have some revision work.

    Basically, I think that the option for multiple paths through the game should be there. We have only ONE utility submarine; we have only ONE transport submarine. And we have the Prawn. Now, the Prawn is a pinnacle item, it doesn't need a "second option" though if I was using my own ideas, the Cephalopod ( http://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/145445/cephalopod-new-submarine-idea ) does share some comparability but is not directly competitive. That said, maybe that would be the best way to give a less linear feel to the game. Yes we have a very linear plot-line that we follow. However, we each follow that line slightly differently. It is the nature of the open world.
    Therefore, in fostering that idea, the thought that having several options that are not quite the same but do overlap in capability, would enable players to make choices as to what they will use materials for and what they wish to use.
    What I mean is just because something is redundant doesn't mean it isn't a choice option.
    Think of games like Fable, you get a few weapon choices. They all kill the baddies, but they play differently. You can beat the whole game with lightning and a sword. But you can also use shielding, fireball, and many other magics and various swords, axes and hammers to your preference as well as bows or crossbows. This is important to some people to give linear games more openness and flexibility.

    So does the game need more submarines? No.
    Would I personally like to see more submarines with slightly different qualities? Yes.
    Why? Because my favorite part of Subnautica is exploration and building. My current world has three Cyclops, two of them have Prawns and the third has a Seamoth. I have six major bases and nine small hub-bases. I spend 50% of my time ferrying cargo between locations. I like being underwater. Especially in submarines. I also know that fully 2/3 if not more like 3/4 of the stuff I have built is completely unnecessary. And if I were ACTUALLY trying to survive, I would not have spent the effort to build most of it. I don't NEED three Cyclops. But now I have a green one, a red one and a black one. Each with matching Prawn AND a patching Seamoth. Most of my vehicles sit in a moon pool 99% of their life. lol.

    Wow...I REALLY got sidetracked. haha. Sorry about that.
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