Nautilus - Civilian Exploration Submarine

Note 1: Created in and designed to work with Jakaria's Water Mod 3.0. No other scripts or mods are required.

Note 1b: For use outside of Jakaria's Water Mod, replace the remaining atmospheric thrusters with ion thrusters.

Note 1c: In the latest water mod, ion thrusters are forcibly turned off when submerged either partially or in whole. To turn ion thrusters back on, please see the Starlight Aquanautics - water mod patch.

Note 1d: In the latest water mod, crush damage at 400m and below appears to be overly severe. Vulnerable blocks break within seconds of reaching this depth. We do not recommend taking the Nautilus below 350m unless block damage is disabled in your world.

Note 2: Heavily dependant on DLC.

Note 3: Includes nontrivial subgrids. The ship can be operated without them, but you lose some utility.

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The Nautilus

A long-range civilian exploration submarine for a crew of two. Able to carry 300 metric tons of ores, she's more than capable of finding the next big dig - and possibly bringing it all back herself. Propulsion and life support are fuelled exclusively by the water around you. When operated correctly, she is capable of indefinitely long excursions - both above and below the surface - limited only by your imagination.

Features:

• Ice collectors, an h2/o2 generator, and two hydrogen engines - unlimited electricity and life support in water
• An ore detector, a drill, two basic refineries, an assembler, and six small cargo - a full production loop
• A survival kit for all your recovery needs
• Spacious and easy-to-navigate interiors
• An accessible helipad for small visitors
• An observation deck
• A mechanical room
• A cozy mess hall
• Two fully furnished crew quarters
• A remotely operated camera

Specs:

• Large grid, 410 blocks, 18 x 7 x 5 (not including interior turrets or antenna)
• Surface speed: 24 m/s
• Underwater speed: 14 m/s
• Resurfacing speed: 2.65 m/s avg (not including cargo)
• Diving speed: 1.30 m/s avg (not including cargo)

While designed for a two person crew, the Nautilus can be operated solo. However, the additional player can keep track of any unexpected depth changes, maintain an optimal amount of ice, perform spotting for landing/parking, and perform repairs on the fly while the pilot focuses on keeping the ship in control.

The Nautilus is designed to operate perpetually at sea. Carefully maintaining your ice collection will ensure that your batteries remain charged and your oxygen tank remains ready for repressurizing the main cabin. The hydrogen tanks are primarily meant for left-right balance, as are the interior turrets (via adding or removing their ammo).

In terms of utility, the Nautilus is equipped with a drill on a piston and hinge that can be controlled remotely. It also has a magnetic plate on pistons and a hinge for picking up small objects.

A helipad provides temporary refuge to a small airborne vehicle which can be resupplied with hydrogen and electricity. Powerful runway lights allow the Nautilus to be clearly seen from far away at night and/or in the fog.

In case of log out at sea, I would recommend parking the submarine on the sea floor (with the magnetic plates) to prevent the currents from moving your ship to unexpected locations while you are away.

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Usage Notes

The most important part of a submarine is the ability to rise, maintain depth, or dive at will. The Nautilus achieves this with a combination of atmospheric thrusters and a large interior that can quickly change from buoyant chamber to dead weight, simply by opening or closing the hatch door on the roof.

To that end, there are a number of shortcuts available in both bridge seats. All 5 doors aboard the ship can be opened and closed remotely, while the downward thrust can be configured to fire constantly and at precise output levels. Buoyancy ratio is visible on the main dashboard of both bridge seats.

To dive deeper: You want a buoyancy ratio less than 100% and your downward thrusters turned off.

• Open the hatch door, left habitation door, and right habitation door
• Turn off downward thrusters
• Optionally open the bridge doors, remember to close your helmets tightly
• Optionally load up on ice via the collectors
• Point the remote camera downwards and watch for any unexpected sea floor

To maintain depth: You want a buoyancy ratio close to 100% (but below slightly) and compensate with thrust override at low values.

• Open the hatch door, close the habitation doors and close the bridge doors if buoyancy is higher than 100%
• Set downward thrust override to the lowest non-zero setting
• Increase downward thrust override until your depth is no longer decreasing
• Optionally fill or empty the hydrogen tanks for precise control of buoyancy

To surface: You want a buoyancy ratio above 100% and/or your downward thrust at full power.

• Close the hatch door, optionally open habitation doors to make the cabin breathable
• Turn off downward thruster override and turn on downward thrusters (at full force)
• If laden with ores, set the flight deck connector to "throw out" and move excess ice to it - ice negatively impacts buoyancy - remember to turn off "throw out" before reaching the surface

When exiting the craft (on the surface): Remember to close the hatch door behind you. With the hatch open, the Nautilus immediately loses a large amount of buoyancy.