Cavern Crawler

This old mineral trawler's heavy mining days are over, but the hull is still sound and the unused machinery compartments have been converted to house personnel. Cargo of any kind, including passengers or prisoners, are the new bread and butter of this transport. Includes a silent running mode to evade the larger abyssal threats, which works best with a co-pilot that can guide the sub via camera and can alternate the batteries. The mining truck is still intact, allowing for efficient mining by hand.

This sub is a Tier 2 transport. It uses vanilla parts and does not require mods.

Includes: deconstructor, fabricator, medical fabricator, depth charge launcher

Features :

Brig - This sub has a dedicated brig, allowing crews to take on prisoner transport missions.

Modular battery array controls - The helm has a control panel that enables the crew to toggle which batteries are currently recharging or connected to the grid. This grants greater control over the electricals to increase efficiency from the reactor. Time spent idling can be used to recharge batteries, which can then be used to help in emergencies, or to power the sub in silent mode.

Silent running mode - The nav has a toggle to enable silent running mode. This turns off the reactor and outside lights, cuts power to the deconstructor and fabricators, and limits power to the engine. It also enables a lock on the reactor room door to prevent simple and single-minded bots from automatically turning the reactor back on. If someone is in the reactor room when this is enabled a motion sensor will let them out, but the door will only unlock from turning off silent mode.

Exterior camera array - In order to assist with navigation during silent running the helm has an array of exterior cameras. Since passive sonar uses the sound of the engine, and the engine will be silent, it is of no help in trying to follow a cavern wall. A coordinated crew can relay course corrections during silent mode, as well as identify minerals for mining.

Mining truck - Hitched to the back of the crawler is a cargo sled that can help in mining and assorted cargo recovery. It has room for a pilot and two passengers who must all be wearing diving suits to ride in it. It includes a cargo cabinet, an oxygen refilling shelf, and work lights.

Design notes : The idea behind this sub is to give experienced players a means of playing stealthily. It does not have great combat capabilities, but the features are meant to make the act of avoiding combat a more tense and engaging experience for more players. Cargo, escort, and mining missions are the focus of this sub. That said, it still allows for turret swapping if it becomes a longer term choice of vessel for a crew. The reactor, engine, and batteries have all been tuned down so that balancing the grid will require attention from the crew. The sub is not overly fast or agile, and using at least some battery power will often be necessary to cover the load from the grid. The aesthetic is inspired by the Jawa sand crawler from Star Wars.