Vehicle Concept: The Manta

HERE IS THE FULL BREAKDOWN OF THE MANTA!

Today, I present to all of you a beautiful handcrafted concept for a rather interesting vehicle: The Manta!

The Design
The Manta is a heavy deep-sea traversal/exploration class vehicle similar to the classification of the Tadpole, but able to descend further than the max depth of the tadpole. The Manta is designed with crush depth in mind, engineered to withstand the immense pressures of the deepest trenches with ease, whilst maintaining a small and sleek design. to make such a compact vessel capable of withstanding such pressures, the vehicle was engineered rather heavily. The Manta, while starting initially slow, gains momentum and eventually after a short bit, will reach a steady top speed just below that of the scout ray chassis of the Tadpole. The hull is built with a central pilot cockpit, and 2 passenger cockpits either side of the pilot, and a handlebar grip on the top above the pilot cockpit. the sleek design means the ship is operated lying in a prone position on ones stomach. it operates on a twin power cell system. The vehicle also turns slow, which leads into the next feature.
THE HARPOON SYSTEM
The Manta is equipped with built in Vacuum-sealing harpoons, one on each wing, that can be controlled by the pilot or by passengers if the pilot grants it. the harpoons can attach onto almost any surface, and can be used to turn sharply around objects. the harpoons are very advanced and so are highly responsive and corrective, and follow aim precisely. you can fully control release of the harpoons, pulling on the harpoons, or slacking the harpoons. they can also attach onto loose debris, and can then move them around. Furthermore, with the creation of the new passive Crested Deepmouth leviathan, which can swim through the super strong currents in very high pressure zones, you can attach onto these behemoths and they will drag you through the current streams and let you access certain cave biomes. however these harpoons come with a risk. the harpoon lines are able to be snapped by hostile creatures so you must be careful. replacing a harpoon is not cheap.

The Attachment Platform.
On the back of the hull, in between the twin engines is a platform. on this, you can mount a variety of specialised attachments to the vehicle with unique functions to aid in survival in increasingly hostile zones. Examples:

• Drone Attachment. A box that has 2 drone systems within. the drones can be operated by the passengers or the pilot and can be used to scout ahead before you commit to exploring something out of the ship. they are equipped with lights to help you see in the dark abyss of the deep. they operate using a separate battery system, and recharge onboard in their cases. failure to return a drone to the recharge bay will mean you have to retrieve it or replace it, and they can be destroyed quite easily, and arent cheap to replace either.
• Advanced Storage Box. A high capacity storage box that is able to gather loose resources around it and put them inside. good for long haul deep sea expeditions.
• Flare Box. This allows for the storage and launch of flares from within the vehicle, controllable by pilot and passengers. can store up to 6 flares at once.

Upgrade Modules
Like the Tadpole, this too has upgrades, and has 4 upgrade slots at once.
-Depth Module Mk1. The only required depth module to reach the maximum depth in the game.

• Boost Module. lets you overcharge the thrusters for a small period, consuming extra power for a boost in momentum. good for starting up the vehicle to get to max speed, and also for escaping quickly, with a 15 sec cooldown.
• Improved Thrusters. makes general momentum build-up faster, allowing for you to reach max speed faster.
• Hardened Casings. Improves the durability of the vehicle and the cables from all forms of damage.
• Energy conservation. Improves the rate at which power is lost
• Kinetic Generator. Regain some power from performing sharp manoeuvres with the harpoons.

Notes on the Crested Deepmouth

• it is a filter feeder
• it has similar body shapes and traits to that of the Whale Shark, but more heavily armoured and also larger in size.
• it is totally blind and totally passive. certain fauna like to grow on its back, that work symbiotically with the leviathan.
• nothing bothers to attack it because of its armour and its deceptively little edible meat.