This is a Work in Progress, I put it here because I need to update my Game and I didn't want to loose my progress with the Cuttlefish. It has three Major flaws that prevent it from being perfect. Those being the Ballast system needs to be reworked, The Propeller supports (Gantry) Collide with the fuselage, The Propeller placement makes it almost impossible to deploy when the water is rough.
=== Regarding the Ballast system, it works but its slow and sometimes its not reliable. The way its set now there is no air in the ballast when loaded in.
=== Regarding the Gantry, At some point if you experience incredible lag its because of the gantry parts that hold the propellers together are colliding with the fuselage. I have redesigned the prop wells so many times I have lost count. I can almost guarantee that if you park it, save, exit, then reload the Cuttlefish will implode. This is because those gantry elements fall a half second when the game loads and then instantly snaps back to where they are supposed to be catching the fuselage causing it to float spin until it explodes.
I have had success if the Tank Brakes are active, located behind the Mode Select Throttle (Bottom Left) and Set in VTOL mode (3-4) however there is still a 1 in 10 chance that it will still implode. I highly recommend if you leave the game to park the Cuttlefish in a hanger
=== Regarding Prop Placement, Its sort of two fold, because there are issues with the Ballast system the Cuttlefish will sometimes not rise enough for the Props be clear of the water. Sometimes if not all the time if the water is super choppy and even if you left Sub mode alone, it will be near impossible to balance all four props enough for VTOL mode to lift the Cuttlefish into the air.
I have done it before and you basically have to WASD in a circle and match the waves just right to get into the air but it takes some good timing.
And that is OK because this isn't the final design. This is sort of a step to the next iteration because of the three glaring design flaws noted above. Other than the issues listed above the Cuttlefish is super fun to pilot because the vehicle is designed to be an all terrain vehicle. While its capable of being a submarine and high altitudes it cannot go deep sea or into space, in case people were looking for that.
W Forward (Vehicle Default) Pivot forward (Flight, Boat, Sub)
A Left (Vehicle Default) Pivot Left (Flight, Boat, Sub)
S Reverse (Vehicle Default) Pivot Backward (Flight, Boat, Sub)
D Right (Vehicle Default) Pivot Right (Flight, Boat, Sub)
Directional Arrows
Up - Collective UP
Down - Collective Down
Left - Roll Left
Right - Roll Right
1 Hover Mode (Default)
2 Plane Mode
3 ??? Level but unsure if its Roll or Pivot
4 ??? Level but unsure if its Roll or Pivot
5 Lights - Interior
6 Lights - Exterior
RPS Throttle (Top Left)
Mode Select Throttle (Bottom Left)
Ballast Control Throttle (Bottom Right)
How to start:
1 Top left Fuel Button, Behind the Key
2 Top left start Key (Lights are Tied into Key)
3 Top Left set the RPS, 0-50,
Modes:
Vehicle: Set RPS to 12 - 14 any higher and well good luck
Mode Select set between 0 - 1 (Bottom Left throttle)
Boat: Set RPS to 25,
Mode Select set between 1 - 2 (Bottom Left throttle) for normal operation
Mode Select set between 2 - 3 (Bottom Left throttle) for water jet operation
Sub: Is Boat mode but with extra steps
===IMPORTANT===
Ballast Control, Make sure to ADD air into the ballast system before diving
Red Line is Air, the white is water for the ballast indicator
Dive 1.00 - 0.75
Release Air 0.74 - 0.11
Hold 0.10 - n0.10
Store Air n0.11 - n0.74
Rise n0.75 - n1.00
VTOL: Set RPS to 35
Bottom Left throttle set to 3 - 4
=== Important ===
Ensure that the RPS actually gets to 35 otherwise you won't be going anywhere
Plane: I would recommend being 2-3k altitude before going into plane mode which is the number 2 button. It will work but I recommend gradually going into plane mode by quickly tapping 2 until the Cuttlefish achieves forward motion. I will eventually work on that but my described workaround is enough for me. Press 1 to go back into VTOL mode
=== Just for Fun ===
You may Notice that when you change altitudes the rear light which should remain White will change color based on your elevation. This is unique for this build because if you are viewing from the external camera its a bit tricky especially at night to determine your altitude.
There are tools access behind the Cockpit and off to the sides for when you need to repair stuff. There should be a red button near the rear prop wells that when activated will reveal them
That same button will also reveal refueling access as well.
Prop Access Doors on the top of the vehicle for each
You may notice that there isn't a Radar system or transponder elements, those won't be installed until Tuesday (Star Trek joke). Maybe in the next iteration, as I have spent so much time on that Ballast, its still not as fast as I would like but it is heck of a lot faster than when I started with it.
