Bathysphere O rama

* See also Bathysphere Details (about mechanisms and such)
* See also Bathyspheres
* See also Transportation_Systems
* See also Atlantic Express
* See also Depth
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Spam in a Can :
That Splicer 'welcome committee' in BS1 - It amused me. Allegedly cutting thru a Bathysphere pressure hull (1/2 or 1 inch thick steel) with sharpened meat-hooks or scythes or whatever they are. That Splicer probably left because it wasn't making much progress ( Nothing says Splicers are supposed to be smart nor sane -- actually the opposite ). The Bathyspheres might have a pretty decorative bronze exterior, but withstanding water pressure to any significant depth requires solid strong thick metal. Maybe a slightly smarter Splicer would have just opened the door to get its 'prize' ??
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Willy-Nilly Bathysphere Stations :
Example - Fort Frolic's 2 Stations ( shouldn't the one from Arcadia be the pretty one, and the one to Hephaestus be workaday ? )
If Bathyspheres are like submarines and go any direction, then why have separate stations to different destinations.  And if they are fixed 'Routes' ( cable-driven design ), why locate them apart, forcing the passengers to walk between them to make a 'transfer' ?   For the 'plot', the inbound and outbound stations are separated (exit on one is 'locked') to prevent the Player from simply avoiding the majority of the level ( could have easily been handled more logically, AND had an even grander Cohen-ized single Station ). 
For a real working system, the two would be centralized to allow easy transfers for passengers passing through.  Having multiple 'docks' in the same place also helps when the Station gets busy, instead of one loading/unloading 'Sphere blocking traffic to/from other directions.
Fort Frolic - the separate Bathysphere Station going to 'Hephaestus' is on the wrong (east) side of the building complex (as per the Austen Map ).  It would have been simpler/more logical to have it adjacent to the one from 'Arcadia' ( also on the west side ).    But then "Its ONLY a game" ...   The MMORPG would be more than 'just' a game.  Again, minor details - unimportant really as far as getting down to slaughtering Splicers and accosting Little Sisters ...
Bathyspheres were so limited in Rapture.  We had Submarines mentioned, but the only plausible ones (seen) might've been those we saw in Smugglers Hideout.  You really couldn't operate Bathyspheres nor Submarines like we do Autos in OUR Civilization, but private Submarines might be a logical (but limited) extension for a mode of The Rich People's city transportation.
A new Bathysphere model shown in BaSx in Fontaine's Mall. It was most likely ( cleaning up the story for the MMORPG ) a scam/sham. Why would Fontaine plow so much money/resources into something like this, when he had much bigger plans in mind (Like taking ADAM to the Surface)?
Consider : Fontaine likely had neither the Design Capability nor Money Resources ( nor Time, nor Infrastructure ) to build something so complex ( Submarine Vehicles are far more complex than any 'Automobile' ). Ryan had his huge Surface industrial resources to draw upon to get the original Bathysphere units designed and built.
There also likely were scant numbers of rich people able or willing to buy such vehicles in Rapture. So there would be no profit in developing, building and selling them. REALITY IS : Their development WOULD HAVE TO BE paid UPFRONT ( Thereby bankrupting Fontaine - if such a Project was even viable ).
Unfortunately, the BaSx (DLC) game writers simply expanded Fontaine's alleged wealth well beyond what had been more plausibly shown in the previous Rapture games.
SO where is the things door ? ( Explained elsewhere is why REAL submarines have doors on their TOP . Climbing 'down into it' for the like on the Submarine Ride at Disneyland is not conducive to a sense of 'Luxury' or 'Convenience'. )
Also : This thing would weigh about 28-30 tons ( it is about 12 foot in diameter - DO THE MATH as per water displacement ).  That Cranes 'grip' is not particularly good for something so heavy ( or something that might have to reach down to a 'Bathysphere' and fish it out of the water to allow passenger access ).
Cost of Airlock, Crane, normal Maintenance Facility + Mechanic ... So NOT really much like an Automobile at all ( except when they were the playthings of only the very rich people in the early days ).
At least this one (its design) has an attempt at some control surfaces.
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Now that would be a fancy private sub. OR that torpedo that Simon Wales attacked the AE train Delta and Sinclair were in was on 'driven' by a 'Rapture Family' member. Being allowed to DIE may have been a REWARD in Sofia Lamb's screwed up little Hellhole.
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{{PixBox500|File:Finks_IPod.jpg|}
{Titlex|Finks Steam Powered Bathysphere (Bath-O-Sphere)}
{{PixBox500|File:EdisonConcreteFurniture.jpg|}
{Titlex|If Columbia had had TARDIS's}
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Custom Hood Ornaments on Bathyspheres ( If there were Privately Owned ones, or Submarines ) :
A standard 'style'/prestige element on 1930s, 40s and 50s automobiles ... ( and Art Deco of course ). What good is it underwater ? Well, anyone who could afford a private Bathysphere will be 'posing' alot at the Metro Stations, showing off their affluence. No doubt there would be 'deluxe' light accessories as well.
I would have a Hood Ornament that looks like the "Boys of Silence" helmet ( Weird 'hood ornament' : What I said IT looked like when I first saw that ridiculous thing in the game promotions ). 
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Private Bathyspheres on the Metro System :
They aren't cheap ( no underwater system can be ), thus they would exist in limited numbers -- cheaper than a full-fledged Submarine ( which doesn't run on Cables, and must have full antonymous movement and navigation ).
Some could be Company (business) Owned/Operated as a 'Prestige' item.
Obviously being limited to the Cables, those "Bathyspheres" ( seen in-game ) had to use the Metro's Cable Network in Rapture.
SO they were NOT the same as an Automobile in our Surface World ( now or of the of the time portrayed ) -- Unless the Game's World was run by SGFL ( Stupid Gamewriters Fantasy Logic(tm) ).
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Where are the License Plates on the Bathyspheres ?? :
Imagine Big Daddy (variation) 'Motorcycle Cops' stopping 'speeders' ...
((Unfortunately, it really couldn't be the same as in the classic American Automobile culture.))
Convicts at Persephone making License Plates for the Bathyspheres ?? As cliche as this is, it doesn't make that much sense, as there would NOT be that many "Private" Bathyspheres (nor submarines) IN Rapture.
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The Movie (cancelled) Concept picture artist illustrated a Bathysphere that seems a bit better acquainted with proper design issues - a few things that a real sub vehicle requires to operate ...
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From one of those popular mechanics/science/whatever Magazines. Just like in our Real World - Lots of things were proposed, but never quite happened. This thing though looks like it was designed by an engineer. Guide vanes that would use the water stream to steer it up/down/right/left, and a proper 'teardrop' hydrodynamic shape.
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Any kind of Design for actual realistic operation is not actually required for game level designer 'created' machines For all it matters to the game engine, the Player could crawl up the ass of a Giant 'JoJo the Clown' to move across Rapture - It is just a 'fade out cutscene' transition anyway. ...
Perhaps (as with many Real World product mockups) it was just for Advertising Gimmickry. Fontaine running an 'Auto Industry' in Rapture is a Fink-level absurdityBrought to you by the same people who birthed that Fantasyland in Infinite BS . For the (plausibility-enabled) MMORPG, THIS would merely be Fontaine 'pretending' in his businesses, while he sets his Plans in motion to Overthrow Ryan and head for 'The Big Time' on The Surface. Bankrupting himself on developing such a complex Product, which few in Rapture could afford, is even too 'Stupid' for BaSx's 'Moron' Fontaine.
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A logical Teardrop Shape (streamlined) profile for "Bathyspheres" ( AKA SUBMARINES )
Booker going to Columbia in something shaped like this just was NOT as WhizzBang as that idiotic 'lighthouse-rocket' scene ( which might have been something he hallucinated while on LSD or the Cheap Opiate Patent Medicine he may have been taking ).
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