SH

* Connected From Neptunes Bounty
* Connected To Arcadia
* See also The_Smuggling_Operation
* See also Smugglers_Den_MP
* See also Amended_Game_Level_Maps
* See also Neptune's_Bounty_Shootout
PuppetPlay2.jpg
FontainesSub3.jpg
Map Orientation is based on the tunnel connection to Neptunes Bounty, and the connection to Arcadia which is Eastward from Smugglers Hideout on the Austen Metro Map. The water exits for the submarine tunnels is likewise positioned Northwards ( instead of running into the Neptunes Bounty building Foundations ).
-
Fontaine's Hideout ( matching the games plot of being a covert 'secret' place' ) looks to have been kludged together and expanded with the minimal work required ( a hazardous arangement that may have resulted in it flooding and killing workers more than once ). Many rock walls had to be shored up with concrete and anchors drilled deeper into the seabed rock. The 'cavern' probably was much enlarged in places to have sufficient volume for the Sub Dock, and the passage to the open ocean probably was greatly enlarged ( Plasma Cutting of Rock - similar to what was needed for the smuggling tunnel all the way to Arcadia ).
The smuggling operation had to be alot more than what is originally shown ( It is possible that most key equipment like the majority of the Subs were moved prior to Fontaine's "Death" and used to set up a new smuggling base for Atlas elsewhere ).
It took more than a bit of work by Fontaine to build this place (the Hideout) with all the machinery and structures ( even more wonder that construction could be kept secret ). It no doubt grew over time and the place looked like it was put together piecemeal. Eventually there was a substantial smuggling operation, and there should have been more leavings/detritus present than some few crates of crucifixes and piles of recent Surface newspapers/movies.
I would theorize that the (bigger) long distance fishing fleet Subs actually were used to smuggle, but small Subs picked-up containerized contraband ( same type of water/pressure proof containers used to previously bring immigrants possessions down from the Lighthouse ) from one or more remote dropoff sites out in ocean and brought them (towed) into the Hideout for storage and distributions. Likely Fontaine had some ship on the surface that hauled cargo ( much easier to arrange/facilitate the buying at various seaports and pre-packaging the stuff ) .
--- --- ---
==Additions==
Added the passage to ocean from the sub dock. The original presented Submarine Bay doesn't seem to have a way for the Subs to get to the ocean, and no sign of the airlock required to keep the ocean pressure out. Such an Airlock was likely part of a major expansion of Fontaine's smuggling operations, when simply moving contraband across the docks proved insufficient for the volumes he wanted. It is also likely the biggest single component of the whole clandestine site - just the one would be needed, which the sub bays all share. You generally want such a critical mechanism where you can maintain it easily, and was a significant step up in complexity for the operation.
The Submarine seen in-game ( most likely only one of the smaller fishing submarines ) has a pressure hull a bit larger than the standard Metro Bathysphere ( 15 feet diameter versus 12 feet ) and has distinctive large propellers/propulsion unit visible to propel it. ( Remember, the Metro Bathyspheres largely move via towed cables, and only use their smaller propulsion systems for maneuvering at Bathysphere Stations ).
The map is modified with additional sub bays (now with 3 seen), with water 'Wells' the Submarines submerge straight down to an underwater channel ( still at Rapture pressure, 1 atmosphere ) which leads to a submarine 'water lock' that shifts the water pressure to that of the Ocean ( at that depth 600 feet, 19+ atmospheres ) and out through a tunnel/channel to the open Ocean.
The (enlarged) Cranes seen can lift the Submarines so they can sit that far OUT of the water ( and turn them and also would be needed for repairs/maintenance ). The Subs could NOT by themselves be floating as shown ,with most of the vehicle out of the water, ( as Submarines need to be able to have "neutral buoyancy" - They must weigh as much as the water they displace to submerge ). That is the same problem ALL the Bathyspheres face ( but they are not shown bobbing in the water and would instead be sitting on a lift -- holding all that tonnage (something like 28 tons) out of the water to clear their large front hatches ),
--- --- ---
All the smuggled stuff seen could hardly fit in such small Subs ( the one in-game ) making only the alleged "2 Trips a Week" ( that would hardly make Fontaine his huge smuggling profits ). Peachy rather may have been talking about one of the much larger fishing subs doing the actual smuggling runs to 'The Surface' and the smaller one we see ( in that poor excuse for a sub bay ) was used to go collect the smuggled goods from out in the Ocean, where it all would be cached when the big Subs came back from their 'fishing' voyage.
The Smugglers Hideout looks to be in close proximity to other buildings near Neptune's Bounty ( You see the utility pipes for them in various places in the Hideout, so you must be close to their Foundations ). Alot of pipes seem to be embedded in concrete and going thru rocks. That is not something usually done, as it make any maintenance or even the initial installation very difficult. Channels would be cut into the rock/built into the concrete, and the pipes laid and going thru those ( The MMORPG would have that as a standard practice and would be part of the fabrication/repair game mechanisms ).
Elements from the DLC MP Metro Pack level (a larger 'Hideout') have been added and a connection North (on level 1) would lead ( with some concealment ) to a Metro Transit connection. Likely, the Trolley in the adjacent cluster of buildings was used ( instead of Bathyspheres, which would look too suspicious for most of the contraband distribution movements ). Dozens of men constantly trooping thru that one freezer everyday in NB|Neptunes Bounty, and then winding thru those tunnels would be fairly bothersome. A much more convenient path linking closer to the Metro would be much better ( and could likewise be used to ship more than a little Contraband ). A feature might be : a 'secret' access to the Hideout thru one of the large cement heat pipes used to send heat across Rapture from the Geothermal Fields near Hephaestus ( the MP DLC has sections marked 'Heat Control' ).
Tunnel to Arcadia - the tunnel is much longer than presented in the game ( Arcadia is almost a mile away ). It would be used to distribute smuggled goods across Rapture. A railed Utility Tram (like a mine track) would have made transporting the large volumes of contraband much easier/faster/efficient. The Tram would be logically warranted so to match the rest of the extensive smuggling operation's facilities, and it would be common equipment/easily available to Fontaine ( the utility Trams run under ALL of Rapture's "Streets" - miles and miles of them ). The Tram Cars are about the size of a Ping-Pong table ( 5 x 10 feet ) and can easily carry over a ton (even if hand pushed) -- That is much easier to move bulk contraband with than on someone's back or in wheelbarrows. The added Tram transfer structure looks more like standard Rapture construction ( versus the slipshod construction of much of the rest of the Hideout ).
You (as Jack) get to Arcadia through the smuggling tunnel, so it has not been demolished or filled with water (yet). It was probably just left there intact, and Ryan had more important things going on for it to be of any priority. Perhaps it is even being used as part of Ryan's logistical infrastructure for the %27civil war%27 operations -- The Splicer minions have to be fed after all.
--- --- ---
==Observations==
The Tunnel Leading to the 'Hideout' ( from Neptunes Bounty ) doesn't look like its been blasted/cut out of the rock, but the rock formations are too regular to be natural. That fractured rock is perfect for leaking water, and no matter how fast you pumped water out ( and air back in ) the place would quickly be drowned completely. It is the same reason why all of Rapture has to be so completely sealed, as the smallest hole will fill the whole insides in no time.
The Hideout's rock work doesn't look natural and also doesn't look "dug/blasted out" like typical mine tunnels. All those leaks are worrying because their sources are largely unreachable in the natural rock and with the sea's water pressure near 280 psi, trickling leaks could suddenly enlarge and fill up that whole volume within minutes - no matter what pumps there were. The cave that Smugglers Hideout is in is made of angular fractured rock, perfect for having fissures extending eventually to reach the ocean and spewing in more water than could be pumped out.
It should be some kind of volcanic bubble cavern/lava tubes ( or series of them ) with added passages bored/tunneled between them to be a better (logical) fit. There are many rock walls in the Hideout which are disasters just waiting to happen ( MMORPG, If we ever go back there Post-BS2 it will probably be flooded with ocean water ).
The various pipes you see ( at odd angles AND into the floor and ceiling ) really should be running parallel to the tunnel ( and destined for the 'Hideout' ). There is no building (?) above for them to belong to ( All the rock is wrong for any basement, and the pipes would be a poorly accessible maintenance headache with them imbedded in rock like that ).
That big chunk of machinery sitting in the "Storage Cave" is too large to fit thru the connecting tunnels. It doesn't look like it is hooked up for anything ( and no real point to assemble it in place ). Minor Detailz ...
-
For a place that is supposed to be secret, it is a bit odd to have that many vending machines/Vita-Chamber and even a Jet Postal Pneumo tube there ( all things that would need maintenance/restocking by their owners ). It is unlikely Ryan's men ( as portrayed in the Game/Book ) could have taken so long to find this place - but then "The Plot called for it", ( which can overrode any adherence to logic/physical laws/common sense ). The book handled it better, with clandestine contraband transfers on the extensive fishing docks, and various bribes/threats to the Constables supposed to be trying to watch for/find any smuggling activity.
-
The 'thrown together' Smugglers Hideout had a general lack of Restroom facilities, and our computer games haven't yet facilitated the simulation of what the place must've smelt like.
-
What's the point of that waterfront dock-like deck area a little beyond the Control Room (locked door) ? Except to allow the player to shoot at a bunch of Splicers, and be delayed seeing the carnage down by the submarines ( and Atlas's cowardly leaving ). A ramp could have immediately descended on rounding the corner ( shorter path ... ) Maybe if there had been more piles/remnants of Boxes there ( assuming had any piled up from the smuggling ), or some kind of (useful) facilities for the crews or for making sub repairs ( or an additional sub dock or somesuch ) it would make more sense.
Not really sure what the point of the zig-zagging tunnel passage is ( except to make the path sufficiently long without visible straight sections ). The tunnels would have to be dug ( they're not natural ), and so just as well could have been dug straight ( particularly when Contraband was hauled through them alot ... the 'Storage Cave' IS on the Neptunes Bounty end after all ), shorter/straighter/more-regular == easier. Nice solid well-supported/sealed walls wouldn't leak as much, and if done more directly, actually could have been less work. But hidden/secret/illegal has to mean built half-assed don't it ? Not likely this half-assed construction would have survived to BS2 (later 1960s).
Cage like walls in various places ? Why ? Security of the Contraband ? Safety ? No. Just there to block the Players progress for the plot scenes. The whole thing is simply a maze path level and staged to manipulate the Player ( Ryannn Baaaaaad ... ) Other places are the usual movement blockages ( things you could climb through/over, but since it is not part of the 'path' you can't ).
The "Flooded Cave" - I find it funny that the balance between the sump pumps handling the 'leak' ( pumping water out ) are so well matched to the water leaking in. In reality it would be either empty of water ( you place sump/drains BELOW floor level so you DON'T HAVE TO walk thru water while working, and the pumps keep emptying them continually ) OR the whole tunnel would be completely filled with water ( the pumps not being able to keep up ). Many people don't realize that boats ( which AREN'T even subjected to Rapture's 280 psi water pressure ) will often fill up (and sink) in mere minutes from fairly small leaks.
It is amazing that any of the 'good' Contraband is still left to be found in BS1 times (~1960). The Smuggling Operation was a year previously discovered and shut down, and Splicers are obviously still wandering the place. The Booze and Pepbars/Potato Chips surely would be long gone -- but then isn't that also true of all the other useful things we find laying about in the rest of Rapture ?? MAYBE (my premise) the state of things in Rapture is not as bad as the Game Writers try to present -- There actually being more than adequate supplies for Ryan's side, such that those goodies haven't had to be ferreted out by hungry Splicers. Maybe Ryan's organizing the feeding of Rapture's people accounts for more Order than any Pheromone Control.
-
Subs bobbing in the water ... ridiculous. If you are going to go to the trouble to draw a submarine, you might bother to learn what they actually look/act like when they sit in the water. Again the Bathysphere-like design cannot float that high in the water ( to clear access of its door ) and should be hanging from the crane overhead ( Why even put it there ? .. Ohh right - a nice pretty 'bobbing in water' effect negates logic/physics ).
-
Hideout is built Substandard, with some standard construction 'slabs' and concrete facings/anchors and bare rock. Unfortunately rock has cracks and small crack with 280 lb/sq inch pressure equals flooded and drowned in minutes. But it is "pretty" ... ( and most Players don't give a damn ).
-
Not sure how Atlas gets such easy access to the Smugglers Hideout. Especially with a working Submarine still there -- Ryan ( who obviously knows where the place is ) should have sealed the location off from all ends. Maybe there were a few secret paths yet remaining ( Atlas gets around alot in the Sewers in the Novel ) .
-
Oh look, more crates of unsold crucifixes. Fontaine must've kicked himself for bringing in so many when he could have smuggled other things that actually made a profit. Maybe as the Genetic ADAM stuff got more interesting, he wasn't paying attention and some not-much-longer-to-live underling made the wrong cargo decision.
What exactly was smuggled ?? How much 'luxury' goods could (how many ?) Rapturites afford to buy - with premium prices, ( and it HAS to be paid for in Surface money or tradables ).
So not quite Al Capone class activities here. All the other companies Fontaine is indicated/implied to have bought have real competition, and aren't as lucrative, as well as he had little time to build up -- so it is a little overdone. The Burial At Sea DLC bloats Fontaine's empire even larger. The ADAM market would have its limits, and it only increased significantly AFTER he could no longer profit from it.
Large numbers of crates of Contraband -- Hardly the cargo for that little Submarine ( its teeny cargo volume ) to bring back from trips 'twice a week' ( to anywhere but Iceland, @ 300 miles away, the trip itself takes a week ).
The Bibles and Crosses are emphasized for some reason ( with too few different contraband assets, the anti-religion aspect seems over-emphasized -- Some WEAK attempt to be 'controversial' ??? ). All the other crates of smuggled goods seen ( more if these are just the remnants ) ... It was contact with the outside which Ryan thought really endangered Rapture, resulting in his bringing strong measures against this activity. Anyone who thinks the Russians or Americans would not come and try to take Rapture over, if they knew Rapture existed, is quite ignorant of what the situation was during the Cold War.
Contraband Seen :
* Booze - Better quality and also some Rapture-produced - apparently more than a little of that was stolen rather than smuggled ( but wityh the expense it would be a luxury item largely unaffordable by most Rapturites).
* Bibles (pallets of them though ?)
* Crosses ( any apprentice could fabricate THESE in Rapture if there was a demand - so why need expensively import them ????Gamewriter's "Religion for Simpletons 101" - Lets_Push_The_Players_Face_Into_IT ... especially the simpler ones many sects prefer )
* Films ( Rapture's own homegrown entertainment can get stale really quick )
* Newspapers Daily Post/The Daily Times seems a favorite -- stacks and stacks of it
* Pep bars ?? ( Quality candy bars maybe ?? The exoticism could sell, but Spices might 'do' 50 times better - Profit-wise )
* Ammunition ( Mercury for percussion caps at least )
* Potato Chips ( odd item to smuggle - Potatoes would be one thing that definitely COULD be grown in Rapture )
* Coffee ( start the Coffee Craze early - that Kona/Java Blend ... etc ... )
* Cigarettes ( ?? with the smoking indicated in Rapture, these would have to be exceptional against the locally made ones )
Other Likely Contraband :
* Fresh meat ? How do you keep it frozen when it has been shipped by boat before it is even transferred to the Smuggler Subs ???? Freezer-burned Beef at best. The best meat is also "fresh" with 'frozen' being the bane of flavor.
* More Tobacco - better stuff than could be produced in Rapture or simply better quality/varieties
* Information - Technological Data/Treatises could be the highest value of all Contraband
* Mail - going to/from the outside world ( and then likely replies ) - to relations or friends ( definitely a security liability )
* Books and Magazines - authors in Rapture simply couldn't match the volume/spectrum/quality/content produced on the Surface
* Luxuries of various kinds, no doubt by biggest request from a number of Rapture's "rich" people ( Hence a general 'looking the other way' kind of environment for general enforcement )
* People (and animals) smuggled in - alluded to at various points in-game
-
REMEMBER THOUGH : If these things were 'Coming In', then something of value had to be 'Going Out' to pay for it all ( and to pay for the Overhead of the whole operation ) -- Costs would be AT a Premium Price to cover the covert black-market nature, and the difficulties involved. What all would be worth enough ( things valued on The Surface ) which could be Traded/Sold/Fenced up there on The Surface ? And that being minus the Costs of the Surface Contact's profits/Risk ) ???? (( These things have to be considered if the Worldbuilding isn't to be taken as sloppy/careless Magic Fantasy. ))
-
In BioShock, it seems that Ryan was more interested in killing Atlas than the Player, and the whole situation may have been 'a setup'. While Atlas/Fontaine was trying to bamboozle Jack ( his fake family story ), Ryan could have been 'playing along' ( "Touch that button and you will ..." ) to set up an Ambush. It is possible Fontaine perhaps WAS really trying to escape in that sub, but Ryan there thwarted him.
-
(Waste Not Want Not) : The DLC Smugglers Hideout level map could be used for a second Smuggling 'Hideout' - Perhaps one in a different location that Atlas would continue to use AFTER he had carried out his planned "Fontaine's Death". That Multi-Player level map is more extensive, and much of it appears to be located in the basement of some building.
-
Those Security Airlock doors ( like the one you take at the end to Arcadia ) -- in the reverse direction, the door slides the wrong way ( structurally incorrectly out into the water ). The whole structure is half-offset shaped to have the doors open within, into the other half. You can notice the level designer 'doing it wrong' for the level design - I guess the designer didn't notice/care , or left it as unimportant - once it was already there ( It was just player-service DLC, after all ).
-
OMG, Ryan Killed His Family ... :
Mood music leading the Player along ... Poor Poor Atlas. Sadly, Atlas's non-existent family gets blown up ( He planned it all, since it wouldn't do to have you see nothing was in the Sub, or have him get in and 'sail away' ). The whole thing probably clued Ryan in, with it all being so 'fishy'. Why need all this charade ? With WYK, Jack doesn't need to be convinced of anything by Fontaine. Atlas should just have quietly got Jack to Hephaestus without all this risky BS, so Jack could get on with murdering Ryan.
All those Inept Splicers working for Ryan should have been able to eviscerate (non-spliced) Atlas in about 10 seconds. But then ... the Plot, Cuz, etc... ( Maybe Atlas threw some ADAM down on the ground to distract them while he made his escape ? )
-
The whole Hideout 'place' is a substantial operation. It is rather hard to imagine it being kept secret in Rapture for long, especially after the authorities actually start looking for it ( and with Sullivan's Investigation AND Ryan's concern about it all). But then, it IS a Plot for a Shoot-Em-Up game, so you have to expect there being other Priorities for the gamemakers.
---
Sub Fun :
Submarines running on batteries couldn't get as far as the nearest land ( shore of Iceland 300 miles away ) and would require fuel (with air) to power them any significant distance ( important for 'fishing fleet' subs which have to search/find/follow fish around ).
One advantage of these Subs would be that their occupied cockpit, cargo, and minimal engine compartment need not be much larger than your typical Bathysphere interior ( explained elsewhere why those were so heavy ... buoyancy/displacement, and problematic in showing them floating mostly out of the water ). The rest of the Sub didn't have to be pressure protected.
Fontaine would need to have surface ships carry the contraband cargoes most of the way, and have the submarines bring the cargo into Rapture from the surface ( rendezvous sufficiently far away to not have the activity detected from Rapture ). Thus he would have had some surface organization to buy and surface transport the goods, and more importantly sell/trade whatever was shipped OUT of Rapture to pay for the goods expensively being imported.
The Subs shown in the 'Hideout' are only relatively small ones ( compared to many of the longer ranged fishing fleet subs ). Their limited internal cargo capacity likely required towing pressure-proof containers 'dropped' off by the smuggling ships ( likely requiring many round trips to the pickup/drop point ).
Large quantities of contraband would have to be shipped (over time) to add up to any appreciable amount of Wealth ( Fontaine's profits after all the overhead involved -- even with the premium prices for smuggled goods ) for Fontaine to afford growing his (game implied) 'empire'.
--- --- ---
Those Big Machines Seen In Smugglers Hideout :
Power generators for the secret ( ssshhhhhhhhh... ) criminal base - It was not a small operation -- They didn't want any unusual patterns of electricity use to give it away. Fontaine might have been able to bribe the City Constables, but the Meter Readers would have got him ( just like they got Al Capone ). Fontaine had similar equipment in place for his second 'new' smuggling operation for after his 'death'.
--- --- ---
The SAD MUSIC PLAYS as Atlas/Fontaine's NON-EXISTANT Family is Allegedly 'Blown Up by Ryan :
Demonstrates how the Player was being Manipulated into following the Game's Villain.
The game plot 'Twist' had such things being FORCED.
The whole thing was likely a 'Puppet Play' - used to try to convince Jack to keep being Fontaine's Pawn Assassin.
--- --- --- --- ---
.
.