Hephaestus

* Connected From Fort Frolic
* Connected To Rapture Central Control
* See also Geothermal_Power
* See also Hephaestus_Power_Facility
* See also Utility Stuff and Utility_Distribution
* See also Amended_Game_Level_Maps
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Note - This is one of the larger BS1 level maps - About 1200 feet North to South. It is in the same scale as the others, but Hephaestus had so many buildings strung out in different directions.
The Geothermal Power systems work by taking super-heated water from geothermal wells ( which have cold water being injected into them at some greater depth ) and then using the heated water to expand steam to drive turbines or pistons. The mechanical (kinetic) energy created is then used to drive generators producing electricity, which is distributed across Rapture. The steam condenses as it transfers its energy, and is either discarded or reused. To prevent mineral buildup/fouling while using sea water in the turbines/pistons, a separate working fluid within a closed system is usually used ( and would be in this case ), which the geothermally heated sea water heats up. External cooling water from the outside ocean is used to condense that 'working fluid' to be ready for its next work cycle.
Being a source of heat in the ocean, these mechanisms would likely attract various Sea Life, which probably kept many Divers ( and then Maintenance Cyborgs ) busy cleaning them up.
As usual, I've tried to match/preserve in detail most of what you actually see in the original Solo games.
Map Orientation is basically determined by the Bathysphere Station position ( cables thru open water leading North/NorthEast towards rest of Rapture ). The path is open enough ( no blocking buildings as shown ) to allow the diagonal cableway path along the Fort Frolic route which we took to get to Hephaestus in BS1.
Many of these building in the Hephaestus complex sit on the volcanic rock seabed, and are a bit downslope from most of the rest of Rapture ( deeper along the descending inner side of undersea Volcano, and closer to the Sea_Mount volcano's central vent, where there is greater geothermal activity ).
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Fixes :
Many dimensional corrections have been made to interior spaces from the original map set.
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There is the Same view out of both sides of buildings' windows (Skybox). Artwork costs money and takes up memory space, but didn't they ever hear of the trick of reversing and stretching the picture ( and sometimes adjusting colors ) to make it look a bit different ?? 
In the MMORPG a static Skybox won't be used, as you will be looking out at a real changeable '3D' landscape out in Ocean. For Console Game Systems, the Client system would 'Can' that background window view to eliminate alot of constant graphics processing, and if anything significant goes on out there then would do continuous re-rendering.
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The Hephaestus MultiPlayer map has views out the window showing rocks to one side where there should be a wall for the interior's extension of the building. It is Understood that MP maps have even less likelihood of cohesive details ( the Players run around like maniacs anyway, shooting up the place, and many Players hardly even glance out the windows ).
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Most of the buildings making up Hephaestus extend many stories above the levels the Players go thru. There should be much more machinery and access ways, and no doubt many pipes and conduits in that space which has not been shown in these amended maps. Such places in the MMORPG would offer much fun, with all the extra convolutions and tight spaces, and having weird things to find ( ie- Where did the later period Operations 'Staff' live ... and with the (Ryan) Faction occupation of the facility ).
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Some of the interior walls have been adjusted for thickness ( paper thin does not work, even with the metal plating type construction ). Many of these walls are load bearing, and make up the interior honeycomb of structural cells which would prop the external walls which are being subjected to the great forces of the external water pressure.
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Ceiling Windows in a building section in the South part of Central Control are way too low - adjacent but not matching the tall facade of the building seen from the viaducts leading to Hephaestus Core. Even the taller ceiling window of that main hall leading to Ryan's Office is too low ( but is somewhat further away so might be OK ). The MMORPG would have consistency, because all structures would be presented fully/same from from all angles, and be completely made up of real sub-objects - done with a proper 'immersive' design.
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Some of the 'Hot' Pipes seen through the external Windows do not match when extended into the visible interior area of the building ( they are 'glued on' ). Those would be repositioned (a bit) for the MMORPG, and the interior parts filled out to match.
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The MMORPG game_world terrain would be more cohesive in the pipes and machinery placements and detail. Hephaestus is supposed to be a power plant, and the heating system for much of Rapture ( and Large - ever see the machinery inside Hoover Dam ? ). Such systems require : huge pumps, condensers and turbines, reservoirs and pipes, filters and control valves, transformers, large wires and insulators, as well as control panels, accessways, overhead cranes and catwalks -- all with logical placement and interconnections.
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No restrooms originally existed in Hephaestus ( did have lockers some places ). I added a number of them throughout the complex ( which would have had hundreds of people working in it, as well as for any 'Tours' being given ).
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That Rock ceiling within the first entrance to the Hephaestus facility is WRONG ( that ramp down past the big 'spinny' things ). It is inside a building, and would be quite problematic -- a case of a Level Developer just 'sticking it' there - Odd when most Players wouldn't look up anyway. A plain ceiling texture probably would be simpler to render.
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The Floor below Level 0 is not shown in these set of maps, but would have even more pipes and conduits, and the usual Foundation structures ( mostly filled concrete, which anchors the building to the seabed, and additional utilities, etc ... ).
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Like many of these '2D' maps, the exact height separations of the floor levels is not made clear. Even within the individual level maps, the floors can vary quite alot in their 'altitude'. I've attempted to link levels with stairs and ramps of adequate length to not be overly steep when connecting the levels. The MMORPG would of course have all these things worked out with a true '3D' mappings/representation ( and thus may need some adjustments from these maps to be what they really need to be ).
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All of the split/transition levels made making these level maps a bit harder. Several places labeled as 'balcony' try to make this irregularity more clear. A real industrial unit would avoid this much confusing/irregular level/floor structure, and have had main levels be flat, with a few extension catwalks where they were needed. Trundling equipment around is made much harder when you have steep ramps and stairs breaking up the floor levels.
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Additional interlevel connecting ways have been added within the (orange) unseen added areas. Stairs, elevators, ladder hatches, catwalks, Airlocks have been added to facilitate access to the facility's levels and the machinery within.
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A frequent observation about levels in this game : Floorplan details are often NOT laid out with considerations for efficiency/simplicity/flexibility of function or even aesthetics. It rather seems done to create an isolating game maze for movement or blocking view/targeting. With much of Hephaestus's basic shell structures/buildings being fabricated in pieces at the ocean surface, most would instead be well pre-planned - Still having some likely additions/adjustments/modifications being done over the 15 years that Rapture existed ( upto the time of BS1 ).
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There is alot of machinery in Hephaestus. Better to try not to explain what it all is ( and generally fail at it) with too much realism . We would stick to 'the real meat' of Science Fiction : WHAT the Technology Does for the People involved. Sufficient logic would be provided for various Player 'Missions' to be reasonably realistic.
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As with some of the other game map levels, some pipes/conduits are shown emerging directly from rock. That is 'a no-no' for any realistic construction - very poor design for pipe maintenance, inspection, even ease of construction. At minimum, concrete liners and metal reinforcements for transitions into ocean would be used. For the interiors not needing pressure seals, there simply would be an airgap left as the pipe passed through. For any significant length an accessway would surround the pipe(s).
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Note - in most of these drawings, anywhere the (Black) building structure touches (Brown) seabed rock, there is a layer of (Dark Grey) concrete separating the two. When the rock was roughly blasted out ( or later cut with plasma cutters ), extra working space was needed to properly move/fit/place/fasten the surface-built pre-fabricated (reinforced concrete) building structure components. The gap was later filled-in with concrete to seal and securely anchor the permanent structure.
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You see narrow shafts of concrete (grey) extending into the seabed (brown). These help further anchor the buildings to the Seabed - by opposing sideways forces which might be exerted on the buildings from sea currents, turbulence and such. There would be similar anchor features and pilings that extend DOWN below the lower levels of the buildings. Hephaestus, being some of Rapture's earliest construction, would be the first building complex having these. The same anchoring is seen also on most of the other Level Maps (for all the games).
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NOTE - The Level 1 of 'Core #3' spirals downward, and a stairway connects it to the lower section of the same level (marked "Dn"). 'Geothermal Control' and 'Heat Control and Monitoring' are offset in elevation from 'Workshop'. Thus an intermediate level was eliminated ( so that I wouldn't have to create a largely empty EXTRA map level ).
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The (Solo game's) Core #3 structure had alot of half levels (up-ramps around the Core) which have been somewhat simplified in these map views. There really was no real reason for such irregularity, other than it looked 'neat' for the game. Note : there is no (in-game) proper equipment-sized elevator in 'the Core' ( or for the rest of Hephaestus ). The separate side diagram has added an overhead crane system for the main Core area ( would be up in higher levels which there's no map of here ).
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Additions/Modifications :
On this level map there would be even more pipes, supports, control/power lines, lights, maintenance ways/catwalks all over the place, but they have been omitted for simplicity. The MMORPG would include all of them deemed necessary for a industrial complex like this, to give proper access to machinery/infrastructure. Additional adjacent areas are also hinted at.
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Added the Multi-Player level map as being part of the complex ( now as "Core #1" ). It would be the earliest fully-built construction (to power Raptures Construction), and thus is more self-contained ( containing many of the elements put into separate building in the later 'cores' ).
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Added an Atlantic Express Station (with Freight extension) to the Map. Huge amounts of material/passengers went thru that Station both for construction and the maintenance/operation of Hephaestus, and the adjacent areas.
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Added an extended workshop area with large repair airlocks, located in the 'Central Control' building. This is used for assembling and repairing the Modular Geothermal Generating units Modular GeoThermal Well (in lower right corner) : https://rapturerebornmmorpg.fandom.com/wiki/File:Hephaestus.png. The extended workshop area is a good-sized fabrication/repair facility, and has Submarine access (a dock) to move the new/repaired units to their locations out on the Field of Hades - Rapture's extensive geothermal field. A tunnel ramp connection to the AE Freight Station is there to facilitate moving materials and equipment shipped in to the workshops and assembly hall.
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Added one of the new type Geothermal Well and Generation units, west of the AE Station. These later-developed units were simpler to construct, repair and replace. They have a modular wellhead injector, a standardized generator enclosure and hot water/steam outlet pipes. Large fields of hundreds of these smaller Geothermal wells are spread out in a nearby area which is more that a mile on a side ( see my Rapture Map ). A number of other geothermal vent cones ( represented in the Skybox Views ) are in the same vicinity as the Hephaestus Complex.
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BTW - that Glowing Red color you see IS NOT lava ( as when lava hits seawater and has its temperature severely lowered, it turns solid almost instantly, and with a huge cloud of steam ). Instead, that red glow you see is a variety of Bioluminescent bacteria which grows in the hot water around the vents. Similar bacteria grows inside the various hot water tubes ( and periodically has to be cleaned out - probably the biggest job for that Big Daddy's scraper 'drill' ).
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Amongst the equipment Hephaestus also maintains is drilling rigs and submarine systems used to drill new geothermal wells when the many small ones eventually wear-out/clog-up. These small 'Well' units can be quickly disassembled and brought into the facility's repair Airlocks and later replaced or moved to new locations.
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Added more interior being adjacent to the Bathysphere Station ( and now with the Cable Hub also being below, that makes that plausible ). The Station's building facade (seen) uses a generic building exterior with windows. So it justifies more interior space (orange) and additional facilities being attached - and thus also would extend onto higher levels of that building ABOVE the station.
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Added a single-ended Trolley Station connected to the Wye shaped My Rapture Map my Rapture Map route tracks connecting to 2 different routes ( going to "Vulcan's Forge" (East) and "Geotherm Junction" (NNW) ). The Station includes a Metro Trolley Freight Station with a large freight elevator ( lots of parts and equipment moved into Hephaestus ). The Hephaestus facility was one of the larger industrial scale installation and maintenance centers in Rapture, where it supported the distributed Geothermal plants (units) across the "Fields of Hades" ( area around and south of the facility ). Note -- that there were several competing companies with their own facilities in the nearby region (ex - "Hudson Power" Hudson Power is seen referenced in BioShock 2.).
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Added various huge heating water distribution pumps (really big ones) and big hot water pipes (insulated concrete) heading out different directions to the City. Electric Power conduits and fresh water pipes are smaller, and some follow the Train/Trolley tracks. Rapture Central Control's power switching stations has alot of the main Power distribution systems ( and many utility lines running out and across to the rest of the City ).
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Added Accounting Offices for "Ryan Electric and Heating" - upstairs in Core #1 building ( with elevator and stairs access ). From the start, Rapture's Power system was a business maintained by billing its customers ( including the power which was used to construct the City ). Note- Rapture's Early Computers were used for 'billing' ...
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Added a Security Station in the Core #1 building. (( No real in-game answer to "Why was the security so wimpy here, if this was Ryan's stronghold and a key facility ???" ))
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Added Pumping Station (multiple) for the usual building drainage (and basement areas). Hephaestus had Extra-Redundant safety systems, as a major failure in this complex would cause big problems for the rest of Rapture.
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A Facility Cafeteria was needed, so I took those large areas near "Central_Control" which did not seem to serve much purpose and designated that as where a Cafeteria had been set up to serve the hundreds of workers in the Hephaestus complex. Kitchens for food preparation were added, and no doubt there would have been a number of (more) vending machines as well. The Hall leading to Ryan's Office likewise could be used for this purpose, as well as for large meetings of the staff/workers typical for large organizations.
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Added the New York Deli (a food concession) adjacent. As it was a place Ryan frequented when he first arrived in the United States from Russia in the 1920s, he transplanted a similar operation into Rapture near his main working site. A convenient 'outside' meal venue for the complex's workers and staff. A Pneumo system ( later used for the Jet Postal system ) was experimentally installed to distribute food from there to various locations in the Hephaestus industrial complex. The "Pastrami" though may be made from some interesting ingredients. The later Rapture-wide Pneumo system would make additional food sources available.
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Added a Mini-Sub dock. The smaller than-standard-Bathysphere (9 foot diameter) sub units were used for various inspection and maintenance duties around the external facility machinery. Most often they operated as 'cockpits' for interchangeable machinery of various sorts. The Mini-Subs were less bothersome than 'Hardsuits' diving gear for many tasks ( would be extensively used during City Construction ) - particularly doing inspections.
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That odd circular/split Viaduct path entry walkway connecting the Bathysphere Station to the rest of the complex was a bit strange. Now it more logically as it now also connects to a Trolley Station (at the north edge). Probably done for 'Show' ( Ryan had regular Tours done of the Hephaestus complex ) as an inspirational example of what unfettered achievement could do, and as PR for his Power/Heat/Water company ( whom most everyone got a bill from ). Now with the additional Transit connections nearby, the arrangement makes more sense.
SO Thus : "The Cycle of Progress"
Having displays explaining to the Hephaestus Tour groups how Hephaestus worked - the technical innovations and advancements which powered and heated Rapture. ( The giving of Tours is well gone by the time Jack arrives - Maybe the displays which would have been there were put into storage, by order of Ryan, until the City's problems are settled. )
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Because of the (added) AE Train structure ( being prefabricated near the surface ) NOW existing underneath "The Cycle of Progress", that big hunk of rock we see in its middle was probably lifted out and then REPLACED ( again, it is there for 'Show' ). Lifting rock is not that hard underwater. You need only a fraction of the rock's full weight in buoyancy to lift a big chunk and move it ( Balloons full of air attached to the rock with cables, lifted once the rock is cut from the seabed ). This cutting/lifting was commonly done to 'cut out' most of the basement/foundations for Rapture's buildings ( though that is usually done with smaller chunks, which were then discarded ). So you would probably find huge chunks of rock laying nearby at a safe distance from Hephaestus.
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"Hephaestus Hall Of Technology" (a Tour Museum) would be added to make more sense for that big room we pass through ( and strange combinations/placements of its decoration/machinery ). It has various exhibits (indicated on map), including a walk-in diorama of how the Geothermal Wells work ( AND which then explains why all the illogical big walls of rock are encrusted all about the interior there ).
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Numerous concrete reinforcement anchors make up part of the buildings foundations - done not to keep Hephaestus from dropping into the Abyss like at Persephone, but because the Geothermal regions seabed rock is not as stable as at the other preferred building locations in Rapture.
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There are now several Bathysphere Transfer Stations - at Core 1, Core 2, and Ryan's Private Bathysphere Station at Rapture Control ( Seriously, you thought he would walk all the way across half of Hephaestus ?? ). Tunnel/Tubes connect these substations to the Bathysphere Cable Hub. These tubes are at Rapture-Interior-Pressure, and thus don't have to deal with the outside water's high pressures ( pressure existing at the 600+ foot water depth ). A large airpocket and walkway above the water in the tunnel was an added safety feature. Likely, there would be some towing mechanism that guided Bathysphere traffic through the water tunnels. Much of the larger equipment would be floated through these 'Bathysphere' tunnels while the complex was being built, and also would be later used during major maintenance activities. This system was simpler to construct (cheaper), and safer than having full (complex) Bathysphere Stations with cableways at each of the closely spaced destinations.
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The 'Bathysphere Transfer Tunnels' ( with water at normal pressure ) would have been used in many places in Rapture to go short distances between clusters of stations WITHOUT having to ( expensively and with delays ) transition out into the high pressure Ocean to use the main route Cables. The Bathysphere's Cable system machinery was not simple nor cheap to build and maintain. The main routes across Rapture would be consolidated paths to maximize their use ( instead of the whole system turning into some kind of 1900 era Telephone wire mess Mess of Wires in early Real World Telephone days : https://rapturerebornmmorpg.fandom.com/wiki/File:Smallcity.jpg ) .
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BTW : The Water you see in almost every Bathysphere Station is actually an artificial pool, as the 'Sphere Parking Level Below the Station level is down where the actual water level begins in the transfer tunnel ( or the parking area in the Hephaestus station ) or at other locations to the Airlocks into the Ocean. An elevator lift platform raises the Bathysphere ( which as explained elsewhere : The Bathyspheres CANNOT possibly float high enough in the water to have that front door open without flooding the vehicle. ). 
(( Sorry, There is NO Quantum-BS-like gibberish to mis-justify 'floaty' things which don't work naturally ... Laws of Physics, etc... ARE enforced in Sci-Fi Rapture )).
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The Parking Area seen on map level 1 below the Main Bathysphere Hub Station has places to park up to 10 Standard Bathyspheres, to be ready to handle 'Rush Hour' Shift Changes at the facility, and also to park several Personal units of the highest ranking staff. The Hub facility there is also capable of doing routine maintenance. Below that is the Cable access paths and drive systems for the Cableways. The Airlock transitions ( between the 'inside' pressure 14 lb/in^2 and the 'outside' water pressure varying, but ~280 lb/in^2 at a ~600 ft water depth ) are only here.
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MMORPG - Should add piles of big rocks downslope to explain the dug out areas between buildings (and from foundations) done in Rapture's early days. Moving very large cut out rocks was no problem using one of the floating cranes. Consider the size of the standard Bathysphere displaces 28+ tons of seawater when it is only a 12 foot diameter sphere. Hundreds of tons can be lifted under water with little more than a balloon, strong netting, cables and air ( with near half the weight of the rock already offset by its water displacement ).
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Core 1/2/3 were early power generating units, but complex (expensive) turbine blades wear out, and such huge mechanism took alot of work/time to repair ( requiring them to be non-operational/off-line for extended periods of time ). So the smaller modular Geothermal units made up all later additions to Rapture's power infrastructure. The older 'Cores' were largely relegated to being a source for heating water, fresh water distillation, and Tours.
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Shown is the edge of the adjacent Rapture Central Control, which contained one set of power and utility control/transfer/distribution equipment, and the Master Controls. Hephaestus's level 2 corresponds to the Rapture Central Control map's level 1 ( connected via that Safety Airlock connecting the two Buildings ).
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==Areas in Hephaestus== 
Again, you will notice that the areas which we accessed during the game were only a fraction of the interior spaces that the Hephaestus level hints at. Most Multi-storied buildings we only get into one floor. There is alot of additional machinery indicated behind walls, and also more transportation systems which such a complex would require. In BS1, there are the usual "Doors that don't open", and portals which are blocked by debris. Volumes defined by visible floor spaces have been extended to adjacent non-visible floor areas (green and orange) to fill out the various building's monolithic dimensions.
'Core' - a wellhead where water is injected down into a geothermal well thousands of feet below, and comes up as super-heated steam and hot water which is then used for Rapture's various utilities. The 'Core' is actually a very small part of the geothermal system - an injector head and valve fitting to control that huge flow of superheated steam. The 'turning bit' we see really makes little sense (looks good ...). Perhaps it is part of a mechanism down along the wellshafts length to keep it from being clogged with debris and mineral accumulation ?
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Elaborated Core structural diagrams I made with various pieces explained :
Geothermal Control - Regulates hot water coming out of the well (it is NOT lava) and injection water. The output water is routed to power generators, hot water for city heating, or bypass to ocean ( as you can't turn the wells water flow off like a faucet, instead can only slowly inject less water into it ).
Heating Water Distribution (changed name from Heat Loss Monitoring) - Huge pumping system used to send large volumes of quite hot water to most of Rapture for heating. Hot Salt water makes a one way trip ( so no return pipes are required ).
Central Control - Operations for the high voltage power generation, hot water utilities ( all the satellite pump stations ). Its Basement has assembly/repair facilities for the small external geothermal units ( of which there are hundreds ) which supply the majority of the City's power.
Workshops - Maintains and repairs machinery/tools/parts and the utility network ( and apparently is also a Big Daddy maintenance facility ).
The main Electric power switching and transformer yard is attached to Rapture Central Control. Electric power lines from the 'Cores', and all the smaller Geothermal units feed power into a main electrical switching yard there, for routing to the rest of Rapture and beyond.
The Fresh Water system generates fresh water via flash distillation for the City ( that is alot of fresh water, and the system is as monumental in size as the rest of the place ). There would be a filtration/Purification plant. Fresh water is pumped to most of the City via smaller pipes. Steam directly from the Core is used to vaporize cleaned Sea-water into steam and then condense and reclaim the Fresh Water. With an abundance of fresh sea water being available, the boiling operation is done in a way that prevents bothersome Salt accumulations.
The Multi-Player Hephaestus map level has been used for Core #1 ( a smaller unit - as being the first one installed in Rapture to power initial construction ). Core #1 has replicated the same facilities of the larger Core #3 unit ( #1 was the first built and operational, and #2 and #3 both were scaled up significantly, thus requiring the larger multiple buildings in their complexes ).
A huge amount of geothermally heated high-temperature water flows out of the Hephaestus complex, to heat Rapture. The water pressure is ambient ( adjusted to match the Ocean's pressure ) so the near-boiling water temperature can be significantly higher than at Sea Level ( to carry more heat energy than if it turned to steam ). Heat is lost as the water traverses the miles of large concrete pipes (aqueducts), but the flow volume is sufficient that the City sections at the greatest distance still can get more than enough heating. Being at Sea-Pressure also means the pipes do not have to be horribly strong (thus are cheaper), and are simpler to repair.
Auto-regulating systems ( built with X-isters and later using Bio-electronic 'smart' circuits and more detailed monitoring ) also allowed the multitude of small geothermal wells to operate largely on automatic, with their 'smart' regulators compensating continuously for Well Pressure variances, injector feedback and load requests ( instead of having to be manually monitored/controlled like the original 'Core' mechanisms ).
Alot of the original (in-game) pipe arrangements do not make much sense ( were positioned more to make pretty Skybox scene views thru windows ). The pipes would interconnect buildings, or run towards the City, or from the other geothermal wells off this map.
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Seen (now on the amended maps) near Core #3 are early exterior fresh water tanks, which were subsequently expanded using underground tunnel/caverns reservoirs distributed around the City. In these tanks fresh water is stored at Ocean Sea-Pressure to eliminate the need for overbuilding the tank structures/pipes. These 20 foot diameter tanks were used later as an emergency water supply, kept ready in case of system failure, and sometimes used during the maintenance cycle when the water production machinery is shut down for routine repairs/maintenance.
a Gallon = 231 cubic inches. 12x12x12 in^2 = 7.48 gal/cu ft , tank 30ft x 10ft^2 *3.14 = 9420cuft = 70400 gal each.
Rapture has daily surges of water usage ( domestic, business, industrial ), so excess fresh water production is buffered to be able to handle the changes in flow. A network of more recently built reservoirs fulfills most of this requirement.
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Up above the Viaduct connection between Core #3 and Heat Control and Monitoring, there are large building facades which on the original map largely just had rock/no seen interior space/floors behind them. Now an area on the third level is there. There is added some Fresh Water Production systemry ( taking the distillation vapors off the top of the 'Core' to be precipitated using cold ocean water ).
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In the later Post-Ryan period, various pipes in sections of the city failed or were damaged. This led to local Faction groups often having to make their own drinking water. Not too difficult ( boiling salt water in a 'still' ), but also not very convenient ( and consuming fuel ). The Hephaestus Faction had the advantage of controlling the largest source of fresh water, which they kept operating, and it gave them a trading/alliance advantage with other Factions ( and a good reason why there were still so many people alive in Rapture 7 years later in BS2 ).
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Various facilities here in Hephaestus maintain the larger geothermal field of distributed wells and generator units. Ryan switched over ( the 'Way of the Future' ) to using modular equipment to allow quick repairs via replacement - hundreds of smaller wellheads were built as the City grew. The 3 large 'Core' units were less practical and were superseded for the needed expansions of the Geothermal Energy systems.
The later new Geothermal design used smaller man-made wells bored into the bedrock and are located across a wide area of the Plains of Hades. New wells were constantly being bored ( using Ryan's patented plasma well cutting drills ) to replace worn-out/clogged wells ( was simpler/cheaper than to keep them cleared/un-clogged ). The wellheads and integrated generator units are moveable, and are re-moved to new wells or to the repair facility for efficient 'inside' work.
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A number of Maintenance Submarines are used for the constant well/generator maintenance activities and for new geothermal well construction. Large networks of pipe/structural components/power conduits/cables are also maintained. The Ryan Faction at Hephaestus (my MMORPG story) remained to maintain this infrastructure, or the city simply would have died. The state of Sofia Lamb's little collectivist regime (in BS2) is pretty good evidence that SHE and her mind-warped minions would NOT have been able to maintain this most complex system.
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"Harmonic Core #3" was one of 5 initially planned generating units. An early (1949) redesign produced the smaller modular ( more practical/reliable/cheaper ) geothermal generating units, and #4 and #5 were never built. Their large pre-drilled wells were used mostly as a source for City Heating Water instead.
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These 'Harmonic Cores' were built onto existing geothermal vents which had built up volcano-shaped mineral cones ( caused by dissolved minerals precipitating out of the hot water when it cooled as it contacted the colder Ocean water ). Another similar formation (the Sealed Chamber on map) is near the main Bathysphere Station, but was early found to be unsuitable and was closed off - Justifying that weird layout and the sealed openings in that part of Hephaestus ).
(( NOTE - WTF is a "Harmonic Core", and WTFH does it have to do with GeoThermal Energy generation ??? There is that "EMP Bomb" thing in the plot, which then I suppose they needed some mysterious 'techy' sounding thing to destroy ... Perhaps assuming All of the Power came from this 'Core' is almost as absurd as 'Shutting It Down' NOT also killing the Power for All of Rapture ( and thus killing the city ). I guess Levine & Co never heard of Battery Backups for Ryan's Security systems. ))
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Consider that Ryan may have cleared out (before Jack arrived) the 'normal' Personnel/Staff ( who were needed to keep things running ) from Hephaestus, and left the Splicers bent on that Bounty wandering about. (( Again it is a case of Ryan NOT going after Jack with the resources he obviously had, because he wanted to confront him, and to play out the Twist he had planned for Fontaine. ))
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==Observations==
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It would be logical for the pumping apparatus used for the Bathysphere and AE Stations ( and even the Maintenance Airlocks ) to act as "backups" for the standard pumping systems each complex has ( which are used to routinely/continuously drain the usual sump leakage, or in emergencies to handle larger leaks before repairs can be accomplished ). Redundancy of such a critical system would NOT be missing for Rapture.
MMORPG - we could have alot of Player Missions to repair/restore/maintain these systems - and even reclaiming areas which had flooded - showing the process of sealing and pumping out and restoring some area - with the Players help/involvement.
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I'm not sure why there should be a pile of large rocks on oneside/wall of the first large room in 'Central Control'. It is not even a solid wall of rock, but a pile of large boulders that would not seal at all ( sealed in order to keep the 280 psi Ocean water pressure out ). It must just be some level designers attempt to give the place some 'character' (( !!! It is a fricken industrial plant, not a rock garden !! ... Just leaving it there because they (Ryan's Construction Team) were "in a hurry" would be ludicrous because of the huge amounts of rock obviously moved for construction elsewhere in Rapture )). I've adjusted it somewhat to be a little more solid, and re-plotted it to be the result of early construction work which was abandoned and then sealed off beyond where all that mess is. Now the rocks are 'decorations' for that section where the Worker Cafeteria now is.
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If you attack the door to Ryan's lair ( before you do the whole EMPElectro Magnetic Pulse - Electro Magnetic Impulse thing ) he sends a Radio Message saying : "Whoever spent so much of their money to MAKE you didn't get their moneys worth ..." It sounds like Ryan by then already figured out what was happening in the plot -- Thus making it even more illogical for Ryan to commit suicide, when he had all but defeated Atlas, and could have shrugged off what Jack was programmed to do (... hence MY Twist of Ryan's own scam on Fontaine).
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Strange, that frequently after killing a Splicer, many almost immediately turned into a Lockbox right in front of me ( maybe it was the number of respawned Splicers I killed while wandering around looking at Hephaestus in detail for so long, when the clutter of corpses eventually did cause program ABORTs in the game .EXE in certain places ). The game program should have done a better job converting some corpses (to Lockboxes) when far away, out of sight, and leaving the recently killed ones as visible corpses for a bit longer. Likewise, it could have eliminated EMPTY(looted) 'Lockbox'es, and after a while many of the 'corpses' ( though they would have to leave sufficient around for the Little Sisters to do their ADAM recovery activity ). (( Most Players were not expected to 'stick around' so long, so it wasn't a priority for the designers/programmers/testers if they even considered the issue. ))
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Weird looking cam-shaft/crank-shaft things ( ex - in Workshop building ) don't seem to serve any possible purpose ( except look 'neat', and be a simple (easy) to program game motion 'effect' ). They really couldn't be decorations where they were located. Perhaps they originally were to be used for something that would make sense ( in a more logical game place ), but that idea was discarded in the game, and the Level Devs used it as filler detail. The MMORPG would actually try to have all the Doo-hickeys and Thing-a-ma-bobs you SEE ( in the previous games ) make sense ( take it as a challenge ... ), particularly since Player Missions will include fixing up most of such things in various places. We would convert them into game things with a plausible purpose and function.
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A bunch of people who worked for Ryan did not seem to have much Loyalty to him ( with their assassination attempts and all - those ones shown pinned up on that wall leading to Rapture Central Control ). Consider that there were many hundreds more who worked for Ryan and Rapture, who WE have no evidence that they followed that path.
It seems a bit fabricated and idiotic (a case of 'The Plot Says So') that McDonagh thinks (in that Audio Diary) it is going to be better by handing Fontaine's Plasmid Manufacturing Facilities over to the thugs/criminals who worked with Fontaine, so they can hand Plasmids to Atlas's terrorists. BTW, Exactly WHO SHOULD Ryan be handing Fontaine Futuristics over to ? Especially since Fontaine probably was not one to share power with Anyone ? The Designers/Devs seem to have shoveled out the "Ryan is the Bad Guy" stuff pretty thick, with few real explanations of why Ryan did certain things, and suggest virtually no reasonable/likely/logical alternatives ( like earlier shutting Fontaine Futuristics down as a public health hazard (before the massive addiction started), Or maintaining/converting it to work on a Cure ...). Later a %27civil war%27 is raging, and Ryan is supposed to give up an equalizer ( control of Splicers/ Most of the ADAM Supply ), and let Atlas's army of Splicers take over Rapture instead ?? Madness.
It (the whole game) was all a setup/fabrication for the WYK Ryan swansong 'Twist', which is pretty "dim" ( a kinder word than "stupid" ) in itself. Ryan's character was UNLIKELY to be a *Surrender Monkey*, that being quite contradictory to all the other things explained about him in the game. This makes you think - How fast the 'Atlas Problem' really would have actually been over IF Ryan had offered 10000 ADAM to anyone taking Atlas "Dead or Alive" ( everyone seemed right-pleased to be gunning for Jack because of a 1000 ADAM Bounty -- so how long could Atlas hold out against such a Proscription ??? ) If anything, it would have curtailed alot of Fontaine/Atlas's activities while he was alive, as he would never know when he might turn around and get a shotgun blast in the chest/face. The Splicers whom he 'led', being insane, might not EVER be too trustworthy. It would just take one successful attempt, and then "Problem Solved". (( Pathetic. We need better writing than this from games - particularly a franchise they endlessly touted as being about 'Story'. ))
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The earlier Rapture technology used to build Hephaestus - vacuum tubes for electronics ( as transistors hadn't been invented yet by 1946, and even for quite a while were not available NOR trusted ) are highly resistant to EMP.
Also, Imagine if this EMP 'Bomb' went off and the power was shut down and the whole place was plunged into darkness (another missed opportunity). So there were backup batteries to power the doors and the remaining lights, etc ??? SO then there also would be backup batteries powering that ridiculous simpleton's door obstacle, and Jack would have to find some other way in. But since that didn't happen, perhaps it was really Ryan 'unlocking the door' to further his "Playing" of Fontaine.
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Door to 'Office of Andrew Ryan' - Wouldn't it have been smarter to have the electric locks and power conduits to them on the INSIDE of the door ?? Then cutting the power grid to disable them ( protected on the other side of the armored door ) would have made more sense, instead of leaving them outside where people who don't like Ryan could get at the mechanism ). WAS Done just for prettier looking scenery effects, I guess. Also, hadn't "deadbolts" been invented yet ???? ( But then, the Almighty Plot again gets in the way of any good logic ). So Ryan obviously wasn't as paranoid as they try to imply ( Heck, the Nitro in the Kyburz's office probably could have taken care of it directly, without need for any 'EMP Bomb' ). Just takes a little good writing to fix illogical stuff like this.
No sign of a 'Genetic' key input to lock/unlock that door/lock required for when Ryan had to go out of his 'Office'. But then ( according to the plot ) Jack supposedly would get past that ... Oops can't have that obviously required part of the lock work then.
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A Water Integrator ( Analog Computer - google it ) was used in Rapture's earliest days to calculate/control the Cities flow of hot heating water. It used a complex series of miniature pipes, valves, reservoirs thermometers/thermocouples to emulate and predict adjustments to the Cities Heating water flow. The City's large water pipes lost heat, and the further they went the more they lost. This analog computer was used to simulated the entire system, and to make decisions about needed adjustments/regulation. Remote actuators of valves/pumps throughout Rapture were then operated based on those decisions. Later, electronic versions were faster, more automated, and required less maintenance. A similar simulator was used to plan/predict Raptures electrical grid's operations, and perhaps its fresh water supply system.
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Some of the work areas in Hephaestus could have done with a lot more lighting ( which didn't have to all be on in the game's "ruined/wrecked" state, or many could have some flickering/sparking/etc ... ). I mean, it is not like they have a lack of electric power to properly light the place.
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A bunch of out of place ugly pipes near the ceiling in Hephaestus's main Bathysphere Station - They ruin the ambiance/aesthetics of the Station's decorations. Probably, they were quick-n-dirty repairs and add-ons during the %27civil war%27 period, when things HAD to be kept working ( though What important system of Hephaestus would have been located IN that Bathysphere Station ??? ). An attack by Atlas/Fontaine's murderous goons that close to Ryan's headquarters/the Critical Hephaestus facility likely did not get much further than the Bathysphere Station because of the ( what SHOULD have been there ) intense Security.
Really that was just 'dress up' added (by the level Dev) to an otherwise bland ceiling, in lieu of the likely decorations the place really SHOULD have had as Ryan's Technological showcase.
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Odd things seen out each side window of main Bathysphere Station -- Some kind of machinery with blue-green glowey feature. Blocks view, so why put floor-to-ceiling window just to see a blocked view ?? Not really decorative. Some later retrofit/repair ?? ( Again more 'dress up' ... )
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Those multi-storied buildings nearby in the window views - geothermal area is possibly NOT the most stable location for them to be ( particularly on/near seafloor cliffs ). Might be facilities of competing non-Ryan owned companies ( Hudson Power and Vulcan's Forge ). http://www.gamearchivist.com/rapture/img/museum/skyboxes/fullsize/Skybox_05_Engineering.jpg Ryan, there first, got the good spot, and the others got less advantageous positions (??)
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Mechanical Fun : 
What are all those big brass/bronze rotating wheel things ??? Those Big Wheels would be flywheels (??)
BTW (in Real Life) for pistons to drive each big wheel like that, there has to be two pistons per wheel -- Real World steam systems like locomotives usually require 2 linked pistons on the same axle/shaft being 90 degrees out of phase ( and they are double-sided pistons as well, pushing at different times in the rotation cycle - UNLIKE a car's piston system ). They are designed so they can 'start' properly at any point in the cycle, to operate in the required rotation direction.
Why 2 separate wheels moving in opposite directions ?? The 'wheel' Turning speed is irregular ( a problem solved 180 years ago utilizing valves invented at that time ). Level's Dev no doubt thought it would look 'neat' ( Steampunky ... ). They don't seem to understand how things like that really work ( this IS allegedly Sci-Fi Rapture, instead of BS Fantasy Purple-Unicorn/Harry-Potteresque Columbia ). Normal steam engine driven generators only need to run one direction and at a constant speed. Some kind of special double compressors might run opposite ( but that's usually unstable/over-complicated and not done in the Real World ). SO in MMORPG Rapture, THOSE machines would likely be 'fixed' with something more logical ( one big flywheel and 2 double pistons and then connected to something for the mechanical power they create ).
Possibly they are using Piston Cylinders linings made out of Ryanium reinforced ceramics, to handle the corrosive/abrasive nature of the water direct from the geothermal wells -- instead of some more complex (era) heat exchanger/steam dryers required for Steam Turbines ( which themselves definitely corrode and wear and clog ). Pistons are simpler and far cheaper to produce/repair, but have somewhat lower efficiency than Turbines ( BUT there IS an overabundance of geothermal steam available ). Materials used could be the product of Ryan's high-temperature (plasma) technologies, and could employ many cheap replacement molded ceramic parts. Machine replacement was expected many times over the lifetime of each small geothermal well/pump, and new ones added to continue being used as long as the City existed. The ceramic material is also an available resource, versus some harder to come-by specialty Steel Alloy being used for these machine's construction.
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More Observations :
Pneumatic (Vacuum) Subway : There originally ( very early days while constructing Rapture ) was a unique Pneumo Subway Tube connection -- a single specially-built tunnel and "Pneumatic Transport" mechanism link between Welcome Center ( very near the Bathysphere link to the Lighthouse ) and Hephaestus Administrative Offices to facilitate transporting important staff, including Ryan.
( http://ghostbusters.wikia.com/wiki/New_York_Pneumatic_Railroad - but no 'River of Slime' )
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=sfp&va=ghostbusters+subway+pneumatic
The abandoned project might still be seen ( and maybe the subject of a MMORPG 'Mission' ).
It would be built to quickly move Ryan and his important planners/supervisors/engineers back and forth in the days when they frequently commuted to the Surface World ( and first started living in the Hotel Monsenor ). That transport eventually failed when its single subway car kept jamming in the precisely cut (required for the vacuum to work) rock tunnel, probably when it iced up from the cold. A later system correction ( tunnel heating being retrofitted ) was made, but it later fell into disuse when the AE System was further along, and abandoned when City construction was completed (1952). The need for that route for its intended passengers was no longer relevant ( all the extensive AE and Bathysphere system was operational to many other places ).
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For the MMORPG, Hephaestus Plays a Big Role in THAT Story :
The Facility at Hephaestus was controlled by a Faction organized by Ryan's old bodyguards who were still loyal to him, even though he was 'dead'. Ryan had left specific instructions - "The Instructions in Case of my Death" of how he wanted things done. One of the most important was to try to keep Rapture alive. A number of the City engineers and the Power system technologists stayed at Hephaestus, maintained it and tried to do as much as possible to keep the rest of the City running. ( The damage to Core #3 done by Jack was actually a temporary overload ).
Alliances and cooperation with other Factions ( like the Brotherhood of Fishermen at Neptunes Bounty ) had been previously established to produce basic necessitates for the allied Factions and various other populations.
'Hephaestus' was one of the first big Factions to join New Rapture ( being controlled by Ryan's loyalists and with their standing orders to try to maintain the City ). It has the critical infrastructure resource which would DOOM large sections of Rapture if they failed ( It is a good thing some responsible people were in charge there -- how fast would the City have died with Sofia Lamb attempting to run (FAIL) that critical technical infrastructure ?? -- "Ordering it Done', isn't the same as 'Getting it Done' ).
Ryan's people also might still be able to call upon Ryan's Surface Organization for some assistance.
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Hephaestus would have its own oxygen generation systems ( part of its fail-safe capacities/safeguards ) which generate Oxygen (and Hydrogen) from water (H2O) using electricity ( which there is plenty of at Hephaestus ). There should also be emergency Oxygen stations throughout Rapture and all critical locations ( It is more effective to have them local in an emergency, instead of counting on it continuing to be piped miles across the City ).
Mass commercial Oxygen generation likewise would be elsewhere ( in-game Arcadia 'selling' Oxygen is mentioned by Langford ), but this emergency system type generation would have to compete with the Agricultural based method ( green plants which Rapture's farms had many of ), and for some of the industrial sites needing such volumes that they had intakes direct from the surface - in the shallower section further up the sea mount's (under sea volcano's) slopes.
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The Metal decorative theme for the whole Hephaestus level/complex has advantages in that any part of a wall's "plates" might be removable to give access to the machinery and conduits which are everywhere behind those walls. Systems that needed constant monitoring/inspection/repairs/maintenance would need to be left exposed, but other more robust system component could be so covered.
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The Bathysphere Station's original 'decorations' - columns of large pipes that seemingly go out the ceiling. The basic Theme for Hephaestus was industry. So THESE Can't really be part of real mechanisms, they are therefore 'for show' ( as might be many other things along the path of the 'Tours' ).
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Note the extensive (now here expanded/elaborated) facilities needed for the 'Bathysphere' operations. Simple evidence why they were NOT the equivalent of Automobiles ( or for use of most ordinary people ). For Rapture, only the richer fraction of the population could possibly afford to constantly use them ( thus the AE and my expanded Trolley_System for the majority's needs ). The Huge Inefficient Bathysphere facility : How long does it take for a 'Bathysphere' to dock/load/depart when there is a line of facility employees standing around waiting to be taken home 8 at a time ??? Apparent - Game writers who only think they know what a 'City' is (or simply don't care).
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One reason why this impractical Bathysphere system ( the one here using the cableways ) got going was it was built and used first for City Construction ( before the Atlantic Express system existed ), thus having much of its initial costs being paid for.
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Game Interface Weirdness - I've actually noticed this on every level : You just Shocked a Turret and are there next to it to hack it, and you GET the prompt for 'V' to do the Hacking. You (not moving) press that key and nothing happens. Some lame bug in the code -- probably was NOT intended to imply pointless 'difficulty' by simply lying to the Player and then creating frustration and then a cheap killing to 'Spice up the Game'. It is more a case of a bug - leading the Players into thinking the game's programmers were idiots/incompetent and had a general lack of Quality Assurance for their product ( companies skimping on Testing/Bug-Fixing is endemic in the whole software industry ). If you want game 'Difficulty', then add it to the mini-game instead of allowing a blatant interface bug.
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Playing the game on 'Hard' would have been much more difficult when you play for the First Time ( and don't know every spot something will jump out at you ). Imagine trying to do a 'speed run' without ever seeing the map before -- How very fatal it quickly would be. MUCH easier when you can employ the various tricks and traps (and such) to your advantage - largely useless if you don't have any pre-knowledge. Likewise, not being familiar with the game interface - kinda like Jack would be - never having used much of anything before he arrived.
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In Ryan's Hall of Power ( the Traitors Corpse display ) it is rather strange that there are solid/permanent/heavyweight spotlights shining on the ad hoc Trophy corpse displays ( instead of something a little less staged ). Not sure what might have previously been displayed there to warrant those spotlights for some previous purpose ( Employee Of The Month plaques ? ). Really, this is just more heavy-handed manipulation of the Player ( them dullard gamer bois the developers expect ), who are supposed to be horrified that Ryan might make an example of people who tried to Assassinate him ( AND when they are really people who betrayed Rapture by siding with a parasitically typical destroyer like Atlas, and the chaos and lawlessness that terrorist represented ( killing thousands in Rapture) --- Something the gamewriters DO NOT explain much at all ).
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Would Ryan have had his 'Trophy' Wall if it wasn't effective in keeping control of Splicers ? Actually if done AFTER the 'Pheromone Control' worked, maybe many of them are Assassins sent by Atlas and this is a demonstration to Atlas that HE (Ryan) wasn't giving up. Maybe it is Ryan's promise that Atlas would eventually prominently be 'up on that wall'. A good reason why Atlas now needed Jack.
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OFFICE OF ANDREW RYAN (sign)
You see this after exiting the Bathysphere -- When the path leads to ALL of Hephaestus. Do they think the Players are THAT feeble that they can't explore a little and 'find the way' ? ( as if they don't already have a HUD arrow pointing them always in the 'right' direction ? ) without needing to be led like cattle through the slaughterhouse ramps ? Apparently, yes.Players needing being 'Led by the nose' - Perhaps the gamemakers 2007 still had the mindset of those older games with their long generic maze-like levels ?? 
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That catwalk above the end of Upper Heat Loss Control ( where the Safe is ) is a nice place to kill a Big Daddy to take one Little Sister - though you have to get down on the main floor to set up and get it to chase you - Which can lead to you messing up that climb up ( ramp of pipes against the wall ) and having the Big Daddy pounding on you. Various weapons fired from where it cannot physically reach you makes it much less hectic than the usual fight.
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Electromagnetic Pulse Bomb ??? : Unfortunately it (oops) took out Jack's Radio too and fried all the Audio Diaries, and shut the lights, heat and air off in that vicinity. Vita Chambers probably got whacked by it also. And now the electrically activated doors don't open. Something Not Quite 'thought out' by the game authors ( If they actually knew what the EMPEMP - Electro Magnetic Pulse effect really does ). Jack has also probably already killed everyone who could make repairs. So Ryan with his own generators and battery backups is now still there alive, with no need to 'fake his own death' ( and Fontaine is out of options and is destroyed at last ).
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There might have been a junkyard located nearby Hephaestus, except that the design for machinery would have been made to facilitate recycling and remanufacturing all the equipment ( continuously used equipment in extreme environments do wear out quickly ). 
An example - the last generation of small Geothermal Generating units ( placed all across the Plains of Hades ) which wear constantly due to corrosion and abrasive sediments in the Subterranean (boiling) hot water, they would largely be made of cast metal and ceramics easily replaced/recycled. Rapture was built to last, and Hephaestus was the City's Heart.
The junk yard WOULD have been well picked over for salvage and any useful parts would have been removed.
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With Ryan already knowing that Jack was Atlas's (Fontaine's) pawn ( and Ryan now setting up his own plot 'Twist' ), all the important personnel required to operate Hephaestus and the Ryan Security units ( who would be there if anywhere in the city ) would be moved out of Jack's path. This would allow for the face-to-face 'confrontation', and the playacting of Ryan's 'death', which would then follow Ryan's plan to finally GET Atlas/Fontaine.
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The 'hill'/mound that Core #3 is embedded in is made of the piled up mineral precipitation from a rather large natural geothermal 'vent'. When the superheated water from far below containing dissolved minerals hit the cold seawater, the minerals would precipitate out and coat the nearest surfaces. The mound would grow for centuries/millennia/eons upward as the accretion grew. The size of this vent made it a likely choice for one of the city's first geothermal power generating units ( and an easier indicator for the surveys Ryan had first done to find such a site ). It was probably the indicator feature first seen by Ryan's Surveys, when he was searching for Raptures location ( Who knows for how many years before, it would take time -- this isn't Infinite BS with its *instant* things getting done to fit some poorly contrived FORCED 'story' timeline ).
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The irregularities of the 'Core' buildings ( at least what you see ) would likely denote the rush to get them built in Rapture's early construction period, as does the fact that the rock inside was not hollowed out completely before the core buildings' shells were lowered into place. ( Most later buildings had all the rock removed down to their foundation levels - that process was later more straight-forward and not that complicated/expensive ). The 'filler' cement work wedging the core shell structure into the bedrock also is thicker from the cruder gaps cut into the rock. With experience that process got more efficient for later construction.
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There are 'ruins' of old generation units around this complex, some which had deteriorated since the earlier times they had been built and used ( well over a decade by BS1's time ). The geothermal installations subsequently were spread out around a larger seabed area so as to have each 'well' not interfere with others nearby, like some of the early ones likely did. The three large 'Cores' were built very early, and it was found that many more shallower small wells had less complications ( and fewer operation/maintenance problems ).
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There does seem to be alot of rock left around Hephaestus for 'ambiance', rather than need. There is no reason it wouldn't have been cleaned up except for looks (even some sections 'glued in place' against the walls of the reinforced concrete which is REQUIRED to have the proper structural strength for the building. "Geothermal Control" weirdly had some huge blocks HANGING up above, embedded in the structure ( even just floating held up by columns ) - Useless as 'decoration', and a hindrance to the facilities construction ( and actually a liability ). Rock can be easily removed in that day's technology, so there is no excuse for it being there ( except as the Level Developer's level 'filler' ). That particular room also has a needlessly tall (empty) ceiling ABOVE that mass of rock in question.
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In the MMORPG, Core #2 actually lies sideways ( instead of upright like #1 and the huge #3 Core ). Apparently the geological formation ( mound of mineral deposit from the large natural vent ) wasn't structurally stable enough at the site chosen. The machinery and building did not have to have that upright axial design the other two 'Cores' had.
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The interior of Core #3 is quite wasteful of space ( all that interior rock is nonsense, and actually would get in the way of construction ), and its 'being built in a hurry' can't quite justify it all. To justify it : It was designed as a showcase to show off the innovative "Geothermal Power" which is Rapture's heart. Thus all the rock the people can touch, the steam they can see, feel and hear, and all the machinery at work.
--- --- --- --- ---
==Those Audio Diaries==
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"Scoping the Gate" - Treason from Morons ? (Audio Diary Hephaestus) :
Hephaestus, Kyburz : "I spent the afternoon trying to get as close to Ryan's gate as possible without making a spectacle of myself... He's got it shielded six ways till Easter. There's no way into that place. All I got for my trouble was the hairy eyeball from Ryan's Splicer mates. That's the reward you get for trying to outsmart the best electrical engineer of our generation."
Yeah so does Kyburz somehow think Atlas will run the place after they ( the story's fabricated traitors ) kill Ryan ? How stupid this plot gets just to facilitate that lame "I am your surrender monkey father Luke" plot twist thing. NO, your death is the reward you get for letting yourself be warped into a fricking idiot by game writers Kyburz.
But then it is a "shooter game" - What do you expect ?? ( Though they did endlessly tout themselves for BioShock having 'story' ). The Nostalgia element I think trumped the story by far in giving the game its 'feeling'.
BTW, Its not like writing it logically would have cost any more, or to have it done with different text/verbiage these recorded voice Assets - the game things which are used most to tell so much of "The Story".
So when did this recording happen ? Splicer Mates ? After the Pheromone Control ? Low level security is all Ryan could really use these 'Splicers' for ( because of their instability ), while his 'sane' competent Security men were trying to track down Atlas.
Similarly : "shielded six ways till Easter" meant there would be additional locks on the INSIDE ( and the electric on battery powered from INSIDE ). And since Ryan was at home, ALL those additional locks would be engaged ( and be backed up by more Security Devices than anywhere else in Rapture ).
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Audio Diary - Genetic Arms Race :
Hephaestus, McDonagh : "I begged Mr. Ryan to hand Fontaine Futuristics over to Atlas' boys as a peace offering, but the stupid sod won't listen to reason. 'Stead he's just splicing his mob up, giving them more and tougher Plasmids. There's an arms race on here in Rapture, but it's not about who can build the best guns and the biggest bombs. It's about who can become less of a man and more of a monster ..."
The REAL "stupid sod" is McDonagh for basically saying that he told Ryan to give terrorists more weapons as a 'peace offering', and Ryan didn't accept it. The illogic of that seems lost to McDonagh ( and maybe the writers -- or do they really think you win-over ruthless people by surrendering/giving them weapons ?? ). Then McDonagh goes on about Ryan having to Splice his own men to deal with the threat against the City by 'Fontaines Boys'. The Novel author at least gave a plausible reason why McDonagh defected ( his family ... and he was leaving when he thought Rapture was going to collapse because of the %27civil war%27 and the Splicer menace).
So McDonagh wants Atlas and his murderers to win instead ? He not only changes sides, but decides to murder Ryan to give victory to the terrorists ... I find this to be some of the most ILLOGICAL and CONTRIVED stuff in the whole game. So McDonagh wants to give Fontaine Futuristics to Atlas as well ??? WHY ? Is he ADAM_Addled by the time he records that ??? "Fontaine" is supposed to be dead and 'Atlas' has no claim on that property ( If this is somehow some illogic that 'giving it back' because the 'Seizing' he thinks was the cause of the misnamed 'Civil War'. )
Ryan actually would have had the support of most of the population of Rapture, who came TO RAPTURE to get away from people like Atlas. It is a major plothole in BioShock's (the writers') laid out reality, that little such Citizen support is shown for Ryan in the game - AND we hear only from that bunch of Betrayers, like McDonagh. Bad writing is when you preserve one particular 'scene' and then have to warp the rest of the story out of reasonableness.
As mentioned elsewhere : Ryan probably wouldn't want to have his Security Men "Spliced" because of the mental instability it causes. Superior weapons and tactics and organization were already shown to be effective ( Neptune's_Bounty_Shootout). Ryan does NOT NEED more crazy people to deal with.
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Audio Diary - "Stopping Ryan" (More Illogical Turncoat McDonagh) :
Hephaestus, McDonagh : "I never killed a man, let alone a mate. But this is what things come to. I don't know if killing Mr. Ryan will stop the war, but I know it won't stop while that man breathes. I love Mr. Ryan. But I love Rapture. If I have to kill one to save the other, so be it."
More bullshit plot fartings. Why not "the 'war' will stop when Atlas is dead" ? When the murderous anarchists and their instigators are done away with ?? SO the insane anarchists will just fade away ?? So Rapture will be 'saved by destroying its principle core of order (Ryan) ? How stupid/crazy did someone have to be to think this way ? ( Just look around at people in our current World ... ) (( So easy to 'write' such testimony, without any consideration about reality being required. The term "Hack Writing" was coined for stuff like this. ))
Seriously, the 'Twist' in the plot ( "OMG, it is actually ATLAS who be de ebil one !!!!! ... Hurrr Hurrrr, Derp !!!! " ) was NOT worth all this illogical story garbage.
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Audio Diary - Ryan Takes Fontaine Futuristics :
Hephaestus, McDonagh : "Ryan nationalized Fontaine Futuristics -- He owns it now, lock, stock and barrel. For the good of the city, he says. He'll break it up in due time, he says. I've resigned from the Council and lodged me letter of protest, but that's just pissing in the wind. It'll be war, I say... unless somebody stops Ryan, and right fast."
Has McDonagh been sniffing plumbers glue again ?? This is sophomoric ' feeb ' storytelling, done simply to vilify Ryan. SO this ADAM Addiction is a Myth ? (to McDonagh ?) Or did some Fontaine's "heirs" step forward to take over and run that company ( and it was denied by ebil Ryan ... ) ? He hasn't even waited to see if Ryan did what he said he would do once things got stabilized ( Note - Atlas leading a bunch of anarchist/terrorists is murdering people and imperiling Rapture RIGHT as McDonagh HERE 'runs away' ). That is just insulting (from the gamewriters) for someone who was supposed to be intelligent/responsible, to suddenly do a 180 ( THERE IS ALOT OF THAT in this contrived storyline ). SO, instead of demanding that Ryan keep his word ( giving him time to do so ), McDonagh abandons Rapture, surrendering/abandoning it and the People in it : To what HE does NOT believe in.
Is it any wonder that Ryan was left alone to make decisions to save his City, when this lame-assed story has everyone so easily abandon him and Rapture ?
Audio Diary - A Man or a Parasite :
Audio Diary - Fontaines Legacy
... evidence of McDonagh's PREVIOUS stability BEFORE his odd 'About Face' ...
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Audio Diary - "Assassin" :
Hephaestus, Anya Andersdotter : "Me. An assassin... that's rich. I could have gone along, I suppose. Spliced up, forgot. I believed in this place. I believed in Ryan. But when it got hard, Ryan didn't believe in Rapture, didn't believe in the Great Chain. He believed in power. And now this place is busto. And my girl is... gone... worse than gone... one of those... things. So am I an assassin? ...Well, only one way to find out."
When is this recorded ? Blaming Ryan for what Fontaine ( children turned into Little Sisters, the many crimes that WERE exposed ) and Atlas (an anarchist/terrorist) did ??? Is this Ryan's War_Measures again being whined about ( no mention here of Atlas and the destruction and loss of life HE had done to the City to make them necessary ). Another ADAM_Addled brain spouting illogic ? ( It is Convenient that there are no contrary 'Audio Diaries' evidence in this 'setup' - Just keep beating the Player 'over the head' with this contrived stuff ).
So when do we get to hear what the majority of the Citizens thought ? OOOPS ... THAT Didn't fit with the writer's planned story warpage/contrivance/'Twist' - So such testimony isn't/can't be there to inform you of what REALLY happened ( and be representative of what REAL people of that time WOULD HAVE THOUGHT ). (( It is Classic hack writing, making the (Presentism) mistake of having people from a different time period be made to think like they do TODAY. ))
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Poorly Explained Treason :
All of these people in BS1 who have turned against Ryan - Have they been taking ADAM ? Addictions ? How much is this rejection of Ryan really is the product of ADAM insanity ? Many Audio Diaries are recorded fairly normal sounding, even when the person says they've been 'splicin'. So instead of the writers' backhanded putdown of Capitalism, and Individuality, and the desire for a Parasite-free Society, they use these contrived biased game incidents as their 'evidence'. BUT MAYBE if you consider the ADAM involvement ... It more plausibly would be MORE caused by the 'coked-up' ADAM_Addled brains of these unfortunate people, who more often than not have made very stupid decisions ( like assuming everything will be OK when Ryan is dead and 'Atlas' is in charge ... ). So many of them would not have been chosen to come to Rapture if they didn't believe in Ryan's Philosophy ( and the actions required to protect it ) that this anecdotal evidence would be atypical - a minority of people in Rapture. We REALLY needed a better explanation for even these Diary recorders suddenly doing such a reversal.
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Radio Msg - 'Termite at Versailles' 
Ryan : "Imagine the will it took to create a place like this. And what have you built ? Nothing. You can only loot and break. You're not a man, you're just a termite at Versailles."
Going with the (my) Epic Twist, Ryan here is just testing Jack to see how he reacts. Unfortunately Jack never says anything -- Perhaps never learned, as he IS after all only 4 years old ( and probably well ADAM_Addled by then too ). Other things had been more important for Fontaine to have him 'conditioned for' - or rather 'programmed' ( like the ability to shoot guns and slaughter people ).
!!! Another 'Flashback' (Player activity) for the MMORPG would be : the whole 'training the pawn' conditioning experience which Jack was put through ( some by Suchong, perhaps with more done 'up on the surface' ). 
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Radio Msg - Another man - "A Miracle" 
Ryan : "A man builds a city at the bottom of the sea. That's a marvel. Another man happens to be on a plane that crash lands on the same city in the middle of the ocean. Why, that sounds more like ... a miracle."
(More) Evidence that Ryan knew what was happening with Jack - of Fontaine's plan in progress ( How would Atlas know/arrange it all IF he wasn't really Fontaine ? ) It is all there on Ryan's WYK clue board in his office's ante chamber.
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Kill the Son of a Bitch (Radio Message)
Atlas (Hephaestus): "Now, Would You Kindly head to Ryan's office and kill the son of a bitch ? It's time to finish this."
You might as well Moo ( You are on the cattle slaughterhouse ramps leading to the abatoir ) for all the choice you have been given in the game. The lies stacked up, the willful bias of all evidence forced upon you ( even sad mood music to reinforce the misleading 'poor poor' Atlas stuff ). All paths lead to murdering Ryan. Unfortunately, they saw no real need to offer evidence of a more conflicting story to the Player, who's real interest is largely the 'fun' of just slaughtering things and getting new destructive toys to play with. "YOU are ignorant", "You are knowing only what WE choose to tell you" -- No matter how dishonest and contrived that all really is.
In the end, it is merely window-dressing for a Slaughterfest game, which really could have been made to be much more than it was.
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Massive Core Machinery ( which makes no real sense ) : 
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But, they needed some centerpiece for their plot, so we got this odd thing.
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