Empyrion: an atypical HV

This is a solar-powered HV (with noisy backup fuel generators).

It's only made of steel and armored glass, intended to be attainable fairly early, but space was allotted for a shield generator and pentaxid tank as upgrades.

Armored glass was used wherever possible in place of steel blocks, since it has the same mass but TRIPLE the hitpoints, not as much as Hardened Steel blocks but a very good mass-to-durability compromise.

And on the underside, a surprise: a small access panel that opens to reveal a secret access point to the cockpit. The cockpit can be targeted and entered in spite of the sensor block being there.

This is handy because, at maximum hover height of 3 meters, even the longest ramps are unable to reach the ground, so this provides a means to get back in the cockpit without having to briefly use a jetpack when the HV was exited mid-flight without first settling it.

There are access panels and ramps both port and starboard, making good use of the new airtight ramp models.

The interior cabin is a bit cramped, but it has all the essentials including a cloning chamber.

I play with the mass/volume limit disabled, so it has more than a dozen cargo containers; it would be challenging to refit it for fewer containers with extensions, as most of the other devices would have to be relocated to accommodate the contiguous cargo extensions, but it would be feasible. If that were done, most of the interior flooring could also be replaced with extensions.

Of course, I mod the game, else the solar panels wouldn't be possible. I've also made it possible to attach the water-oxygen generators to structures so that they can hitch a ride... a truly portable source of those essentials. Even with nine generators it's not a massive amount of either, but it's certainly enough to keep you from asphyxiating and have some fusion fuel cells and advanced medication handy.

Hope you enjoyed the brief tour....