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[DEPRECIATED] UPDOWG MK4 - HUSKY CLASS - A Universal Cargo Container

The latest and greatest from the LIMBO Hanger on Triton, we are proud to introduce you Universal Payload Delivery Operating Without Gantry or U.P.D.O.W.G. for short.

I started out with this build with no real direction other than "I want a cargo container." I found myself trying to build a ship in a survival play through some friends and I are doing and I just couldn't get the build I wanted while incorporating some decent cargo while looking good and having further expandable options. I decided to scrap the ship for now and switch to building the cargo unit that would fit into it. It started out with a basic looking hull, some connectors at either end and 2 medium cargos in the center. Believing that wasn't enough, and I was still in a ship building mood, I added hydrogen thrusters and tanks. Since this ship was technically flyable, I added a drone controller and antenna. As it was coming together I thought it would be fun to have these daisy-chainable, so I added some small merge blocks on the tops and bottoms with small connectors.

Thus, the U.P.D.O.W.G. was born. As you can see, this is my MK4 version. You won't ever see the previous generations as they had a lot of issues, but I feel I really nailed it with the MK4. I traded the merge blocks for just more small connectors. Merge blocks have this tendency to make your grids join together and the naming gets all screwy. I also made the MK4 slightly bigger than its older siblings and was able to substantially improve the fuel reserves and expand the cargo inventory.

Each U.P.D.O.W.G. can work independently of and help each other. To make this work with my groups and buttons, I had to do something a little weird. Now, I'm a long time player of this game but I've never dived this deep into ship subsystems and control before, so if you find a better way to do what I'm trying to do here, please let me know.

Every U.P.D.O.W.G. MUST, have a unique 'Serial' designation. The grid name is irrelevant as far as I know but inside the control panel you will find many block items with [SNOOPY] next to the part name. The 'SNOOPY' in this case is the ship's serial designation. To ensure each U.P.D.O.W.G. can work independently of others, you must go into the control panel and rename every 'SNOOPY' in brackets to something else and all parts must have the same serial number.

The process is something like this...

1. Control panel rename every [SNOOPY] to [ENTER NEW SERIAL HERE]. MAKE SURE TO CHECK HIDDEN PARTS!
2. Delete all the groups with the old serial designation.
3. Rebind the buttons on the sides of the U.P.D.O.W.G. to the newly named groups.
4. Get into a control seat and remote into the U.P.D.O.W.G. and rebind the hotbar.
5. In the APBs on the U.P.D.O.W.G. I added the name of the unit to the KEYBOARD LCD on the sides. You can change these to the new serial or whatever you like really.
6. Enjoy your new U.P.D.O.W.G.! Make sure to fuel it up and enjoy having a mobile cargo unit.



I saw a lot of talk on forums and reddit about having some sort of community standard for cargo units. While I am very proud of this build, I don't expect you to refit and retool all your vessels to incorporate the U.P.D.O.W.G. form factor. However, if you are starting up a new Survival play through I would love to hear and see what you do with them. A friend of mine already built a mining vessel that incorporates the U.P.D.O.W.G. and is finishing a cargo hauler using U.P.D.O.W.G.s as it's main cargo containers. I'm planning on using the U.P.D.O.W.G. as my trading carrier. why try and struggle to dock your whole ship to a trading port when you can just undock your U.P.D.O.W.G. and fly it down!

I am also working on expanding the utility of the U.P.D.O.W.G. form factor. Technically, you can fit just about anything inside them after you remove the cargo containers. I have visions of new 'Classes' of U.P.D.O.W.G. Currently, I only have the HUSKY - CARGO CLASS U.P.D.O.W.G. but I can see putting a large H2 tank in there for a fuel carrier unit. Maybe the U.P.D.O.W.G. can be fit for a survival kit with the basics to get a survival playthrough started. Just an engineer and their U.P.D.O.W.G.

I hope you enjoy the MK4 and I am eager to see you projects, builds and iterations!

KNOWN ISSUES:
I got a little excited with posting the blueprint. I have discovered a few issues I can fix in the next update...

-The on board projector does not project in the right orientation.
-There is a typo in one of the serial brackets.

**Demo ship shown is Cepheus X-1 Finch - Fighter by Major Jon**