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iCUBE (320k) Vanilla / SS

For a Reforged Eden version of the iCUBE, look here: iCUBE (640k) RE

The iCUBE or 'Inventory Cube' comes stock with 320k of storage. As a CV it is mobile (yes - it flies!), upgradeable, modular, and highly versatile. Can be used powered-down for long term cold storage, or flown to transport goods between properties, or even used as a temporary mobile mini-base. Easy to build material requirements and a 26m factory production time.

The iCUBE has docking mounts on the bottom and top, allowing you to store them wherever you want, and even transport them on/under other CVs. They will also dock neatly to each other, allowing you to fly two at once. The small footprint (5x4x7) means it fits easily in many spaces. Removing the front light and LCD panels reduces the size to 5x4x6.

Due to it's design it is a very space efficient storage medium when nestled against other iCUBEs, or stacked vertically (or both). And because it is a CV it won't trigger base attacks. Because of it's shape it can easily mount top turrets, right/left/rear small solar panels, and ground-level devices (see screenshots), effectively turning it into a mini-base wherever you need one.

When using as long-term storage, turn the power completely off on the iCUBE. Wireless (and physical) access will still work perfectly fine.

• 4 bottom thrusters / 3 rear thrusters, 2 front thrusters, and 1 on top/right/left
  
• Airtight cockpit (ground accessible, flown in 3rd person) with storage and fridge access
  
• The 320k Storage Controller is accessible both inside and outside the cockpit
  
• Two generators upgradeable to Large versions (3x1x1 spaces, access from bottom of ship)
  
• Two front LCD panels allow you to make notes about storage type, role type, etc.
  
• Three small fuel tanks, fridge and wireless
  
• Enough CPU available for upgrades

• All rear/bottom facing thrusters can be replaced with their medium variants without increasing the ship's footprint (size).
  
• Space for two additional rear thrusters and one more downward thruster (all can be small or medium) is provided.
  
• Ship flies well as currently configured, but benefits from more down/rear thrust the heavier the load, or the thicker the atmosphere. Adjust turn rates as needed in UI.
  
• A jump drive, shield and pentaxid tank will fit on the roof/back/bottom of the ship (whatever placing you need), giving it warp and defensive capability.
  
• Recommend upgrading the generators to large versions (1x1x3) for power needs with larger devices.
  
• If you need space for a CPU upgrade, there is a reserved block to the right of the fridge in the cockpit (marked with a X) that can be removed/replaced with a T2 Extender.

To avoid 1 hour assembly times, feed these CV parts into the factory:

• 1 Core
  
• 45 Carbon Composite Blocks (Lg)
  
• 1 Shutter Windows (Lg)
  
• 12 Small Thrusters
  
• 2 Small Generators & 3 Fuel Tanks (T1)
  
• 1 Ventilator & 1 Small O2 Tank
  
• 1 Detector & 1 Wireless Connection
  
• 39 Container Extensions & 1 Container Controller
  
• 1 Fridge & 1 Cockpits CV
  
• 2 Landing Gear & 1 Shutter Door
  
• 2 LCD Screens & 1 Light

The iCUBE has retractable (flush mounted) landing gear on both the top and bottom, meaning you can land on a flight deck to dock, or on the underside of a CV to do the same. If you dock several to the underside of a CV (like with the HGM screenshots) you can simply land that CV on top of the iCUBEs, turning them into makeshift landing platforms that don't require undocking.

You can easily dock a second iCUBE on top of another, and then fly the bottom iCUBE for double carrying capacity. Be sure to keep an eye on how much weight both are holding - the bottom (flying) iCUBE may need thruster additions/upgrades to pull this off properly.

If you dock one or more iCUBEs to a CV for transport, that CV will need to undock all iCUBEs before it can dock itself (as is the case in the screenshots with the Helios Garden Module). Simply landing them on the ground or a deck and docking them there allows the ship that carried them to then dock with another. The golden docking rule: ships can only have one docking parent, and cannot dock if they have ships docked to them.


The fastest way to access all of your nearby iCUBE inventories is via Wireless (through the inventory panel's dropdown menu). To make it even easier, I recommend re-naming your iCUBE CVs with meaningful information - just like you might for a storage container. As an example, rename "iCUBE (320k) Vanilla" to something like "iCUBE (320k) Zascosium", and you will instantly know what it holds when using the wireless interface. No more looking inside each one to see what you stashed there.

If you instead rely on visual cues, each iCUBE has two LCD panels you can easily put your own inventory labels on. Or if you use the iCUBE for something else (like a mini-base), you can use one of the two LCDs to indicate that instead.


One of the iCUBE's modular abilities is high-density storage (lots of them in a small space). A screenshot on the blueprint's page shows 20 iCUBEs very tightly packed (nested) together, with the ability to go even higher with a second level above the first. Storage volume in the screenshot is 6.4 million - adding a second level of iCUBEs (giving 40 total) would take that to 12.8 million in a fairly small space.

If you want to reproduce this and plan on the iCUBEs staying there for long-term storage, it is recommended you remove the two LCD panels and single Light on the front of each iCUBE. Empyrion counts even these thin blocks as full size, which interferes with nesting and getting them tight together. All of the iCUBEs in the screenshot mentioned (except those facing outward) have had this modification made.


You know - I actually took a swing at coloring them similarly, but there just isn't enough space to get the colors right. Otherwise they might have been named very differently. ;)


"teakeycee" for his Storage Ball CV, which was my original inspiration for a mobile storage CV with expanded roles.

Allessia for her wonderful line of ships for Empyrion (the Helios Garden Module is the ship featured in the screenshots here).

jrandall for his work on the Helios-MSC carrier (and all other authors of that carrier line and it's modules).


Covered by the Creative Commons 4.0 International License[creativecommons.org]:

• You can freely alter and repost this blueprint without restriction.
  
• Attribution[wikipedia.org] must be given and contain a link to the original.