The Mobula

[Lord Dick Tim]

I got it, the whale shark.

[Papa Paradox]

That thing...
looks like Lumberjack Bait in an instant...

Not really, seeing as how a LJ shot arcs it would be hitting hull before balloon, so it really boils down to how strong they make the balloon.

[Machiavelliest]

Looks almost invincible against balloon poppers.  Since carronades don't elevate down anymore and the Lumberjack fires in an arc, there's no way to hit its balloon if it's down on the ground.  Not to mention that the impact damage will be hitting the balloon, not the ground, so killing it via grounding would be a nightmare.  Also, are those panels armor to protect things or are they control surfaces?  Rudders have pretty much been non-existent on ships so far.

If you're anywhere from its 10 to 2, you'll be taking triple medium weapon fire.  Looks pretty badass.

Names: +1 Hovercraft
Cathedral or Abbey because of that gold trim
Whale because its underbelly does look whale-ish, but that would give Dick Tim too much satisfaction, I think.
 
This seems to reinforce the gat/flak as the dominant meta concept, too.

[Serenum]

5 weapons all on the same side?
I'm guessing the ones on the right and the left will have a limited firing arc so that being able to fire with all 5 on the same enemy is going to be tricky. Maybe all the weapons are going to be light ones?

[Arthem White]

Wow, just... 

I guess it's hard to believe, but the reveal of the Manta Ray is extremely spooky for me.

Why? Well, I was thinking of doing a fanart project / ship mockup. And it was extremely similar to the Manta Ray!

My one was supposed to be called Stingray, and was supposed to have a very low balloon (not exactly under the ship, but rather in the middle, surrounded by the two ray "wings" that made the deck). The similarities kind of end there, though. My one would've been an Arashi League ship, designed to "hug the ground" and attack from below (the lore had to do with desert camouflage and striking convoys emerging from the dunes). It had three guns, one medium on the back, pointing forward and 30 degrees upwards (to bring enemies to the ground level) and two guns aiming backwards, designed to harpoon and tow enemies, hitting them against the rocks.

I might go on with the mockup anyway because it's quite different to the way I think the Manta Ray will play (The MR looks like a heavy, tank-ish forward hitting ship, while my idea was closer to squid levels of maneuverability, except with some focus on ramming and a special role of being very very close to the ground).

the MR looks awesome by the way, can't wait to try it!

[Machiavelliest]

5 weapons all on the same side?
I'm guessing the ones on the right and the left will have a limited firing arc so that being able to fire with all 5 on the same enemy is going to be tricky. Maybe all the weapons are going to be light ones?

Firing all five weapons on a single target will indeed be tricky with a crew of four.

[Serenum]

5 weapons all on the same side?
I'm guessing the ones on the right and the left will have a limited firing arc so that being able to fire with all 5 on the same enemy is going to be tricky. Maybe all the weapons are going to be light ones?

Firing all five weapons on a single target will indeed be tricky with a crew of four.

...yeah, that too...

[N-Sunderland]

From the looks of it all the weapons are light ones. Also, as Paradox said, as long as this thing keeps lower than the other ship the lumberjack's arc is going to make it very hard to land hits on the balloon.

If those turning engines are the only things making this monster rotate, it's gonna have a considerably lower turning speed than any other ship.

[Machiavelliest]

Okay, am I Starbucks-ing this and making Light and Medium weapons Medium and Heavy?  I thought the Hwacha was a heavy, the Artemis a medium.

[N-Sunderland]

It used to be small and medium, but now it's light and heavy.

[Sgt. Spoon]

Definately looks like a weapons platform, from what we've seen I'm guessing this is a Chaladon ship, has a late Victorian British empire feel to it.

Really feels like a Guild ship if you ask me

...just looking at it now, man 5 light guns. That's gonna be though getting effective

[teweedo]

I love the base and concept design however I am definitely not a fan of the underballoon only.

This ship would be 10 times more awesome than it already is by having a regular balloon on top (in addition to the belly balloon)

Also, for balance purpose I think one of the 5  front gun should be put to the rear.

4 gun front is already enough firepower on its own and needs to balance it out a little bit. Having both side as a weakness is already harsh.

[RearAdmiralZill]

Judging from the arcs, it'll be roughly like a pyra but with diagonal arcs. The upper gun looks like it wont get much use, unless there is a component or the inner side guns have a good overlapping arc. Then you could make that a dedicated gun and the two outer guns as utility.

Seeing all the ladders going down plus all the tunnels, i think hull and balloon will be downstairs.

Engines look funny to me in the picture. Like one is top deck and one is lower deck. And no main. Perhaps it's 2 main engines instead of 1 main and 2 turning?

For all you guys saying the balloon is nigh invincible, I think its actually quite exposed down there. Both lumberjack and Carronades have high upward arcs, so getting under this guy will be a death sentence for it's gasbag. Sure getting low would help, but your guns better have good arcs then.

[maitreya]

Well, it has a design feel not dissimilar to the pyramidion or galleon; however the only other ship to feature rear-rudders has been the junker not to mention the similar bow. It also has a relatively utilitarian feel, once stripped of the gold it has What appear to be small cranes towards the wide open back for cargo on a stable platform.

[N-Sunderland]

Judging from the arcs, it'll be roughly like a pyra but with diagonal arcs. The upper gun looks like it wont get much use, unless there is a component or the inner side guns have a good overlapping arc. Then you could make that a dedicated gun and the two outer guns as utility.

Engines look funny to me in the picture. Like one is top deck and one is lower deck. And no main. Perhaps it's 2 main engines instead of 1 main and 2 turning?

You're looking at it wrong. The engine on the left is attached to the raised platform. The other turning engine is being blocked by the platform. So you might need a guy staying up to shoot and keep the main engine going, but this doesn't look like a ship where the engines will see much abuse.

Seeing all the ladders going down plus all the tunnels, i think hull and balloon will be downstairs.

Agreed on the hull, but not the balloon. I think the thing sitting next to the platform (not far from the main engine) is the balloon.