Mother Base (Caribbean)

Mother Base was an off-shore plant located on the Carribbean Sea that the Militaires Sans Frontières used as a base of operations in 1974.

Construction
The plant was originally built by an American university for use as a research platform for Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), with some assistance from the U.S. Government. It was also originally planned for it to link up with similar facilities if it succeeded. However, they were unable to solve the thermal efficiency problem, so the project was ultimately scrapped. Shortly thereafter, the plant fell into the hands of KGB agent Vladimir Zadornov, who was speculated to have bought the plant through a dummy company. The plant was also designed to link up with other OTEC plants, indicating an intention to expand the plant.

In November 1974, Zadornov (posing as University of Peace Professor Ramón Gálvez Mena) offered the off-shore plant to the Militaires Sans Frontières in exchange for their services in Costa Rica. It was originally rusted and the main occupants were seagulls. However, the MSF managed to refurbish the newly-dubbed "Mother Base," eventually upgrading the design to include a hexagon-based design. Over time, its size grew and the plant essentially became a country in itself. Throughout their mission, Mother Base also received items that the MSF soldiers and Big Boss himself could not carry with them due to not having enough room.

Mother Base was nearly the target of a nuclear strike by the unmanned Peace Walker weapon, initiated by CIA Station Chief Hot Coldman. However, the plant was inadvertently saved when Zadornov betrayed Coldman and changed the target to Cuba. In addition, most of the MSF headed to Nicaragua to help their commander Big Boss thwart Coldman's plans, with Huey Emmerich remaining at the base's command tower with a skeleton crew. Huey later used the equipment in the command center to hack into the communications links of NORAD and the Pentagon, after Coldman leaked false data to the organizations.

A short time later, Pacifica Ocean hijacked Metal Gear ZEKE from Mother Base's hangar, under the orders of Cipher, but was defeated by the MSF not long after. A very brief point afterwards, a missile raid was conducted on Mother Base, which the MSF successfully thwarted.

Ground Zeroes
At an unspecified point afterwards, the Mother Base was due to be visited by UN nuclear inspectors for a routine inspection (presumably under Cipher's influence). Because of this, as well as the timing of it being the same time that Paz was captured and detained by her former employers, Cipher, Big Boss had to infiltrate Camp Omega in order to retrieve her for interrogation, as well as rescue Chico who had somehow gotten himself captured.

Aftermath
Years later, the MSF, then known as "Outer Heaven," would later relocate their main base of operations to South Africa.

Pre-hexagonal design
When Mother Base was first received by the MSF, it consisted of three square struts, patterned in a manner similar to a triangle. The top-right most strut contained a cargo elevator, two hangar areas, and a small rectangular black building. The top-left most strut contained three hangars, two miniature towers, a large white rectangular building, and a smaller, longer rectangular building. The bottom-most strut contained a heliport as well as an immense tower that also had an, albeit fairly basic, satellite dish on the roof.

Shortly after assembling enough manpower, and creating a Mess Hall Unit, a strut was built to the top and right of the top right strut of Mother Base, which contained two long hangars and a white rectangular building. More manpower joining MSF also allowed for the development of another strut to the right of the top right most strut with it slightly being lower in position. This particular strut contained two small towers and an office building, and also had a walkpath that had yet to be fully constructed. After hiring some more soldiers into MSF, another strut to the right of that one was built. This one contained two small towers, a large building, and a smaller building.

Hexagonal design
Eventually, because of blueprints developed by the MSF's R&D Team, Mother Base was upgraded with a hexagonal based design. Kazuhira Miller's reasoning was based on MSF's continuing growth, as the design gave it more surface area and made it easier to plan expansions to the overall plant. He also reasoned that the honeycomb design was one of the strongest, and that various militaries of that time were even thinking of using it on tank armor. However, the conversion process required a lot of GMP and recruitments to pay off, although they managed to pay it off via getting contracts from MSF's combat unit.

The first hexagonal strut was initially connected with the half-completed walkway. The second hexagonal strut's completion, however, resulted in all but the two closest struts of the old model being demolished. These two were eventually demolished later.

Mother Base in this form was also strong and sturdy enough to withstand a missile raid if the missiles weren't shot down. However, it will cause some damage nonetheless.

Mother Base contained an indoor firing range, as well as a kill house. It also possessed a weapons systems terminal and a supplies delivery catapult terminal on at least one strut in case something untold happened, or if an attack on Mother Base was inevitable (as evidenced during the Metal Gear ZEKE battle). The Mother Base also possessed a landing/takeoff runway deck similar to an aircraft carrier.

Personnel recruited by MSF were assigned to certain sections of the Mother Base. Each MSF member had individual attributes to support the group, by adding functions to the base. One of these functions was weapon development, which MSF used to upgrade weapons and create new ones.

Command Center


The command center was the proverbial brain of Mother Base's activities. It monitored the staff levels. It contained several medium office buildings, some towers, and a few paved roads. However, its most prominent structure was the tower right at the center of not only the section, but Mother Base itself, with a communications dish at the top. It also contained a solar energy plant as well as a factory that utilized smokestacks. The command center tower contained various equipment that could be used to patch in to other military agencies, such as NORAD or the Pentagon, and a video monitor to view images received from MSF operations. It also had access to military satellites, which could be used to identify any locations of bases in the vicinity or whether they were above ground.

R&D Lab


This section acted as the center for research and development of various weapons, equipment, and even food. The section was equipped with two cranes (one per strut, and four counting the two on the fourth strut), at least ten circular towers, two miniature hangars, two ports, a cargo elevator on two of the struts, and a small rectangular building.

AI Lab
The lab used to develop and maintain the AI pod for Metal Gear ZEKE, as well as a place to create backups of the AI should ZEKE become damaged. It contained various wiring and a central AI device. After ZEKE was heavily damaged by Big Boss during an internal rebellion caused by a Cipher agent, Strangelove monitored the AI and analyzed the damage when Huey arrived for a checkup, to which Strangelove reported regarding ZEKE's AI possessing a backup copy.

Living Quarters


This section was where the Mother Base occupants lived. It contained at least nine towers (three small, four medium, two large, and one extra large), eight rectangular three story buildings, one rectangular one story building, eight miniature hangars, and two cranes. This was where the Mess Hall and Sick bay were located, along with their respective teams.

Sick Bay
The Sick Bay was a facility variously used to treat wounded or sick personnel,and help soldiers recover from PTSD inflicted from multiple conflicts. Amanda Valenciano Libre, the Sandinista leader, was placed here after she sustained a broken leg from an earlier battle with the Chrysalis AI weapon. When she demanded to leave, Big Boss suggested to Kaz that they let her work on Mother Base. Paz Ortega Andrade was also confined to Sick Bay after she came down with a cold during her stay on the base.

Hangar


The hangar was used to store and maintain any war machines that the Militaires Sans Frontieres managed to procure as well as Metal Gear ZEKE. This section was unique in that it was the only section where one of the struts was not of the hexagon design, instead being a runway strip. The hangar section also contained an "s" shaped building, and at least six towers. It also had two struts adjoining the runway strut that had what appeared to be two to three small cargo elevators, a large cargo elevator, five cranes (two on one strut, one on the other strut and two on the dock), a helicopter pad, and a dock.

Mission Support


This section was where MSF's Intel Unit operated from. It contained at least two communication arrays as well as a crane. It also contained turrets for use against threats identified by the operative, as well as catapults for launching supplies for troubles within the base. It contained two supply catapults, three rocket launcher turrets, two anti-ship missile launchers, and two surface-to-surface anti-ground guided missile launch pads.

Metal Gear ZEKE hangar
This hangar was used to modify and improve Metal Gear ZEKE. It was about four stories tall with a movable platform containing ZEKE, as well as possessing lockers and some supercomputers. It also had some hooks, which are presumably used to lower and raise several parts onto ZEKE or from ZEKE. It also had at least two blast doors that ZEKE could enter or exit from.

Training facility
The Militaires Sans Frontieres' training facility was used to train personnel in firearms and urban combat. It consisted of four stories, and was split into two sections: the firing range and the kill house.

The firing range had some supercomputers near a flight of stairs, as well as some catwalks. Some crates and cylindrical containers are also located near the exit. It also possessed four booths allowing for one member each. There were also three types of pop-up targets that were used in the training sessions: regular targets, surrendering targets (they are identified by their hands in the air and are advised to not be shot at), and unidentified targets resembling squares in the air. Some of these targets also moved. Aside from firearms, the MSF could also train with throwing weapons in the area with the exception of supply markers and strike markers.

The kill house had several structures that resembled a maze, and any MSF members partaking in the training session had to go through each section to knock down each target before moving on to the next one, with some requiring the use of the second story catwalk. Normally, the training facility had a time limit for these sessions (three minutes for the firing range, and five minutes and 24 targets for the kill house), but Miller sometimes gave unlimited time (and in the case of the kill house, unlimited targets as well) as a special treat to the MSF personnel.

Brig
The brig was a facility used variously to house prisoners of war, enemy combatants, or those whose freedom was deemed a security risk to Mother Base. The brig was where captured enemies were confined until hostilities ceased, such as KGB agent Vladimir Zadornov, due to his involvement in the Peace Walker Project and his previous attempt to kill Big Boss. In addition, most of the time, the captured enemies, upon the hostilities ceasing, will also join MSF. One of the cells was damaged during one of Zadornov's escape attempts, when he cut a hole through the cell with his prosthetic hand. He managed to escape confinement on several other occasions after his prosthesis was confiscated, due to Pacifica Ocean's interference. Those sent in were usally commandos or tank commanders and escorts.

Deck
The deck, also referred to as the Metal Gear ZEKE deck, is an area located between the Command Center and the Mission Support sections. It was named as such due to the cargo elevator that led to ZEKE's hangar, as evidenced by the cargo elevator that ZEKE exited from after Paz hijacked it. Helicopters were often launched from and stationed here to deliver supplies to operatives in locations out of range of the the supply catapults on the Mission Support section. It also possessed computer consoles used to operate the supply catapults and various weaponry on the Mission Support section, in the event that an attack or unexpected event occurred on the deck.

Behind the scenes
Mother Base appears in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and serves as the main hub from which the player can access missions, organize recruited personnel, customize the plant's layout to increase functionality, and develop new weapons. It bears similar design to the off-shore decontamination facility Big Shell in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, which both resemble British World War-II era anti-aircraft marine stations.

The Mission Support section of Mother Base was originally intended to be significantly different than the final design, being composed of three main struts and a lone strut jettisonning off to the left with a single bridge between it, and the struts decorations being significantly different.

The Metal Gear ZEKE deck was only given that name in the Japanese version. In the international versions, Miller simply states that Snake should "Get up here, pronto!" without naming what the strut was.

There were a few scenes of Mother Base in early trailers for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. One is an overhead shot of Mother Base nearing the end of the TGS2009 trailer. Another is a scene where Big Boss walks by some soldiers on the ZEKE deck, with Kazuhira Miller looking down in shame, shortly after the AI weapons segment of the Tactical Espionage Operations trailer. A scene also showed various Hind D choppers (at least 6) arriving at a completed Mother Base. Many of these scenes do not appear in the final version of the game, although it is implied that the scene featuring MSF troops on the ZEKE deck occurs following Big Boss's "assemble the men" dialogue, as well as his post-credits speech in the game's second ending.

The Mother Base menu has three background themes. The first theme is accessed from the start. The second replaces the first after Mother Base is completely converted to a Hexagon design, and the third and last theme, replacing the second, is unlocked after unlocking the second ending and replaying the game.

Mother Base was briefly mentioned in the story hints for the upcoming game Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, although the context makes it ambiguous as to whether the reference was a lead-in to the story for the game, or if it will actually reappear in the game in some form. In addition, Kojima when unveiling Ground Zeroes confirmed that the Mother Base gameplay mechanic will return, with the added ability to actually explore the developing base instead of simply observing it via menus. Whether Mother Base itself will qualify for this mechanic as well, or if it will only be applied to new bases being developed is still unrevealed.

Other appearances
Mother Base made an appearance in the smartphone game Metal Gear Solid: Social Ops, due to the game's reusing the storylines of both Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

Gameplay
The Command Center is the only section of Mother Base where its maximum rank of completion was greater than four (six). Mission Support was also the only section where leveling it up to a certain level is absolutely necessary for completing the game (as it needs to be at least Level 2, before Snake can fight Paz/ZEKE). In addition to the various war machines that the player captures, the Hangar could also be used to store any AI head parts for Metal Gear ZEKE that the player salvaged (five for each of the five head types).

In the game, the player could gain an insignia/emblem, called WAC Coordinator, if they either recruited exclusively female soldiers or replaced all male soldiers on Mother Base with females (barring the unique soldiers). This is also subtly referenced in the "Queen Bee" briefing file, when Big Boss and Kazuhira Miller decided to create an "army of queen bees" after being unable to decide whether Paz, Strangelove, Cecile, or Amanda would be the "queen bee" of Mother Base.

Mother Base has a list of functionality for management purposes.

Delivery
Place an item in a box and send it to another player via wireless. You can specify the date and time of delivery. Up to ten separate weapons and/or items can be sent, with the option of including music. In addition, if the player has close connections with a CO-OP or VS player, the player can specify the address as "free."

Outer Ops
Dispatch members of your active army to areas of conflict that have requested your help. After you've formed your unit, it takes care of the combat automatically. Depending on the result, you'll earn different rewards and may even unlock additional missions. The unit members, should they survive the battle, will also become more powerful.

R&D/Develop
Develop new weapons and equipment. If you increase the staff in your research and development wing, you'll increase the speed of development and the capabilities of the resulting items. You can also check the status of your captured vehicles, the amount of bullets you have, uniforms, and key items.


 * GMP: Short for Gross Military Production. This is VERY important when developing weapons. GMP is the same thing as money and to raise your GMP you must have more soldiers in the assault unit and to raise the soldiers GMP by sending them to Outer Ops. The amount of GMP stays the same unless you add or subtract soldiers in the assault team. GMP is MSF's military budget; if you have 5000 GMP and you want to create a weapon that costs 3000 GMP, you will lose 3000 GMP until that weapon is created. When the weapon is created, you get your GMP back.

Recruit
You can connect to wireless access points to obtain troop data. To get the troop to join you, you'll have to make him or her surrender within a certain time limit. It also seems that there are some troops which can only be obtained at certain access points. You have to wait 2 days to connect to the same access point. Once the access point detects Soldiers who wish to join the Militaires Sans Frontieres, it unlocks the "AP Entrance Exam" which has Big Boss going over to the former Colombian Camp to fight the recruits (as they want to see through his fighting stances if he is indeed Big Boss) and beat them in under a minute before allowing them to join the MSF.

Staff
This shows where all your staff is located within Mother Base. You can also check up on the abilities of each staff member and also choose where to assign the member to. By obtaining stronger soldiers of the respective unit, you can raise the level of that particular unit. By raising the level of units, you can create stronger weapons and items; the highest level you can achieve is 99. The max amount of staff you can obtain is 300. If the player decided to remove some staff, and confirms to remove them, Big Boss will be heard saying "You're fired!" Humorously, should the player Fulton any new soldiers/personnel to Mother Base, Kaz will tell Big Boss over radio that the base is full, with the sound of many crowded people in the back (to the point of literally overflowing, with people falling overboard).


 * Waiting Room (max 50): This is a waiting area where new recruits and those discharged from the Sickbay or Brig are stationed until they are reassigned.


 * Combat Unit (max 100): This is where you can send soldiers to Outer Ops as well as missions.


 * R&D Unit (max 50): This is one of the vital units, as the R&D creates weapons and equipment. By increasing the level of the R&D unit, you can create stronger weapons and equipment.


 * Mess Hall Unit (max 50): The unit that takes care of the food in MSF. A counter on the top right screen shows the amount of food processed. If the percentage of food is below 100, then soldiers will start defecting. On the other hand, raising the percentage to a very high threshold may increase overall stats of staff members.


 * Medical Unit (max 50): The unit that takes care of the wounded soldiers from Outer Ops or POWs from missions, as well as all sick personnel.


 * Intel Unit (max 50): The unit that takes information. By having a higher level, you can increase the amount of items you get when you call for supply and find out how many soldiers as well as their ranks for each mission.


 * Sick Bay (max 350): A hospital where all the wounded, sick, and soldiers that are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder go to.


 * Brig (max 350): A jail to keep violent soldiers.


 * Trade room (max 50): A room to keep the soldiers you want to trade.

Personnel
Soldiers must be recruited to expand Mother Base. At the start of the game, MSF only consists of Snake, Miller, and a handful of soldiers. Staff members are designated by an abbreviation:


 * [NML] Normal staff consisting of captured Peace Sentinels soldiers with the Fulton Recovery System. This is your initial means of recruitment, though some stubborn soldiers may need time in the Brig before they'll come around.
 * [VOL] Volunteer soldiers who join as your Heroism rises, or those obtained via access points.
 * [POW] Prisoners of war rescued during missions via Fulton Recovery. Some may be injured on arrival and placed in the Sickbay.
 * [COL] Staff obtained via passwords.
 * [TRD] Staff obtained through trading.
 * [UNQ] The main characters of Peace Walker. They can be assigned to Mother Base units, with the exception of Snake (who is only usable for missions), Hot Coldman (who died during the events of Chapter 4), and Zadornov (who is kept in the Brig until the ending of Chapter 5, when he dies).

Versus Ops
A six player battle mode. Includes team survival and a number of other rules. You cannot bring some items such as stealth, bandanna, etc.
 * Team Death Match


 * Death Match


 * Capture Mission


 * Base Mission

Trade
Exchange staff with other players. You can only exchange staff that has been placed in a special waiting room.

Database
This shows your progress in the game, your "friendship level" with your "sneak friends," the titles and decorations you've earned and more.

Mother Base Data
This allows you to see the status of Mother Base's development, as well as the acquisition rate and levels of the varying teams of MSF, and also allows for a model viewer viewing of Mother Base.

Team Data
This monitors the data for each of the various units on Mother Base. Represented by a circle, and upon the completion of Mother Base's Hex design, the Command Center area. It includes the amount of people of each unit, the current level of each unit represented in both numbers and a large red bar graph, and a smaller orange graph representing how long it will take before it ascends to a new level.

Staff Data
This represents the amount of staff on Mother Base. It is represented by a human symbol, and upon the completion of Mother Base's Hex design, the Living Quarters strut. It includes the amount of people currently employed divided to the total limit of Mother Base's staff, the average morale of Mother Base, the gender ratio, the current GMP of Mother Base, the current percentage of food supplies, and the rate people end up sick and the rate of those hospitalized.

Weapons Acquisition Rate
This represents the current percentage of weapons developed and/or acquired on Mother Base. Represented by a wrench, and upon the completion of Mother Base's Hex design, the R&D Lab strut. It is divided into 9 categories, each representing the nine weapons categories in the game (handguns, shotguns, assault rifles, submachine guns, sniper rifles, machine guns, missiles, throwing weapons, and placeable weapons).

Items Acquisition Rate
This represents the current percentage of items developed and/or acquired on Mother Base. Like the Weapons Acquisition Rate submenu, it is represented by a wrench and, upon the completion of Mother Base's Hex design, the R&D Lab strut. It is divided into 4 categories, each relating to the four main item categories in the game (recovery items, equipment, radars, and uniforms).

Support Data
This represents the current level of the Intel Team's support division. It is represented by a cardboard box, and upon the completion of Mother Base's Hex design, the Mission Support strut. It lists the current support rank, the maximum amount of support supplies, the current amount of usable support strikes, and the range of the support strikes.

Mech Capture Status
This allows the player to view the total amounts of enemy vehicles currently in MSF custody. It is represented by three bars and, upon the completion of Mother Base's Hex design, the Hangar strut. It is divided into three categories: Armored Vehicles, Tanks, and Helicopters, with a number indicating the current amount, with two representing a full vehicle. Mother Base can carry up to 50 mechs, with the Armored Vehicle limit being 16, the Tank limit being 17, and the Helicopter limit being 17.

Metal Gear Head Parts Acquired
This allows the player to view the total amounts of AI weapon heads salvaged/created and utilized for Metal Gear ZEKE. Like the Mech Capture Status menu, it is represented by three bars and, upon the completion of Mother Base's Hex design, the Hangar strut. It is divided into five categories: ZEKE, Pupa, Chrysalis, Cocoon, and Peace Walker, with five out of five total being displayed for each head type.

Player Data
The Player Data allows the player to view their own stats, as well as mission results, codenames and insignias earned. It also allows the player to review their highest CO-OPS play count and the highest level of Camaraderie among players (s)he CO-OPS with or those with the highest heroism.

Log
A list of reports relating to Mother Base. up to fifty of each category can be gained before one is deleted. They are divided into four categories: Personnel (which deals with reports relating to recruiting a new member, increases in a personnel member's stats, or soldiers being placed in a brig upon being delivered to Mother Base), R&D (relating to the completion of various weapons and equipment, the development of Metal Gear ZEKE's parts, or a delay in development); Medical (relating to soldiers either being put into sickbay or discharged from sickbay), and Other (stuff relating to new Mother Base options, the completion of an Outer Op, or the completion of a strut onboard Mother Base).

Metal Gear ZEKE
As you progress through the missions and reach certain conditions, Mother Base will see additional evolutions, a new feature that appears with the symbol "???" or "Metal Gear Unit". Here you can create and customize your own Metal Gear. On AI boss missions, you will sometimes obtain special parts and you will use those parts to make your metal gear.

Parts Customize
TIP: before adding optional parts you must create the Metal Gear first (assemble all the main parts).
 * Main Parts: Walk Unit, Power Unit, Foot Parts, Head Parts.
 * Option Parts: Jet Pack, Radome, Railgun, Armor.

Vocaloid Setting
In the extra menu, you can change what Metal Gear ZEKE says using the VOCALOID software.

Color Paint
Here you can change the body color and the line color of your metal gear.

AI Storage
When you fight AI bosses, you can go inside their AI pods to obtain their AI. You can use these AI on your Metal Gear. Having more AI means that the Metal Gear becomes stronger, faster, and has a higher accuracy.

Missions
The Mother Base is playable in three areas: The Firing Range, the Kill House, and the Deck.

[001] Target Practice: No Limit
"Commence target practice. As a special treat, you can practice freely on any of the targets in the shooting range today. Shoot away! When you're done, head over to the exit."

- Miller

[002] Target Practice: No Limit
"Commence target practice. As a special treat, you can practice freely on any of the targets in the Kill House today. Shoot your heart out! When you're done, head over to the exit."

- Miller

[003] Target Practice: Score Attack
"Target practice commencing now. Shoot all the targets in the shooting range! When the timer reaches zero, the exercise is over."

- Miller

[004] Target Practice: Time Attack
"Target practice commencing now. Shoot all the targets in the Kill House! When the timer reaches zero, the exercise is over."

- Miller

[066] Missile Intercept Mission
"Let's get this mission started. Complete the mission and proceed to the Fulton recovery point so we can get you back alive and well. Good luck out there."

- Miller

[120] Metal Gear ZEKE - Mock Battle
"It'd be a good idea to do some combat training with ZEKE. It'll just be a mock battle, though. Nothing'll happen to ZEKE for real. Attack ZEKE as if you were actually going against him, OK?"

- Miller

[128] Gear REX Strikes Back
"You're not gonna believe this... Suddenly we've got Gear REX on board Mother Base and it's raising hell up on the deck. I don't know what we did to piss it off...but this is the biggest crisis in MSF's history. We need you to hunt it down and save our Outer Heaven!"

- Miller