Mother Base (Caribbean)

Mother Base was the name of the off-shore plant that the Militaires Sans Frontieres (Outer Heaven) used as a base of operations in 1974.

History
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 Alexandrovich Zadornov (either having been bought by a KGB dummy company for a relatively small amount of money or by Cipher with relative ease).

In 1974, Zadornov (posing as University of Peace Professor Ramón Gálvez Mena) offered to Big Boss (Naked Snake) and Kazuhira Miller (the leaders of the Militaires Sans Frontieres) the off-shore plant in exchange for their services. It was originally rusted and the main occupants were seagulls. However, Miller and MSF managed to do some research on it and refurbish it, as well as eventually upgrading the design of the Mother Base to include a hexagon-based design. Over time, its size grew and the plant essentially became a country in itself, and was considered to be the world's seventh nuclear power. It was nearly the target of a nuclear strike during the Peace Walker Project for CIA Station Chief Hot Coldman's Peace Walker/Basilisk unit. However, it was inadvertently saved when Zadornov betrayed Coldman and changed the target to Cuba. A short while later, it was where Pacifica Ocean hijacked Metal Gear ZEKE but defeated by Big Boss not long after. Sometime after 1974, all of the personnel, equipment, vehicles, and weapons were relocated to South Africa in the 1990s. What happened to Mother Base itself remains unknown.

Pre-hexagon design
When Mother Base was first received by the MSF, its most basic form composed of three square struts, patterned in a manner similar to a rectangle. 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 bottommost strut contained a heliport as well as an immense tower that also had an, albeit fairly basic, satellite/solar dish at the top. Shortly after assembling enough manpower, and gaining 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 has 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.

Hexagon design


Eventually, it was upgraded to have a more hexagon based design. Kazuhira Miller explains that the reason is due to wanting MSF to expand, as the hexagon design gives more surface area and makes it easier to plan expansions to the overall plant. He also explains that another reason was because the honeycomb design is also one of the strongest, and mentions that various militaries are even thinking of using it on tank armor.

The 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, although the Militaires Sans Frontieres is never seen possessing such aircraft.

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


This section 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 notable structure was the tower right at the center of not only the section, but Mother Base itself, with a communications satellite at the top. It also contained a solar energy plant as well as a factory that utilized smokestacks.

R&D Lab
This section acted as the center of Research and Design for the development of various weapons, equipment, and even food. It contained two cranes (one per strut, and four counting the two on the fourth strut) as well as two ports. as well as at least ten circular towers, along with two miniature hangars, what was presumably a cargo elevator on two of the struts, and a small rectangular building.

Living Quarters
This section was where the Mother Base occupants lived at. 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. Presumably, this was where the Mess Hall and Sick bay was located, along with the Mess Hall team and Medical Team respectively.

Hangar
This section stored any war machines that the Militaires Sans Frontieres managed to procure and presumably several head parts that were either procured or assembled for 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 also had a cargo elevator directly linked to the ZEKE hangar, as evidenced by the cargo elevator that ZEKE exited out of after Paz hijacked it. Helicopters were often launched from and stationed here, presumably to deliver supplies to areas where any operatives were in a location where it was too far away for the supplies catapult to launch supplies towards. 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 section isn't actually visible among the main five sections, but it is used to modify and improve Metal Gear ZEKE. It is about four stories tall with a movable platform containing ZEKE as well as possessing Lockers and some supercomputers. It also has some hooks, which are presumably used to lower and raise several parts onto ZEKE or from ZEKE. It also has at least two blast doors that ZEKE can enter or exit from. One of which, directly in front of ZEKE, is closed, but the one behind it is open and showing light from it.

Militaires Sans Frontieres Training Facility
The Militaires Sans Frontieres Training Facility isn't actually visible among the five sections (although the mission selection location screen implies that it is located either near the R&D lab or the Living Quarters ), but it is used to train MSF personnel in firearms and presumably Urban combat. It contains four stories (two of which are accessible), and are split into two sections: the Firing Range and the Kill House. The Firing Range has some supercomputers near a flight of stairs, as well as some catwalks. Some crates and cylindrical containers are also seen near the exit. It also possesses four booths allowing for one member each. There are also three types of pop-up targets that are 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 move. It is to be noted that aside from firearms, the MSF can also utilize throwing weapons with the exception of supply markers and strike markers in the area. The Kill House has several structures that resemble a maze, and any MSF members partaking in the training session has 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 has 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 gives unlimited time (and in the case of the Kill House, unlimited targets as well) as a special treat to the MSF personnel.

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).

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.

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.

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: 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.


 * 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).

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.

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.

Trivia

 * Mother Base bore a strong resemblance to the off-shore decontamination facility that Solid Snake and Raiden both infiltrated in 2009.