Revisiting Prime Base

[dragoon500ly]

Submitted for general discussion…

Been doing some research lately into what I call Sigma Base (the backup command base of the Project; for an upcoming campaign.) And after acquiring a wild hair in my fourth point of contact, I made the decision not to reuse Prime Base. The research is into exactly what may be a workable underground base. It is IMHO, very likely that Prime Base is based on some very serious flaws i.e. there is no need to build large cylinders under ground.

A survey on underground buildings, especially in the United States shows some 5,000+ private homes and in excess of 600+ government/military/private facilities. Perhaps the shocking part of this is that only a small percentage (19%) are cylindrical!?!

The most common type of facility is a series of main tunnels, ranging from three to as many as fifteen running parallel and connected with multiple side tunnels and multiple levels.

The most common feature is the use of heavily reinforced cement to form the thick walls/floors/ceilings with many mentions of “burster layers” to provide additional protection in military facilities.

The NORAD Operations Center (NORADOC)at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station/Cheyenne Mountain Complex, is perhaps the best known of the non-tower facility. (please refer to the YouTube videos “Cheyenne Mountain Complex and Future House in China” and “A Look Inside NORAD, The Secret Government Facility.”)

The complex is built under 2,000 feet of granite covering an area of five acres. Fifteen three-story buildings are protected from movement (earthquake or explosion) by a system of coiled springs that the buildings rest on and flexible pipe connectors to limit the effect of any movement. The interior of the “cavern” blasted out by over 500 tons of high explosives is plated in welded steel to protect the facility from an EMP attack. The complex is the only high-altitude Department of Defense facility certified to be able to sustain an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). The complex can house up to 800 personnel and features a medical facility, BX, cafeteria and fitness centers. (Hmmm).

NORADOC is built to withstand a 30 megaton nuclear explosion as close as 1.2 miles. Within the access tunnel are sets of 25-ton blast doors. These doors are so well designed/built that they can always be opened when need. These doors can withstand the blast wave of a nearby nuclear explosion. There is also a network of blast values with unique filters for NBCR contaminants.

Alongside the main complex is a support annex with its own power plant, HVAC system and water supply that is designed to provide a 99.999% degree of reliability of its electricity, water, air conditioning, power, and other support systems. According to the 21st Mission Support Group, the threats, in descending order of likelihood, that the complex may face are "medical emergencies, natural disasters, civil disorder, a conventional attack, an electromagnetic pulse attack, a cyber or information attack, chemical or biological or radiological attack, an improvised nuclear attack, a limited nuclear attack, [and] a general nuclear attack." The least likely events are the most hazardous.

There is more water produced by mountain springs than the base requires, and a 1,500,000 gallon reservoir ensures that even in event of fire, there is enough water to meet the facility's needs. A reservoir of 4,500,000 gallon of water is used as a heat sink. There is a "massive" reservoir for diesel fuel and a "huge" battery bank with redundant power generators.

All-in-all a most impressive facility….and nary a cylinder in site.

[mmartin798]

Isn't this kind of where we ended up back in 2015 or so when discussing Prime Base before? I remember making quick mockups of tunnels connecting long vaults in a grid pattern, tunnels with the vaults going off at angles to minimize turns and others. Cylinders don't make much sense until you are housing a cylindrical object to shoot out of it.

[dragoon500ly]

Don't we always revisit Prime Base?

When we originally debated Prime, it was more about assisting Terry with the rewrite, so I approached the original thread by trying to stay within the canon.

Sigma Base will be my own campaign so I feel free to abuse/misuse/and rewrite to set the needs of my own little group of players.

[dragoon500ly]

Anyhow, so running the research convinced me that several tunnels would be the best layout, and I'm planning at least two, possibly three levels.

One of the levels will be an extensive manufacturing facility.

And just to add a twist for the players, A MARS Special Operations team will be based for continental-wide adventures.

[Desert Mariner]

Have you considered something like SubTropolis in Kansas City?

[nuke11]

The terrain will dictate the type of structure underground that they would use.

In the case of Primes Cannon location, there are a lot of horizontal mines in the area. Tunnels would be the best option as discussed in 2015.

How feasible would it be to build 4 story cylinders under the guess of a mining project?

Since TML is now in caretaker mode, we really don't know what Terry had in mind for the revised Prime Base, outside of the stuff posted here and on the mailing list back in the day.

[dragoon500ly]

I've looked at it, but I'm not going to copy much of it.