Significance of a shovel?

PainTrane · Post by **PainTrane** » 2007-09-22 17:34

What is the significance of the shovel? I don't get how to use it. is it a melee weapon? can you dig an instant fox-hole with it? LOL. I just dont get it.

.:iGi:. Eggenberg4Ever · Post by **.:iGi:. Eggenberg4Ever** » 2007-09-22 17:38

A commander requests assets that require construction The engineer and rifleman class use their shovels to build them.

Post by **bosco_** » 2007-09-22 17:41

Contrary to the popular belief, reading the guide actually DOES help.

Post by **Rudd** » 2007-09-22 17:41

e.g. sandbags/bunkers/firebases etc

billdan · Post by **billdan** » 2007-09-22 17:44

lock is coming...

read the manual

PainTrane · Post by **PainTrane** » 2007-09-22 17:56

i've been reading the manual, i guess i must have missed that part or i'm not quite there yet.

Post by **BlakeJr** » 2007-09-22 18:56

billdan wrote:lock is coming...

read the manual

Not a lock yet but possibly a warning for not being friendly enough to a relative newcomer.

Mostly kidding.

Post by **BlakeJr** » 2007-09-22 18:59

PainTrane wrote:i've been reading the manual, i guess i must have missed that part or i'm not quite there yet.

Yeah, I know where you're coming from... It's a massive learning curve but oh so satisfying when you begin to get the hang of things.
So stick your nose in the wiki and the new and improved guide I hear tell about that came with the install and get enlightened.

LtSoucy · Post by **LtSoucy** » 2007-09-22 19:44

^ i told him the samething yesterday. But hey if u get punkbuster working i can help u with everything in the wiki by doing ingame.

pasfreak · Post by **pasfreak** » 2007-09-22 21:10

i think you should be able to dig a foxhole.

Post by **Rudd** » 2007-09-22 21:41

pasfreak wrote:i think you should be able to dig a foxhole.

Cant go in to the ground mesh- like the poe2 craters.

You'd have to have ground coming up instead.... look wierd

Expendable Grunt · Post by **Expendable Grunt** » 2007-09-22 22:39

PainTrane wrote:What is the significance of the shovel? I don't get how to use it. is it a melee weapon? can you dig an instant fox-hole with it? LOL. I just dont get it.

The commander has two "types" of assets. "Sand" type, and "Metal" type. When he deploys them, the shovel constructs the "Sand" types, such as Bunkers, Firebases, and Sandbags.

milobr · Post by **milobr** » 2007-09-23 00:27

Why don't make an asset that is a foxhole? Terran problems?

daranz · Post by **daranz** » 2007-09-23 00:41

milobr wrote:Why don't make an asset that is a foxhole? Terran problems?

You can't modify terrain in BF2. So, you can't make a hole. Without a hole, you can't have a foxhole.

Sgt_Canadian_Floss · Post by **Sgt_Canadian_Floss** » 2007-09-23 00:56

So, just make a map full of already made holes, cover it with some walkable ground and each time someone digs, a part of that ''cover sheet'' goes away, revealing a hole
And some part of the terrain u cant dig because of rocks and different stuff...
Well its just an idea

crudge · Post by **crudge** » 2007-09-23 11:18

yeh i think the shoval is kinda broeing at times, it needs more fetures to make it more useful, like the fox holes or a club, OR use it to make a pile of dirt/sand to hide behind in combat, us medic would find that handy so you got somewere to hide wile fixing people

{GD}Ghost · Post by **{GD}Ghost** » 2007-09-23 14:03

crudge wrote:yeh i think the shoval is kinda broeing at times, it needs more fetures to make it more useful, like the fox holes or a club, OR use it to make a pile of dirt/sand to hide behind in combat, us medic would find that handy so you got somewere to hide wile fixing people

Well, in real life, a shovel IS somewhat boring...as you put it. Its it not supposed to be a self contained source of entertainment. It is a tool and in PR it is a tool that is used to build certain things. The fact that is cannot be used to alter terrain is no fault of the devs, but a limitation of the game engine itself.

As far as the piles of dirt as cover statement: there are plenty of items that can be used as cover in maps. Medics just have to apply bit of triage logic and common sense. If a player is wounded, yet mobile, make them come to your area of cover because obviously their location is not s safe. If a player is incapacitated and right in the middle of a hot zone, sometimes (unless you have someone giving you cover fire) it is better to count them as a loss than to try to be the "hero", run out and get yourself killed as well, depriving higher priority "patients" of attention.....but I digress....

blud · Post by **blud** » 2007-09-23 17:38

{GD}Ghost wrote:Well, in real life, a shovel IS somewhat boring...as you put it. Its it not supposed to be a self contained source of entertainment.

laugh out loud!

Red Halibut · Post by **Red Halibut** » 2007-09-24 09:04

Just to point out that IRL you aren't going to build a foxhole worth its salt in under 5 minutes, are you prepared to hold down your left mouse button that long?

Seriously though, while the idea of foxholes is attractive, I just can't see it being a high priority for the devs.

Hx.Clavdivs · Post by **Hx.Clavdivs** » 2007-09-25 01:17

Red Halibut wrote:Just to point out that IRL you aren't going to build a foxhole worth its salt in under 5 minutes, are you prepared to hold down your left mouse button that long?

I'm pretty sure that people would dig trenches 3 km long, 1,5 deep along the battlezone (or make assets) for 30 minutes straight - if rewared with unlocks like f.example Cobra with unlimited ammo, laser guided missiles or even better - a nuclear bomb - the next round. I can see it now - 32 engineers on both sides digging trenches all across the map.