A Brief Introduction
This is a post that I hope will grow as time grows on; I urge anyone who reads this thread to post their own building ideas and to help create a true buildings "compendium" for the good of all the AoS community. Now, it may just be me, but over the last few months I feel as though ace of spades has slowly become more focused on gunplay and less on the actual building; sure, there are always a few people building a fort at spawn or erecting a quick wall for cover, but many times I see the majority of the people just walking around the map and shooting, all but oblivious to those blocks at their disposal. I hope that, perhaps with this topic alone, but more likely by the combined effort of the community, we can change that.
Submission Guidelines
NOTE:This is a guide made to show practical, useful buildings with applications towards helping your team. This is not a thread for showing off the cool 1:34 scale creeper you made in a server; all of these constructions in the thread are made towards the simple goal of helping your team win.
The general format of each submission should include a picture of the finished construction, a short guide on how to make it (unless it's overly obvious from the photo), and a brief description on the uses of it once the construction has been made. Try to avoid overused concepts such as 2x1 walls or trenches, although if they're markedly different from other designs than those are alright as well :)
Now for some examples!
First Construction: Spider Tower
In this first post, i'll be going over two constructions; this, of course, is the first one.
Spider, or intel towers, are pretty well known throughout AoS. However, I think that it's such an important one that it deserves to be touched upon. Now, the way to build this particular kind i've made is fairly simple; raise up the intel anywhere from 10-30 blocks high on a 2x2 pillar, and add supports. I've also made this one supported from the bottom, and then i've hollowed out the area underneath it, which mean that any tunnelers going for the intel will land exposed in the pit. If you need a more detailed description, here's an excellent video (note-not made by me): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IUHDPEiDRQ&noredirect=1
Th use for this is fairly obvious: to protect the intel! Having it raised up protects it from tunnelers and also means that anyone going after the intel will have to either pillar up the side of the tower, or destroy it. This makes it extremely useful for slowing down the enemy team, and has saved many a team from a loss.
Second Construction: Sniper Tunnel
Sniper tunnels can't be/aren't very useful on flat(ish) maps, but they can be extremely effective on high or mountainous maps such as Hallway or Gen maps. To build them, you basically want to get underground so that the tunnel is concealed from above, and make sure that the entrance is fairly protected or concealed. Once you're far enough underground for your liking, just dig a tunnel with your shovel until you reach a suitable firing point; to actually create the firing point, you basically want to maximize how much area you can see whilst remaining protected. In this example, that means clearing a few blocks away and making sure I can move backwards into cover if things heat up. Once this is done, if there's time i'll "tidy up" my position by camouflaging "mud" or off-colored blocks with terrain colored blocks. Doing this both outside and inside your tunnel makes it much harder to find, even up close! I also place blocks above my head as well, for protection against grenades and enemy entry. Also, a quick note: even though my example only has one firing spot, you can branch out your tunnel to lead to multiple spots if needed, allowing you to cover other areas and confuse the enemy.
Now, this is a great construction for covering key areas of the map; although time consuming to build, the concealment that this position affords means that you can snipe for awhile before the enemy team realizes where you are, and switching firing positions makes it even harder for them to find you. And once they do see you, the cover this position affords means that you are well prepared against a counter attack unless you're outnumbered or severely outmatched in skill.
More pictures:
Inside the firing hole
Looking the other way: WHERE'S THAT STUPID SNIPER!?!?