Since the introduction of the parrot, the current deployment scheme for the bonny feels awkward. Since the first spawn is next to the trapdoor, the bird has to fly down first, wasting TUs instead of just flying away. That, and the awkwardness of the split (first 6 units spawn by the trapdoor, then main door, then up), made me consider a different way to spawn.
The idea of this new deployment is to follow more closely the typical XCom deployment with the linear progression from "expendable scout" to valuable soldiers to snipers. So it goes like:
- 4 scouts by the rear or trap door
- 12 supports, in rough order of proximity to the exit, alternating between rear and trop doors
- 2 snipers for the roof
The exact layout ensures that:
1 - You parrot can just fly out from the rear door. Or your tank will start by the rear door, ready to deploy.
2 - If a soldier gets injured/taken out and you forget to replace them, the following deployment will be disturbed as little as possible.
2.1 - Your scouts will always be first by the doors, with the first two "expendable" scouts starting at the rear door (where they are most visible/exposed and ready to jump out to take the 1st turn reaction fire), then support, then snipers.
2.2 - If one or two soldier are missing, the snipers start by the stairs so they can get to the roof asap (instead of deploying by the trap door as in the current deployment).
2.3 - If you want 4 snipers, the last 4 soldiers are the ones closest to the roof (the first two from the end start on the 2nd level, the next two start by the stairs)
I've attached a numbered screenshot to illustrate. The main drawback is that the pile of gear is now at the back door, where it is more vulnerable. But that's how it is in every XCom craft so I didn't think it's much of an issue, compared to the other improvements.
The change is a simple reordering of positions as in the following ruleset:
crafts:
- type: STR_VENTURA
deployment:
- [12, 4, 1, 2]
- [12, 5, 1, 2]
- [7, 4, 1, 6]
- [7, 5, 1, 6]
- [11, 4, 1, 2]
- [11, 5, 1, 2]
- [8, 4, 1, 6]
- [8, 5, 1, 6]
- [12, 3, 1, 3]
- [12, 6, 1, 1]
- [8, 3, 1, 6]
- [8, 6, 1, 6]
- [5, 3, 1, 4]
- [5, 6, 1, 0]
- [10, 4, 1, 2]
- [10, 5, 1, 2]
- [8, 4, 2, 2]
- [8, 5, 2, 2]
But for some reason if I make that a mod, it won't overwrite the original deployment.. So Either I am doing something wrong or you have to delete the craft and then redefine it. For now I found it easier to just go in Piratez.rul, find STR_VENTURA in the crafts and change the deployment directly in there.
I hope it proves useful for someone else!