In either case, I will not be changing the effective available space for each sprite, that will remain 10x18.
I was never suggesting such a thing
I'd even go so far as to suggest automatic increase of overlapping (less horizontal space per sprite) if the number of soldiers is bigger than it can fit on the screen (like in Master of Orion 1 & 2, for example)
But that's another story. For spritesheet spacing, I'd like 12x19 (so you have some space to maneuver without resorting to using smaller sprites). Oh right, but this can be defined simply by telling the OXC how to cut the sheet (and keeping my sprites in the upper left corner of that defined space), right? No need for hardcoding anything? If that's the case I simply didn't know, and forgive me my ignorance.
(pcitured: extreme overlapping for labourers, no overlapping for farmers & soldiers, elegant as fock)