DeployToFire

Flag:	DeployToFire
File(s):	Rules(md).ini
Values:	boolean
Default:	no
Applicable to:	VehicleTypes

If set on a vehicle, the vehicle will never fire its weapons. Instead, when acquiring a target, it will approach that target until it is within range of that weapon from its attached weapons that would use against that target and then, instead of firing that weapon, deploy into the structure defined by its DeploysInto statement. Alternatively, if it IsSimpleDeployer, it will simple-deploy, becoming stationary and changing to its UnloadingClass, before firing its weapon.

Notes

• It appears that vehicles on which this flag is set will also never autonomously acquire a target to attack. They will only acquire a target when retaliating against an attacker who is within the range of the weapon that they would use against that attacker, or when ordered to attack by the owning player/house.
• It is possible to give a building weapons that are entirely different from those of the vehicle it deploys from (or no weapons at all), which means that after transforming into a building, it may no longer have the necessary range, projectile characteristics or warhead to actually attack the target that it had acquired before deploying. This does not cause any errors or glitches and the building will simply 'forget' the attack command against that target.
• If a unit that has to DeployToFire is on a cell that does not allow the placement of the structure that the unit deploys into (for example because the cell holds ore) and the unit then acquires a target, it will look for nearby clear cells that it can deploy in, move there and then deploy. This is in contrast with the manual Deploy order, which simply fails to function if a unit is on a cell in which it cannot deploy.
  • At least this happens if there are any clear cells from which its intended target would still be within range of its current weapon. It is uncertain what happens if no such cells are available.
  • This bug can be avoided by using the Phobos
  • If the target moves out of range of the intended cell while the unit is still en-route to deploy there, it seems to move to that cell regardless, and deploy there. (Unconfirmed)

See also

• Deployer
• DeploysInto
• IsSimpleDeployer