So apparently they have decided to change formation combat. For all of you who do not know this, the formation combat has changed from the commander controlling and limiting movement of people in his formation group (Battalion, Squad etc.) to making it so that your movement is no longer constricted. Instead it will provide some kind of buff if you are in the general area.

Well, since they are set on making it an area buff, then I have a proposal that might become popular enough. My proposal would NOT limit player movement. Instead, in the formation, the system would give you one of the spots. What would then happen is an arrow at the top of your screen would point the way to your position. The exact place where it would be perfect for you to stand in would have a small white arrow pointing the way that you should be facing. This white arrow will be in a small green circle. This circle would basically be just big enough for you to stand in to be at the best spot. Then surrounding this green circle would be a yellow circle, that would have a radius of about 3 meters larger then the first circle. Surrounding this circle, would be a red circle that would have a radius of 3 meters larger then the first circle.

Now different formations would obviously have a different layout. Also, different formations would also give a different buff. Such as a circle formation that would have all of the people facing outwards to repel against attackers from every side might give a defensive bonus, while a triangle formation that would be used for breaking through other formations might give a damage bonus etc.

Now some of you may have guessed what these circles do, but I will still explain it. Since they have decided that they wish to give a buff to whoever gets into the formation, then these circles will work the same way. The first green circle with the arrow in it will give you the group buff that the formation gives but this one will give you the full 100% bonus. If you are also facing within say 5 degrees of the correct direction, it will add another 25% to that bonus. Then if you are in the yellow circle, you might only gain a 50% bonus, with a possibility of up to 75% if you are facing the correct way, and with the red circle you might only gain a 25% bonus with up the 50% if you are facing the right way. Also, depending on the density of the formation, the radius's of the circles would change, the original radius's I put down were only examples.

Now the commander should still have the possibility of making small changes to the formation. The commander should be able to bring up a small screen showing the formation and nearby terrain. The commander should then be able to move the circles around, move different people to different circles etc.

This system would have the following benefits:

A. It will allow you to have free movement.

B. It will allow you to be more beneficial in combat.

C. It will make it very easy for you to figure out exactly where you have to be in the formation, since there are two arrows in all and three circles on the ground.

D. It would allow flexibility in where if you are in a tight battle, you can still get the formation buff while having some mobility to be able to inflict as much damage as possible.

E. It will make it so that the guilds who actually hold practices in which they do formation drills and movements will have the players who are most adept at being in their exact spot and capable of holding their position even while moving and fighting, and so will be the best at doing said fighting.

F. It will not be very hard at all to implement, and it might even open up the possibility of enabling commanders to create their own unique formations that would surprise an enemy and win the battle.

Also an idea that the development team would have to decide on, would be the option of pressing a button that would set your character to automatically run to the edge of the red circle so it is easier to start the formation. This might not be favorable with many people, so it would have to be up to the developers.

I would like lots of feedback on this, and I will also be posting this on the AOC forums on their main page, where if it gets enough traffic it might actually merit some attention. It probably won't, but I might as well try.

I kinda like the idea.   I'd like to see it in game.   A visual way for players to see their groups formation, but NOT lock them into a movement, so they can adapt to a situation.   Hopefuly if they're smart they only adapt, not break formation like a fool,  but still allow fools to be fools!!   Somebody has got to play the fool!!

Originally posted by FE|Tachyon

I kinda like the idea.   I'd like to see it in game.   A visual way for players to see their groups formation, but NOT lock them into a movement, so they can adapt to a situation.   Hopefuly if they're smart they only adapt, not break formation like a fool,  but still allow fools to be fools!!   Somebody has got to play the fool!!

Did you post this on the official forum? Better chance of being heard by a dev over there.

Would be interesting if there were Hoplai formations.

Yes I did post it on the official forum, and it has been pretty much well received so far. I have made some changes to it so if you want to see what that thread looks like it is at http://forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php?t=38642