Party Battle Formations

Introduction

This adds a new "formation" mechanic which allows the player to adjust how their party is arranged on the battlefield by selecting among a set of "formations". Each formation specifies how many actors join the battle, where each one stands, and what auto-passive states are applied to that actor.

This is intended for use with side-view battle. It could probably be used with front-view, but I have not tested it and cannot guarantee anything. Obviously, the positioning system becomes irrelevant in front-view, but position states and changing formations in battle might still work.

Features

• Define formations that have varying numbers of battlers with various states applied.
• Define items or events that teach new formations.
• Switch formations and change party battle order in the middle of battle. (This consumes the entire turn.)

Screenshots

Here you can see the party changing formations both before and during battle.






How to Use

1. Download SFG_Utils and SFG_PassiveStates (from my misc plugins thread, or direct link here for Utils, here for PassiveStates) and the plugin file (linked below).
2. Put all three files in the plugins folder in your project.
3. Add the plugins to the plugins manager. Make sure SFG_Utils is on top and SFG_PartyBattleFormation is below the other two.
4. Define formations in the plugin parameters.

The plugin documentation covers all the supported note tags, plugin commands, and plugin parameters in some detail.

Download

Download Link (RPGMaker Forums attachment)

A demo can be downloaded here.

Terms and Credits

• You can use this plugin in commercial or non-commercial games, free of charge.
• Don't remove me from the "author" field in the plugin file.
• Credit would be appreciated. You can credit me as "Solar Flare" or "Solarflare Software".
• Feel free to modify this however you need for your game. Note: This only applies to SFG_PartyBattleFormation – you may not modify SFG_Utils for any reason. If you need something added to or altered in SFG_Utils, just create a new plugin.

I've uploaded version 1.1 with the following changes:

• Better performance when determining which passive states apply.
• You no longer have to specify trait and effect IDs in the plugin parameters.
• Fix actors not stepping forward if you use the default line formation, plus all actors being shown as reserve members in the formation window.
• Fix bad interaction between "formation seal" and "formation lock".

There's also a demo available to download now.