Villages, militia formations and siege warfare

Village gameplay tracks resources, population and production, then extends into trained player-owned units. Units can patrol, follow, escort, defend and attack; formations and command interfaces let players organize them. Soldiers can engage hostile NPCs while villagers respond differently to danger. Siege controllers and projectiles connect settlement building to organized warfare. Use this thread for village pacing, unit responsiveness, formations and siege design.

Escort mode is exactly the kind of bridge I want between MMO and strategy play. Guards protecting their owner should spread naturally instead of stacking into one spot.

Formation controls should stay useful with small groups. A line, compact wedge and defensive ring would cover most situations without turning the game into a full RTS interface.