There are advantages with both: guild alliances are simpler and gives more power to the guild leaders, while individual alliances give more freedom to each player, is more challenging for guild leaders (they have to make sure their troops follow them) and allows treason.
What do you think? If you were us, which would you implement first? Or would you try it a third way?
Maybe we need something like ... a "guild commandment type" feature set by a guild leader. Let's use examples.
Imagine there is 2 kind of guild management :
- Military (or authoritarian... alike)
- Associative (or democratic... alike)
Military will lock all the member to follow the leadership orders (forced guild alliance side in GvG)
Could prolly gives some bonus stats when teaming with guild only, some special guild mission, advanced guild fight skills, warlord npc defender...
Associative let members pretty free to choose side and alliances (free member alliance side in GvG)
Could gives some bonus however about economy : craft'n'dig skills, better margin when sold through cities npc, special shops for outpost...
big trouble is that it reduces guild freedom / leader freedom and fame issues, and too much guild commandment type will burden the gameplay.
To answer you, the freedom path, "flexibility" require the "individual alliance" feature.
I do believe GvG at outposts could happens like that : when "war" is openly set, any people in less than 80 meter from outpost border will have a messagebox poping asking their side (allied,foes,neutral, highlight on button which player's guild is sided).
To avoid abuse, "side set effectiveness" will be 20 mins, and it cannot be changed during the next 24 hours for this area (or war's end).
It allows commoner / guildless to join any GvG event... and the lovely betrayer and spies
