Please add cross alliances

[Xyquas]

Alliances - a cool feature implemented in most 4X games but unfinished in most cases from my point of view. What I mean is this:

Empire A forms an alliance with empires B. Then it forms an alliance with empire C. After a while, B and C argue and go to war, forcing empire A to break at least one alliance.

While the force of going to war to remain an alliance fortunately is not implemented in Horizon, it misses the important counterpart of cross alliances. The best implementation I have seen so far and would like to see here too was "invite to alliance". This feature works like this:

Empire A forms an alliance with empire B. Empire C is invited to the alliance and on accepting it forms an alliance with all alliance members so far. In this example the result is a cross alliance: A allied with B and C, B allied with A and C and C allied with A and B. If this is a stable alliance (another feature found too rarely but fortunately implemented in Horizon), people of these three empire have permanent peace.

So please, add this fine feature because I don't want to see my allies going to war with each other.

[keller]

If I understand you correctly, you are wanting this to work more like sword of the stars. In this game it works pretty much like you describe except for the permanent peace part (alliances can be broken at any time in SOTS)

[Xyquas]

I didn't play Sword of the Stars and I actually don't know exactly in which 4X game I encountered that feature - I think it was Endless space.

I just think that if any empire A allies with another empire B which is already alliied with empire C that there should be a mechanism in the game to ally empires A and C with each other too. This could be a mediated diplomatic meeting initiated by the one who is allied with both empires (this is B in my example) but I think automatically initiated cross alliances are easier to handle in game play.
I like either of these options - maybe the second one better fits the current gameplay.

[Bansheedragon]

I didn't play Sword of the Stars and I actually don't know exactly in which 4X game I encountered that feature - I think it was Endless space.

I just think that if any empire A allies with another empire B which is already alliied with empire C that there should be a mechanism in the game to ally empires A and C with each other too. This could be a mediated diplomatic meeting initiated by the one who is allied with both empires (this is B in my example) but I think automatically initiated cross alliances are easier to handle in game play.
I like either of these options - maybe the second one better fits the current gameplay.

I'm not sure if you have thought about this here.
If empire A is at war with empire C, by allying with empire B it would seem absurd for them to suddenly be allied with empire C as well considering they are currently at war with each other.

Same goes if empire C has a "hostile" attitude towards empire A.
They would not want to ally with someone they have a strong dislike or hatred towards.

[Xyquas]

I'm not sure if you have thought about this here.
If empire A is at war with empire C, by allying with empire B it would seem absurd for them to suddenly be allied with empire C as well considering they are currently at war with each other.

Same goes if empire C has a "hostile" attitude towards empire A.
They would not want to ally with someone they have a strong dislike or hatred towards.

That's right. But in this case the alliance would simple not get a new member. As I remember the implementation seen, "invite to alliance" only worked if the invited empire had good enough relations with each of the alliance's member empires. So to invite a new empire to your alliance you'll have to even the relations between your allies and the designated new member - just like it is in the real world.