Combat System Description

The battle screen will contain 5 layers in which characters fight, with one
level designated as the "fray".  In every level to one side of the fray, only
one team's characters reside, and the other team's reside on the other side of
the fray, while both teams have characters in the fray.  In setting up a party,
you create 3 levels, where the farthest out level will initially be in the fray
when combat begins.  Vertical placement of characters is meaningless, like in
most of the FF games, only which row they are in matters.

The fray will move based on a few factors.  First, the attackers will have the
option of advancing if all the defenders in the fray have been destroyed or
retreated, thus moving the fray to the next level.  Also, the fray can be
pushed back by overwhelming the defenders, probably if the attacks have 2x or
more the number of characters (or possibly based on fighting stats or something
like that) that the defenders have in the fray, then the fray is moved back a
level, combining with the characters in the level behind.

The battle system will be based on a timer-bar, similar to the FF games, but
with distinctions.  The timer bar will constantly be growing, and when it
reaches a full bar, it will stop growing and prompt the player for what the
character should do.  The player can (and should), at any time before the timer
bar reaches full, give the character an action to carry out, so that as soon as
enough time has accumulated, the action will be executed.  Most actions will
take less than one timer bar, and this extra time will be wasted if the player
waits until prompted.

Attacks are characterized into 3 categories: those that will Always execute,
those that will be Delayed if the character is attacked, and those that will be
Canceled if the character is attacked.  Until an action is selected, it is
assumed that it is of type C, and if the character is attacked, it's timer bar
will reset.  If the player has already selected an action, the appropriate
measures will be taken when an attack occurs.

Most large spells will take more than one timer bar's worth, so if a player
selects one of these after the timer bar has reached full, it will then
continue growing on the second timer bar (probably by a different graphic,
which grows at half speed, but is of the same physical length as the others).

There will be a character selection/stats screen in the lower portion of the
screen, which will contain two rows of the names of characters, with only the
timers shown for stats, possibly HP also.  The player will select a character
from this portion of the screen, and while the cursor is over a character, a
mini-stats screen will hover showing HP, MP, etc.
On the main battle view, under each character will be their HP and the
timerbars.

In the stats portion, it will indicate who has already been assigned a task by
coloration, probably as the following:
  White - doing something
  Yellow/Gold - waiting for orders (while timer bar is growing), possibly
blinking when at full and waiting for orders
  Red - Stunned/etc
When the player selects a white character, they can choose from the following
options: Cancel (suffering penalties, like loss of half the MP or something if
it is a spell), Row switch (or maybe two options: advance/withdraw) and Un-Lock
Auto.

Players can set a character on Auto to continuously repeat a task without
intervention.  Characters in the fray are always on auto, and only using their
primary attack.  A player can select a fray character and choose their primary
target if desired, along with telling them to withdraw from the fray.

With this system, combats will start almost immediately upon entering.  Also,
larger parties will be likely and should still be easy to manage, especially
since the brute force of the party will be in the fray constantly, and not
require intervention.