Feature Request - Alliances

"Alliances" in multiplayer. You can ally with certain other players within the game, but not the AI players, and then you can transfer money between yourselves, request changes to the other players vehicles (e.g. you perform an action much like you normally would but because it's your friends vehicle in question, they get a Yes/No dialog before the change actually occurs).

Alliances would be public knowledge within the game (shown by some sort of icon) and it could even be an option when allied to "merge" and then you both take control of a single conjoined company. Allied players can request help, talk in private etc. An allied company can go out of business but if it does, the allies have a chance to help it out with some cash or, if it goes bankrupt, get the first-choice of taking it over.

Allied players can use each other's depots and copy orders from their allies (so they can send an extra bus to their ally's failing route).

Allies could also part-buy a piece of bridge/tunnel or an industry if none of them can afford it. Buying the bridge/tunnel/industry with a certain option on will let the players all chip in a particular amount and they then "own" that amount of the relevant part. Then they can share it as usual (for road bridges/tunnels at least) but if any of them want to destroy it, they have to get a 50% or more vote to do so.

As part of Allies idea, an Age-Of-Empires style "ping" would be nice, where you can bring attention to a certain part of the map by clicking a special command and then clicking on the map. All allies hear a sound and get a cross appear on their map to show that someone wants attention at that point on the map. This is also useful without allies, to point out trouble spots or towns that are currently being discussed etc.