Game types to encourage team play

I'd like to see some game types / mechanic / objectives that encourage team play and enable it in interesting ways.

When DMHS is on Vent and on the same team, we do a lot of this on our own, which is great - but the game itself doesn't inherently encourage that. S&D is "every man for himself" deathmatch, and Capture the Flag tends to be S&D with the hope that SOMEONE will make a flag run. Flag runs are SOMETIMES accomplished with multiple players, but often by one guy in a Sidewinder, essentially flying solo.

Some general things I can think of are -

Mark friendly bombers on the Hud so if you launch and you WANT to fly cover for a bombing run, you can find the bombers.

Be able to select/mark a partner/wingman, so you can find each other in a furball or in any context. Tight communication with teammates isn't always possible, so having something easily visible on the HUD to give you a clue as to where your point/wingman is would help encourage 2 or 3 ship groups.

A chat channel that would exist between these marked group members, so you can have a chance to communicate directly with your partner.

Special attack "combos" that would only work with 2 (or more) ships flying together and in a marked group. Special synchronized attacks and defensive moves that pairs of ships (or more than a pair) could pull off when flying together. Even simple changes such as : a bomber could get more boost/boost fuel if being escorted by fighters, and maybe the fighters get extra shielding while flying escort.

On offense - linking machine guns between multiple ships for concentrated fire. Linking Tracking missiles to a single target.

There are lots of things that could be done. The potential for motivated team play is huge in this game, but players will essentially "fly solo" unless there is an advantage to do otherwise.

Just some food for thought...

Similar to the "combo" system that McBragg addressed could be a baton system (like in CTF when you pick up the flag after a friendly dies).

Maybe the Baton, cannister, flag, etc... has to be passed to a friendly player every 2000M of flight (or 30-60 sec, etc...). Maybe points could be awarded for keeping the baton on one player for X amount of secs, mins, etc... Maybe said points could be award in proportion to the distance away from your home Carrier (i.e. If you are 1000-2000M away, you get 2x the points, 3000-3999 3x, etc...).

You encourage team play by adding rewards to survival.