Ok, I am trying to get fully into this game but have a few questions as I plan to do some modding. Sorry in advance if some of these questions have been asked before....

Shotgun and Spread formations, are the Balanced? Meaning is TE to the right with a WR (Z), and 2 WR left (X & Y).
Or are they either of them a Trips formation with the Y Receiver to the TE Side?
Are all formations considered STRONG RIGHT?

I just want to know this so I can more plays to the playbook but need to know how the formations are layed out first for route running purposes.

iform and proset are strong right, yes.

shotgun and spread have TE on left and the flanker on the right.

twote is balanced, i.e. with a TE at each end of the line.

Thank you. Is there a way to make additional formations like a trips formation or would that break the game engine?

In principle you can hijack the plays.xml and use the "Start" command to move players around pre-snap thus creating new formations, it will look at bit wonky but will work. It wont break the game per se, but you will definitely be able to produce overpowered plays.

Ok, one last question on fomrations....I do not want plays to be overpowered.....
Can you put a WR in the TE slot in Spread and Shotgun Formations in the depth chart? If so, is there any penalty for doing that to create 4 WR sets?

yes, you can.

There is some overlap in the positions.

Observe though that players will use the positionskill relevant to the place they line up, so if you line up at WR at Te, he will use his TE positionskill, which will affect his performance somewhat.

Where is "plays.xml" located? Seems like a powerful tool that could solve a lot of the problems I've posted on the forum that have been ignored. Exciting!

A guide on plays is here: viewtopic.php?f=256&t=28520

I wasn't aware of the "Start" command. I don't see it in the guide. Could you use this to create a 3-back/T/Full House or Wishbone type formation? How exactly does this work? I guess it's essentially a way to put players in motion from what I see above?

I think frankies guide was for the ingame editor, not the plays.xml.

the start command works pretty much like presnap motion yes. The reason it will look wonky is that there is no animation of the player moving, so they will 'teleport' to the new position.

I will look up the correct syntax and post it (it may take a some days, im on vacation atm)