[Nuke]

ya know that feature that does a 3d render of the ship instead of an animation is rather nifty, but is it posible to do that for weapons as well? with secondaries it would be feasable just to render the missile, but for primaries it would be nice to have a $intercace model: tag. if the tag is not presant then it would use the model in $model:, and if that is not available then it would use the animation.

[Overlord]

Then someone has to do models for ALL weapons, because there are no models as you can't see them in-game.

[Nuke]

set it up to default to an animation if one is available, if not then it would use $model: (if set) or  $interface model:

[Flipside]

My question is, would these be high-poly models which look as good as the originals, or are they going to be the ones used in-game should external gun-mounts be implemented? If it is the former, it requires a lot of extra model-making (not that this is a bad thing, but worth bearing in mind), if it is the latter, do we really want to reduce the quality of the animation?

[Nuke]

i really just want it for mods because its easyer to make a model than it is to make a large animation (wich requires one to make a model anyway). also model files are smaller than animation files. and when you have of weapons you need of animations and that can really add to the size of the download. its hard on modem users and it eats up web hosting resources. it would use the animation if its available and if there is no animation it would use an interface model.

[Flipside]

Hmmmmm... I must admit, I was thinking more or less along the same lines as you, that a Model file would be a smaller download than an animation file, and you have to make the model anyway.

I suppose it depends on textures etc as well as the model itself, but personally I think it's a good idea, alas, I'm not a coder, but it sounds more sensible than trying to create those damn ANI's

[Forinec]

I'm for this idea, and I also like the external mounts idea. Wouldn't it be fun to blow off an enemy's primaries? I was thinking about weapon models before, but I didn't believe it was feasible at the time.

[Nuke]

this is more or less an interface idea. its also a good option for modders doing large campaings or total conversions to save space by eliminating the need for several huge animations.

external weapons wont work in the current engine, but wait for ferrium .