[Akalabeth Angel]

I know that secondary weapons or missiles can be mounted externally to the model, such as in the Babylon project. And that as far as I know the actual missile will be used for display purposes.

But what about primary weapons? Some universes have modular weapons, take Macross/Robotech for example where mecha would hold a rifle and that rifle could potentially be a variety of types. I wonder if it's possible, to have the player go to the weapon select screen, select from three types of rifles and then in mission, the rifle model displayed will be according to whatever weapon he chose.

Of course this isn't limited to bipedal mecha. Different types of fighters could have one or more hardpoints. External hardpoints would logically be easier to swap out than internal ones. They'd also be easier to adapt to new weapons (rather than trying to make new weapons fit the fighter).

Though of course they're also a lot more vulnerable to damage.

Anyway just curious if this has crossed anyone else's mind.

[Thaeris]

Here's an idea: mount a primary as a secondary. Gunpods could be fun. I don't know of too many FS-based mods which are set in universes which use gunpods (besides the archaic Macross mod), but perhaps Renegade Legion could make use of that...

[General Battuta]

A lot of Steve-O's ships make use of primary weapon models, but you can't switch them out.

[Thaeris]

A lot of FS ships have primary weapon models as well. 

Is it possible to even code a secondary that doesn't get depleted or that could drain the main gun capacitor? To me, the best idea would seem to be making a primary weapon a secondary weapon. The external model is the hardpoint weapon while it shoots normal primary FX.

[Akalabeth Angel]

Here's an idea: mount a primary as a secondary. Gunpods could be fun. I don't know of too many FS-based mods which are set in universes which use gunpods (besides the archaic Macross mod), but perhaps Renegade Legion could make use of that...

Well no this is for another idea of mine not RL.
Renegade Legion is basically Star Wars in many respects. Fighter weaponry doesn't change. Though there are some variants which lose a bunch of guns for some negligible increase in speed.

[General Battuta]

A lot of FS ships have primary weapon models as well. 

Is it possible to even code a secondary that doesn't get depleted or that could drain the main gun capacitor? To me, the best idea would seem to be making a primary weapon a secondary weapon. The external model is the hardpoint weapon while it shoots normal primary FX.

Totally unnecessary since external primaries already work.

And what retail ships had primary weapon models?

[Aardwolf]

I made a homing primary once...

[Thaeris]

I may have been on a completely different tangent to you when I posted that... I suppose I was referring to FS fighters with externally modeled guns, such as the Uly, Serapis, etc. Those are certainly primary weapons that do not change their physical appearance despite mounting assorted weapon types.

So... do Steve-O's ships actually have the primary weapon model change depending on what's loaded? If that's the case, how is it that "you can't switch them out"? My understanding is not as well versed as yours in this matter, not by a longshot.

[General Battuta]

Here's your misunderstanding:

In the case of the Ulysses and Serapis, the guns are part of the fighter mesh. They're not like external missiles, where the model file (or .pof) is defined by the weapon's table entry rather than the fighter's.

In the case of Steve-O's ships, the primary weapons themselves had defined .pofs, independent from the parent ship - just as a missile would. Yet each of these weapons can only be mounted on a specific fighter, in a specific hardpoint, and can't be removed from that hardpoint - so you can't switch them out.

Take a look at the Uriel/Wraith on the FreeSpace Wiki. That huge nose gun is a separate model.

But it would be very easy to make them switchable. Just make a number of weapon models with the same design of attachment point.

[Nuke]

nukemod uses the same feature, trick is to make all your ships hardpoints follow a specification of sorts

[Getter Robo G]

Nukemod example of a Machine gun test...

I simply placed the firign point and assigned one fo nukes Guns to it...
I had no idea size or scale and this is how it turned out:

These guns are NOT part of the model and can be switched out.
you just need the table to accept all the various types you want posible...