Iron-sighting or scoping in with the mech?
How would that look?
Obtrusive, for one. No matter how sleek our mech and its attached or held weaponry will be, it'd still probably block some of the screen in FPS-mode or when iron-sighting/scoping.
Would/should the camera snap to an over-the-shoulder or above-the-barrel view, or should it center as if it was on the chassis (whether we would have the option for closed-ones or not)?
I imagine that the only type of build that would be comfortable with a quasi-cockpit p.o.v., in either FPS or scoped view, would be ones that would aim at long-range. Perhaps we'd see a bit of the arms or the weapon extended, above and to the side, but on our HUD, we'd see more of the environment, with a wider field-of-view, with the targeting reticle, as the sensors on our weapon would feed targeting-info to our HUD, as if our mech and weapon had eyes. This could easily fit into the lore of how the mech would work. The sci-fi of it. Whether we'd have an open or closed cockpit, our HUD would be the (user-determined) partially opaque, augmented-reality info-overlay. (*gasp* Tactical-info Overlay - T.i.O or A.R.i.O., ...never mind that...should have a nifty abbrv. name, though.)
However, outside of long-range builds (where zooming in would be the alt-fire), all weapons should have an alternate fire-mode. If I remember correctly, that is how it was in Firefall, back in beta-stages and many if not all off that was removed.
Take the Shock Rail, for example. The weapon has an iron-sight, down-the-barrel alt-fire mode in right-click, when it has virtually no spread, so the small amount of magnification and slightly larger field-of-view it gives, is really of no use, it's easy to hit a target with. I remember a weapon from Unreal Tournament, which could shoot a slow-moving orb with the secondary-fire and then it could be made to explode, doing AoE, when it was shot by the primary-fire. Similarly to how the Shock Rail is used, except it doesn't have a proper, different alt-fire (or perhaps not anymore).
Or take grenade launchers. Arc one to any spot and the alt-fire would detonate it, similarly to mine-layers. With an extensive modding system, the detonation-method should have its very own mod-slot. By default, a grenade-launcher's propelled explosive would explode on contact with any surface or enemy. But, then, one could install a remote-detonation mod on it so it can be set off when the user wants it. Also, it could be modified to 'only' explode when it hits an enemy, but when it would hit, bounce off or attach itself to a surface, it could function as a remote explosive or mine that could be denoted at the user's discretion. This way, the first enemy to come close to it, wouldn't prematurely set it off and the user could wait until more targets would move within the blast radius, maximizing effectiveness. This way, people who like their grenade launchers could build a weapon that could fulfill that function or it could essentially give them a weapon that spams remote explosives.
All of this could be an attempt to give more functionality to weapons (or a single omni-weapon) and the two fire-modes could be tuned and modded separately. It would facilitate faster combat and add more versatility, without having to jump back and forth between camera views that would potentially hamper our view of the environment.
Or maybe...
Iron-sighting/scoping-in and alt-fire could be two different things, mapped to two different keys. What I mean is, a weapon could be modified to be effective at mid-range (however long mid-range would be - as I said, it could easily be from 150m). It wouldn't be a sniper-build per say, but the user would need a bit of magnification for precision, to make out targets better. Scoping in or iron-sighting wouldn't make the weapon use its alt-fire, but would magnify what the HUD displays (since the pilot wouldn't really be relying just on their own eyes - it would see through the mech's, its sensors) with targeting-info possibly highlighting hostiles, showing their distance and potentially additional info, like weaknesses, with the proper mods slotted and/or skills unlocked. And from there, the alt-fire could still be used the same way.
I don't know where, but I vaguely remember a sci-fi film, series or game, where a person had something like a holographic screen floating in front of them, they turn with it and by picking at it with their fingers they magnified what they were looking at through it. The omni-frame's open or closed chassis could function the same way. Projecting (and overlaying with info) the environment on a wide-display, in an open or closed cockpit, in front of the pilot's face and magnifying targets if and when they'd be iron-sighting or scoping-in for precision.
We will be our frame and our weapon.
We will see not only through one or even two eyes, but three.
We will fight not only through one extension of ourselves, but two.
The weapon won't simply be an extension of the frame. Not merely the extension of an extension. It would link back to us. The three forming a triangle. A trinity.
How would that look?
Obtrusive, for one. No matter how sleek our mech and its attached or held weaponry will be, it'd still probably block some of the screen in FPS-mode or when iron-sighting/scoping.
Would/should the camera snap to an over-the-shoulder or above-the-barrel view, or should it center as if it was on the chassis (whether we would have the option for closed-ones or not)?
I imagine that the only type of build that would be comfortable with a quasi-cockpit p.o.v., in either FPS or scoped view, would be ones that would aim at long-range. Perhaps we'd see a bit of the arms or the weapon extended, above and to the side, but on our HUD, we'd see more of the environment, with a wider field-of-view, with the targeting reticle, as the sensors on our weapon would feed targeting-info to our HUD, as if our mech and weapon had eyes. This could easily fit into the lore of how the mech would work. The sci-fi of it. Whether we'd have an open or closed cockpit, our HUD would be the (user-determined) partially opaque, augmented-reality info-overlay. (*gasp* Tactical-info Overlay - T.i.O or A.R.i.O., ...never mind that...should have a nifty abbrv. name, though.)
However, outside of long-range builds (where zooming in would be the alt-fire), all weapons should have an alternate fire-mode. If I remember correctly, that is how it was in Firefall, back in beta-stages and many if not all off that was removed.
Take the Shock Rail, for example. The weapon has an iron-sight, down-the-barrel alt-fire mode in right-click, when it has virtually no spread, so the small amount of magnification and slightly larger field-of-view it gives, is really of no use, it's easy to hit a target with. I remember a weapon from Unreal Tournament, which could shoot a slow-moving orb with the secondary-fire and then it could be made to explode, doing AoE, when it was shot by the primary-fire. Similarly to how the Shock Rail is used, except it doesn't have a proper, different alt-fire (or perhaps not anymore).
Or take grenade launchers. Arc one to any spot and the alt-fire would detonate it, similarly to mine-layers. With an extensive modding system, the detonation-method should have its very own mod-slot. By default, a grenade-launcher's propelled explosive would explode on contact with any surface or enemy. But, then, one could install a remote-detonation mod on it so it can be set off when the user wants it. Also, it could be modified to 'only' explode when it hits an enemy, but when it would hit, bounce off or attach itself to a surface, it could function as a remote explosive or mine that could be denoted at the user's discretion. This way, the first enemy to come close to it, wouldn't prematurely set it off and the user could wait until more targets would move within the blast radius, maximizing effectiveness. This way, people who like their grenade launchers could build a weapon that could fulfill that function or it could essentially give them a weapon that spams remote explosives.
All of this could be an attempt to give more functionality to weapons (or a single omni-weapon) and the two fire-modes could be tuned and modded separately. It would facilitate faster combat and add more versatility, without having to jump back and forth between camera views that would potentially hamper our view of the environment.
Or maybe...
Iron-sighting/scoping-in and alt-fire could be two different things, mapped to two different keys. What I mean is, a weapon could be modified to be effective at mid-range (however long mid-range would be - as I said, it could easily be from 150m). It wouldn't be a sniper-build per say, but the user would need a bit of magnification for precision, to make out targets better. Scoping in or iron-sighting wouldn't make the weapon use its alt-fire, but would magnify what the HUD displays (since the pilot wouldn't really be relying just on their own eyes - it would see through the mech's, its sensors) with targeting-info possibly highlighting hostiles, showing their distance and potentially additional info, like weaknesses, with the proper mods slotted and/or skills unlocked. And from there, the alt-fire could still be used the same way.
I don't know where, but I vaguely remember a sci-fi film, series or game, where a person had something like a holographic screen floating in front of them, they turn with it and by picking at it with their fingers they magnified what they were looking at through it. The omni-frame's open or closed chassis could function the same way. Projecting (and overlaying with info) the environment on a wide-display, in an open or closed cockpit, in front of the pilot's face and magnifying targets if and when they'd be iron-sighting or scoping-in for precision.
We will be our frame and our weapon.
We will see not only through one or even two eyes, but three.
We will fight not only through one extension of ourselves, but two.
The weapon won't simply be an extension of the frame. Not merely the extension of an extension. It would link back to us. The three forming a triangle. A trinity.
Likes:
Mizogin
I am a firm believer in the K.I.S.S. method, well kissing in general but I digress. I think that a simple Field of View change might impart the proper zoom factor, but I personally wouldn't want to add in any extraneous elements that do not need to be there. That said, if you don't care for a small zoom bonus to be your alt fire, I think you should be able to pick from a wide variety of options (aka mods 
