Are they really though? There is really no animated movement to them, they just kinda float to the map-room. And planes are moving object and theyre re-skinned just as easily as pilots. Yes, adding a new gun to the troops would take some added effort, but simply changing their uniform would be easy I would think.
Actually, seeing as they don't even use their guns in the first place, (Correct me if I'm wrong there, I just cant recall ever being shot down by a drunk.) and if nothing else you decided to change the model, it would be as simple as modeling a different weapon and putting it in the hands of an all-new paratrooper model. The only real code change it would require is telling the game to look at the paratrooper model instead of the downed pilot model (Which could be kept or improved so pilots dont transform into soldiers when they bail, shouldn't take barely ANY code changes to make it differ between the pilot and the trooper models) when you dump soldiers. Then simply make two models for each soldier: one of the soldier holding on to the parachute straps, weapon on his shoulder, and the other of him slightly crouched, weapon at the ready for when he hits down. That
should be enough to tide the players over until a way to animate them properly is devised.
On a slightly related note, knowing that bailing out is of absolutely no importance and gives you absolutely nothing as a feature, I think we should think of a way to make the downed pilot mode more useful than it currently is. At the moment, all it serves to do is distract enemy planes in a furball while they try to shoot your buddy, who just bailed.
