Chassis mounted main guns

[Talek Krell]

The PS2 Magrider's main cannon is currently fixed forward, probably in much the same way as the driver's gun on the PS1 Magrider. T-Ray has stated this and I think it's worth discussion, since I believe it puts the Mag at a severe disadvantage

The History Lesson
Tanks were designed during WW1 to destroy fortified positions, like machine gun bunkers. Bunkers aren't renowned for their speed and maneuverability, so the designers simply took as large a gun as the engine could move and mounted it directly to the chassis.

As bunkers and trenches fell out of favor, the primary purpose of the tank became killing other tanks. Designers found that a smaller weapon in a rotating turret was infinitely superior for this, and chassis mounted guns have been essentially obsolete since WWI ended. The tank destroyers are the closest thing to an exception but all of their designs had the ability to move the gun left and right to varying degrees, and after WWII those designs were abandoned as well.

The Point
Even with the ability to hover, having to use a fixed forward main cannon with no horizontal travel will put the magrider at a massive disadvantage. Especially if it's supposed to act as an MBT and not an anti-tank sniper. Setting up hover tanks like this has been tried before and they are inevitably:

1. Touchy and unstable, making it difficult to keep the main gun on a target even while "stationary".
2. Less mobile, due to being forced to choose between fighting and maneuvering while their turreted opponents can do both simultaneously.
3. Less aware, due to being forced to only look in the direction they are currently driving lest their tank go off course.

At the very least the new Mag needs a proper control scheme and a gun that has a small range of motion independent of the chassis, but if this thing is to really be competetive with the Vanny and Prowler then it needs its turret back.