Right, so I've been processing how much Colonial Marines has changed from when there were very few attachments in the past to the over bloated amount we have now. I believe this leads to an over-emphasis of min/max gaming, where the focus should be on MediumRP instead of the TDM nightmare it has become (we shouldn't be focusing on getting that 2% damage boost or fire rate buff).
Furthermore, to make matters worse a lot of the attachments are gimmicky and don't really make weapons much better. Instead they add extra QoL features that feel like they could have instead been standard issue (bayonet, mag harness, flashlight).
Secondly, since there are a few powerful restricted attachments like Barrel Charger or some of the more powerful scopes that screw with the overall balance of the weapons the marines get. Thus, the stock stopping power of weapons are lowered to properly balance for the small circulation of powerful attachments that only a few people get to use.
In the past as well, the sniper spec was really the only one with a scope which made HvH more balanced since only one person was sniping people offscreen (an example of too many attachments messing with game balance). A possible solution to this would be to replace the current attachment system with weapons already coming with certain attachments that make sense/balanced for that weapon (sniper rifle comes with a scope; pulse rifle comes with flashlight, retractable bayonet, mag harness built in; etc ). These attachments could show up in the player panel to toggle them on or off, if adding small buttons for all them instead is too difficult.
The point is the development team could properly balance the marine weapons and add the QoL improvements for everyone on weapon vend, without having players go through the attachment ordeal every round. Lastly, this changes the focus away from TDM because players could actually RP roundstart marine side instead of worrying about getting the best attachments.
Let me know if this sounds like a good or bad idea, why or why it isn't, and any improvements or changes to what I said.