Why use this mod?
Ever wanted to swap a weapon for F-22A but only the first weapon? Or only the second and third? Or perhaps only the first weapon of a specific skin (or skins)? Want to choose for yourself on which skin the weapon swap is applied? This is the mod.

What weapon swaps are available?
The weapons available to install on each slot are:

Slot 1 (Replaces QAAM): HPAA, LAAM, SASM
Slot 2 (Replaces XSDB): 4AAM, HCAA
Slot 3 (Replaces 8AAM): MSTM


Does ammo count change?
No.
Why? Because ammo change will make it incompatible with any mods that do similar thing, a popular one in particular is sincerity's addon plane compatibility.
This means HPAA will have the same base ammo count as QAAM (18), same case with 4AAM with XSDB's base ammo count (48), etc.

Does weapon model get adjusted?
No. The weapons use the models that fit the weapon bay, and only among weapons that exist in the game itself (not through mods).

Does it show in the hangar while selecting? (e.g. the name of SP Weapons)
No. Unfortunately. The hangar menu will still show QAAM, XSDB, and 8AAM, but the weapon model would change. One problem would be HPAA since it uses similar model to QAAM. This also applies to changing SP Weapon in bases when rearming (Mission 6, Mission 11, Mission 15, SP Mission 2). You will have to remember what you have installed.

How do the swaps interact with weapon parts? (Specifically on Slot 2 - XSDB, which gets replaced by missile weapons, since they use different set of parts)
Parts must match the weapon in-use (e.g. when XSDB is replaced by 4AAM, missile parts are needed).
In-hangar UI shows change when Bomb part is selected, but in-game, it will not have effect. This can be seen with ammo part.

Why not apply this to all weapons for the F-22A?
Frankly, I am not capable of doing it. Perhaps yet, but I cannot promise. There are also considerations such as weapon model fitting the weapon bay, and ammo count as I have specified above. Additionally, this mod is experimental under the hood, so the things I can do with it is still limited.
How to install this mod?

Download the mod's .zip file
Extract the files corresponding to the change you want to apply to the ~mods/ folder of the game directory (as you would any other mods)


How do I decide which files I should install?There are 3 parts to the mod:

Base file (ModularSWPSwap_F-22A_Base_P.pak)
[REQUIRED, must be installed for the mod to work]
With this mod installed you would have F-22A with its base weapons: QAAM, XSDB, and 8AAM.


Files for swap by weapon slot (~ModularSWPSwap_F-22A_<WeaponSlot>-<Replacement>_P.pak)
[OPTIONAL]
These files will replace the weapons of a particular slot for all skins. For example, installing ~ModularSWPSwap_F-22A_SWP1-SASM_P.pak will replace QAAM with SASM on all slots. This file must have higher load priority than the base file (by adding "~" in front of the mod file to make it more prioritized)


Files for swap by skin slot and weapon slot (~~ModularSWPSwap_F-22A_<SkinSlot>_<WeaponSlot>-<Replacement>_P.pak)
[OPTIONAL]
These files will replace the weapons of a particular slot for a particular skin. For example, installing ~~ModularSWPSwap_F-22A_Skin4_SWP3-MSTM_P.pak will replace 8AAM with MSTM only on Skin 4 (Mage Skin).
Included among these files are for QAAM, XSDB, and 8AAM. They are meant to "unpatch" the particular skin's weapon slot if the all-skin-swap file is installed. For example, if you wish to replace XSDB with 4AAM for all slots except Skin 7, install ~ModularSWPSwap_F-22A_SWP2-4AAM_P.pak and ~~ModularSWPSwap_F-22A_Skin7_SWP2-XSDB_P.pak. (Alternatively you can use the individual skin files for 4AAM except for Skin 7).
These files must have higher load priority than the all-skin-swap file (by adding "~" in front of the mod file to make it more prioritized)


Is this mod compatible with X mod?
I'm sorry but this aspect is untested so I can only offer guesses:

If it's a skin mod, it is compatible
If it alters plane or skin list (sincerity's add-on compatibility or additional skin slot), it is compatible. However, the modular swaps currently cannot be applied to the extra skin slots.

If it alters the plane's performance or special weapon selection (e.g. Blazededge's PSM at any speed mod, EOM's Enhanced Gunplay mod plane capability module, etc), it is incompatible, and one must take precedence over the other. Add "~"s in front if the mod file you want prioritized.


I've encountered a problem with this mod. What do I do?
Please report it on this mod's page. Either on Posts or Bugs. It would help other users and myself to be aware, and so that I can work on making a fix. Include the files you installed to help me better pinpoint the problem, including info on other mods you have installed.

Can I offer some feedback?
Absolutely. Would be greatly appreciated.

Future plans?
No promises. Sorry. Bug fixes may come, but I cannot say I will be doing this to other planes and adding more SP Weapon selection.

CREDITS

Project Aces, for the game itself
Creators of these tools and their dependencies: UModelAC7, UAssetGUI, UnrealPak Enhanced. Without those, this mod couldn't have been made.

Creator and members of GHBHSH Discord, for all the modding knowledge shared.
You, for taking the time reading about this. Download is greatly appreciated, but I also thank you for bothering to read this description.

The Ace Combat community.
And last but not least...

ChatGPT. I had to make over 110 files for this! Its help in generating a Python script to automate my work was a tremendous help!