as far as i can tell, the way the system works in halo is that it displays the FP arms and weapon to the person himself, and an entirely different biped to everyone else. am i correct? if i am, does that mean that if i dug around halo i would find a biped with the weapons and stuff already attached?

No, the weapons aren't attached to any bipeds.

how does it work then? how do other people see the weapon and arms aligned perfectly with the biped?

When you export a 3p model, the point at 0, 0, 0 becomes the point where the biped holds the gun with the left hand. There's a marker on the 3p model called #left hand (cyborg, marine, elite, w/e) where the bipeds holds the gun with his left hand.

thats awfully confusing. but doesnt that mean that since the biped has arms, and the FP arms are already there, that the arms are overlapping? lol sorry for asking so many questions, im just trying to get my info straight.

FP arms are essentially what they're named: FP arms. That means that they're only displayed in FP. Other players won't see them.

i know. o wait. i think i MIGHT get it. so other players see the weapon but not the FP arms, and the arms built into the biped are shaped around the weapon?+

seems like it should work correctly, thats wierd.

ok here is the thing. the fp arms and weapon anims ONLY SHOW TO THE PLAYER USING THEM. the 3rd person anims(usualy jsut lazily reused fp anims) are what other ppl c. the game renders two diferent sets. depending on who is viewing./ u cant see the 3rd person arms and weapons unless u go into 3rd person with the cams. when weps are aniamted the arms are reused jsut the nodes adn aniamtions are changed.