If you look closely at the part where the barrel is attached to, that orange part has those dark spots on it, just like if it
originally had three barrels attached to it but it was later changed for some reason.
Maybe it's an old screenshot from a 'prototype predator', or maybe i just have too much time.
Thats exactly what it is, I have every 3D model and texture extracted from the game assets from every patch since Alpha 2. Many art assets would show up a patch or two ahead of the actual mech release. I used to render them out and discuss them with others in private to speculate what we were going to see next. The early EOC-Predator model had 3 barrels, at some point it was modified to the one barrel when it was finally released publicly. The texture of the main body was never modified which is why you still see those 3 black dots where the individual barrels would be.
If someone wants I can dig up renderings of the weapon I did years ago.
The Hon was the only completed, unreleased ingame model at the time of the Great Silence and the ADH devs said the Pusher was virtually done - there's not really another model they could have used.
WRONG.
There are completed mech chassis that have been ready for years, some were ready and used in the Closed Alphas and Closed Betas, which was years before "The Great Silence".
The Alpha contained the following:
(A class)
Kerby
Mobi
Boot *
Spree *
Zos *
(B class)
Hon
Hiefram *
Muller *
Pat *
Res *
(C class)
36M
Falum
Brass *
Cupcake *
Domoff *
* = known chassis
Even RIGHT NOW now currently, theres these completed mechs in the game including the ones above.
(A class)
Nief
Proct
(B class)
Ord
Jobs
(C class)
Gedes
Thats 10 completed models, all fully textured and ready to be used at any moment. The art team had finished the majority of these mechs way before the idea of the pusher was ever conceived. This can be confirmed by looking at the localization files for every patch, where in the beginning you see roles such as forager, and demolition, and then more recently (after ascension) the mentioning of pusher and siege tank.
The truth is it could of been any one of those mech chassis and really nobody but the Devs knew which one they were going to use. Maybe Vana leaked it, but I never heard anyone discuss it in secret which one it was going to be.