0. LICENSING AND DISTRIBUTION

xmesh_import.py | Python Script for Blender3D | imports a VegaStrike .xmesh
Copyright (C)2005 Alex Feterman

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.

(In a nutshell: you're free to contribute and distribute, but
never to profit from this utility.)


1. FILE DATA

Filename	: xmesh_import.py
Description	: Python script imports a VegaStrike .xmesh into Blender3D
Author		: Alex 'CubOfJudahsLion' Feterman
Version		: 0.1.2


2. INSTALLING

Drop the xmesh_import.py files into your blender scripts directory. This is normally
?:\ ... \Blender\.blender\scripts in Windows and $HOME/.blender/scripts in Un*x, but
the actual location may vary according to the parameters given during installation of
Blender3D.


3. USAGE

3.1 Once installed, start Blender3D and select File->Import->VegaStrike (.xmesh)

3.2 Select a .xmesh file from <VegaStrikeDataRoot>/units/<shipName>/*.xmesh
    (replace the names between angle brackets with the proper names)

3.3 Gaze upon the m4d modeling 5k|11z of the VegaStrike 3d art dudes ;) Oh, and you
    can render to your heart's content as well (don't forget about the GNU licensing, tho.)


4. RELEASE LOG

* V0.1.2
	Fixed:
	- Blender 2.37: library now is called meshtools. I'm importing it now by that name.
	  I'm not supporting previous Blender versions. (It's free for cryin' out loud.)
	- Finally able to load images from the centralized textures/ directory
	Known Issues:
	- No automatic elimination of duplicated vertexes (maybe next version)
	- Doesn't handle UNC pathnames in Windows correctly. You'll need to map the UNC to
	  a drive unit to correctly access files.
	To do:
	- Parse BFXM. I don't foresee doing this anytime soon, and MESHER can do BFXM->XMESH
	  conversions anyway.
	Cancelled:
	- No longer intend to load logos, subunits or parse <Unit /> files.

* V0.1.1
	Fixed:
	- Texturing now "activates" correctly, and it's applied to mesh.
	Known Issues: 
	- No search/loading of alternate image directory
	- Multiple-mesh needs to be done manually
	- Duplicate points not automatically removed
	- No subunits loaded
	To do:
	- Parse <Unit /> (including subunits)
	- Parse BFXM
	- Load&apply logos?
	- Load images from alter dirs
	- Remove duplicate points?
	- Load subunits

* V0.1
	Known Issues:
	- Texturing works, but somehow it still requires the user to "activate it".
	  Click in "OB" in the material buttons for it to work.
	- The script doesn't know to look for images that are not in the same directory
	  as the .xmesh file, and they will cause an incomplete load of the model
	- Multiple meshes not loaded. Self-illuminating meshes and lights need to be loaded
	  manually
	- Duplicate points need to be removed manually
	- No subunits loaded
	To do:
	- Fix texture application bug
	- Direct Parsing of <Unit /> files (.blank, .template)
	- Parse BFXM (a better method, since <Unit/> now refers to BFXM almost exclusively.)
	- Load Images from ../../textures directory when not present in current
	- Load and apply logos. Probably never to be implemented--Blender only handles ONE set
	  of UV coordinates per model, AFAIK.
	- Remove duplicate points
	- Load subunits