1# pie-addon - Blender Import-Export for .pie file format 2 3**Blender** addon to **import and export** models in the **`.pie`** format, which is used in the game **Warzone 2100** 4 5Created by *John Wharton* 6 7## Installation 8 91. Download the most recent version at **(https://github.com/Warzone2100/warzone2100/tree/master/tools/blender/2.9x)** 102. Install the addon use one of these methods: 11* __Option A__ (automatic): 12 * From the Blender menu, navigate to `Edit -> Preferences -> Add-ons`. 13 * Click on the `Install` button and select the zipped folder containing the addon. 14* __Option B__ (manual): 15 * Extract the zipped files to `pie_addon` directory. 16 * Place the newly made folder into the following location (Adjust for the installed version of Blender): 17 * Windows:\ 18 `%APPDATA%\Blender Foundation\Blender\2.9x\scripts\addons` 19 * Linux:\ 20 `~/.config/blender/2.9x/scripts/addons` 21 * *(If the addon does not appear as a choice in Blender's preferences click the `Refresh` button or restart the application.)* 223. Activate the addon in Blender's preferences by toggling the checkbox for the `pie_addon` entry in the Add-ons tab. 23 24## Features 25 26The scripts in this addon currently support importing and exporting the following information: 27 28* PIE Type 29* PIE Texture 30* PIE Normal Map 31* PIE Specular Map 32* PIE Events 33* PIE Levels 34 * PIE Points 35 * PIE Polygons* 36 * PIE Textured Polygons 37 * PIE Animated Polygons* 38 * PIE Connectors 39 * PIE Anim Objects* 40 * PIE Shadow Points 41 * PIE Shadow Polygons 42 43*1: N-gons should not be used in exported meshes due to UV corruption. Quads will be triangulated correctly and are acceptable for export from Blender to PIE. 44 45*2: Mesh objects with active modifiers will not export this feature to new faces in the case of mirrored/arrayed geometry. 46 47*3: There may be some cases Blender will not interpret rotation keys in the same manner as the game. 48 49## Usage 50 51This addon adds the following panels to the Scene tab of the properties editor: 52 531. PIE Export 54 * Used for exporting models to the .pie format. 55 * Before exporting, you must select the root object (typically an armature) of the model which you desire to export. 56 * The output file will be located in the system path specified in the `Directory` property, with the name of the file being the name of the root object. 57 * You can export multiple objects at the same time by selecting all of them before executing the export operation. 582. PIE Import 59 * Used for importing .pie models into Blender. 60 * Specify the system path in the `Directory` property and the file name in the `.pie File` property. Be sure to include the file extension `.pie`. 61 62The following panel can be found in the Object tab of the properties editor: 63 64* PIE Object 65 * Objects can be assigned one of these `PIE Object Type` values. 66 1. `None`: 67 * Objects with this type will be ignored when exporting, but they may still be used in the Blender scene to manipulate objects which are eligable for PIE exporting. 68 2. `Root`: 69 * This type is used to define the generic values of a PIE model, such as its rendering flags, textures, and events. 70 3. `Level`: 71 * This type is used to define the mesh and animation properties which are specific to each level such as animation rate/cycles and texture animation data for particular sets of faces. These should always be mesh objects, and also should always be within the heirarchy of a `Root` PIE object. 72 4. `Shadow`: 73 * This type is used to define the shadow of a level. These should always be mesh objects, and should also be parented directly to a `Level` PIE object. The level's `Shadow Type` must be set to `Custom` in order to export PIE shadows. 74 5. `Connector`: 75 * This type is used to define the location of a connector on a level. These should be parented directly to a `Level` PIE object.