[Bf-gamedev] Proposal to (try to) get better FBX support

[Jens Christian Restemeier]

I made some design notes for a potential stand-alone FBX library. This is
still only a suggestion:
- not a clone of the official API
- MIT or BSD type license
- initially support only FBX
- conservative use of C++ features
- designed for easy/automatic wrap into Python library
- self-contained, no dependencies on Blender or third party libraries
- standard autoconf build
- API designed around import/export:
  - no modeling
  - no rendering
  - limited editing
  -> export workflow
    1) app builds scenegraph from internal representation
    2) calls export
    3) deletes scenegraph
  -> import workflow
    1) app calls import
    2) builds internal representation
    3) deletes scenegraph
   (This should simplify the API and memory management)
- "data source" objects to wrap vertex buffers instead of copying between
app and library
- limited utility features applied during import/export:
  - scale, up-axis
  - bone, camera, light orientation
  - no triangulation
  - no Blender-specific processing
- hide FBX legacy features and internals

- code quality:
  - unit tests
  - test case library
  - stress test library
  - examples
  - documentation

long term:
- add support for a free and open file format

The Blender script would sit on top of that and do all the Blender-specific
transformations, like building armatures
The advantage of this approach would be that the work of deciphering FBX
and working out the problems is distributed, and especially if game engines
and other programs use it instead of the official SDK we have a bigger
chance of interoperability, compared to having to debug problems in dozens
of apps.
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