trueSpace tSx point cloud exporter. Author: Fenerit <www.fenerit@interfree.it>
Export tS meshes as point cloud in OBJ-PTS-XYZ-CMOD format.
This program is free software and comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.

Extract where you wish within the "..\tSx\.." folder.

FEATURES:
- OBJ and XYZ format exports either xyz orientation (trueSpace) or xzy orientations (Lightwave);
- PTS has xyz orientation as default;
- OBJ(s) always exports normals;
- CMOD export with the xzy orientation, (default in Celestia's framework); 

KNOW LIMITATIONS:
- tS vertex colors are not exported; because the fact they are mandatory for PTS and CMOD, in this case have been assigned through the converter;

- objects must be unglued before exporting. Use glue just for modelling purposes, since the tSx always export as children all objects on scene, no matter whether just one object is selected. Exporting object(s) as main scene node requires either a single object on scene or polyhedrons' combine (through the poly combiner, a free tSx by Clinton Reese). However, the way in which children are exported is conform to the relevant files' format specifications and has been enough tested in Meshlab (apart PTS, see below).

- Like I said, PTS point size and color are assigned in seat of conversion (default: size 0.1, color 192 192 192), no matter what polyhedron's color is used. This export option is based upon the Autodesk PTS file format as mentioned within the "file_16461.pdf" (Point Cloud Technology Preview, user guide v3.0) and through the analysis of a free PTS Ascii file downloaded from the Autodesk site. (I do not have done real tests on this format since I do not have 3ds MAX and its point cloud plug-in; thus use it at your own risk. Feedbacks about PTS' behaviour will be appreciates, of course).  

- once converted, point/sprite Ascii CMOD(s) needs the manual editing of the sprite texture (user-defined), of the default point color and of opacity, a business that Celestians are supposed to know well.

- Being the way in which points are got from tS not the pure point cloud's "fashion", the cloud is limited to the 3D mesh's surface points; fulfilled "volumetric" point meshes needs a modeler's trick (scaled object's recursion within itself). Anyway, they will be undifferently exported too.

ABOUT CELESTIA CMOD MODELLING:
For completeness, a typical Celestia's .SSC directive (the text file which load the model into the framework) showing a surface point cloud resembling impact, plumes o whatelse sprites cloud posit, i.e, on the Sahara desert (or elsewhere, even on fictional solar systems), should be as below:

####################IOF#################################
SurfaceObject "my_mesh" "Sol/Earth"
{
	Class "diffuse"

	Mesh "my_mesh.cmod"
	Radius 1000 #km
	
	FixedPosition { Planetographic [ 20.73 11.27 0 ] } 
#	Earth's coordinates; the third value is the 3D model's altitude from the soil
	
}
#####################EOF################################

in which the "Radius" and the "FixedPosition"'s directives supersedes the scale/radius and the world/object of the trueSpace's object. In such a case, only the shape of the object and its proper axis are held. For example, the relevant "impact" above can be modeled on a fictitius sphere in whatever Earth's place at the same latitude of the Sahara; mostly for the same axial issues. (the object's axis is assumed to be hortogonal with the latitude and the longitude, but can be skewed like one want it be). Truespace object's radius is thus not important, and once estabilished the object's inclination, the cloud can be shaped at centre of the scene without to have nothing around, if only with the aid of the particle system.


