Rapid prototyping + nostalgia plugin for Autodesk Maya

The plugin/ directory contains the core Blox plugin:

• C++ Source Files: Build these into a Maya plugin bundle (.bundle on macOS, .mll on Windows)
• MEL Scripts: BloxActivate.mel and BloxDeactivate.mel - These are automatically called by the plugin to set up hotkeys

To install:

1. Build the plugin:

   • Open Blox.xcodeproj in Xcode (macOS) or build with your preferred build system
   • The output will be Blox.bundle (macOS) or Blox.mll (Windows)

2. Copy plugin files to Maya's plugin directory:

   • Copy the compiled .bundle/.mll file to your Maya plugin directory:
     • macOS: ~/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/[version]/plug-ins/
     • Windows: Documents/maya/[version]/plug-ins/
   • Copy BloxActivate.mel and BloxDeactivate.mel to the same directory

3. Load the plugin in Maya:

   • Open Maya → Windows → Settings/Preferences → Plug-in Manager
   • Find "Blox" and check "Loaded" and "Auto load"

The scripts/ directory contains standalone utility scripts:

• rebuildScene.mel: Optimizes block scenes by merging colinear blocks along X, Y, and Z axes.

To install:

1. Copy rebuildScene.mel to your Maya scripts directory:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/[version]/scripts/
   • Windows: Documents/maya/[version]/scripts/

2. Usage: In Maya, source the script and call the function:

   source rebuildScene;
   RebuildScene();
   

Note: The rebuildScene.mel script attempts to solve an NP-hard problem (rectilinear polygon partitioning), so it uses a heuristic approach. While it works well for most cases, it may not always produce optimal results for complex block arrangements.