This repository contains a bare-bones project for Visual Studio 2008 which is cleanly configured to build a plugin for MotionBuilder 2012. It's essentially an empty C++ DLL project which has been preconfigured to include and link against the fbsdk library in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors.
In addition to facilitating the creation of new projects and throwaway testbeds, this template is also meant to demonstrate the basics of fbsdk to new users. It provides a few template classes, like ExampleBox and ExampleTool, demonstrating the common object types that a plugin might sbuclass.
git clone git://github.com/awforsythe/fbsdk-2012-starter.git
rename fbsdk-2012-starter YourProjectName
cd YourProjectName
configure.py YourProjectName
YourProjectName.sln
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Before opening the solution, run configure.py [NewPluginName] from the command line in order to give your version of the project a sensible name. Once the project is renamed, open the .sln file.
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Open the Property Manager and check the User Macros for the fbsdk-2012-win32-plugin and fbsdk-2012-x64-plugin property sheets. Ensure that the MotionBuilder installation path is noted correctly in each.
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Select the appropriate platform and the Debug build. Note that you must have the corresponding version of MotionBuilder installed (Win32 or x64).
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Build the solution. If all is well, the plugin should build and the post-build event (Deploying PluginName.dll...) should indicate 1 File(s) copied.
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Press F5 to launch MotionBuilder in Debug mode. If warned about debug information, suppress the warning and click Yes.
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The new classes registered in main.cpp should now be accessible. To verify, click Open Reality in the menu bar, expand Tools, and click "PluginName Example Tool." A tool window should appear.
The project configuration needs the path to the MotionBuilder installation directory in order to locate the fbsdk library, copy the .dll to the plugins directory, and launch motionbuilder.exe for debugging. This path is defined with the user macro $(MotionBuilderDirectory) in the included property sheets.
There are two property sheets: one for Win32 builds, and one for x64. If you don't have a particular build of MotionBuilder installed, simply refrain from building the plugin for that platform.
The project directory (containing the .sln and .vcproj files) is organized into a few typical subdirectories. C++ code is kept in the include and src directories, intermediate build files are stored under obj, and the output .dll file is placed in bin.
When the .dll is built, it's stored locally beneath the bin directory, with each platform and build configuration in a separate subdirectory (e.g., bin/x64/debug). A custom post-build event copies the .dll to the MotionBuilder plugins directory after the build. The release and debug .dlls will overwrite one another in this directory, so remember that MotionBuilder will load whichever DLL was built most recently.
The included .user file configures the debug build to launch the MotionBuilder executable with a console window for output. Once the plugin is built and copied, pressing F5 should launch MotionBuilder and load the appropriate debugging information.