Import also empty child nodes in AssetImporter scene mode, unless disabled with the -ne option. Refactor handling of the root scene node to prevent unnecessary creation of a duplicate root node. Do not attempt to parse .json files as XML in the editor resource browser. Closes #673.

Source/Tools/AssetImporter/AssetImporter.cpp

@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ bool noHierarchy_ = false;
 bool noMaterials_ = false;
 bool noTextures_ = false;
 bool noMaterialDiffuseColor_ = false;
+bool noEmptyNodes_ = false;
 bool saveMaterialList_ = false;
 bool includeNonSkinningBones_ = false;
 bool verboseLog_ = false;
@@ -144,6 +145,7 @@ void BuildAndSaveAnimations(OutModel* model = 0);
 
 void ExportScene(const String& outName, bool asPrefab);
 void CollectSceneModels(OutScene& scene, aiNode* node);
+void CreateHierarchy(Scene* scene, aiNode* srcNode, HashMap<aiNode*, Node*>& nodeMapping);
 Node* CreateSceneNode(Scene* scene, aiNode* srcNode, HashMap<aiNode*, Node*>& nodeMapping);
 void BuildAndSaveScene(OutScene& scene, bool asPrefab);
 
@@ -228,6 +230,7 @@ void Run(const Vector<String>& arguments)
             "-ns         Do not create subdirectories for resources\n"
             "-nz         Do not create a zone and a directional light (scene mode only)\n"
             "-nf         Do not fix infacing normals\n"
+            "-ne         Do not save empty nodes (scene mode only)\n"
             "-p <path>   Set path for scene resources. Default is output file path\n"
             "-r <name>   Use the named scene node as root node\n"
             "-f <freq>   Animation tick frequency to use if unspecified. Default 4800\n"
@@ -314,6 +317,10 @@ void Run(const Vector<String>& arguments)
                     noHierarchy_ = true;
                     break;
 
+                case 'e':
+                    noEmptyNodes_ = true;
+                    break;
+
                 case 's':
                     useSubdirs_ = false;
                     break;
@@ -1258,6 +1265,13 @@ void CollectSceneModels(OutScene& scene, aiNode* node)
         CollectSceneModels(scene, node->mChildren[i]);
 }
 
+void CreateHierarchy(Scene* scene, aiNode* srcNode, HashMap<aiNode*, Node*>& nodeMapping)
+{
+    CreateSceneNode(scene, srcNode, nodeMapping);
+    for (unsigned i = 0; i < srcNode->mNumChildren; ++i)
+        CreateHierarchy(scene, srcNode->mChildren[i], nodeMapping);
+}
+
 Node* CreateSceneNode(Scene* scene, aiNode* srcNode, HashMap<aiNode*, Node*>& nodeMapping)
 {
     if (nodeMapping.Contains(srcNode))
@@ -1346,10 +1360,20 @@ void BuildAndSaveScene(OutScene& scene, bool asPrefab)
     ResourceCache* cache = context_->GetSubsystem<ResourceCache>();
 
     HashMap<aiNode*, Node*> nodeMapping;
+
     Node* outRootNode = 0;
-    if (asPrefab || !noHierarchy_)
+    if (asPrefab)
         outRootNode = CreateSceneNode(outScene, rootNode_, nodeMapping);
-    
+    else
+    {
+        // If not saving as a prefab, associate the root node with the scene first to prevent unnecessary creation of a root
+        nodeMapping[rootNode_] = outScene;
+    }
+
+    // If is allowed to export empty nodes, export the full Assimp node hierarchy first
+    if (!noHierarchy_ && !noEmptyNodes_)
+        CreateHierarchy(outScene, rootNode_, nodeMapping);
+
     // Create geometry nodes
     for (unsigned i = 0; i < scene.nodes_.Size(); ++i)
     {

bin/Data/Scripts/Editor/EditorResourceBrowser.as

@@ -1218,7 +1218,7 @@ bool GetBinaryType(String path, StringHash &out fileType, bool useCache = false)
 bool GetXmlType(String path, StringHash &out fileType, bool useCache = false)
 {
     String extension = GetExtension(path);
-    if (extension == ".txt" || extension == ".icns")
+    if (extension == ".txt" || extension == ".json" || extension == ".icns")
         return false;
 
     String name;