As for pipelines it really is a shame not being able to see peoples workflow because this could build a picture of how things are done by all in this industry.
Some people give their workflow but not all.
its a pity really
i have one possible solution for TrueSpace users and thats to export to .cob and then import the .cob into Carrara then export to .fbx then into .mdl
so cob -> fbx -> mdl
and we know why the exporter works because it supports the parts we require skins, animation etc..... not just a static object!