As I have had some brash things to say about H9 in the past I thought it was only fair to post my most recent experience.
I was watching attack of the show, where they were talking about PS3 programmers who were complaining about the complexity of the new PS3 architecture, blaming that for the lack of titles out this Christmas, and it got me thinking. Most likely the change from H 8 to 9 is akin to that of PS2 to PS3 . So I sat down at my computer determined to learn the entire H9 structure.
At the end of the day, there are most definately improvments to the UI. The parameter interface is very handy, in the long run, and the new way of linking tabs and multiple tabs per pane is great! I still feel like I am clicking more of the interface, although, after some well spent time, I'm sure I will find a more efficient setup than I currently have.
I d/l wolfwoods (I think it was) color scheme and it really adds a modern look. Thus far no need on my end for any changes, thanks wolfwood!
And I would be truly insane if I didn't mention the Starving Artist Edition. Not in 7 years of being in this industry have I heard of any such offer from a company. HD resolution, full capabilities, and no watermark, all for only 99$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No… seriously, that is amazing! I can actually consider putting together my personal piece that I started in art school, and burn it to Blu-Ray/HD-DVD and show to everyone in HD.
I don't mean to wax poetic, but SESI you have proven to me, without a shadow of a doubt, that you are a peoples/artists company.
Thank You again,
Ross de Young
FX TD
SF/LA CA
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Houdini Lounge » Singing a new tune
- Phenom
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Technical Discussion » particle tab in point sop
- Phenom
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Technical Discussion » particle tab in point sop
- Phenom
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Technical Discussion » Copy SOP geo orientation problem
- Phenom
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ohh my bad, maybe I found it on a link Jason posted and just thought it was his….either way thanks, cuz I was looking for that 2!
Technical Discussion » Copy SOP geo orientation problem
- Phenom
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I remember Jason Iverson had nice piece of visual explanation of orientation and motion blur as it realated to instancing geometry, maybe he would be kind enough to point you in the right direction.
-3db
-3db
Houdini Lounge » Is H9 a better overall product than H8?
- Phenom
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Ok, last thing and Its your turn
Houdini 8.x
HDTV's
Battlestar Galactica
Heroes
PS3
Everything Else
M$ anything
H.9x
Houdini 8.x
HDTV's
Battlestar Galactica
Heroes
PS3
Everything Else
M$ anything
H.9x
Houdini Lounge » Is H9 a better overall product than H8?
- Phenom
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And I don't know, but it seems like the whole goal here was to make Houdini easier for the first time user, but it seems to me that is difficult to navigate and get set up. A lot of work has to be done to counteract the better gui, to make it more usable, and still I feel like I'm moving at a snails pace. That's my main gripe I guess, just moving through quicksand with a deadline isn't much fun.
deal with the bugs, or just wait for 10, or one that doesn't feel like a beta and keep using 8, I here stories that H4 was a little like this, and a lot of veterans used H3 till 5 came out. don't know, opened H4 and was lost so I didn't pick it up again till 7.
deal with the bugs, or just wait for 10, or one that doesn't feel like a beta and keep using 8, I here stories that H4 was a little like this, and a lot of veterans used H3 till 5 came out. don't know, opened H4 and was lost so I didn't pick it up again till 7.
Houdini Lounge » Is H9 a better overall product than H8?
- Phenom
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Reasons to change the name from Houdini to Penn and Teller
Flashy, Stylish, Controversial, and a lot less magic.
As long as we're making it a running joke.
Flashy, Stylish, Controversial, and a lot less magic.
As long as we're making it a running joke.
Houdini Lounge » Is H9 a better overall product than H8?
- Phenom
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Per request I would like to start a new thread and ask any and all Houdini Users if they would, as of now prefer working in H8.x, or H9.x
My self, I was anxiously anticipating the new liquid solver and volumetric tools H9 SESI had been showing us. Upon using it, I felt I was a different piece of Software, some things were the same, but overall this is almost a new package. It has been suggested that perhaps calling it Penn & Teller v1 would have been a better idea, and I agree.
I have come to a compromise though. I will do my volumetric stuff in Maya, which is reliable and I can use with a certain amount of efficiency, and I will continue doing particle work in H8, which is also reliable and I can work with a certain amount of efficiency.
My verdict on H9 - it's a myth and it's been busted.
My self, I was anxiously anticipating the new liquid solver and volumetric tools H9 SESI had been showing us. Upon using it, I felt I was a different piece of Software, some things were the same, but overall this is almost a new package. It has been suggested that perhaps calling it Penn & Teller v1 would have been a better idea, and I agree.
I have come to a compromise though. I will do my volumetric stuff in Maya, which is reliable and I can use with a certain amount of efficiency, and I will continue doing particle work in H8, which is also reliable and I can work with a certain amount of efficiency.
My verdict on H9 - it's a myth and it's been busted.
Houdini Lounge » really wide network tiles in H9 - why?
- Phenom
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horizon1231
Sprites rendering in H9 very sux, an easy thing made more complicated.
Wolfwood
Sprite rendering is just as easy in Houdini 9 as it was in Houdini 8. Just because the setup is slightly different doesn't it mean its worse. It took less than a minute to convert Miguel's Houdini 8 file from od to a Houdini 9 workflow.
Ok, here we go again. I really don't understand why, when a user says something is difficult, the first response is “no it's not”. It's like going into the doctor with a broken arm and telling him it hurts, and the doctor says, “I understand you may be feeling some discomfort”. It's not discomfort, it's called pain, and if people, and A LOT of people are saying it's difficult, maybe there is some truth to that, can anybody accept that fact?!?
Just because you know how to work around all the changes, doesn't make it easy for everyone else, what is the big deal of admitting you may have made too many changes in a single version?
As for off topic, well the answer to the main question was given by Joe, and I won't quote it again, as I think that has been put to pasture.
Houdini Lounge » really wide network tiles in H9 - why?
- Phenom
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This is my 3rd day of using Houdini 9 in production, and it is terrible,
The program ‘Gecko’ received an X Window System error.
This probably reflects a bug in the program.
The error was ‘BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter)’.
(Details: serial 435553 error_code 9 request_code 62 minor_code 0)
(Note to programmers: normally, X errors are reported asynchronously;
that is, you will receive the error a while after causing it.
To debug your program, run it with the –sync command line
option to change this behavior. You can then get a meaningful
backtrace from your debugger if you break on the gdk_x_error() function.)
I get this when I click the question mark for a help browser, along with an instant crash, so I can't look at help inside houdini. Maybe a driver issue, but seriously this new interface is terrible to work with, it may be nice to look at, but it makes working feel like work, I remember when it used to feel like fun. I'm sorry SESI, but you dropped the ball on this one, I'm going to have to migrate to Maya, so I can feel confident I will be able to finish the project without having to run to support every 5 minutes to figure out if I'm dumb or the software is buggy. (I know I may be dumb, but that doesn't clear this version of being buggy beyond belief).
ps- where did spare channels go, they were here now they are not, have I changed something that no longer allows me to add spare channels or did you?
-disappointed is an understatement
The program ‘Gecko’ received an X Window System error.
This probably reflects a bug in the program.
The error was ‘BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter)’.
(Details: serial 435553 error_code 9 request_code 62 minor_code 0)
(Note to programmers: normally, X errors are reported asynchronously;
that is, you will receive the error a while after causing it.
To debug your program, run it with the –sync command line
option to change this behavior. You can then get a meaningful
backtrace from your debugger if you break on the gdk_x_error() function.)
I get this when I click the question mark for a help browser, along with an instant crash, so I can't look at help inside houdini. Maybe a driver issue, but seriously this new interface is terrible to work with, it may be nice to look at, but it makes working feel like work, I remember when it used to feel like fun. I'm sorry SESI, but you dropped the ball on this one, I'm going to have to migrate to Maya, so I can feel confident I will be able to finish the project without having to run to support every 5 minutes to figure out if I'm dumb or the software is buggy. (I know I may be dumb, but that doesn't clear this version of being buggy beyond belief).
ps- where did spare channels go, they were here now they are not, have I changed something that no longer allows me to add spare channels or did you?
-disappointed is an understatement
Houdini Lounge » really wide network tiles in H9 - why?
- Phenom
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jason_iversen
Can we save inflammatory sarcastic comments from anonymous logins for cgtalk.com please? JC and Andrew have driven H9 forward hugely, and at no small effort; some respect, please?
touche'
Ross de Young
FX TD
SF/LA CA
SESI, more than any other software development company, are all open-minded individuals.
I agree, I just read Joe's statement and felt that it was a bit of a slap in the face, after I have touted the efforts of SESI to work with artists to any production person that would listen. And started to wonder if I had made a mistake. Maybe the developers were in their own world of which the end user was not a part of.
And I don't think any of this would be being written, nor would anybody be bothered by the changes, if we all didn't love this software so much. So on my end I apologize for my nflammatory sarcastic comments. They were intended to show that nobody likes a brash across the board dismissive tone whether in ascii or hz. If that makes me the bad guy ce'est la vie.
Thank you for your sincere comments Cristin, and I believe you are correct, none of us are lawyers or politicians, And I truly believe in SESI and what it is doing, and the direction it is moving, I just wanted confirmation I was not being misled. I believe everyone should speak their minds, absolutely, and not everyone is going to like it, but if we are rational about our point of view, and logical on the solution, everything can be resolved.
Houdini Lounge » 3d profession
- Phenom
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basicly any school that has a 3d graphics program will be teaching modeling. If you want to be a modeler, start with clay while your making up your mind, learn to paint your chars. Get some info and video's on making Maquettes, which will look 100 times better on your real, than any model.
Not to dismiss modelers as they are an integral part of many animation pipelines, but they are a dime a dozen. If you want to have an edge, you will also want to be a texture artist and lighter as well, then you can model, texture, light and have some great looking renders. But if all you do is model, you will find a job eventually, and probably stay there for awhile, then one day need to find a new job and have no where to go, cuz everyone has all the modelers they need.
Not to dismiss modelers as they are an integral part of many animation pipelines, but they are a dime a dozen. If you want to have an edge, you will also want to be a texture artist and lighter as well, then you can model, texture, light and have some great looking renders. But if all you do is model, you will find a job eventually, and probably stay there for awhile, then one day need to find a new job and have no where to go, cuz everyone has all the modelers they need.
Houdini Lounge » really wide network tiles in H9 - why?
- Phenom
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I feel perfectly entitled to my tirade, just as Joe and apparently, according to Joe everyone at SESI feels “WE” are perfectly happy with it, and see no need to change it, in the middle of discussion about reasons why some want it changed, or at least given the option to customize what is, whether real or perceived, something that is both more cumbersome, and a less functional style.
Others have their own opinion, which is why I asked for a vote, what do the users think, should we have an option of the aspect ratio of nodes, should we be locked into one or the other? Sounds fair and rational to me.
Personally I found Joe's across the board statement of “WE” are perfectly happy with it and see no reason to change it, implying the entire company of SESI see's no reason to listen to anyone else about what it is doing with the software. This is coming from a representitive of the company, therefore a blanket statement of SESI is getting a bad attitude, is in order. That's kind of how representing a business works. Sorry, but that's life, not Jerry Springer, maybe you should try doing more buisiness, and watching less daytime TV.
Others have their own opinion, which is why I asked for a vote, what do the users think, should we have an option of the aspect ratio of nodes, should we be locked into one or the other? Sounds fair and rational to me.
Personally I found Joe's across the board statement of “WE” are perfectly happy with it and see no reason to change it, implying the entire company of SESI see's no reason to listen to anyone else about what it is doing with the software. This is coming from a representitive of the company, therefore a blanket statement of SESI is getting a bad attitude, is in order. That's kind of how representing a business works. Sorry, but that's life, not Jerry Springer, maybe you should try doing more buisiness, and watching less daytime TV.
Houdini Lounge » really wide network tiles in H9 - why?
- Phenom
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JoeI would hope you're reporting all the bugs you find. If you don't report them, we can't fix them.
Joe, I think you're missing the point. If you are going to tell people you are perfectly happy, and don't see any reason to change it, maybe you should spend more effort trying to be perfectly happy with the functionality of the software rather than how pretty it looks when you open it up. Unless of course SESI is planning on just selling Houdini, which would make making it pretty more important than making it functional, leave that to the next guy.
I think you should take the advice of people who are using product everyday, not only to make a living, but to make art. I wonder how much GPU power your a sucking up with that. Do you think we only have 1 high end app open at a time? You should give the option between classcic interface and new design, or better yet, take a vote. I loved SESI because when I started in this biz, I felt SESI was about people who love making things, not only work, but work well. It seems this standard has fallen to the wayside, and submitting bug reports leads only to work around options.
Here is my bug report-
slow your roll son, lest you step on a tiger's tail again.
Houdini Lounge » really wide network tiles in H9 - why?
- Phenom
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Joe
In short, we're quite happy with the new node look, and we don't currently see any reason to change it.
This reminds me of one of those demotivational joke posters about customer service
“We're not satisfied until your not satisfied”
who is “WE”, cuz it doesn't sound like the end user is included in that statement, is “WE” the people who decided to fix it for the dummys that don't know any better? cuz that sounds like what your are saying.
I'm starting to get a bad vibe from the SESI people these days. Is it really we artists need SESI so we can kiss your butts and like it? Or maybe your only concern now is Maya users on the bubble and old timers can move on? While your at fixing things, I hope you fixed all the bugs in the crappy dynamics, cuz Maya has an amazing new dynamics system, and I think I will start pushing that platform, untill SESI decides artists are more important than attractive looking GUI's.
But really, I do see a reason to change my platform, which I thought would never happen. Thanks for the help SESI !! give your selves a pat on the back.
Houdini Lounge » The wonder of sprites
- Phenom
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prof. I apologize if I came off curt. Im on hour number 70 and will be working sat and sun also (mom thinks Im a jerk too ;-] ). So it's not you, it's me, and really im glad to help.
by economy I mean many things, yes render time is one of the main time savers, as is the intuitive results sprites yield. Burning through half-rez tests is a boon to an fx artist, with a volumetric renderer your voxel rez will often dictate the results, making half-vox-rez sims can be, at times, useless.
the big problem with a true volumetric renderer is the technical difficulties of art directing, and iterating through versions, and if your using a 3rd party renderer, integration can be hell, but the results are often worth the time and effort invested.
-P
by economy I mean many things, yes render time is one of the main time savers, as is the intuitive results sprites yield. Burning through half-rez tests is a boon to an fx artist, with a volumetric renderer your voxel rez will often dictate the results, making half-vox-rez sims can be, at times, useless.
the big problem with a true volumetric renderer is the technical difficulties of art directing, and iterating through versions, and if your using a 3rd party renderer, integration can be hell, but the results are often worth the time and effort invested.
-P
Houdini Lounge » just wondering about real flow and houdin?
- Phenom
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Houdini Lounge » The wonder of sprites
- Phenom
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“It seems quite strange that such a versatile tool is not more prominent in today's industry.”
hmm that's news to me..
Im pretty sure sprites are used whenever they can be used because of the economy, but there are alot of drawbacks which big time film aficianado's wont tollorate, such as rim lighting, and depth, meaning inside not volumey edge, but actually through the inside, especially when it hits comp.
I like sprites well enough, but my opinion is it's best suited for video games. To create a real nice looking volumetric effect, you should start with a real volume. IMO
-P
hmm that's news to me..
Im pretty sure sprites are used whenever they can be used because of the economy, but there are alot of drawbacks which big time film aficianado's wont tollorate, such as rim lighting, and depth, meaning inside not volumey edge, but actually through the inside, especially when it hits comp.
I like sprites well enough, but my opinion is it's best suited for video games. To create a real nice looking volumetric effect, you should start with a real volume. IMO
-P
Technical Discussion » using a Voronoise VOP only on certain points
- Phenom
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Ummm, that's alot of questions all at once.
As for your keep static points, you have the right idea. there are many ways to go about it, but the most logical seems to be put those points in a group, run the noise normaly, after that use a point sop and connect the noise grid to the left and the pre noise grid to the right, put the group name in and change the position channel to read $TX2 $TY2 $TZ2, then lay down transform sop and again the name of your group, $CEX $CEY $CEZ for the pivot and scale to the correct value.
As for your keep static points, you have the right idea. there are many ways to go about it, but the most logical seems to be put those points in a group, run the noise normaly, after that use a point sop and connect the noise grid to the left and the pre noise grid to the right, put the group name in and change the position channel to read $TX2 $TY2 $TZ2, then lay down transform sop and again the name of your group, $CEX $CEY $CEZ for the pivot and scale to the correct value.
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