Hi
I have just installed houdini 11.0.733 and i am facing few problems. The viewport and the tree view sections are all flat white and when i try to maximize or minimize the windows i get strange red/green planes in the viewport. Also, the caption fonts of the icons are all getting like machine asci codes or blocks. Do you know if it has to do with the graphic card or with windows 7 64bit?
I am attaching the images here.

thanks

Oh wow I have seen that only when I launch Houdini during a remote desktop VPN session (not if Houdini was open when I starte the session, only if I launch Houdini during the remote session). It seems to be something related to the video card during startup.

The red squares are the origin and floating gnomons which u can turn off in the display options. The white screens in your tree view (or any other panel) can be resolved by simply switching to another tab and switching back). It is not a fix but it will at least allow you to work. I do not know how to make the ascii looking text go away though.

Are you trying to connect via remote desktop and/or VPN ?

Hello Gray

Thanks for the reply. No i am not behind any network or VPN. I am using this workstation. i did utilize the same graphic card for Houdini 10/11 over XP and it was all fine. The day i started using Win 7 i am getting these problems. Let me see if i can get rid of those gnomons and for the whites and for the time being i should switch panels.

Thanks mate

What is your graphics card? It doesn't look like you have a valid graphics driver installed.

just fixed the gnomons. but dont know how get rid of ascii oriented caption texts.

Hi Twod

I using Nvidia eVGA e-GeForce 8800 GTX. I think i didnt install the proper drivers. Let me figure it out.

Thanks mate

You can download the driver here:

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us [nvidia.com]

Hey twod

i got it, it was the drivers, thanks. one more question, i came from Max side( FFX, TP) and yet i don't do programming but i know the basics; do you think that i would survive in houdini Fx world without getting into python.

Thanks

You don't need to know any programming to use Houdini. You do need to learn expressions that you enter in to parameters. Many questions on the lists from TD's have to do with taking their tools and distributing it to artists. One approach to automating this wrt specific studio pipeline requirements does require scripting. This usually means writing Python scripts but this is not what the average Houdini user needs to know to punch out shots.

It doesn't get any harder than using ch() channel reference expressions and rand() functions as procedural networks really work well when you randomize stuff. See the Houdini Help Expression Cookbook and most tutorials will invariably use an expression or two to learn from.

Hi Jeff

wonderful. I just started taking some tutorials and they are using some expressions just like we do some in maya. its pretty healthy and indeed it randomizes stuff. quick question, do they really do explosions in houdini or is it unrealistic so, they depend upon stock footage in comps?. i know fume does pretty realistic stuff so i was just getting curious.

Our pyro fluids have been used to create some reasonable simulations. Have a look at the customer stories.

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1962&Itemid=68 [sidefx.com]

Embassy FX did some very nice exhaust simulation work incorporating Houdini for some of the elements. If you know me, you know I have a weakness for well done engine exhausts and they were well done imho.

Massive explosions are still tricky in CG no matter what the tool. Dense massive rolling clouds at film resolutions are handled currently only by a few studios and even then with a helping dose of customized tools. Smoke trails are not hard to pull off these days in Houdini though.

It's the scale and all the detail that accompanies massive explosions that is still a challenge. Many key massive explosions still rely on shot footage comped in around CG generated elements. If the elements are far enough away, you can get away with CG fluid sims. We are talking about those amazing rolling petrol fireballs where they spray the air with a LOT of gasoline using a lot of pressure for a couple seconds prior to launching the primary explosion usually with something extremely hot like magnesium flairs to get those super cool rolling fireballs that are a true art with Practical VFX guys and gals. I don't think there is a tool out there yet that will put these crews out of business. There is nothing like a real explosion btw. Ears ringing for a few minutes…

This can all change in a few months so don't hold me to any of the above.

Hi Jeff

the exhausts looks pretty nice; i wanna dig the texture/noise/fractal pattern over fluids. the new fluid system seems pretty good to get decent details and of course a lot of control through node based. yeah i agree the gasoline or napalm oriented explosions are pretty much done with stocks; I thought with the new solvers we can get closer but at least through Cg one can add variations like shockwaves and extra Bg/Fg passes etc.
thanks for the embassy link

junaid