Hello Labsters!

We have a bunch of news this month, so brace yourselves...

Public Roadmap

We’re excited to introduce the SideFX Labs Public Roadmap.

This is a step toward building Labs tools more closely with all of you. We want to be more transparent about what we’re working on, and to give you a direct voice in shaping what comes next.

On the roadmap, you can:

• Explore proposed tools and upcoming work  

• Vote on what matters most to your workflow  

• Share feedback and submit your own ideas

If you’re submitting ideas, the more detail you can provide, the better. It helps us understand your needs and build more useful tools.

Thanks for being part of the Labs community. We’re looking forward to building this together!

Tool Updates

If texel density feels like rocket science, we are also sharing a couple of great tutorials alongside this update to better illustrate how texel density is calculated and used:

Hugh Chew - Texel Density Explained
Hugh Chew breaks down texel density fundamentals in a clear and approachable way.

Huge Menace - Texel Density Masterclass
Huge Menace dives deeper with a full masterclass covering practical use and common pitfalls.

Labs Export UV Wireframe SOP
Upgraded to Copernicus and runs like the Flash. Generates clean UV wireframes with options for islands and background, making it quick to preview or export UV layouts.

Labs Regions from Image SOP
Updated to version 1.1 and now compatible with Copernicus. If using a legacy COP network, version 1.0 should be used instead.

Labs Cylinder SOP
Added Center and Rotate controls and reorganized the interface. Now includes built-in UV unwrapping, new end-cap options with multiple fill modes, and improved handling of open cylinders and height ramps. Also outputs primitive groups for easier selection.

Replaced and To Be Removed

The following tools have been replaced, are now hidden, and will be removed in Houdini 23.0:

• Labs Quick Material SOP, replaced by COP Preview Material SOP

• Labs Edge Group to Polylines SOP, replaced by Convert Line SOP

• Labs Games Baker OUT, replaced by Bake Geometry Textures COP

• Labs GameRes SOP

Labs Tags
Labs menu items installed with Labs now include tags in their labels, making them easier to distinguish from native Houdini entries.

Community Spotlight

HEGo - Houdini Engine for Godot

Peter Prickarz has been working on Houdini Engine for Godot for some time and recently released a new update. It brings Houdini’s procedural workflows and HDAs into Godot, making it easier to integrate tools directly into the engine.

Node of the Month

Labs Min Max Average SOP computes minimum, maximum, and average values of an attribute in a single node. Can run multiple analyses at once, with options to add prefixes or suffixes to the results, and store them as detail attributes or back on the geometry.

Contact Us

We love seeing what you’re building with Labs and we’ll keep sharing our findings. If you’re working on something cool, please contact us and share it. The best way to reach out is through Discord. Our official SideFX server is public, and we’re there too.

See you next month — stay creative!

SideFX Labs