Posted Feb. 05, 2026
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Hello Labsters! 

This year, we want to share more of what’s happening behind the scenes at SideFX Labs — what we’re working on, what’s coming next, what we’re fixing, and some cool things we’ve seen in the community. To do that, we’re kicking off a monthly update to keep you in the loop.

Tool Updates

We entered a maintenance and cleanup phase toward the end of last year. Right now, the focus is on tidying up the Labs toolset and GitHub repo — trimming outdated tools, improving organization, and making sure what remains is easier to maintain and build on.

In the spirit of Marie Kondo, if a tool hasn’t sparked joy in a while… we’re taking a closer look at it. 

This means we’re very much in quality-of-life mode: improving documentation, addressing RFEs, and squashing bugs.For the full list of changes and fixes, check out the changelog on GitHub.


Community Showcase & Tutorials

Python Viewer States
There are surprisingly few tutorials out there on Python Viewer States in Houdini, so if you’re looking to gain some experience, we’ve hand-picked a few great resources.

Python States — https://www.sidefx.com/tutorials/python-states/
Mohamad Salame kicked off 2025 like Santa Claus – delivering an excellent tutorial series that shows how to build mini-games inside Houdini using Python Viewer States.

Houdini: Python Viewer State — https://youtu.be/2XIIEhgcWMQ?si=LlL90L-LKGvu9MEr
Peter Prickarz also has an extensive tutorial – based on his track-generation toolset, originally presented at the BUas Procedural Showcase in 2020. A few years have passed, but the techniques and ideas are still highly relevant – and definitely worth a watch.


SilkRoad Project

SilkRoad Project – an upcoming action game by indie developer Nicolas Garilhe – uses Labs tools to create realistic rocks and apply edge damage. Nicolas also made some great tutorials breaking down the workflow.

Rock Generation
A custom Houdini tool that generates natural, believable rocks from a simple base shape using a fully procedural workflow.

Edge Damage
A lightweight and efficient tool that automatically generates edge damage and surface detail, letting you focus on strong base shapes while keeping full artistic control.

Find Us on Discord!

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

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