Houdini 20.5 Unreal

Houdini-LiveLink Plug in

Install and setup for Houdini LiveLink

On this page

The Houdini Live Link plugin adds a new Live Link source that lets you controls rigs in Unreal directly from Houdini.

Installation

There are three ways to download the Houdini Live Link Plugin:

  • Houdini Launcher

  • Old Installer

  • Github Repository

Houdini Launcher

  1. Install the launcher if not already installed.

  2. Open the launcher.

  3. Click Houdini ▸ Install.

  4. In the Choose a Version to Install, select either Production Build or Daily Build depending on your desired build version. If you need to select a specific version then select Choose Another Version and install the version desired.

  5. In the Preferences pop-up window, turn on Unreal Plug-in and select install.

  6. Locate the Houdini Engine directory. The default location is \Side Effects Software\Houdini Engine\X.Y.Z.\U.E\HoudiniLiveLink.

    • X.Y.Z. means your Houdini version.

    • U.E. means your Unreal Engine version.

  7. Copy the HoudiniLiveLink folder to the Plugins\Animations folder of your Unreal directory. You can either copy it to Unreal Engine’s plugins directory or your Unreal project’s Plugin directory.

    • Unreal’s directory location is \Epic Games\UE5.X\Engine\Plugins\Animations and the project directory is \Unreal Project\Plugins\Animations.

Note

For Unreal Engine 5.X, you must use Unreal’s project directory.

Old Installer

  1. On SideFX Download select a download version. You can select the old installer, production builds, or daily builds.

  2. In the Houdini installation setup, locate the Houdini Engine section. Select the checkbox for Houdini Engine for Unreal.

  3. Locate the Houdini Engine directory. The default location is \Side Effects Software\Houdini X.Y.Z\engine\unreal\U.E\HoudiniLiveLink.

    • X.Y.Z. means your Houdini version.

    • U.E. means your Unreal Engine version.

  4. Copy the HoudiniLiveLink folder to the Plugins\Animations folder of your Unreal directory. You can either copy it to Unreal Engine’s plugins directory or your Unreal project’s Plugin directory.

    • Unreal’s directory location is \Epic Games\UE5.X\Engine\Plugins\Animations and the project directory is \Unreal Project\Plugins\Animations.

Note

For Unreal Engine 5.X, you must use Unreal’s project directory.

Github Repository

You can also download the plugin’s binaries from its Git repository in the Releases section.

After downloading the plugin’s release binaries, extract the archive and copy the HoudiniLiveLink folder to the Engine/Plugins/Animations folder in Unreal.

To turn on the Live Link plugin in Unreal:

  1. In Unreal’s main toolbar, select Edit, then Plugins.

  2. Locate the Animation tab.

  3. Select the checkbox for Live Link and Houdini KineFX LiveLink.

  4. Restart Unreal.

Compatibility

Binaries and Source Code are available for Unreal 4.26.2, 4.27, and 5.0. The UE4_LiveLink HDA requires Houdini 19.5 or above since it uses KineFX.

  1. After installing the plugin, a new Houdini Live Link source will be available.

    • The LiveLink plugin should be used with the ue4_livelink HDA, available in the plugin’s content directory.

  2. After importing the HDA in Houdini, start the LiveLink server directly on the live link node.

  3. In Unreal, add a new Live Link source in Windows ▸ Live Link ▸ Add. The Houdini Live Link source will now be available and can be used as an animation controller.

Unreal

Getting started

Basics

Using Houdini Engine

Scripting

Reference