Houdini 21.0 Unreal

PCG Plug-in installation

Install and setup for Houdini-PCG

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The PCG plugin integrates Houdini’s HDAs and its functionalities into Unreal’s PCG graph. See PCG Overview for more information.

A separate Houdini Engine for Unreal plugin has been created that supports PCG. This plugin contains all functionality of the regular Houdini Engine plugin for Unreal, plus PCG support.

The Houdini PCG plugin can be found in your Houdini install directory, next to the Houdini Engine plugin: HoudiniX.Y.Z\engine\unreal\5.Z-PCG.

The plugin is available in Houdini 21.0 and later versions. This requires Unreal 5.5 or later.

Installation

There are two ways to download the Houdini PCG Plugin:

  • Houdini Launcher

  • Old Installer

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-PCG.

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

    • U.E. means your Unreal Engine version.

  7. Copy the HoudiniEngine folder to the Plugins folder of your Unreal project directory.

    • Unreal’s project directory location is \Unreal Project\Plugins.

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 Engine\X.Y.Z.\U.E-PCG.

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

    • U.E. means your Unreal Engine version.

  4. Copy the HoudiniEngine folder to the Plugins folder of your Unreal project directory.

    • Unreal’s project directory location is \Unreal Project\Plugins.

Verify Plugin

Make sure you have PCG feature turned on in your Unreal settings.

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

  2. Turn on Procedural Content Generation Framework (PCG).

  3. Restart Unreal.

To confirm the Houdini Engine plugin is installed correctly:

  1. In the main menu, you can see Houdini Engine as a new item.

  2. In the Houdini Engine menu, click Start Session.

  3. A Houdini Engine session connected confirmation appears on the bottom right.

  4. In your PCG Graph, you can now create a Houdini Digital Asset node.

Unreal

Getting started

Basics

Using Houdini Engine

Scripting

Reference