Getting Started

Table of Contents

• Installation on Windows
  • Install using Houdini Installer
  • Install using Houdini Launcher
• Verify the plug-in works
• First Steps
• Installation on macOS, Linux, and Source
  • Install on macOS
  • Install on Linux
• Building the plugin from source

Installation on Windows

The Houdini Engine for Unreal plug-in can be installed using the Houdini Installer or Houdini Launcher.

The Installer and Launcher extracts the Houdini Engine plug-in for the two latest versions of Unreal Engine 4 and the latest Unreal Engine 5. This includes the pre-built plug-in binary, source files and resource files.

You can find older versions of the Houdini Engine in the Houdini Engine For Unreal GitHub Repistory.

Before you begin, make sure you have the Houdini Installer or Houdini Launcher from the downloads section.

Install using Houdini Installer

1. Launch the Houdini Installer. Follow the steps until you reach the Houdini Engine page.
2. Turn on Houdini Engine for Unreal and click next. Finish your installation.
   
3. Locate the Houdini Engine directory. In this example, the location is C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini X.Y.Z\engine\unreal. X.Y.Z means your Houdini Version.
4. Copy your desired Engine version to the Plugins \ Runtime of your Unreal Directory. You can either copy it to Unreal's engine version directory or your Unreal project directory.

In this example, Unreal's directory location is C:\Program Files\Epic Games\UE_5.0\Engine\Plugins\Runtime\HoudiniEngine and the project directory is C:\Unreal Projects\MyGameProject\Plugins\HoudiniEngine

Note

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

Install using Houdini Launcher

1. In the Houdini Launcher, click Install and select your desired Houdini version.
2. In the Preferences pop-up window, turn on Unreal plug-in and click install.
   
3. Locate the Houdini Engine directory. In this example, the location is C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini Engine\Unreal\X.Y.Z. X.Y.Z means your Houdini Version.
4. Copy your desired Engine version to the **Plugins** of your Unreal Directory. You can either copy it to Unreal's engine version directory or your Unreal project directory.

In this example, Unreal's directory location is C:\Program Files\Epic Games\UE_5.0\Engine\Plugins\Runtime\HoudiniEngine and the project directory is C:\Unreal Projects\MyGameProject\Plugins\HoudiniEngine

Note

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

Verify the plug-in works

Once you install the Houdini Engine plug-in, you can verify it's loaded properly.

1. Open a new or existing Unreal project.
2. In the main menu bar, you can see Houdini Engine as a new selection.
   
   You should also check the Houdini Engine plug-in version matches your Houdini Version for the plug-in to work properly.

1. In Unreal Engine main menu bar, click Edit then Plugins.
2. For Houdini Engine, check the HX.Y.Z. version number matches your Houdini version. In this example the Houdini Engine plug-in and Houdini versions are 19.5.303.
   

If your Houdini version is incorrect, you need to set your custom Houdini location

1. In the main menu bar, select Houdini Engine then PluginSettings.
2. In Houdini Location, select the checkbox next to Use custom Houdini location (requires start).
3. In Custom Houdini location, click the three dots and select the path to your Houdini version's bin folder. In this example, the path is C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini X.Y.Z\bin
4. In Houdini Executable, select your Houdini License type.
5. Restart Unreal Engine.

First Steps

The Houdini Engine plug-in allows you to import data generated by a Houdini Digital Asset (.hda) directly into Unreal. This is through custom Unreal Assets which create Actors with custom Components: HoudiniAssetComponent.

You can learn how to export an HDA, import it into Unreal Engine, and update the asset in the Assets section.

The HoudiniAssetComponent exposes the Digital Asset's Parameters and Inputs and makes the cooked Outputs as new Components.

You can learn more about each component in its section.

Installation on macOS, Linux, and Source

Install on macOS

Note

Houdini does not ship with Version2 Binaries for MacOS for now. Currently, you can download binaries for MacOS on the GitHub repository's release page, or can build the plugin from the source code.

Minimum Requirements:

• macOS/OSX 11
• Unreal Engine 4.27 / 5.0
• Houdini or Houdini Engine 19.5

Fastest way to get the plug-in working inside Unreal:

1. Download and launch the houdini-X.Y.Z-macosx_*.dmg installer, where X.Y.Z is the version of Houdini.
2. Follow the steps and make sure to select the Houdini Engine for Unreal option.
3. Launch Unreal

During the install:

/Applications/Houdini/HoudiniX.Y.Z/Houdini Engine/unreal/5.00/Houdini Engine

is copied to:

/Users/Shared/Epic Games/UE_5.00/Engine/Plugins/Runtime/HoudiniEngine

Install on Linux

As the Houdini Engine for Unreal is not officially supported on Linux, the plug-in's binaries are not available on Linux as part of the installer. The source code is, however, available either in the engine/unreal subdirectory of the Houdini install folder, or in the Github repository and can be compiled and used with the Linux version of Unreal.

To do so, simply follow the instructions under theInstalling from Source section on the Github repository to build the plug-in.

Note

Do not forget to call "source houdini_setup" from the Houdini installed folder that matches the plug-in (generally /opt/hfs19.5.XXX). This will prevent the Houdini Engine session from failing to be created.

Building the plugin from source

Source code for Version 2 of the plugin can be downloaded from the Github repository.

You will then need to build Unreal Engine from Source. To do so, you can simply follow this guide.

-# Within the UE4 source, navigate to the "Engine/Plugins/Runtime" folder, and copy the plugin source, or clone the plug-in's repository into a folder named HoudiniEngine.
-# Download and install the correct build of 64-bit Houdini. To get the build number, look at the header of Source/HoudiniEngine/HoudiniEngine.Build.cs, under Houdini Version.
-# Generate the UE4 Project Files (by running GenerateProjectFiles) and build Unreal, either in x64 Debug Editor or x64 Development Editor.
-# When starting the Unreal Engine editor, go to the Plug-ins menu and make sure the Houdini Engine v2 plug-in is enabled (in the Rendering section). Restart UE4 if you had to enable it.
-# To confirm that the plug-in has been successfully installed and enabled, you can check that the editor's main menu bar now has a new "Houdini Engine" menu, between "Edit" and "Window".
-# You should now be able to import Houdini Digital Assets (HDA) .otl or .hda files or drag and drop them into the Content Browser.
-# Once you have an HDA in the Content Browser you should be able to drag it into the Editor viewport. This will spawn a new Houdini Asset Actor. Geometry cooking will be done in a separate thread and geometry will be displayed once the cooking is complete. At this point you will be able to see asset parameters in the Details pane. Modifying any of the parameters will force the asset to recook and possibly update its geometry.