Help Desk

Houdini Engine For Game Studios

Introduction

The Houdini software can be installed via Launcher or the old standalone installer from our website. There is one software for which we build daily (Daily Builds) and monthly provide Production Builds. While there is a single version of Houdini, there are different license levels. The Houdini features available in the software are dependent on the license that is checked out. Additionally, the native file format (.hip/hiplc) and digital asset format (.hda/hdalc) that is saved is dependent on the license being used.

For example:

A Houdini FX/Core license saves files as .hip and Houdini Digital Assets as .hda.

While a Houdini Indie license saves files as .hiplc and Houdini Digital Assets as .hdalc.

Studio License Configuration Guide

Studios wishing to use the Houdini Engine for their game engines such as Unreal and Unity need the correct configuration for each user.

Studios with Commercial Licenses

(Houdini FX, Houdini Core, Houdini Engine for Unity and Unreal)

Houdini Artists - Artists using the Houdini software directly or to create Digital Assets to be used in a game engine.

  1. Requires local install of Houdini
  2. Will be required to check out an interactive license(FX/Core) of Houdini to create Houdini digital asset files(.hda).

Unreal/Unity users (using a HE Plugin) - Artists using Houdini Digital assets in the game engine.

  1. Requires local install of Houdini.
  2. The Houdini Engine plugin for your game engine. See plugin installation below. The build of the plugin should match the build of Houdini installed
  3. Will be required to check out a free Houdini Engine for Unreal and Unity license. Commercial interactive licenses can also be used.

Unreal/Unity users (not using HE Plugin) - There may be cases where a user needs to work in a level with HDA assets but does not wish to use the plugin or alter the HDAs.

  1. Optional: Local install of Houdini (might be necessary for custom game engines)
  2. The Houdini Engine plugin for your game engine. See plugin installation below. The build of the plugin should match the build of Houdini installed. In the Plugin Settings > Session Type select: None. This option will prevent the creation of a session, and ensures that these users will not acquire a license. They will not be able to modify Houdini assets present in the world.

Studios with Indie Licenses

(Houdini Indie, Houdini Engine Indie)

Houdini Artists - Artists using the Houdini software directly or to create Digital Assets to be used in a game engine.

  1. Requires local install of Houdini
  2. Will be required to check out an interactive license (Houdini Indie) of Houdini to create Houdini digital asset files (.hdalc).

Unreal/Unity users (using a HE Plugin) - Artists using Houdini Digital assets in the game engine.

  1. Requires local install of Houdini
  2. The Houdini Engine plugin for your game engine. See plugin installation below. The build of the plugin should match the build of Houdini installed
  3. Will be required to check out a free Houdini Engine Indie license. Limited-Commercial interactive licenses can also be used.

Unreal/Unity users (not using HE Plugin) - There may be cases where a user needs to work in a level with HDA assets but does not wish to use the plugin or alter the HDAs.

  1. Optional: Local install of Houdini (might be necessary for custom game engines)
  2. The Houdini Engine plugin for your game engine. See plugin installation below. The build of the plugin should match the build of Houdini installed. In the Plugin Settings > Session Type select: None.This option will prevent the creation of a session, and ensures that these users will not acquire a license. They will not be able to modify Houdini assets present in the world.

Users who work in levels with HDA’s but are not using them or altering their parameters will still need the plugin to maintain dependencies of the HDA and their parameters. They will not check out licenses with the session type set to none. Alternatively, you can bake your HDA’s output into your level, removing the dependencies to Houdini and the plugin. This action is not reversible, so you will not be able to revert a baked output back to a HDA.

Installing Houdini Silently for source control

The local Houdini install can either be a full local install or the Houdini version installed can be put under source control if needed - allowing users to pull the software with the game's project.
Users that either interact with Houdini or with Digital assets in their game engine will need to have the Houdini license server installed (at least once) on their machine.
Users not interacting with the plugin don't need Houdini installed - just the plugin. (this might be different for custom integrations)

For more information on version control please see here:
https://www.sidefx.com/docs/hengine/_h_a_p_i__integration.html#HAPI_Integration_EngineInVersionControl

Plugin Installation

Unreal Plugin Installation
Unity Plugin Installation
Custom game engines will require commercial licenses.

Hython & PDG usage and requirements

Hython requires a Houdini FX, Houdini Core, or Houdini Engine license. Houdini Engine for Unity and Unreal license is not supported. Most PDG nodes utilize hython so this should be considered when implementing tools that require PDG.

Restricting Licenses

License Partitioning

Before you can configure license partitioning, you will need to create an admin user to have the appropriate permissions for sesinetd.

To add an admin user to sesinetd: www.sidefx.com/faq/question/how-do-i-add-the-admin-user-to-the-license-server-sesinetd/