Hi!
I've got the problem that I received the HAPI Error again. So I installed the latest daily build version and after starting UE I got the message that a 30 days free trial version of Houdini Engine is installed. After that I imported again one of my HDAs but when I try to place it in the scene nothing happens but showing me the Houdini logo.
I've also tried to solve this be reinstalling 15.0.244.16 and 14.0.474. and I updated the plugins folder of UE after every installation with the appropriate HoudiniEngine folder.
Does anyone has an idea how to solve this?

Thanks!

Hello!

Which version of UE4, which version of daily build and which platform?

Please let me know, I will look into it.

Unreal Engine 4.8.3
Houdini daily build 15.0.306
Windows 7

I think the issue is that we no longer ship 4.8 plugin with 15.0 . Only 4.9 and 4.10 . Which means you still have the old 4.8 plugin installed (it was not replaced by installer). So it is pointing to an older version of Houdini it was build against.

There are two possible solutions, one is to build 4.8 plugin yourself - we have code on Github (Houdini15-Unreal4.8 branch). Another would be to update and use either 4.9 or 4.10 .

Thanks!

Ok thanks. But it's a bit strange because I used 15.0 the last four weeks without a problem.
And what about using 14.0 for 4.8? Shouldn't this actually work?

Gewwit
Ok thanks. But it's a bit strange because I used 15.0 the last four weeks without a problem.
And what about using 14.0 for 4.8? Shouldn't this actually work?

We removed 4.8 support from 15.0 recently, last week. In preparation for release, we also changed licensing, similar to other plugins, now you can get a trial and you will need the actual license after that.

14.0 and 4.8 should work, providing you have proper licenses set up. However that branch is very much outdated in terms of features as we stopped backporting new features to it long time ago.

Ok I think I'll update to UE 4.10 then. Thank you!

I've now updated to 4.9 (Substance Designer doesn't support 4.10) but it still won't work. Currently 15.0.306 is installed.

Are you building from source?

I had to modify the two *.Build.cs files so that the bIsRelease variable was true instead of false. Otherwise the include path for the HAPI directory does not get set and my compiles were getting errors.

Yes I'm building from source. I have changed nothing. But I can't find the bIsRelease variable in those two files.

Any idea what I could try? I'm a bit pressed for time because I have to show something for university studies. I'm thankful for any suggestions.

Ok, there's two separate issues here.

1. An issue that ONLY affected 4.10, regarding the bIsRelease variable not being set correctly. This has been fixed and should be good in 15.0.311. Gewwit, you did say you were on 4.9 so the bIsRelease change won't affect you - it's also why you can't find that variable.

2. An issue that is likely to do with licensing. Gewwit, this is more likely to be what you're dealing with.

I need more information on what you mean by “it still doesn't work”.
- Can you drag (otl/hda) assets into the Content Browser window?
- If you go to Edit > Project Settings and scroll down to Plugins > Houdini Engine, what does it say under Plugin Information?
- Whan you drag your asset into the viewport, what happens?
- Can you try not building from source and use the installed version that comes with a Houdini installer? Does that work?

Thanks for the reply!
Ok here some more information:
- yes i can drag/load the assets in the content browser
- under Plugin Information there are some settings which are all grayed out (Built against Houdini, Built against Houdini Engine, Running against Houdini, Running against Houdini Engine, Location of libHAPIL.dll)
- when I drag the asset into the viewport nothing happens but showing me the Houdini logo. I don't get any error message.
- I installed it with the installer and copied the HoudiniEngine folder to PlugIns/Runtime

Gewwit
Thanks for the reply!
- under Plugin Information there are some settings which are all grayed out (Built against Houdini, Built against Houdini Engine, Running against Houdini, Running against Houdini Engine, Location of libHAPIL.dll)

Can you please tell us what the values of those are?
Built against Houdini
Built against Houdini Engine
Running against Houdini
Running against Houdini Engine
Location of libHAPI

We could then try to reproduce your issue with the given version.
Thank you!

Sure!:

Built against Houdini: 15 0 244 16
Built against Houdini Engine: 2 0 18
Running against Houdini: 15 0 244 16
Running against Houdini Engine: 2 0 18
Location of libHAPI: F:\Programme F\Side Effects/bin

The 15.0.244.16 build still used the free beta license mode for Houdini Engine which let you use the Unreal plugin for free for 30-days after the build was released. It's been longer the 30 days since then so that build expired.

Please try the latest daily build (and make sure the latest build version is in those grayed out fields in the Project Settings / Houdini Engine window). The latest build will now try to invoke the 30-day trial license of Houdini Engine (different than the beta license mode from 15.0.244.16). This will let you use Engine with Unreal for 30-days and after that you will need to buy a Houdini Indie license. Apprentice will no longer with for the Unreal plugin.

I'm also a little concerned about your custom install path (F:\Programme F\Side Effects/bin) as I don't see the Houdini version in that path. I'm concerned because if you try to install a new version of Houdini and use the same install path it will overwrite the previous version of Houdini. This is something we really do not support.

If you want to keep that install path you'll need to make sure you always uninstall ALL version of Houdini before installing any new versions of Houdini.

Ok I've uninstalled all versions and installed 15.0.308 to a new path but it still doesn't work. Maybe I'll need the Indie license now?

Ok, just to confirm, you are still trying to use Unreal 4.9, and not 4.10, correct?

Also, have you tried multiple different assets? Can you try an simple one like a box or something?

And what extension are your asset files?

Also, does UE4 Menu-> Window-> Developer Tools -> Output log say anything? Look for LogHoudiniEngine / HAPI entries. Thanks!

Yes, I'm still trying it with Unreal 4.9.
I also tried different assets (and created a simple cube with size parameters).
The file extensions are .hdanc .
When I drag the asset in the scene the Output log says:


LogHoudiniEngineEditor: PostSpawnActor, supplied Asset = 0x0000000019927F90
LogActorComponent: UnregisterComponent: (/Game/StarterContent/Maps/Minimal_Default.Minimal_DefaultersistentLevel.HoudiniAssetActor_5.StaticMeshComponent_19) Not registered. Aborting.
LogHoudiniEngineEditor: PostSpawnActor, supplied Asset = 0x0000000019927F90
LogHoudiniEngine: HAPI Asynchronous Instantiation Started. Component = 0x0, HoudiniAsset = 0x19927f90, HapiGUID = 180591D04254F1551535DE91D628EA1A
LogHoudiniEngine: FinishedInstantiationWithErrors.