Hi there,
Happy New Year everyone!
The Houdini-Real Flow plugins are now available for Houdini 8 and the source code has been released on Source Forge.
The source code can be found on the Source Forge od Houdini plugin page:
Source Forge odforce page [sourceforge.net]
The RF_Import_SOP and RF_Export_SOP have had a number of small bugs fixed and generally had to tidy up a bit. The Real Flow ROP/IFD is still in need of some work but should be available very soon too. Please read the README file for more details on the fixes and enhancements.
Here's the URL for the download page:
DCA Real Flow Page [digitalcinemaarts.com]
Some notes on the source code and this project in general:
This project has been around for about 2 1/2 years, and I've worked on it in my spare time whenever I could but now it's time to release the code for others to extend, maintain and fix those things I couldn't get to. It's been a great project, learned a lot, met some great people too; and it helped keep me sane whilst having to code in IDL for over a year!
Because I wasn't able to spend a concentrated period of time on the project, there are some inconstancies in coding styles, naming conventions, error checking, etc. that one commonly finds in informal coding projects; it could use a good once over in overall design too. One of the reasons I mention this is because I've been surprised how many people have used the plugins on real shots where real money is on the line, makes me nervous to have freeware in the pipeline if it's not open source, thus another good reason to publish the code.
Fortunately for me I'm able to work in Houdini full time now and will only become more familiar with the HDK and will improve upon these plugins in the future but in the short term my attention is on fluid solvers for DOPs and Mental Ray/Houdini integration. So any other HDK programmers out there who would like to help with these Real Flow plugins, please write, so we can coordinate our efforts.
Of course, if you use the plugins for a project, and/or use the code base internally to your company, spread good karma and give credit where credit is due.
Peace and Love,
Mark
