Hi, this is just a small post to share my personal thoughts about Houdini licensing infrastructure.
As an employee working for a relatively large company, I do quite dislike the current licensing system of Houdini, my main issue being that it is so rigid, there is very little flexibility.


My work requires me to work from different office locations in Europe, and I might need to work on the move when big events are happening (GDC for example). And this is just completely impossible with the current licensing infrastructure of Houdini.
Also, with the current system I cannot work from home, even if I am not using my license at work.
(Serious question related to that, if I want to work from home, I guess I am supposed to buy another license. Can I buy an indie licence from my own pocket, or am I supposed to ask my company to buy another studio license ?)

The whole system is also not the most user friendly I have seen.
It might have been similar in the past for other products, but right now I can run all of my other 3d and 2d DCC applications from a second location (Other office, or at home), without the need of setting up a vpn, or a license server or anything else, I just enter a login and a password, and I can start working straight away. (I can count 5 different softwares run by 3 different companies)

I really enjoy Houdini as a Software, also the SideFx support team is really amazing, and the pricing of the licensing is fine (I would even say great for indies), but I would love it if the licensing infrastructure of Houdini was a little bit more flexible.

Cheers,
Julien.

JulienH
And this is just completely impossible with the current licensing infrastructure of Houdini.

Just get a floating license.
https://sidefx.com/buy/#houdini3 [sidefx.com]

The floating licences are apparently Local Access Licences, so they can be used only at one office, and the remote use of floating licences (From home or laptop) is not that easy, as of course the licence server is not accessible outside our private network, so a VPN connection is required.

Also, a login based licensing would help with all the indie users that are working on more than one computer and are for now forced to buy several licences for only one person to use. (They of course don't have access to floating licences.)

JulienH
o a VPN connection is required.

VPN is dime a dozen and is normal for proper companies.

JulienH
Also, a login based licensing would help with all the indie users

You can't run an Indie license when working for a large company.


Obviously in regards to Indie users, yes a check-in license system is better but 200$ isn't an ultimate killer if you are doing work.

aRtye
but 200$ isn't an ultimate killer

Limit of 3 tho, then running the software in multiple locations gets real expensive, real fast.

cpb

aRtye
but 200$ isn't an ultimate killer

Limit of 3 tho, then running the software in multiple locations gets real expensive, real fast.

I've been hoping SESI would float their licenses since when I purchased fX back in H13/14. By now I would say it's not in their business plan to offer it. Fair enough but dissapointing from an end user pov.

Others just pirate it so I guess only fools that actually don't

aRtye
Others just pirate it so I guess only fools that actually don't

did toyr keyboard rage quit on tyoyu midsemtamce or wjat? hahaha

McNistor

aRtye
Others just pirate it so I guess only fools that actually don't

did toyr keyboard rage quit on tyoyu midsemtamce or wjat? hahaha

aahh, my eyes… it hurts us