This is my 3rd day of using Houdini 9 in production, and it is terrible,

The program ‘Gecko’ received an X Window System error.
This probably reflects a bug in the program.
The error was ‘BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter)’.
(Details: serial 435553 error_code 9 request_code 62 minor_code 0)
(Note to programmers: normally, X errors are reported asynchronously;
that is, you will receive the error a while after causing it.
To debug your program, run it with the –sync command line
option to change this behavior. You can then get a meaningful
backtrace from your debugger if you break on the gdk_x_error() function.)

I get this when I click the question mark for a help browser, along with an instant crash, so I can't look at help inside houdini. Maybe a driver issue, but seriously this new interface is terrible to work with, it may be nice to look at, but it makes working feel like work, I remember when it used to feel like fun. I'm sorry SESI, but you dropped the ball on this one, I'm going to have to migrate to Maya, so I can feel confident I will be able to finish the project without having to run to support every 5 minutes to figure out if I'm dumb or the software is buggy. (I know I may be dumb, but that doesn't clear this version of being buggy beyond belief).


ps- where did spare channels go, they were here now they are not, have I changed something that no longer allows me to add spare channels or did you?

-disappointed is an understatement

Phenom
ps- where did spare channels go, they were here now they are not, have I changed something that no longer allows me to add spare channels or did you?

The old gimpy spare channels have been replaced by the lovely ‘Edit Parameter Interface’ option. Its an interface just like the Type Properties Dialog but for adding spare parameters. Its sweet, give it a whirl.

Phenom
This is my 3rd day of using Houdini 9 in production, and it is terrible,

The program ‘Gecko’ received an X Window System error.
This probably reflects a bug in the program.
The error was ‘BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter)’.
(Details: serial 435553 error_code 9 request_code 62 minor_code 0)
(Note to programmers: normally, X errors are reported asynchronously;
that is, you will receive the error a while after causing it.
To debug your program, run it with the –sync command line
option to change this behavior. You can then get a meaningful
backtrace from your debugger if you break on the gdk_x_error() function.)

I get this when I click the question mark for a help browser, along with an instant crash, so I can't look at help inside houdini. Maybe a driver issue, but seriously this new interface is terrible to work with, it may be nice to look at, but it makes working feel like work, I remember when it used to feel like fun. I'm sorry SESI, but you dropped the ball on this one, I'm going to have to migrate to Maya, so I can feel confident I will be able to finish the project without having to run to support every 5 minutes to figure out if I'm dumb or the software is buggy. (I know I may be dumb, but that doesn't clear this version of being buggy beyond belief).

This belongs in a separate thread.

Different Linux distros have trouble running the help browser. We need to know which build/platform of Houdini you downloaded and which Linux distro you are using.

Wolfwood
This belongs in a separate thread.

Different Linux distros have trouble running the help browser. We need to know which build/platform of Houdini you downloaded and which Linux distro you are using.

Yes, please. Also, I should note that a lot of help browser crashes were fixed as of 9.0.739; make sure you're using a version of Houdini after that.

Wolfwood
Different Linux distros have trouble running the help browser. We need to know which build/platform of Houdini you downloaded and which Linux distro you are using.

It seems as if many people are experiencing HelpBrowser issues; and here is yet another reason to push having the help docs available online somewhere - at least as a topical anaesthetic.

Sprites rendering in H9 very sux, an easy thing made more complicated.

Sorry to continue off topic for a moment, but has anyone figured out the proper sprite workflow for H9? Miguel's excellent tutorial for H8 is really hard to follow with the changes. I don't know if sprites are better or worse in 9, I haven't been able to figure it out yet…

Sorry to continue off topic for a moment, but has anyone figured out the proper sprite workflow for H9? Miguel's excellent tutorial for H8 is really hard to follow with the changes. I don't know if sprites are better or worse in 9, I haven't been able to figure it out yet…

*Please* guys. Take it to another thread. It doesn't help anyone to have uber-catchall threads that deviate from the topic. The person that posted the original question still doesn't have an answer to what he posed(and isn't expecting one, from the looks of things).

J.C.

shikung444
Sorry to continue off topic for a moment, but has anyone figured out the proper sprite workflow for H9? Miguel's excellent tutorial for H8 is really hard to follow with the changes. I don't know if sprites are better or worse in 9, I haven't been able to figure it out yet…

horizon1231
Sprites rendering in H9 very sux, an easy thing made more complicated.

Sprite rendering is just as easy in Houdini 9 as it was in Houdini 8. Just because the setup is slightly different doesn't it mean its worse. It took less than a minute to convert Miguel's Houdini 8 file from od to a Houdini 9 workflow.

horizon1231
Sprites rendering in H9 very sux, an easy thing made more complicated.

Wolfwood
Sprite rendering is just as easy in Houdini 9 as it was in Houdini 8. Just because the setup is slightly different doesn't it mean its worse. It took less than a minute to convert Miguel's Houdini 8 file from od to a Houdini 9 workflow.

Ok, here we go again. I really don't understand why, when a user says something is difficult, the first response is “no it's not”. It's like going into the doctor with a broken arm and telling him it hurts, and the doctor says, “I understand you may be feeling some discomfort”. It's not discomfort, it's called pain, and if people, and A LOT of people are saying it's difficult, maybe there is some truth to that, can anybody accept that fact?!?

Just because you know how to work around all the changes, doesn't make it easy for everyone else, what is the big deal of admitting you may have made too many changes in a single version?

As for off topic, well the answer to the main question was given by Joe, and I won't quote it again, as I think that has been put to pasture.

Phenom
Ok, here we go again. I really don't understand why, when a user says something is difficult, the first response is “no it's not”. It's like going into the doctor with a broken arm and telling him it hurts, and the doctor says, “I understand you may be feeling some discomfort”. It's not discomfort, it's called pain, and if people, and A LOT of people are saying it's difficult, maybe there is some truth to that, can anybody accept that fact?!?

Different does not always equal difficult. Once someone learns how to setup sprite rendering in Houdini 9 odds are they'll think its just as simple as Houdini 8, (just different). Doing a tutorial designed for a different version of software is always prone to problems. In these cases simply start a new thread, (or search for an existing one), and ask what the correct setup is for Houdini 9. (By saying it is easy in Houdini 9 was suppose to be encouragement)

Phenom
what is the big deal of admitting you may have made too many changes in a single version?

Side Effects worked on Houdini 9 for over two years and during that time reinvented/reworked a lot of workflows in an attempt to make the package better for new users and production users. Some ideas were great, others need to be cleaned up and rethought. I'd rather see SESI try to innovate between versions rather than just fix bugs and add one or two new features like other software companies. Perhaps if they had called it Penn & Teller v1 it would have had a better impact?

To get back to the nodes, the main question still hasn't been answered…

And as much as the wiring has been discussed, as far as the design goes, I must say it ‘seems’ much harder to wire things up. Maybe the wire/snapping areas are indeed big enough, and sure you can click the node, but that doesn't change that something keeps slowing me down every time I try to use it. I think it may just be a visual thing. Many people here have complained about the small hookup regions, and it may just be that visually we're inhibited by the small connection areas, so even though they're not that small, we perceive them as such, and thus have issues?

Also, since someone early on mentioned nuke, I'd like to chime in and say how much I wish they would've taken more hints from it. It's great that they redesigned the nodes and such, but why didn't we get any of the cool functionality that exists in other packages? The node snapping in nuke, for instance, is one of the most amazing features ever. Sesi, do you realize how much time we waste moving around nodes to try to get the lines to look straight? Maybe it's just my ocd, but I've seen other people do it. The auto layout feature is my personal worst enemy, because I always have to spend a good minute moving things to where they actually ‘should’ be (oh, and the one in vops is even worse). Having the nodes snap under (or next to ) each other in nuke makes that soooo much faster and pleasant.
Also, what's the deal with the network boxes? They barely work, if you ask me. Ok, they give you some colored background, but how about taking some other clues from nuke? How about allowing network boxes within network boxes? How about the super useful huge labels that you can add in nuke? How about actually making it so that when you put down a new node, it doesn't land behind the network box? Really guys, this seems like simple no duh stuff.

Cheers,
-z

anakin78z
The node snapping in nuke, for instance, is one of the most amazing features ever. Sesi, do you realize how much time we waste moving around nodes to try to get the lines to look straight? Maybe it's just my ocd, but I've seen other people do it.

The node snapping in Houdini isn't that bad. I use it all the time and it keeps everything nice and tidy. My settings for Houdini 9 are Grid Spacing ( 1 , .8 ) and a Snap Gravity of 0.75

One good thing about the unified node look is that my snap settings now apply to all the contexts.

anakin78z
Sesi, do you realize how much time we waste moving around nodes to try to get the lines to look straight? Maybe it's just my ocd, but I've seen other people do it.
-z

I've seen people do it, I just so don't suffer from this

Just being annoying, I have nothing important to add… sorry, it just always makes me smile. :twisted:

Wolfwood

anakin78z
The node snapping in nuke, for instance, is one of the most amazing features ever. Sesi, do you realize how much time we waste moving around nodes to try to get the lines to look straight? Maybe it's just my ocd, but I've seen other people do it.

The node snapping in Houdini isn't that bad. I use it all the time and it keeps everything nice and tidy. My settings for Houdini 9 are Grid Spacing ( 1 , .8 ) and a Snap Gravity of 0.75

One good thing about the unified node look is that my snap settings now apply to all the contexts.

The Houdini is so bare-bones … and you can't save the settings, you have to set this up for yourself every time, don't you?

The Nuke one is a system which snaps to being aligned and certain spacing with other nodes, and so the need for a grid is not there. You can have very neat networks laid out in a pretty flexible way. It's the best of both worlds.

jason_iversen
The Nuke one is a system which snaps to being aligned and certain spacing with other nodes, and so the need for a grid is not there. You can have very neat networks laid out in a pretty flexible way. It's the best of both worlds.

Ah! Excellent, these specific examples are what SESI needs to hear. As much as I agree that SESI should try out a cut of Nuke to get some ideas, its best if they hear from us exactly which bits about Nuke are nice.

Just thought of an idea …

There are tons of node-based applications out there. I've felt the need to write smaller node-type UI's for various plugins myself but was stopped by the fact that there would be a lot more work involved with the creation of my own node-based scheme than what I was actually trying to accomplish.

Since all node networks generally share a very similar sort of functions, in / out / flags / label / wires ..

I'm suprised there isn't an open source, or common type of language that apps could simply implement, which would do a node type thing for any app, like swing for java for instance, and match the user's global UI settings.

It would be nice to be able to do the same nodes with just different names in Houdini / Combustion / etc.

JColdrick
*Please* guys. Take it to another thread. It doesn't help anyone to have uber-catchall threads that deviate from the topic. The person that posted the original question still doesn't have an answer to what he posed(and isn't expecting one, from the looks of things).

J.C.

nope. gave up days ago. got scared away by all the torches and pitchforks…