Hi all, been looking about for a cheap, powerful and very usable app for my ever growing 3d needs I've been using max for the last 3 years (student) but getting sick of the price and well I don't like max that much nor maya on the topic either.

And a friend suggested this, and I'm going to have to agree from what I've seen Houdini is a brilliant app ^^, I'm looking into getting the Student copy for $99 but was some what uncertain about why it's so awesomely cheap? all the cool stuff locked out? but yeh I really love the look of it and am very tempted to buy a copy ^^ esp since Side effect support Linux which also comes to one other question; If I have a dual boot of windows/ linux would I be able to install to both of those or would it be considered to be more than one computer?

sry about the kinda hyper typing I've been drinking lots of coffee

some parts are locked. like ifd rendering and stuff like that, but for testing and learning everything is there. the biggest limitation is that You are not allowed to use it for commercial work. thats why it is called starving artist edition. but it is a real great offer

I've used max for several years and my eyes fell out when I started using XSI. Then I switched over to Houdini and it made my brain pop out through the empty sockets.

I got them all in again and I enjoy using Houdini very much.

It's a lot deeper than other apps and that makes it pretty hard and long to learn and to become productive. Sometimes you stumble over seemingly simple things that have incomprehensible answers (you wanna move a point along the normal? Why, it's simply P = P+N*scaling_factor!). Some people never get up after those falls and return to their old soft. So, growing a new userbase is hard and I think that's part of the reason why it's so cheap.

I'd say stick with Houdini if you're young and nimble and you don't have to use your 3D skills to pay for your bread and butter in the next couple of years.

I should also add that the Houdini userbase is very small but very very fine indeed. There's a good proportion of quite quite clever people it seems, not to forget the developers who I've come to conclude must have been sourced from gifted schools, or astronauts.

Actually if you want to move a point along it's normal, just use the Peak SOP…

craiglhoffman
Actually if you want to move a point along it's normal, just use the Peak SOP…

in VOPs :wink: :wink:

Well it does sound very nice indeed, I found the max com to be large but very ummm quiet to people when asking for some help.

I normally do the majority of my modeling in Silo which is a little sim to max but more refined. Rendering, particles, etc are what I'm wanting to do with houdini.

If it tickles my fancy I think I'll go and fork out 2,000 for a nicer copy in the long term.

btw I'm working on becoming a environments/ assets game artist. So far I'm doing very well ^^ I can use max, Blender, Silo, Photoshop, UT2004, UT2003, Hammer, Maya and XSI (to an extent), Gimp, blah and some other things that I can't remember.

But I'm looking forward to trying it out and seeing how powerful it really is, I've only been playing with the free copy and so far I'm enjoying it a lot.

Thanks for answering some of my question guys

Answering your last question. If you have a dual booth you will need two licenses.

Houdini is worth every penny and every minute you invest in it!

Soothsayer
It's a lot deeper than other apps and that makes it pretty hard and long to learn and to become productive. Sometimes you stumble over seemingly simple things that have incomprehensible answers (you wanna move a point along the normal? Why, it's simply P = P+N*scaling_factor!). Some people never get up after those falls and return to their old soft. So, growing a new userbase is hard and I think that's part of the reason why it's so cheap.

If you put down a vopsop then dive down to VOPs you can put down a Displace along Normal node then feed it into P. This will move your points along the normal. MMB-click on the “amount” input and choose “Create Parameter” and this will promote the displace amount up to the geometry level.

If you are using the edit sop (simply editing points) then you can RMB-click on the handle and choose “Toggle Peak Handle” which will let you pull points along their normal.

Robert

PS - the reason it is so cheap is because we want to support students and artists working on personal projects and because you can't use it for commercial purposes…

rmagee
PS - the reason it is so cheap is because we want to support students and artists working on personal projects and because you can't use it for commercial purposes…

Well thats more than what Autodesk has ever done Makes me feel more like supporting this brilliant little app

With the HD version, from what I understand I'd be able to put the work I do in a demo reel, work with mod groups, and post the stuff about on the net. As long as it's not for a commercial purpose… Just to clarify.

silvina
Answering your last question. If you have a dual booth you will need two licenses.

Aww thats sucky I think Silo will run under wine with some changes…just a pitty about photoshop, and UT…maybe someday.

Deadletter

silvina
Answering your last question. If you have a dual booth you will need two licenses.

Aww thats sucky I think Silo will run under wine with some changes…just a pitty about photoshop, and UT…maybe someday.

Perhaps, but you could put the free Apprentice on the windows side and the HD version on the linux side and the files will be interchangable.