jakeodgers
This is happening to me too. Worked fine previously, getting the "You need to be logged in to view https://www.sidefx.com/download/download-installer/versions/windows/ [www.sidefx.com]" error. I can see my username in the corner, so it appears I'm logged in. Have to force quit the launcher to close it.

I was experiencing this too. It looks like something is wrong with cached credentials and the launcher keeps beating its head against a wall. I fixed it by disconnecting my PC from the internet, running the launcher which fails to login and clears the local credentials, reconnecting to the internet and logging back into the launcher.

Curve tool!

Block out the shape with geometry and then use the Cloud SOP [www.sidefx.com] followed by the Cloud Noise SOP [www.sidefx.com].

proximo
Nothing in the tool atm, you'd have to build it yourself. A bool union and then blur P attribute around the merged areas should work alright.

Thanks, the blur P attribute looks like it will be helpful!

With the new labs tree tools, are there any parameters that can help with smoothing the transition from the top of the trunk to branches placed at the very top of the trunk?

It loads very slow starting with H18.5 for me on Windows 10. Also, embedded videos, like the ones for help cards in SideFx Labs tools are broken and won't play.

You can submit an RFE to show further user need. The steps are in the sticky top post in this forum.

SideFX has added new tree generation tools to the latest release of SideFX labs tools (18.5.424).
They have quite a lot of features and options for generation and seem to be straight forward to use. Thank you for releasing these!

tamte
what you are describing sounds like Point Deform SOP

Thanks for pointing me at Point Deform. It looks like it gets me closer to the Wrap3 Lattice node but there is a harsh, hard transition between the face and the rest of the body. I'll have to investigate if there's a good way to do a soft blend around the transition area.

Wrap3 has a lattice deform that allows you to apply the wrapped face to the original figure (the one that has manifold disconnected parts like eyes/eyelashes/inner mouth). How do you do this in Houdini with Topo Transfer? I tried using the Houdini Lattice SOP but I don't think it works the same as Wrap3's lattice and didn't morph the original figure.

You use Houdini to bake the maps/models and export them. You then import the baked maps and models into your game as assets.

If you want some interest from DAZ users, there is a Houdini+DAZ Studio thread [www.daz3d.com] at the DAZ forums you could post to as well.

I don't know if you're aware, but if you run into the limitations of the FBX exporter in DAZ Studio, you could skip FBX and read the native DAZ files and import them and the rigging information into Houdini directly. The native DAZ file format is documented here [docs.daz3d.com]. There is an open source project that does this native reading of DAZ files and imports them plus the rig into Blender: https://bitbucket.org/Diffeomorphic/import-daz/src/master/ [bitbucket.org] and http://diffeomorphic.blogspot.com/p/daz-importer-version-14.html [diffeomorphic.blogspot.com]

What is the Karma version of “Render Light Geometry” for Dome Light? I looked at Dome Light LOPs documentation and didn't see anything about it.

Yehbe
Doesn't seem to work, I also tried to change the string attribute to opimg/comp1/OUT but that doesn't work either, it seems like the only way for me is to render the textures first.

Weird, I can't get the op:/syntax to work either in H17.5. I know it worked in older versions.

Kai Xu
In Anastasia Opara's excellent talk:
https://vimeo.com/228391688 [vimeo.com]

She demonstrated a very advanced procedural tree generation system without L-system. To achieve this advanced knowledge on vex and biology(On how a tree grows) is definitely required.

Exactly! Imagine that as native tools in Houdini that could also interact with the Terrain tools. You could have ecosystems that grow according to elevation/erosion/waterflow. SideFX could really give e-On a run for their money competing with Vue+Plantfactory.

I opened an RFE recommending adding plant/vegetation growth/simulation and was told to just use L-systems. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

On a more serious note, there is this https://gumroad.com/l/zWFNX [gumroad.com]

It would be nice to see something native to Houdini though, with all the support and documentation that goes along with it, something that will be maintained as new versions of Houdini come out.

I'm sure there are several ways to do it. One way is you can use a parameter expression to reference a transform from a transform node and apply a fit to it.

The Cloud FX shelf has tools for generating a cloud, making clouds from geometry, or filling a box with clouds. http://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/shelf/cloudfx.html [www.sidefx.com]

You can also sculpt clouds with more detail/control by using VDBs and all the associated tools.

There is a Sky Light shelf tool that will create a sun/sky. http://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/shelf/skylight.html [www.sidefx.com] After creating it, make sure you check the “Render Light Geometry” parameter on the Light tab of the generated Environment Light node.

If you want to make a spherical environment map, create a camera and set the Projection to Polar.

If you want to make a cubic environment map, there are steps here: http://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/render/envmaps.html#generating-cubic-environment-maps [www.sidefx.com]

Are there any plans to add tools to the GameDev Toolset for helping with polygon strips to and from Houdini hair guides workflows? I saw this video made by a SideFX intern but haven't seen anything about the setup being made publicly available.
https://vimeo.com/238844152 [vimeo.com]

There are several things I think that contribute to the steep learning curve besides what other people mentioned above.
- Very low “discoverabilitiy” of features inside Houdini. There is no way on earth anyone would ever guess to use $F or $YMIN by just playing around and exploring inside Houdini. You have to go outside, read the manual, watch tutorials, look at other people's sample hip files, etc to learn many things. Learning Houdini almost feels like learning to code in Visual Studio but minus any Intellisense to help you discover anything.
- There are many nodes with not always straightforward names and some of which do almost the same thing. Nodes have changed over time so you might find a tutorial that tells you to use a node and it now behaves differently than it did in a previous version. For example, the Mountain node has nothing to do with making mountains in the terrain height fields. You have to understand the basic Houdini vocabulary and a decent chunk of nodes before you can start to be really proficient.
- Non-locality of data makes it confusing to follow along when learning. If you begin to understand that nodes link to one another to act as parameters you might be surprised when you discover that you can refer to nodes by path to make invisible lines.
- Many parameters are very hard to tell what reasonable ranges of values you should use. If you guess wrong you could totally lock up Houdini and have to kill. It's also not always obvious if you should increase or decrease a parameter. Some nodes, a smaller number increase the resolution of an object or simulation and in some cases it's the inverse. Tool tips over the parameters vary from helpful to blank.