I wish they had ACES profiles built in.

Hi SideFX,

This is about Houdini Engine API in BP.
What is this "Houdini Runtime Settings" class, and how to use it?
It seems like this node can set the distance field resolution scale setting on Houdini asset actor, but I don't have any nodes which outputs Houdini Runtime Settings class.

How can I use this node?

Thanks,
Yuri

Hi awesome SideFX peeps,

Is there any way to control "Recenter baked actors" while baking HDA output to the actor or blurprint?
What I'd like to do is, setting up the pivot as the center only on X and Z, and putting it at the bottom for Y with some attributes like D_MINY or D_MAXX.
Is this possible, or should I make a request through RFE?

Thanks!

dpernuit
The beta1 release binaries on github is linked with H18.0.597.
Source code is available for H18.0 / H18.5, on Git, you just need to select the proper branch on the repo.
(and as of today, 18.5 sources are now the default)

But H18.5 ships with the v2 plugin, so yes, you can use v2 with 18.5.
Just copy the Houdini Engine plugin from the Houdini18.5.531/Engine folder into UE's Engine/Plugins/Runtime folder.

Also, as 18.5 ships with both v1 and v2, we don't automatically install the plugin anymore.
The files need to be manually copied, depending on whether you want v1 or v2.

Oh I see, that's good to know.
Now I can fully commit to H18.5 then.
Thanks!

Hello, just wanted to clarify, this is not compatible with H18.5 yet, correct?
So any HDAs that I intend to use V2 should not have new H18.5 nodes?
Also, would installing H18.5 to my system conflict with this V2 and H18.0.597 combo?

For Linux, if anybody interested, I have a modified version of Labs Quadremesher node to work on Linux.
https://github.com/teddy8193/HDA/tree/master/Labs_QuadRemesher_Linux [github.com]

I basically applied the same modification as the unofficial version of Blender addon for Quad Remesher utilizing Wine.
Disclaimer though, I made this at home with my Indie license so it comes with hdalc file type.

I'm very much looking forword to this.
Any info about ETA is great!

Regarding the RizomUV bridge SOP, do you have any plan to make it work on Linux too?

I'm also wondering, what'll happen next?
Is LOPs gonna be the main context to be used for rendering moving forward?
What about the third party render engines, do they also keep supporting both OBJ+ROP combo and LOPs rendering system, or are they going to focus on only LOPs?
LOPs definitely has potential, but as a lot of people mentioned already, it's a bit confusing and missing some key features.
I think it's not quite there yet in terms of being the main rendering system.
But having two ways to render a scene seems confusing and requires double the amount of developing and maintaining for third parties too.

Does this mean it will support 3rd party render engines to use the renderview?
It'll be a bit silly and very crucial if you can't use the renderview with 3rd party renderers, such as PRman.

That is true.
Even the Core license is really reasonable and with this new LOP context, it's just even more competitive.
Personally I like to use Core license, so I can work on from layout, procedural modeling, and up to lighting.

But just thought about those who aren't familiar with Houdini yet, when there are so many tools right in front of you, it could be intimidating and hard to navigate.
And from the workflow stand point, some studios might prefer that way, such as no fixes or generating data out of lighting scene.
I'm not saying that's the proper workflow in the big production, but just the fact there are studios work like this.

Anyways, I'm really excited about where Houdini is going!

Hi awesome Houdini developers, and community here,

So I was really impressed by the new LOP context, and really looking forward to using it in person.

But there is one thing I've thought about while watching the video.
“Do really lighters need to use SOP context, or layout tools?”

I know SOPs are really powerful and fun, I've been a big fan of procedural modeling since H12.


But in the actual production, when there is a dedicated lighting department, lighters hardly need to modify or do something in SOP context.(I'm sure you all know already.)
They don't need grooming toolset, no heightfield, no cloud or crowd, or any other modeling tools.

So I was thinking, would you guys add another lower license tier, something like, “Houdini Lite”?
Which can only deal with LOPs and MATs, no SOPs or any other modeling related tools, purely for lighting and lookdev.

I feel this is gonna bring us two benefits.
1. Obviously financial reason. Less feature means less expensive.
2. Less clutter. You can really focus on Lookdev and Lighting with this license. No need to worry about other contexts.

Maybe you guys are already thinking, or there are other reasons for not doing this which I can't see, but just thought about it and wanted to throw in the idea.
This might help more studios or artists to use Houdini.
Less initial cost makes it easier to adopt for lighting, and less features helps artists to concentrate only what they need to know.