This video alludes to using Houdini (hscript I think) to generate the Level from 2d blueprints, but isn't a real tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugNTuM6FyV4 [youtube.com]
Just searching for ‘ Houdini Level Design ’ finds these:
http://odforce.net/?p=1541 [odforce.net]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn2QS4sh-9k [youtube.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BXlNx8HubM [youtube.com]
Found 227 posts.
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Technical Discussion » Houdini for level design
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Technical Discussion » Houdini for level design
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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I think Bioware (or someone else) presented something about this a while back at GDC or something, but here is something from Side Effects:
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2017&Itemid=354 [sidefx.com]
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2017&Itemid=354 [sidefx.com]
Houdini Lounge » New tools in Max. Your two cents please...
- craiglhoffman
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I think this will just create more Houdini customers. As MAX artists start diving into procedural modeling they are going to say “I wish I had a better more powerful version of this!” and someone will say “there is- it's called Houdini!”.
-Craig
-Craig
Houdini Lounge » Houdini 15 Sneak Peak
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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That's great news! Thanks!
It would be nice to do the last thing (create Normal Maps from high to low res geo) to avoid having to add another tool to the process, but I will take what I can get.
Maybe there is some way to script using XNormal from inside Houdini or something… Anyone want to make an Orbolt Asset to do this? Or maybe Side Effects could work out a deal to use XNormal tech inside Houdini since it is FREE.
Cheers,
Craig
It would be nice to do the last thing (create Normal Maps from high to low res geo) to avoid having to add another tool to the process, but I will take what I can get.
Maybe there is some way to script using XNormal from inside Houdini or something… Anyone want to make an Orbolt Asset to do this? Or maybe Side Effects could work out a deal to use XNormal tech inside Houdini since it is FREE.
Cheers,
Craig
Houdini Lounge » Houdini 15 Sneak Peak
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Anyone know if proper Tangent Space Normal Map support has been added?
- Like using an existing Tangent Space normal map in a Houdini shader at render time and in the GL real-time display? - Or creating a Tangent Space Normal Map from a high res model onto a low res model to allow our cool high quality procedural models to get into a game engine more efficiently?
Thanks,
Craig
- Like using an existing Tangent Space normal map in a Houdini shader at render time and in the GL real-time display? - Or creating a Tangent Space Normal Map from a high res model onto a low res model to allow our cool high quality procedural models to get into a game engine more efficiently?
Thanks,
Craig
Technical Discussion » Baking out dynamics to skeleton for FBX export...
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Hi Houdini fans!
I have a skeleton that is being driven by following a curve (extracted from some live dynamics data) using a “Follow Curve” Solver Type in the InverseKin CHOP.
Is there a way to bake this animation into the bone so I can export the skeletal animation via FBX? Currently the animation isn’t coming out in the FBX, although the (non-animated) bones do - and I can only assume it is the curve driven relationship that is the culprit.
Thanks,
Craig
I have a skeleton that is being driven by following a curve (extracted from some live dynamics data) using a “Follow Curve” Solver Type in the InverseKin CHOP.
Is there a way to bake this animation into the bone so I can export the skeletal animation via FBX? Currently the animation isn’t coming out in the FBX, although the (non-animated) bones do - and I can only assume it is the curve driven relationship that is the culprit.
Thanks,
Craig
Houdini Lounge » Houdini 14 Wishlist
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Not sure if any of these have been mentioned yet, but here are solid production suggestions that would have a big impact on Houdini's adoption and usage :
Mantra/PBR : Complete library of real-world materials for use with Mantra PBR (like Modo and other software has)- everything from concrete to wax to car paint to gold to brushed aluminum to skin, etc. with Pre-sets that work out of the box with real world scale. This would greatly increase the capability of new artists to create photorealistic renders that rival competing software.
LightMaps: MUCH BETTER support for lightmap baking (used for games) to bake bounce lighting/AO/shadows/textures into one texture. Simplify the process, allow lightmaps to be rendered from all rendering types (PBR/RayTracing/etc. with spec/reflections/etc. taken out of pass), support rendered lightmap texture edge dilation (helps to avoid artifacts with mip mapping) so rendered lightmaps can be used directly in game without any post processing
Normal Maps : Support industry standard Tangent Space Normal Maps (and Object Space Normal maps) in ALL Mantra materials and SHOPs. Any artist should be able to bring in a ZBrush/Mudbox/Modo model with normal maps and render it immediately in Mantra without a ton of headaches. Introduce tools for creating these normal maps from Houdini geometry so complex procedural geometry from Houdini can be baked out as low res game geometry with high-resolution Tangent Space normal maps for detail.
FBX: Better pre-sets and documentation for getting FBX out of Houdini and into other software- especially game engines like Unreal and Unity. Perhaps options to move Point UVs to Vertex UVs, etc. and the other things that work better for FBX export. This will help reduce the frustration many game artists new to Houdini experience and help adoption.
Game Pipeline : Basically I want to be able to model, render and export from Houdini and use it right in a game engine. This means lo-res geometry, Tangent space normal maps (that preserves detail from high res geometry), high quality pre-rendered lightmaps, and solid FBX out of Houdini that works without a lot of post-processing in other packages or headaches.
DOPS: Simplify standard things like adding simple air/wind/turbulence (with improved visual feedback) to DOP simulations for new users (it can be a little confusing and difficult for new users when this should be easy). Make DOPs tools/presets/demos with consistent real world scale and settings and production ready (works well, looks great, renders great) with simple to use fast lo-res and slow hi-res options.
Windows support : Windows directory supporta little wonky- like backslash/forwardSlash and getting to network drives- can this be improved to work as well as most other packages do?
Mantra/PBR : Complete library of real-world materials for use with Mantra PBR (like Modo and other software has)- everything from concrete to wax to car paint to gold to brushed aluminum to skin, etc. with Pre-sets that work out of the box with real world scale. This would greatly increase the capability of new artists to create photorealistic renders that rival competing software.
LightMaps: MUCH BETTER support for lightmap baking (used for games) to bake bounce lighting/AO/shadows/textures into one texture. Simplify the process, allow lightmaps to be rendered from all rendering types (PBR/RayTracing/etc. with spec/reflections/etc. taken out of pass), support rendered lightmap texture edge dilation (helps to avoid artifacts with mip mapping) so rendered lightmaps can be used directly in game without any post processing
Normal Maps : Support industry standard Tangent Space Normal Maps (and Object Space Normal maps) in ALL Mantra materials and SHOPs. Any artist should be able to bring in a ZBrush/Mudbox/Modo model with normal maps and render it immediately in Mantra without a ton of headaches. Introduce tools for creating these normal maps from Houdini geometry so complex procedural geometry from Houdini can be baked out as low res game geometry with high-resolution Tangent Space normal maps for detail.
FBX: Better pre-sets and documentation for getting FBX out of Houdini and into other software- especially game engines like Unreal and Unity. Perhaps options to move Point UVs to Vertex UVs, etc. and the other things that work better for FBX export. This will help reduce the frustration many game artists new to Houdini experience and help adoption.
Game Pipeline : Basically I want to be able to model, render and export from Houdini and use it right in a game engine. This means lo-res geometry, Tangent space normal maps (that preserves detail from high res geometry), high quality pre-rendered lightmaps, and solid FBX out of Houdini that works without a lot of post-processing in other packages or headaches.
DOPS: Simplify standard things like adding simple air/wind/turbulence (with improved visual feedback) to DOP simulations for new users (it can be a little confusing and difficult for new users when this should be easy). Make DOPs tools/presets/demos with consistent real world scale and settings and production ready (works well, looks great, renders great) with simple to use fast lo-res and slow hi-res options.
Windows support : Windows directory supporta little wonky- like backslash/forwardSlash and getting to network drives- can this be improved to work as well as most other packages do?
Houdini Lounge » Houdini Machine
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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One thing I have heard (haven't experienced this myself) is that an SSD (solid state drive) can greatly speed up your fluid sims due to constantly reading/writing huge amounts of data. This could conceivably make more of a difference than faster CPU's since hard drives can be such a choking point, but I am not sure at this point.
I plan to make a new PC over Christmas and am going to put my Operating system on the SSD as well as use it for all of my Houdini caching/etc. as well as for large models/textures for quick access during renders. I plan to go for the Core i7 2600K CPU (rather than the expensive 6 core 980X) because in many tests it outperforms the 6 core Core i7's at a MUCH lower price and it overclocks easily which allows it to not lose out too much when it comes to multithreaded things like rendering and fluid sims. The 980X (or maybe 990X now) is still your best bet for fluid sims, though- but you can save a lot of money and not lose too much performance by going to an overclocked 2600K.
It would be interesting for someone to run some tests on non-SSD vs. SSD fluid sims and large renders. (Maybe I will once I build my machine…)
-Craig
I plan to make a new PC over Christmas and am going to put my Operating system on the SSD as well as use it for all of my Houdini caching/etc. as well as for large models/textures for quick access during renders. I plan to go for the Core i7 2600K CPU (rather than the expensive 6 core 980X) because in many tests it outperforms the 6 core Core i7's at a MUCH lower price and it overclocks easily which allows it to not lose out too much when it comes to multithreaded things like rendering and fluid sims. The 980X (or maybe 990X now) is still your best bet for fluid sims, though- but you can save a lot of money and not lose too much performance by going to an overclocked 2600K.
It would be interesting for someone to run some tests on non-SSD vs. SSD fluid sims and large renders. (Maybe I will once I build my machine…)
-Craig
Technical Discussion » help me building a computer just for Houdini
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Here is a good write-up on a similar home-built $2K system: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclock-cpu-sli-ssd,3031.html [tomshardware.com]
Toms Hardware is a good source for information on building your own system.
Toms Hardware is a good source for information on building your own system.
Technical Discussion » help me building a computer just for Houdini
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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I am actually in the same thought process of thinking about building a machine and would strongly suggest an SSD drive for doing fluid sims and even perhaps rendering. The faster I/O with the fluid caches really makes a difference- at least my friends running Maya say it does!
I would also suggest the 2600K. It is a lot cheaper and set up for overclocking and can apparently easily be overclocked to 4 gHz (if you are interested in that).
I would also suggest the GPU with the most RAM since that is going to be an important constraint on doing Fluid Sims on the GPU.
My guess is you could build a decent machine for around $1500 (unless you want to use a workstation graphics card), so why not save the money for software, etc?
I would also suggest the 2600K. It is a lot cheaper and set up for overclocking and can apparently easily be overclocked to 4 gHz (if you are interested in that).
I would also suggest the GPU with the most RAM since that is going to be an important constraint on doing Fluid Sims on the GPU.
My guess is you could build a decent machine for around $1500 (unless you want to use a workstation graphics card), so why not save the money for software, etc?
Technical Discussion » Shaders for Coloured Water or liquid
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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This doesn't seem to work in PBR for me. It works in MicroPolygon, though. Is this a bug? (H11.0.807)
Thanks,
Craig
Thanks,
Craig
Houdini Lounge » Houdini for Indie Game Devs
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Houdini Escape isn't that expensive and can export .fbx. I have used .fbx to go to UDK.
I think the issue is that once you are exporting .fbx (or other useful geometry or image formats that can go into Maya or other packages) you can start easily doing commercial work for others, which Apprentice isn't supposed to allow. I think its great that they allow Torque export from the non-commercial Apprentice, but understand why they don't do .fbx.
I think the issue is that once you are exporting .fbx (or other useful geometry or image formats that can go into Maya or other packages) you can start easily doing commercial work for others, which Apprentice isn't supposed to allow. I think its great that they allow Torque export from the non-commercial Apprentice, but understand why they don't do .fbx.
Houdini Lounge » Hou's logo ...
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Also remember that you can use the Trace SOP to trace images to turn them into 3D geometry. If you have a hi-resolution image it usually does a pretty good job.
Houdini Lounge » Fixing slow selection problem with ATI cards
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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I was getting crashes before with 10.10 so I was hoping 11.2 would fix it.
Maybe I should go back to 10.9… :?
-c-
Maybe I should go back to 10.9… :?
-c-
Houdini Lounge » Fixing slow selection problem with ATI cards
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Anyone else have occasional crashing when trying to do something in Houdini's interface? I can't recall what I was doing, but it is getting on my nerves.
I just updated my Win7 laptop with 11.2 (latest) drivers and made the fix to the reversed normals that was told to me on the Houdini Mailing List and the occasional crashing is bugging me.
Cheers,
Craig
I just updated my Win7 laptop with 11.2 (latest) drivers and made the fix to the reversed normals that was told to me on the Houdini Mailing List and the occasional crashing is bugging me.
Cheers,
Craig
Houdini Lounge » Houdini shattered object animation to Softimage
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Edit- just realized my reply below doesn't cover changing point counts… Don't have a good way to cover this except the forementioned series of obj files- but that might have issues with texturing and getting motion blur in another package.
I just did something like this where I took my RBD chunks and put the dynamics onto bones and then weighted each chunk to its relative bone and then exported the skeletal mesh to FBX. This was for export to a game engine but it also came into XSI and Maya.
Its not automated right now, but its not too painful in the way I set it up.
Just make sure that your mesh has normals and UV's or the FBX import may not work (although I think it did come into Maya and XSI without UV's- just not the game engine).
I just did something like this where I took my RBD chunks and put the dynamics onto bones and then weighted each chunk to its relative bone and then exported the skeletal mesh to FBX. This was for export to a game engine but it also came into XSI and Maya.
Its not automated right now, but its not too painful in the way I set it up.
Just make sure that your mesh has normals and UV's or the FBX import may not work (although I think it did come into Maya and XSI without UV's- just not the game engine).
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » I cant login to licence stuff
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Same here.
You might want to follow this thread:
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=172&page=viewtopic&t=20267&start=25 [sidefx.com]
You might want to follow this thread:
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=172&page=viewtopic&t=20267&start=25 [sidefx.com]
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Houdini 11 Apprentice - Manual license install
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Is the problem really with laptops or Win7, etc?
It seems to me that h10 worked for all of us without all of these problems, so something must've changed in H11 that is causing it to choke under certain circumstances.
Would it be possible to just get the H11 licensing to work like H10's did?
(Still don't have it working here after MANY tries of all of the suggestions I found, but am on vacation and gave up for now..)
Thanks,
Craig
It seems to me that h10 worked for all of us without all of these problems, so something must've changed in H11 that is causing it to choke under certain circumstances.
Would it be possible to just get the H11 licensing to work like H10's did?
(Still don't have it working here after MANY tries of all of the suggestions I found, but am on vacation and gave up for now..)
Thanks,
Craig
Technical Discussion » Windows 7 64bit system with fresh installs
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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Does anyone know if this been addressed by Side Effects?
I would think software shouldn't need Wifi drivers to be uninstalled to allow it to work…
-Craig
I would think software shouldn't need Wifi drivers to be uninstalled to allow it to work…
-Craig
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Houdini 11 Apprentice - Manual license install
- craiglhoffman
- 252 posts
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For some reason the “License server code”, whether obtained from the Houdini License Adminstrator “Server Information” tab or from using “sesictrl -n” (and both are different!) don't seem to generate a SERVER key from this page:
http://license.sidefx.com/get_nc_license.php [license.sidefx.com]
that works when I do “Manually Enter Keys..” in the Houdini License Administrator.
Do I need to manually edit the Licenses file? (For some reason I can't seem to override the permissions like I normally do to allow myself to edit it, but that is some Win7 thing I am trying to figure out…)
Thanks,
Craig
http://license.sidefx.com/get_nc_license.php [license.sidefx.com]
that works when I do “Manually Enter Keys..” in the Houdini License Administrator.
Do I need to manually edit the Licenses file? (For some reason I can't seem to override the permissions like I normally do to allow myself to edit it, but that is some Win7 thing I am trying to figure out…)
Thanks,
Craig
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