Hi MartybNz,
The tone of your reply implies have taken a protective position.
It is most unfortunate that you see my seeking out an academic program to fasttrack learning Houdini as academic splendor.
I suppose three decades of software development, quality assurance, integration, programming, training, and software lifecycle methodologies in the enterprise/commercial space makes it that I'm void of real commercial world knowledge. :wink:
Your posts on this forum indicate that your quite knowledgeable in Houdini and have dedicated a significant amount of time, energy, and livelihood working with the SESI product suites.
Continued success in your endeavors.
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Houdini Indie and Apprentice » How many computers can install indie?
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
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Technical Discussion » Clarification of Max Render Resolution HIPNC
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
- Offline
eetu
Just scale it to 1080p and say “2x speedup of rendering achieved by subsample filtering”
LOL … I'll give that a try … the instructor has eagle eyes though, so he'll likely take it as a “sales pitch”.
Cheers,
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » How many computers can install indie?
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
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So as to avoid detracting the initial thread any further and/or starting an all out discussion of philosophies on software development …
It should always be possible to open previous Houdini project versions (ex: 11, 12, 13) in newer versions of Houdini (ex: 14) without catastrophic consequences to the project. My experience over the past year has demonstrated that this is not the case.
Traditionally, point release versions of a product are intended to address deficiencies (aka bugs). I have several 13.x.509 projects that required rework as a result of incompatibilities/changes in 13.x.582.
Legacy Node functionality should always be supported, broken or not, so as to provide a working starting point when migrating to a new version. It's not always practical to have multiple versions of a product installed.
The software vendor should provide a migration roadmap or a utility to upconvert previous project versions. If the legacy nodes are included in the newer version of the product, it should be dead obvious on where to find them if they are required.
The cost of a product should not be indicative of the amount of attention to compatibility. The usability, documentation, learning resources, and compatibility components are usually indicative of product lifespan. I've experienced first-hand the demise of great products that failed in these areas.
That said, there remain numerous areas for improvement in Houdini and the improvements in version 14 seem to demonstrate that SideFX is actively listening to it's customers.
There are many commercial/enterprise applications that provides backwards compatibility. Your replies seems to imply that this has never been the case in the CG industry - if this is the case, it is most unfortunate.
IMHO, future proofing a product by ensuring that a clean upgrade path exists is exercising hindsight to a problem before it happens.
Respectfully,
MartybNz
Hi hjgagne,
It sounds like you would be surprised to learn that SideFx has one of most
respected software development efforts in the CG industry.
Although I agree a license to share across desktop & laptop is badly needed, concerning the remarks of sharing of Houdini files across ‘sites’, and the backwards compatibility remarks seem to reflect a superficial understanding of this field.
Perhaps you could show an example where this is done better? Thanks!
It should always be possible to open previous Houdini project versions (ex: 11, 12, 13) in newer versions of Houdini (ex: 14) without catastrophic consequences to the project. My experience over the past year has demonstrated that this is not the case.
Traditionally, point release versions of a product are intended to address deficiencies (aka bugs). I have several 13.x.509 projects that required rework as a result of incompatibilities/changes in 13.x.582.
Legacy Node functionality should always be supported, broken or not, so as to provide a working starting point when migrating to a new version. It's not always practical to have multiple versions of a product installed.
The software vendor should provide a migration roadmap or a utility to upconvert previous project versions. If the legacy nodes are included in the newer version of the product, it should be dead obvious on where to find them if they are required.
SreckoM
For 400$ you can have it on two machines … please find me commercial 3d software that offers this much for that price.
The cost of a product should not be indicative of the amount of attention to compatibility. The usability, documentation, learning resources, and compatibility components are usually indicative of product lifespan. I've experienced first-hand the demise of great products that failed in these areas.
That said, there remain numerous areas for improvement in Houdini and the improvements in version 14 seem to demonstrate that SideFX is actively listening to it's customers.
MartybNz
It's a limited mindset to base your considerations on what others offer. Sure, you can, but that's equivalent to ‘looking at the future through the rear vision mirror’
There are many commercial/enterprise applications that provides backwards compatibility. Your replies seems to imply that this has never been the case in the CG industry - if this is the case, it is most unfortunate.
IMHO, future proofing a product by ensuring that a clean upgrade path exists is exercising hindsight to a problem before it happens.
Respectfully,
Technical Discussion » Clarification of Max Render Resolution HIPNC
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
- Offline
Appreciate the reply.
You are correct; haven't cared much until now as I've not had any finals to render.
Not particularly interested in babysitting a render overnight at school … guess I'll need to negotiate a 1280x720 final submission with the instructor.
:wink:
You are correct; haven't cared much until now as I've not had any finals to render.
Not particularly interested in babysitting a render overnight at school … guess I'll need to negotiate a 1280x720 final submission with the instructor.
:wink:
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » How many computers can install indie?
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
- Offline
Hi eetu,
From my extensive experience in the software industry, this is not one of the better licensing models.
There use to be a time when a legitimate license could be used on at least two systems. In comparison to other industries which I've worked in, the CG industry seems to be getting the “short-end” of the deal.
So agreed, opinions differ.
From my extensive experience in the software industry, this is not one of the better licensing models.
There use to be a time when a legitimate license could be used on at least two systems. In comparison to other industries which I've worked in, the CG industry seems to be getting the “short-end” of the deal.
So agreed, opinions differ.
Technical Discussion » Clarification of Max Render Resolution HIPNC
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
- Offline
Much appreciated MatrybNz!
Saves me hours of troubleshooting and/or trying to figure out what I could have done wrong.
Cheers,
* EDIT *
Just had another look at the link I posted above, took a few more times of reading to get how the table information is presented in the context of what I'm seeing when I move a project between “modes”.
Saves me hours of troubleshooting and/or trying to figure out what I could have done wrong.
Cheers,
* EDIT *
Just had another look at the link I posted above, took a few more times of reading to get how the table information is presented in the context of what I'm seeing when I move a project between “modes”.
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » How many computers can install indie?
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
- Offline
AFAIK,
You can purchase a maximum of three (3) Houdini Indie licenses … one per computer. There are three license components required per computer so it's not possible to leverage additional computers for distributed rendering purposes.
The license manager does allow returning of a license … not certain if that means a license can float between more than one computer.
There's also TONS of restrictions between “modes” of Houdini (Corporate, Indie, Education, Apprentice, etc.) which makes moving projects between sites an absolute nightmare.
Additionally, moving projects between Minor versions (13.#.##, etc.) of Houdini is a challenge and backwards compatibility between versions (12, 13, 14, etc.) is spotty at best.
There's tremendous potential for this product and I can only assume that all of the restrictions are to ensure sufficient revenue streams to continue R&D and pay salaries.
Hopefully one day, someone will revisit the license model restrictions to see how they can be improved.
Hope that helps,
You can purchase a maximum of three (3) Houdini Indie licenses … one per computer. There are three license components required per computer so it's not possible to leverage additional computers for distributed rendering purposes.
The license manager does allow returning of a license … not certain if that means a license can float between more than one computer.
There's also TONS of restrictions between “modes” of Houdini (Corporate, Indie, Education, Apprentice, etc.) which makes moving projects between sites an absolute nightmare.
Additionally, moving projects between Minor versions (13.#.##, etc.) of Houdini is a challenge and backwards compatibility between versions (12, 13, 14, etc.) is spotty at best.
There's tremendous potential for this product and I can only assume that all of the restrictions are to ensure sufficient revenue streams to continue R&D and pay salaries.
Hopefully one day, someone will revisit the license model restrictions to see how they can be improved.
Hope that helps,
Technical Discussion » Clarification of Max Render Resolution HIPNC
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
- Offline
Hi Folks,
Working on a class assignment using my purchased version of Houdini Indie. According to the following webpage, Houdini Indie Limited-Commercial is capable of rendering 1920x1080 OpenEXR.:
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=219&Itemid=382 [sidefx.com]
My MANTRA render settings, and overrides, are correctly configured to 1920x1080 but I'm only getting 1280x720.
Could someone be so kind as to confirm the maximum render resolution when working on a .HIPNC (Houdini Indie Limited-Commercial Non-Commercial) projects?
I'm moving my projects back-and-forth between School and Home (Houdini Indie).
Perhaps updating the above-link to reflect the limitations of all possible Houdini modes would be helpful … seems like a few Houdini modes aren't noted.
Regards,
hgagne
Working on a class assignment using my purchased version of Houdini Indie. According to the following webpage, Houdini Indie Limited-Commercial is capable of rendering 1920x1080 OpenEXR.:
http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=219&Itemid=382 [sidefx.com]
My MANTRA render settings, and overrides, are correctly configured to 1920x1080 but I'm only getting 1280x720.
Could someone be so kind as to confirm the maximum render resolution when working on a .HIPNC (Houdini Indie Limited-Commercial Non-Commercial) projects?
I'm moving my projects back-and-forth between School and Home (Houdini Indie).
Perhaps updating the above-link to reflect the limitations of all possible Houdini modes would be helpful … seems like a few Houdini modes aren't noted.
Regards,
hgagne
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Applying Different Materials to BGEO
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
- Offline
Well, managed some progress …
On #1:
It seems like the simulation returned from the DOP is indeed entirely new geometry. I suppose this makes sense and although I've scoured the documentation a few time over now, I didn't spot any info supporting this assumption.
What this means is that all UV Texturing pre-simulation is pointless since it's all destroyed during the simulation.
On #2:
I used the UVTEXTURE and MATERIAL nodes post my DOP IMPORT nodes, right after the EDGE CUSP nodes. I merged all of the simulation parts (6 in all) and ROP'ed the merged results.
Effectively, I've UV Textured each part of the simulation and applied a material to each part using the groups I had created. This seems to allow the retrieved BGEO to display with texture in the Viewport.
I'm not entirely sure as to why, perhaps it's a result of how I built the simulation.
On #3:
Had to reconstruct the MANTRA materials from scratch and reassign the texture .JPG files to each MANTRA material.
Afterwards, I was able to add a MATERIAL node after the FILE READ node that retrieves the ROP'ed BGEO. I added 4 materials and set each material tab to point to the respective MANTRA material (front, back, left, right).
It now renders as expected and it also overrides the “built-in” versions of the materials (tested that with some dummy .JPG's) that I ROP'ed out as noted above.
Again, not entirely certain as to what is going on but I'll assume it's my approach and/or newness to Houdini.
On a separate note, although there's all kinds of documentation/videos on the Side FX site. Most of it is out-dated. Seems like Side FX needs to allocate additional budget dollars to increase the documentation and training teams.
Lots and lots and lots of gaps … making the learning curve on this product unnecessarily steep.
Regards,
On #1:
It seems like the simulation returned from the DOP is indeed entirely new geometry. I suppose this makes sense and although I've scoured the documentation a few time over now, I didn't spot any info supporting this assumption.
What this means is that all UV Texturing pre-simulation is pointless since it's all destroyed during the simulation.
On #2:
I used the UVTEXTURE and MATERIAL nodes post my DOP IMPORT nodes, right after the EDGE CUSP nodes. I merged all of the simulation parts (6 in all) and ROP'ed the merged results.
Effectively, I've UV Textured each part of the simulation and applied a material to each part using the groups I had created. This seems to allow the retrieved BGEO to display with texture in the Viewport.
I'm not entirely sure as to why, perhaps it's a result of how I built the simulation.
On #3:
Had to reconstruct the MANTRA materials from scratch and reassign the texture .JPG files to each MANTRA material.
Afterwards, I was able to add a MATERIAL node after the FILE READ node that retrieves the ROP'ed BGEO. I added 4 materials and set each material tab to point to the respective MANTRA material (front, back, left, right).
It now renders as expected and it also overrides the “built-in” versions of the materials (tested that with some dummy .JPG's) that I ROP'ed out as noted above.
Again, not entirely certain as to what is going on but I'll assume it's my approach and/or newness to Houdini.
On a separate note, although there's all kinds of documentation/videos on the Side FX site. Most of it is out-dated. Seems like Side FX needs to allocate additional budget dollars to increase the documentation and training teams.
Lots and lots and lots of gaps … making the learning curve on this product unnecessarily steep.
Regards,
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Applying Different Materials to BGEO
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
- Offline
Hi Folks,
I have been working my way through learning Houdini using the Indie version that I purchased (13.0.509) so advance apologies if the terminology and/or descriptions below are difficult to follow.
I've run into an issue that I can't seem to wrap my head around and wonder if someone on the forums could provide some guidance. I have a simulation sequence - shattering columns - that I ROP'ed out to BGEO and am reading it back in. I created 4 GROUP names (left, right, front, back) when initially building the columns in anticipation that I would need these groups to specify materials.
At the scene level, I created a Geometry object and inside the Geometry object is the Read Geometry file node. I can successfully read and playback the simulation. I have added a single ENVLIGHT set to INTENSITY=2.
I'm now looking to apply 4 separate materials (.JPG files) to the columns, one material for each side, at different UV scales. I created 4 SHOP materials pointing to the respective .JPG's and tested each on a simple cube … all good.
Problems I'm having, which makes me suspect I'm missing a few workflow steps:
#1 - If I add a UVTEXTURE node (GROUP=front, TEXTURE=Face, SCALE=.1/.1/.1) followed by a MATERIAL node (GROUP=front, MATERIAL=/shop/frontmat) I can see it fine in the Viewport.
When I render however, it renders black.
Changing the texture type value allows it to render but the scale/offset/angle seems to get ignored.
#2 - I can see the cracks where the simulation will occur during Frame 1 render.
Not certain why they are visible as the breaking begins several frames later … almost as if it's rendering wireframe + shaded.
#3 - Adding additional UVTEXTURE and MATERIAL nodes for the other sides (groups) and attempting to merge the results yield black renders regardless of settings.
I tried applying UVTEXTURE and MATERIALS pre-simulation (i.e. as part of column creation)… doesn't seem to make a difference.
What is the proper workflow to use when looking to assign various materials to different parts of a simulation read in via Geometry Read?
Advance thanks,
hgagne
I have been working my way through learning Houdini using the Indie version that I purchased (13.0.509) so advance apologies if the terminology and/or descriptions below are difficult to follow.
I've run into an issue that I can't seem to wrap my head around and wonder if someone on the forums could provide some guidance. I have a simulation sequence - shattering columns - that I ROP'ed out to BGEO and am reading it back in. I created 4 GROUP names (left, right, front, back) when initially building the columns in anticipation that I would need these groups to specify materials.
At the scene level, I created a Geometry object and inside the Geometry object is the Read Geometry file node. I can successfully read and playback the simulation. I have added a single ENVLIGHT set to INTENSITY=2.
I'm now looking to apply 4 separate materials (.JPG files) to the columns, one material for each side, at different UV scales. I created 4 SHOP materials pointing to the respective .JPG's and tested each on a simple cube … all good.
Problems I'm having, which makes me suspect I'm missing a few workflow steps:
#1 - If I add a UVTEXTURE node (GROUP=front, TEXTURE=Face, SCALE=.1/.1/.1) followed by a MATERIAL node (GROUP=front, MATERIAL=/shop/frontmat) I can see it fine in the Viewport.
When I render however, it renders black.
Changing the texture type value allows it to render but the scale/offset/angle seems to get ignored.
#2 - I can see the cracks where the simulation will occur during Frame 1 render.
Not certain why they are visible as the breaking begins several frames later … almost as if it's rendering wireframe + shaded.
#3 - Adding additional UVTEXTURE and MATERIAL nodes for the other sides (groups) and attempting to merge the results yield black renders regardless of settings.
I tried applying UVTEXTURE and MATERIALS pre-simulation (i.e. as part of column creation)… doesn't seem to make a difference.
What is the proper workflow to use when looking to assign various materials to different parts of a simulation read in via Geometry Read?
Advance thanks,
hgagne
Houdini Learning Materials » Lesson 1: Quickstart, Mantrasurface & BGEO Questions
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
- Offline
Hello Robert,
Appreciate the detailed explanations.
As I'm still on the learning curve for Houdini, I figured the issue with the Viewport was something I had set/changed.
As per your recommendation, I attached my scene (.hplc) file to this reply. As I indicated, after starting Houdini and initially opening the scene for playback, the simulation seems to be very slow and if one looks at the status bar, it seems to imply that it is re-running the simulation.
Allowing it to reach the end results in smooth playback going forwards.
Cheers,
Appreciate the detailed explanations.
As I'm still on the learning curve for Houdini, I figured the issue with the Viewport was something I had set/changed.
As per your recommendation, I attached my scene (.hplc) file to this reply. As I indicated, after starting Houdini and initially opening the scene for playback, the simulation seems to be very slow and if one looks at the status bar, it seems to imply that it is re-running the simulation.
Allowing it to reach the end results in smooth playback going forwards.
Cheers,
Houdini Learning Materials » Lesson 1: Quickstart, Mantrasurface & BGEO Questions
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
- Offline
Hi mandrake0,
Appreciate the reply; I pulled those videos down last night as well and will have a look at the Dynamics lesson first.
Still curious about my questions … any insights/experience would be welcomed.
Cheers,
Appreciate the reply; I pulled those videos down last night as well and will have a look at the Dynamics lesson first.
Still curious about my questions … any insights/experience would be welcomed.
Cheers,
Houdini Learning Materials » Lesson 1: Quickstart, Mantrasurface & BGEO Questions
- hjgagne
- 13 posts
- Offline
Hi Folks,
Going through the Quickstart Tutorial (link reference below) and have a few questions that I suspect are obvious to seasoned Houdini users.
https://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1846&Itemid=346 [sidefx.com]
1) Surface Material.
The video and Page 39 of the tutorial instruct the users to create a Grid and apply the Mantrasurface material to it and then select the “Create All Local Materials Parameters” so as to override the Mantrasurface parameters.
I changed the GRID_OBJECT > Surface > Diffuse > Base Color = GREEN.
The Grid appears green in the Mantra Render (MPlayer) but remains the Default Mantrasurface material color in the Viewport. Changing the Default Mantrasurface material color DOES work correctly in the Viewport.
I'm wondering if there is an additional setting in the GRID_OBJECT that must be selected.
2) BGEO Cache.
When restarting Houdini and re-opening a Scene, playing the scene reinitiates the simulation instead of using the BGEO cache.
I clicked the Reload Geometry button in the FILE node (yes, folder is filled with BGEO files). Yet, when I play the sequence, the status bar indicates that it is “cooking” the simulation again. Once the Scene frames are re-processed, it's fine.
Is there a proper workflow to follow when re-opening a previously saved scene?
FYI … RBD Point Object *NOT* RBD Packed Object
- Page 39 of the Quickstart Tutorial (Columns)
- Quickstart Video (~00:26:10)
For those looking to reach the end of the tutorial, the RIGIDBODYSOLVER *must* be changed from BULLET to RBD.
>> http://forums.odforce.net/topic/18050-houdini-quickstart-lesson-one-need-help-please [forums.odforce.net]
Cheers,
Going through the Quickstart Tutorial (link reference below) and have a few questions that I suspect are obvious to seasoned Houdini users.
https://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1846&Itemid=346 [sidefx.com]
1) Surface Material.
The video and Page 39 of the tutorial instruct the users to create a Grid and apply the Mantrasurface material to it and then select the “Create All Local Materials Parameters” so as to override the Mantrasurface parameters.
I changed the GRID_OBJECT > Surface > Diffuse > Base Color = GREEN.
The Grid appears green in the Mantra Render (MPlayer) but remains the Default Mantrasurface material color in the Viewport. Changing the Default Mantrasurface material color DOES work correctly in the Viewport.
I'm wondering if there is an additional setting in the GRID_OBJECT that must be selected.
2) BGEO Cache.
When restarting Houdini and re-opening a Scene, playing the scene reinitiates the simulation instead of using the BGEO cache.
I clicked the Reload Geometry button in the FILE node (yes, folder is filled with BGEO files). Yet, when I play the sequence, the status bar indicates that it is “cooking” the simulation again. Once the Scene frames are re-processed, it's fine.
Is there a proper workflow to follow when re-opening a previously saved scene?
FYI … RBD Point Object *NOT* RBD Packed Object
- Page 39 of the Quickstart Tutorial (Columns)
- Quickstart Video (~00:26:10)
For those looking to reach the end of the tutorial, the RIGIDBODYSOLVER *must* be changed from BULLET to RBD.
>> http://forums.odforce.net/topic/18050-houdini-quickstart-lesson-one-need-help-please [forums.odforce.net]
Cheers,
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