Hi guys, another 3dbuzz member hits the boards. Can't wait to get learning it when I get home.

AnDy

Hi,

Now I am trying to convert a matrix3 variable into a vector variable.
I find the two functions below in the vex document.

float getcomp(matrix , float, int row, int col)
float getcomp(matrix3 , float, int row, int col)

But there is no explanation in the document about the float parameter.
If I know the row and the col, I can get the component which I want, right?
so, what is that float parameter for?

ps. sorry about my poor English, because it's not my native language.

Hi there,

Can someone give me some insight as to what this is about?

I am using COPs2, I've added a gamma, and a light cop to my image sequence. Set key at frames 0, and 24 for gamma (0-1), and set keys at frames 0,140,300 for Light diffuse. I also set the ‘Surface Type’ to “Point & Normal Maps”.

When I start a flip book process, a few seconds later, I get a Houdini Console pop-up with the messages:


0:Invalid strip count, strip 154
0:Invalid strip count, strip 155
0:Invalid strip count, strip 156

and so on to strip 239….

Once the flipbook is done, the play is normal until frames 190. From there on it outputs frame 190 all the way to 246, then it continues normal again.

Is there a setting I missed maybe? Or are those images not rendered properly to begin with?

Thanks for any help

–Carlos

Are there any options for Motion Tracking in Houdini, it a must for all 3d software that are used for mixing live and cg footage. But I havent seen any mention of this feature anywhere. ?
Thanks!

I want to mix two renderes. That is, I want to render nearly everything using wren, and then just a volumetric light using mantra. And then mix all that stuff in somewhere…

I can compose it normally since the volumetric light will be in between the objects in wren, si I need z-buf composition.

Is this what I ask possible, or am i dreaming?

Sea snake tutorial problem

In the sea snake tutorial, we apply (($NPT-$PT)/$NPT)+0.2 in the ?gSweep?h scale field.

The $NPT is 68 and the Sweep scale is a constant value of 0.258824, then I got the value of the $PT (63.99968 if I did the right calculation).


1.My question is where can I find the $PT (vertex number) without doing any calculation.

2.How does this function work?

3.Its value is a constant number, so how come we can get the different scale of the sweep?

Thanks for any replying in advance. :roll:

Whoops :shock:

Hi all

I installed nVidia's new Detonator 40.72 drivers under my Win2K. Houdini seems to be working better then with V3 series drivers.
The strange blacking out top menus in apps other then Houdini is gone. OpenGL seems more spunky.
It has new rez. features. I swtiched my to new 1600X1024. Very nice.
The quirck where OpenGL went belly-up when too many polys were on screen, has, for now gone away.
So far good news. I am shopping for a new machine, and one of the ways to save money is to get a mid-range or consumer grade video. Nowadays, what is consumer grade, would put pro-level OGL boards of two years ago to shame. I have settled on getting generic nVidia 4200 Ti 128 board. Since, it seems that GeForce 3 with 40.72 drivers is working fine, I don't expect to have to spring for Quaddro4 or FireGL series.
Its amazing how for well under $2000, a fast OpenGL box can be purchased. I even priced out a new P4 3.06HT machine with 1gb DDR400Corsair SDRAM, Ti4200 128, 160gb, + details, for $1980.
That is fast!

Minor question.
I am not sure why so many VEX Shops don't recognize a file sequence, when COPs work fine with that same sequence. SHops only see them as folder of single files. So I am not sure how to define files seqs as texture maps.

DaveRindner

Hi I am just starting out to learn Houdini, and I am a bit confused about the directory structure of projects? For examples the rollercoaster project I put all the files in the respective directories in houdini, but when I load the project the textures are not read, and models are missing. Where should I be putting these files for it to work? Please help!

D.

Hi. I am little confounded how to feed COPs into VEX SuperMAt texture slots. In the Texture tabs, there is only option for existing on-disk textures, and it does not recognize file sequences, only single files. What is the procedure for defining COPs and file sequences as textures in Supermaterial?
Thank you

Dave Rindner

Hey guys and gals,

I have created this rocky terrain in VOPS (see attached image) and I am trying to work out some ways to do the following stylized effects to it.



1. Along each ridge I would like to colour it with a fairly solid line that runs along it and that does not care how low/high the ridge is.

2. Where each peak in the ridge is I would like to put a colour circle.

These two challenges are not for anything specific but rather for learning how to make a VOPS network that can recognise features and trends in geometry.

I feel that feature recognition in shaders could resault in some fantastic landscape shaders. although somewhat slow

Any ideas are welcome

mark

Does anyone have an example(a .hip file) of VOPS using an IF statement….?

I am trying to toggle on/off a parameter by using an if statement, and I can't seem to figure out how the if statement works in VOPs.

Thanks to anyone that can help!

When I view an object with a supermat SHOP applied to it in shaded view, it has a reversed UV to what renders with Mantra. The Supermat has an image in the emitchan and the openGL has the same image file. Can someone help as I need to see the image with the correct UV in the viewport.

Thanks

Ok I am doing a crome metal and I made a light blue tinted metal for this project I am doing. The environment map is of the mandrel which really does not work. Is there a way to have the metal reflect what is in the CG scene and not an envirnoment map? I was thinking maybe raytracing or something but I am not sure how to implement it in Houdini. This is my first time working with SHOPS and VEX. I absolutely love the modeling tools in Houdini they are so much better than Maya's in my opinion.

Cheers,
Nate Nesler

I am feel completely silly. I am unable to find preview controls for creating shaded AVI, trhough Mplay. Not rendering, just GL shaded saved to a an animation file. Its like they have disappeared from menues. I must have forgotten something, casuse when I opened the Interface PDF, I still am not able to find information. What is it called? I realise it's stupid question, and feel even more stupid asking about it. I remember doing it when I first installed Houdini, but have been so wrapped in learning its modeling, and of course fulfilling client projects, that I have tottally forget where those options lie. I naturally assumed that Preview controls would named as such and be in the menus in Objects. But theres nothing there, like that.
Thanks so much

Dave R

hi ya gang,

i seem to have totally forgotten how to do this.
i am running a callback from an operator script which is a series of hscript commands, but i also want it to execute a tcl script i have made which should update the .ds file for me.

can someone jog my memory.

how can i execute this tcl script from inside my hscript.cmd file. i don't want any tk interface,i just need it to parse the .ds file then cause a dsreload.

the tcl script works. but i can't seem to find a way to make it stream lined.

thanks in advance.

-k

HELLO FELLOW HOUDINIANS I HAVE A PROJECT THAT I AM DOING……IM CREATING AN UNDERWATER SCENE FILLED WITH AQUATIC LIFE…..NOW MY SEA CREATURES ARE ALREADY MODELED….BUT HERE IS THE PROBLEM HOW DO I CREATE AN UNDERWATER ATMOSPHERE USING VOPS, MORE SPECIFICALLY A SHADER THAT HAS THE APPEARANCE OF WATER AND THAT HAS AN EXPRESSION TO CREATE A RIPPLE DISTORTION WITHIN THE WATER……I HOPE I DESCRIBED THAT CORRECTLY IF NOT I WILL GO INTO MORE DEPTH….. I KNOW ITS POSSIBLE TO DO THAT, BUT IT A LITTLE FAR BEYOND MY REACH SO I NEED YOU HOUDINI EXPERT'S TO HELP ME OUT ABIT, SECONDLY HOW DO YOU IMITATE FUR OR CREATE THE APPEARANCE IN FUR BECAUSE I HAVE A DRAGONFLY THATS IN BADLY NEED OF SOME ROGAINE……..!
SO, AS YOU CAN SEE I HAVE LITTLE EXPERIENCE IN VOPS…..SO iF YOU GUYS CAN HELP ME OUT I WOULD REALLY APPERICATE IT…..THANKS FOR YOUR TIME!

when i render out using (manta -h my_machine,my_machine) it will render my scene which contains multiple texture fogs perfectly fine with 1 processor. but when i render out using (mantra -H my_machine, my_machine) with a capital H like it's suppose to, it render using both processors but dosn't render any of my texture fogs. please help

I have 2 questions here.. D

1)about self illumination. for instance, to create the effect of a moon, light bulb, how to do the self-illuminate effect…?

2)about blending shader. i want to animate a leaf turning from new to die away, I modify the shader for blasted leaf by putting some brown on the new leaf's texture(it is a jpg file). eg

newLeaf -> uvproject1 -> shader1

blasedLeaf -> uvproject2 -> shader2

When i applied the blend SOP for these two geometries, even i selected the Blend Texture option, it only blent the geometries but not the shaders.. why? How can i blend the shaders?


Thanks a lot

I am modeling a variation of the obligatory trekie ship and have discovered a few problems, for me atleast, I hope.

I have used an atmospheric to simulate a radiant field, ops: I have got to tone it down a bit.



By the way the green glow in the nacelle is partialy accidental there is a vex metal shader set to green the same as the light and fog.

the field is lite by a dedicated light and the whole thing is parented.
:arrow: Nacelle->field->light

Now for my questions. How do I make the Ramscoop Glow(the red area)?
I currently have a light directed at it, but as you can see it does not work.
I also tried a glass texture and placing the light behind it that did not work either.

And, this may seem unrelated, but is there a way to simulate a light emiting diode(indicator lights)?

http://dragondroid.tripod.com/ [dragondroid.tripod.com]

can't we have more than one illuminance loop in a shader!!!

:cry:

any good reason I'm missing? isn't it supposet to be a convenient way of err…“looping” through lights?


and please don't ignore this post….