raincoleedwardraincole
Oh, yeah, this is a good point. Some Houdini nodes have good examples with them, but some have zero.
I'm sure sure if we're supposed to log bugs for these tho. For sure SideFX already knows which nodes don't have examples? If they want I'm sure an internal 5-line python script can list them all.
The point is that if you think certain cases could be explained a lot better with a helpcard example than what is already in the docs, then it helps them to know that. Do I need a help card for the Transform SOP? Probably not. So I think a lot of this is subjective.
My point is that if I'm not familiar with a node, I might not even know if it solves my problem in hands. Like people say, "you don't know what you don't know." One or two examples for (almost) every node that shows how it works and what it can do will benefit everyone.
Transform SOP might seem simple for you, but I'm sure many, many of newer Houdini users are not aware of that some attributes are transformed while some are not, and how it decides which attributes to transform.
In my opinion this is the most fundamental aspect of Transform SOP: the fact that it doesn't transform "geometry" like any other 3D DCC, but it transforms attributes like P and N. But there is no (asaik? didn't check) example that reveals this fundamental concept to new users. And a new user won't be able to tell SideFX to add this example, because they doesn't even know!
Agreed. And that’s what I’ve been saying for years. From the UX design to documentation Houdini makes it very hard for newcomers to learn. It’s great that there are some amazing tutorials, we’re lucky that way, but for someone who opens the software and pulls up the docs - it’s an abysmal experience. I know quite a few freelancers that are used to other packages and tried Houdini many times and gave up.
Part of it are things I have already raised. Part is just lack of fundamental explanations in the docs combined with some simple examples and clearly indicating and deprecating legacy concepts. I mean ffs h20 manual still talks about character animation using the legacy stuff. Rendering section talks about mantra not karma.
Some of the new stuff is pretty good. I really liked the feathers explanation.
I still think that in order to attract new artists from other software packages - things need to change. But I won’t regurgitate stuff I already wrote