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Technical Discussion » Can't get license to work
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Technical Discussion » Can't get license to work
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
You need to aquire a new license every 30 days. Setting back the clock is not a great solution obviously. Do you get an error message other than this when you try to install the new license?
I've already tried generating the license again, thinking that maybe I had mistyped the server code, but nope.
Key 1:
Install Error: Invalid license key specified
ERROR: Key installation failed
Key 2:
Install Error: Invalid license key specified
ERROR: Key installation failed
I've already tried generating the license again, thinking that maybe I had mistyped the server code, but nope.
Technical Discussion » Can't get license to work
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
I'm having some problems as well. My workstation doesn't have a net connection so I use SESI's license page. I tried to get a new one today and the keys seem to be invalid. Nothing has changed on my end, so maybe the license generator is wonky?
Houdini Lounge » Vex sop vop tutorials
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Hey cagiva,
have you done the VOPs lava tutorial?
http://sidefx.vislab.usyd.edu.au/cd2_5.5.151/pages/learn/video/index.html [sidefx.vislab.usyd.edu.au]
have you done the VOPs lava tutorial?
http://sidefx.vislab.usyd.edu.au/cd2_5.5.151/pages/learn/video/index.html [sidefx.vislab.usyd.edu.au]
Technical Discussion » Combining shaders
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Not a bad idea. The problem that I have currently is that I want multiple materials in one VOP net, and these different shaders are supposed to have different specular properties. But I can't use more than one Lighting Model VOP in the whole thing (at least it seems to me that way) because it screws up the lighting (certain parts of the shader are much more sensitive to light changes). A VOP for specular only or something like that would be neat, but of course if we could blend at the shop level that wouldn't be necessary (but still nice to have).
Hope I'm making sense. ops:
Hope I'm making sense. ops:
Technical Discussion » projecting a curve onto a bumpy surface
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Yeah, resample the curve using the Resample SOP and then use a Ray SOP to project your curve onto the surface.
Houdini Lounge » houdini without an internet connection?
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
I don't understand, please explain what happened. Did you go to the website above and get a license? You need to provide the host name and server number of the computer you want to run Houdini on, and it will give you a valid license. You can find this info on the second page of the License Administrator.
Houdini Lounge » Importing?
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Hi dueyftw, are you having any specific problems using Houdini? It will not import cr2 files, but it will import dxf, amongst other formats.
As far as your SIMs/CG analogy, I would think that advanced users will always prefer more control over simple-to-use. In some respects Houdini sacrifices user-friendlyness in favor of more flexibility/control. It sounds to me like you are looking for a program that works like Poser or Vue d?fesprit but covers all of 3d content creation, not just characters or landscapes. Well, as far as I know such a program doesn't exist. Sorry. If that is indeed your idea of the perfect 3d app, then I'd recommend you run as fast and far away from Houdini as you can, because it's pretty much at the other end of the spectrum. A lot of power and control, but no hand-holding.
As far as your SIMs/CG analogy, I would think that advanced users will always prefer more control over simple-to-use. In some respects Houdini sacrifices user-friendlyness in favor of more flexibility/control. It sounds to me like you are looking for a program that works like Poser or Vue d?fesprit but covers all of 3d content creation, not just characters or landscapes. Well, as far as I know such a program doesn't exist. Sorry. If that is indeed your idea of the perfect 3d app, then I'd recommend you run as fast and far away from Houdini as you can, because it's pretty much at the other end of the spectrum. A lot of power and control, but no hand-holding.
Houdini Lounge » houdini without an internet connection?
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Go here –> http://license.sidefx.com/get_nc_license.php [license.sidefx.com]
If I remember correctly this addy is mentioned by the license administrator when it fails to connect to the internet.
If I remember correctly this addy is mentioned by the license administrator when it fails to connect to the internet.
Houdini Lounge » New, some questions
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Personally, selecting only front-faces would completely screw up my modeling workflow, but I've seen a bit of Simon's stuff and it's very good, so hey…
Technical Discussion » freezing in linux, watermark upside down in windows
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
About the upside down watermark thing, I think it happened to me when I tried to save as .png. When I saved as .bmp it was fine. And also if I saved from mplay as .picnc it had the upside down watermark too, but when I saved as .pic it was alright, no watermark (the extension still ends up as .picnc of course). This is on Apprentice 7.0.192
Technical Discussion » 3d pixelation effect
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Hey Lude.
The scene is not interactive unfortunately, but you can animate your character as you would normally, and then pipe it through the network when you're done and let mantra do its thing.
I've uploaded a new file. Now you have a solid color per box according to the texture you're using. It uses a nicer model as well (the horns on the deer were wasting a lot of points) and there is also a “shrunk” version of the head to get rid of unneccesary points inside of it. I watched the performance monitor with this file (pretty cool btw, didn't know about that) and the first Group SOP is by far the most expensive thing. Don't really know how you could speed that up.
You should also know that as you approach 100x100x100 divisions, you will need a good amount of RAM.
http://www.geocities.com/stehrani3d/3dfiles/3d_pixels_update1.zip [geocities.com] (Right-Click > Save As)
Good luck, let me know how things go.
The scene is not interactive unfortunately, but you can animate your character as you would normally, and then pipe it through the network when you're done and let mantra do its thing.
I've uploaded a new file. Now you have a solid color per box according to the texture you're using. It uses a nicer model as well (the horns on the deer were wasting a lot of points) and there is also a “shrunk” version of the head to get rid of unneccesary points inside of it. I watched the performance monitor with this file (pretty cool btw, didn't know about that) and the first Group SOP is by far the most expensive thing. Don't really know how you could speed that up.
You should also know that as you approach 100x100x100 divisions, you will need a good amount of RAM.
http://www.geocities.com/stehrani3d/3dfiles/3d_pixels_update1.zip [geocities.com] (Right-Click > Save As)
Good luck, let me know how things go.
Technical Discussion » 3d pixelation effect
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Technical Discussion » 3d pixelation effect
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
lude
So basicly I can create an 3d array of points with lets say 50mm apart and if these points are inside the “head object” the are assigned to a group, this group are given a box each to display?
Precisely!
I've uploaded an example file of what Simon was talking about. Look at the SOP network, the operators with blue text have comments attached to them. You can read them by middle-clicking on them. Be aware that this will cook (calculate) the node that you are middle-clicking on. This file only solves some of the problem. For example, I haven't tried to sample the texture and assign each point an averaged color. Also the division box hasn't been parented to the head in any way, nor does this example show any animation.
http://www.geocities.com/stehrani3d/3dfiles/3dpixels.zip [geocities.com] (Right-Click > Save As)
I'm assuming this is the general effect you were going for.
Technical Discussion » Real Player doesn't work
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Also, are you trying to use the latest Real Player? I prefer Real Player G2, which is one of the older versions, but in my experience it works quite well.
http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=real [oldversion.com]
http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=real [oldversion.com]
Technical Discussion » Mantra AA
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Hmm, I oughta try that. Switching between the default filter and catmull-rom I didn't really notice much of a difference. But speaking of AA, it might be nice if mantra implemented adaptive anti-aliasing ala Brazil. So it'll put down more samples in “noisier” areas of the image and fewer in the clean parts.
Technical Discussion » Subdivision SOP v Subdivision at OBJ level
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Yeah that's the bad thing about SubD rendering, you don't get the nice vertex smoothing. I made a post about it… http://www.sidefx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2849&highlight= [sidefx.com]
Houdini Lounge » Houdini & Games
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Thank you Jeff.
Not a bad idea at all, and sounds pretty doable.
btw, how far away, in terms of ability, is the OpenGL shading language or the DX9 stuff compared to VEX or RSL?
I think it would be cool if Side Effects eventually just made a freely distributable player so that we could make a .hip file with our virtual walkthrough/simulation or whatever running and allow the user to manipulate the camera and whatever other “controllers” we provide without being able to edit the hip file at all.
Not a bad idea at all, and sounds pretty doable.
btw, how far away, in terms of ability, is the OpenGL shading language or the DX9 stuff compared to VEX or RSL?
Houdini Lounge » Houdini & Games
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Yeah, I know about Touch Designer. I remember Proceed as well. At the time it was announced I really didn't get it, I mean I didn't understand how it was supposed to work, nor did I care much. After I posted this I went and searched to see what I could come up with, and this little blurb was the most informative thing I could find:
The basic idea they had is pretty much the same thing as I described. It would be nice if someone from SESI would shine a little light on Proceed. I'm curious as to how far they got, and what issues they faced.
Yeah, I understand writing a good game engine is no small feat. I suppose that would be the biggest hurdle. About the proceduralism, I think it's a given that you wouldn't be able to go all out like you can now, no super-deep networks and such. And I agree it does conflict with speed, but if used sparingly it should be okay, and not everything has to be procedural. Maybe the code generator or compiler or whatever, would be smart enough to optimize everything as much as possible.
Side Effects is also working on an integrated game-development solution, codenamed Proceed, that combines a games-enhanced version of Houdini technology and powerful middleware. The package, scheduled to be available in Q2 2000 on a per-project royalty basis, includes two platform-optimized run-time engines (one for particles and one for motion) and a C++ code generator to connect the authoring tools and engines. The middleware was initially developed for the PC and PlayStation 2, and Side Effects plans to announce support for other consoles later this year. Like Houdini, the authoring side of Proceed will run on Linux, Windows NT, and IRIX. www.sidefx.com
The basic idea they had is pretty much the same thing as I described. It would be nice if someone from SESI would shine a little light on Proceed. I'm curious as to how far they got, and what issues they faced.
Also, in the end, you'd want an optimized playback engine that is all about speed. Could it compete with “the big boys” like the Quake, Unreal and Havoc engines? IMHO it would need a lot of work, especially with the pixel-shader approach to gaming graphics nowadays. Additionally, true proceduralism rocks, it's dah bomb, but it conflicts with speed. It gives you flexibility at the cost of playback.
Yeah, I understand writing a good game engine is no small feat. I suppose that would be the biggest hurdle. About the proceduralism, I think it's a given that you wouldn't be able to go all out like you can now, no super-deep networks and such. And I agree it does conflict with speed, but if used sparingly it should be okay, and not everything has to be procedural. Maybe the code generator or compiler or whatever, would be smart enough to optimize everything as much as possible.
Houdini Lounge » Houdini & Games
- Siavash Tehrani
- 710 posts
- Online
Has anyone considered what Houdini with extensive real-time capabilities might be like? I think the app is very well suited to this by its nature. Imagine if you could author a full complete executable from the program. I do think there is a market for this: People who want to make their own modern, high-end games but don't have the immense capital or the tools to do it. Think about it. There is a virually never-ending supply of people who want to make it into the games industry in one way or another. You know, the whole “dream job” thing. Regardless of what the realities of the industry may or may not be, there is an enormous amount of interest. But right now, a single person or even a small team doesn't have the resources to create a game that can compare to what the big developers are putting out. Games have just gotten so complex.
As far as I can see there are two options for people who want to be involved in game creation. Mod and existing game, or go work for a game company. The first option isn't bad, but it's exactly what the name implies: a modicfication of an existing game. There is a limit to how much tinkering you can do. What about implementing your own particle effects? Your own AI? Your own dynamics? Your own special effects? Complex bone systems for your characters? The second option will definitly not be easy if they have hopes of one day being the person in charge of a major project. It may be years and years of working your way up before you are in a position where you're calling the shots. For someone who wants to realize their own modern game without an absolutely enormous budget what options are there? None. The tool needed doesn't exist. The integration isn't there. If anyone on this board wanted to make their own film/cartoon/animation they could, it's just a matter of time and motivation. There's Houdini Apprentice, XSI Experience, Maya PLE, etc etc, and of course the full versions of these apps for those who can afford them. For 3d animation artists, there is a wealth of options as far as tools go.
But people who want to develop games are out of luck. There is nothing with the power and polish of Houdini. In the past real-time applications couldn't make use of that power, but now game technology is beginning to converge towards the tech used in film. Unified lighting system, more powerful particle systems, use of shaders, so on and so forth. Anyways, the whole point would be to bring indy developers back into the front lines and enable them to compete with the industry giants, and it would also give the established developers an integrated solution. If done right I believe people would really jump on to this. The applications would not be limited to games, but anything real-time really. Better looking, more effective pre-viz, creating virtual environments, and I'm sure there are more uses.
What would be needed to make it work? For one, a custom game engine, a framework that has hooks into all the major parts of Houdini. You would have new ROP that compiles a “level” that you've created entirely in Houdini, with characters modeled in Houdini, with animation done in Houdini, with particle effects done in Houdini, you get the picture Imagine you could use all the powerful and clever stuff in Houdini and apply it to a real-time executable. The possibilities are fantastic. The engine itself would be versatile, supporting the latest tech, stencil shadows, normal mapping, blah blah blah, and would be exstensible so new tech could be added when it becomes available. OpenGL2 spec is solid now, Imagine a VOP context for OGL2 shaders.
What else would be needed? Some form of AI, someone mentioned Fuzzy OPs here a little while back, sounds like a neat name so I'm gonna run with it Again, the app is very well suited to this. Let your imagination run wild. Lets say we've got a base Entity FOP (like the Output VOP) into which all other FOPs are piped into, then you've got FOPs that give your enitity awareness, like vision, hearing, smell, collision. Then there might be a class of FOPs designed for navigation, and then some that allow it to differentiate between objects and other entities, and then some more for interaction, etc etc. Like I said, let your imagination run with it. You could of course have an Apprentice version just like now, the executable would be limited to 640x480 or 800x600 and it would have the Houdini watermark, just like now.
It would be a considerable amount of R$D (research, money, development ) but I wouldn't mind seeing this in Houdini 10 a few years from now. They say to have a good product you need to come up with something that doesn't exist and people need. Maybe it's just me but I would think this is one of those things people need. There should be an app that allows you to make a game and all it's content (except maybe music & textures), a one-shop-stop solution. I'm not sure why there isn't yet. I think Blender has a game engine, but I don't know what the integration with the app is like. But if SESI would come up with something like I described it would be no contest. Anyways, I'm done rambling now. Just throwing out some things that have been floating around in my head for a while.
As far as I can see there are two options for people who want to be involved in game creation. Mod and existing game, or go work for a game company. The first option isn't bad, but it's exactly what the name implies: a modicfication of an existing game. There is a limit to how much tinkering you can do. What about implementing your own particle effects? Your own AI? Your own dynamics? Your own special effects? Complex bone systems for your characters? The second option will definitly not be easy if they have hopes of one day being the person in charge of a major project. It may be years and years of working your way up before you are in a position where you're calling the shots. For someone who wants to realize their own modern game without an absolutely enormous budget what options are there? None. The tool needed doesn't exist. The integration isn't there. If anyone on this board wanted to make their own film/cartoon/animation they could, it's just a matter of time and motivation. There's Houdini Apprentice, XSI Experience, Maya PLE, etc etc, and of course the full versions of these apps for those who can afford them. For 3d animation artists, there is a wealth of options as far as tools go.
But people who want to develop games are out of luck. There is nothing with the power and polish of Houdini. In the past real-time applications couldn't make use of that power, but now game technology is beginning to converge towards the tech used in film. Unified lighting system, more powerful particle systems, use of shaders, so on and so forth. Anyways, the whole point would be to bring indy developers back into the front lines and enable them to compete with the industry giants, and it would also give the established developers an integrated solution. If done right I believe people would really jump on to this. The applications would not be limited to games, but anything real-time really. Better looking, more effective pre-viz, creating virtual environments, and I'm sure there are more uses.
What would be needed to make it work? For one, a custom game engine, a framework that has hooks into all the major parts of Houdini. You would have new ROP that compiles a “level” that you've created entirely in Houdini, with characters modeled in Houdini, with animation done in Houdini, with particle effects done in Houdini, you get the picture Imagine you could use all the powerful and clever stuff in Houdini and apply it to a real-time executable. The possibilities are fantastic. The engine itself would be versatile, supporting the latest tech, stencil shadows, normal mapping, blah blah blah, and would be exstensible so new tech could be added when it becomes available. OpenGL2 spec is solid now, Imagine a VOP context for OGL2 shaders.
What else would be needed? Some form of AI, someone mentioned Fuzzy OPs here a little while back, sounds like a neat name so I'm gonna run with it Again, the app is very well suited to this. Let your imagination run wild. Lets say we've got a base Entity FOP (like the Output VOP) into which all other FOPs are piped into, then you've got FOPs that give your enitity awareness, like vision, hearing, smell, collision. Then there might be a class of FOPs designed for navigation, and then some that allow it to differentiate between objects and other entities, and then some more for interaction, etc etc. Like I said, let your imagination run with it. You could of course have an Apprentice version just like now, the executable would be limited to 640x480 or 800x600 and it would have the Houdini watermark, just like now.
It would be a considerable amount of R$D (research, money, development ) but I wouldn't mind seeing this in Houdini 10 a few years from now. They say to have a good product you need to come up with something that doesn't exist and people need. Maybe it's just me but I would think this is one of those things people need. There should be an app that allows you to make a game and all it's content (except maybe music & textures), a one-shop-stop solution. I'm not sure why there isn't yet. I think Blender has a game engine, but I don't know what the integration with the app is like. But if SESI would come up with something like I described it would be no contest. Anyways, I'm done rambling now. Just throwing out some things that have been floating around in my head for a while.
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