Yah, it works fine for me, but then I'm on Linux, 1 gig memory. Actually, memory usage isn't all that high, anyway. It sounds like an XP-specific problem, possibly with graphics drivers…
Sorry I can't be more useful…
Cheers,
J.C.
Found 1602 posts.
Search results Show results as topic list.
Technical Discussion » Memory leak in mplay?!?
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Houdini Lounge » houdini demo CD? anyone?
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
It's all of a measly 100megs when compressed into a gzipped tar - any chance someone has a location that this can be posted? Assuming SESI is OK with this being “unofficially” distributed by others(I've left out the Viewpoint data, etc. - just OPspecific and Projects dirs), it makes more sense for it to live somewhere on the net so others can benefit rather than a single CD being burned.
Unfortunately our ftp site is used by our clients so I can't have stuff sitting there being accessed by users other than them, but anyone have some space for this on a server? The Oz site would be perfect, but I suspect because of their relationship with SESI this may not be possible since SESI doesn't want this stuff officially distro'ed. Does odforce.net have enough space/bandwidth for this?
Alternatively, I can literally just send this to you if you have a site and you're hispeed.
Cheers,
J.C.
Unfortunately our ftp site is used by our clients so I can't have stuff sitting there being accessed by users other than them, but anyone have some space for this on a server? The Oz site would be perfect, but I suspect because of their relationship with SESI this may not be possible since SESI doesn't want this stuff officially distro'ed. Does odforce.net have enough space/bandwidth for this?
Alternatively, I can literally just send this to you if you have a site and you're hispeed.
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » Memory leak in mplay?!?
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
AFAIK there isn't any memory leak in mplay - and the behaviour you're getting isn't at all kosher. Something's funny! How do you close mplay - actually quitting it, or stowing it? Also, Houdini should be available immediately after mplay comes up - it shouldn't be hanging at all. Do you get the same behaviour with a simple file with nothing but a sphere? If not, then somethings happening with mantra and the thing you're trying to render. It's hard to say without more specifics like hardware, memory, etc.
How's your memory? As *my* memory serves , isn't that pinboard thing fairly memory-intensive?
As far as alternatives, I doubt it. You'd be giving up a lot of functionality anyway trying to use another viewer. There's always straight to disk, but my guess is it's not mplay's fault at all.
Cheers,
J.C.
How's your memory? As *my* memory serves , isn't that pinboard thing fairly memory-intensive?
As far as alternatives, I doubt it. You'd be giving up a lot of functionality anyway trying to use another viewer. There's always straight to disk, but my guess is it's not mplay's fault at all.
Cheers,
J.C.
Houdini Lounge » $: how do I get it into Houdini?
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
?
It would help a lot of you made your posts less obscure and provided a context for your question, to say nothing of a proper question in the first place. You'll increase your likelihood of an answer tenfold.
J.C.
It would help a lot of you made your posts less obscure and provided a context for your question, to say nothing of a proper question in the first place. You'll increase your likelihood of an answer tenfold.
J.C.
Houdini Lounge » OP examples?
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Any chance they can be posted somewhere, with a caveat? Obviously we don't need them , but I agree - they are tremendously useful - even with error warnings on load.
Assuming SESI doesn't have a problem with someone sharing the data - it seems to make sense to post them alongside the online demo stuff…
Cheers,
J.C.
Assuming SESI doesn't have a problem with someone sharing the data - it seems to make sense to post them alongside the online demo stuff…
Cheers,
J.C.
Houdini Lounge » Version Splitting and latest Drop
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Questions for SESI:
I've noticed there appears to be a 6.0.xxx stream and a separate 6.1.xxx stream - is the latter supposed to be considered an eventual “beta” stream while the first will be maintenance releases? I've just seen some nice fixes in there…
Also, any thoughts on when there will be semi-regular drops? I've also wondered if it's possible that there be some sort of flag that could be set(such as “Date of last Drop”) on the web site that allows you to see if it's worth signing in to the download server…
Cheers,
J.C.
I've noticed there appears to be a 6.0.xxx stream and a separate 6.1.xxx stream - is the latter supposed to be considered an eventual “beta” stream while the first will be maintenance releases? I've just seen some nice fixes in there…
Also, any thoughts on when there will be semi-regular drops? I've also wondered if it's possible that there be some sort of flag that could be set(such as “Date of last Drop”) on the web site that allows you to see if it's worth signing in to the download server…
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » All My Objects will Not Display!!!
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Don't feel so bad. There's a school of thought out there that the frickin' “Never” button should be screaming, flashing red and is *never* saved. It can be really frustrating. Damned useful when you're doing something that might inadvertantly make 300googleplex particles , but typically you want it off by default.
Cheers,
J.C.
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » RFE for OTLs
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
for instance: in maya I can build a character(model/rig/textures etc) and reference that file into a scene…but then later, replace the reference with an updated file or a totally different file…and provided I've been smart about naming things etc the new file will slide right in and use all the animation in the scene that was originally on the first referenced file.
If I build a character and export it as an OTL, then hand that character off to an animator, how would I get the kind of incremental control that I have with referenceing in maya.
You can do it the “maya” way, or with a less hands-on approach - whichever you choose. It's actually more flexible in Houdini. The maya way, as you mention, you attach a reference in a given animation file to a particular thing, an it scoops it up. Obviously, this requires some outside management to control what that file is - either a naming structure, or links, or whatever. You could do the same thing with OTLs if you choose - call a file foo_21.otl and reference that in your hip - and that will always load. Later on, you could change it to foo_23.otl, and that will load and maintain your animation. Alternatively, you could always reference foo_CURRENT.otl and that's a link always being updated tot he latest. This is the same as Maya.
OTLs also let you manage things other ways, too. For instance, you could always be loading “foo.otl” no matter what, and it may or may not be constantly updated, or a link pointing the the latest. If you're set to load the most recent based on datestamp, it will either use the last data saved in your hip, or the one on disk if it has changed - this could be automagic. No managing of file names and what points to what. On top of that, you have total control over the process - if the TD has screwed up and the changes they've made to the OTL breaks your hip(for example, renamed the channel names so your existing animation is broken), you can optionally stick with the one in your hip, on the fly, and keep working until the TD removes their foot from their mouth.
OTLs are really wonderful….
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » Acrobat and Houdini...How?
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
I've noticed you're a Linux newbie - welcome! When you install acrobat by default, I think it sticks in in
/usr/local/Acrobat5
(depending on version). What you can do quickly, rather than adding a specific location to your path for one measly app, is to setup a link in a common path local - like /usr/local/bin. As root:
cd /usr/local/bin
ln -s /usr/local/Acrobat5/bin/acroread .
(note the period - it's critical). Then, start a new shell and launch Houdini - it should be in your path. Obviously double-check that the location I've suggested is accurate.
Cheers,
J.C.
/usr/local/Acrobat5
(depending on version). What you can do quickly, rather than adding a specific location to your path for one measly app, is to setup a link in a common path local - like /usr/local/bin. As root:
cd /usr/local/bin
ln -s /usr/local/Acrobat5/bin/acroread .
(note the period - it's critical). Then, start a new shell and launch Houdini - it should be in your path. Obviously double-check that the location I've suggested is accurate.
Cheers,
J.C.
Houdini Lounge » OP examples?
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
I have heard that when you get the licensed version of houdini, several hip files are provided, each one being an example for a specific operator. First is it true? or was I dreaming when I saw this?
Actually, these are being updated - they weren't in the last 5.5 release. I'm not sure on the status of these for the v6 release(still waiting on the disk), but perhaps someone from SESI can comment on this?
So, I need to understand the posibilities and workflow of this soft quite quickly. I have undestood that houdini is really powerful and would be ideal for the works we will have, but…i am really lacking tutorials or any such help, and this is a big obstacle.
Well, I wouldn't rush it. Some folks have huge brains and can get complicated apps quickly , but for the most part, I would recommend doing some training before rushing into production, where you'll have enough headaches.
When you say lacking tutorials, you mean apart from the existing html and vid tutorials? The “by example” hips are really just hip files with a few comments in them, not tutorials. Frankly, that's all I ever had to train with , but the newer tuts are a better way to learn. Once you've got them under your belt, the hips you refer to would be a good next step.
I hear your pain, though. I'm famous for rushing into production with betas and implementing new apps since that's where you learn the fastest. Fact is, you can do *anything* with Houdini, it's just a matter of *how*.
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » Icon format change for custom DSO?
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Hey - the first time I met Greg Hermanovic he was selling these things called “f-tools”(precursor to i-tools for the uninitiated) from shop to shop - that was all we could composite with in those days! You can do an awful lot with those tools!
Cheers,
J.C.
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » hscript: multi-lines
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Actually, you don't say it: is this listed as an RFE, Jeff? I think it would make a good one…with all these NWN's it's going to become more prevalent…
Cheers,
J.C.
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » Unable to select other viewports when display options open
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Doh! :roll: Yup I forgot that - I'm sure that's it. Both Gnome and KDE will let you tweak these settings, and yes you'll need to in a default install. The only problem is with Gnome2/Metacity - it's pretty limited in configurability…
Cheers,
J.C.
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » Icon format change for custom DSO?
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
If I ever have any grief with all the endless variants on formats out there, I just pump it through “ic foo.xxx = bar.yyy” to get rid of crappy warnings everytime it loads.
Cheers,
J.C.
Cheers,
J.C.
Houdini Lounge » VEX how to's
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Shure, books on using RenderMan is good way of learning but since I don't know PRMan's lahguage, I find it easier for me to start with VEX and than move on to PRMan.
No question that is true, but unfortunately there's not a lot of places you can get the *theory* behind all this stuff. There's not a lot of books(any?) that go into things like sophisticated AA algorithms that use only pseudo-code - the breaking stuff is in prman and those sources that Jeff mentioned(oops sorry - there's also “Advanced Renderman” by Gritz and Apodeca that's invaluable). They really are the “bibles”. The good news is that VEX and rman and tremendously similar…
Now, if you're talking about “how to write a decal shader” - that's different - existing examples and the proposed VEX forum make more sense than that. However, the really juicy stuff would be those books…
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » Unable to select other viewports when display options open
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Not by design - it works for me. Odd. Graphics card/driver version? Linux distro? It may be related to these…
Cheers,
J.C.
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » Icon format change for custom DSO?
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Platform? I assume windows with the bmp format…
Weird. I know we use .pic, jpg, bmp - whatever. Works fine. It's odd about the “info” output - what is that? Do you mean Linux “info”? Try running iinfo on the file - that's more relavent to Houdini. If *that's* what you meant by info, then somethings really wrong with your files.
Perhaps a bad magic header in your original?
Cheers,
J.C.
Weird. I know we use .pic, jpg, bmp - whatever. Works fine. It's odd about the “info” output - what is that? Do you mean Linux “info”? Try running iinfo on the file - that's more relavent to Houdini. If *that's* what you meant by info, then somethings really wrong with your files.
Perhaps a bad magic header in your original?
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » Houdini Apprentice Help pane
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Rather after-the-fact now, but it's a good idea to install csh/tcsh in this biz - lot's of scripts out there(as you now know ) use it. They hardly take up any space and it's worth it. I don't use bash at all myself, but lots of scripts I've downloaded from the net do - the joys of #!/bin/yourshell !
Cheers,
J.C.
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » Ok..Im about to buy Irix for my O2..???
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
I'm sure you don't want to hear this now , but the O2's, while usable, have been pretty well left behind in the tech race. It's just an issue of time. In fact, just recently I was doing some mantra render tests using the MIPS R12000 cpus on one of our infernos(yours will be significantly slower than that), and it could barely keep up with a P4 2.4! On the graphics side, as I say, the O2's are usable, but you can get a comparable workstation without spending a wad now(Linux! Cheap! Flexible! FAST! ).
As far as Softwindows - can't that only run Win95? I thought I heard that they got as far as Win98 on a Mac, but I'm unsure about the whole Irix thing…
Cheers,
J.C.
As far as Softwindows - can't that only run Win95? I thought I heard that they got as far as Win98 on a Mac, but I'm unsure about the whole Irix thing…
Cheers,
J.C.
Technical Discussion » Houdini Scripting
- JColdrick
- 4140 posts
- Offline
Yes, to chorus that comment , it sounds like you're looking for the equivalent of a Mel script editor - no such thing really exists per se in Houdini because you don't need it. However, yes, you can use textport/hscript commands to re-create things that are built in Houdini, like Mel, but with Mel you *have* to write scripts to create procedural, repeatable things. In Houdini it's all built into the interface. Hscript/textport scripts are typically used for rendering setups or certain custom interface setups not already covered by Houdini(not many of those ).
There was a thread recently on the user list where someone was asking about this. It really has to do with learning how Houdini works first, the paradigm is different than Maya/Soft, and all your questions will be answered… Try to think of it like this: everything you see in front of you *is* a script - a script with a GUI. You could build things with an hscript, but far more often than not, simply building an object/whatever and saving it as an OTL is *far* more flexible and user-friendly.
Cheers,
J.C.
There was a thread recently on the user list where someone was asking about this. It really has to do with learning how Houdini works first, the paradigm is different than Maya/Soft, and all your questions will be answered… Try to think of it like this: everything you see in front of you *is* a script - a script with a GUI. You could build things with an hscript, but far more often than not, simply building an object/whatever and saving it as an OTL is *far* more flexible and user-friendly.
Cheers,
J.C.
-
- Quick Links