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Technical Discussion » Houdini Camera autokey issue
- OneBigTree
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Technical Discussion » HQ failed
- OneBigTree
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Actually I quickly recorded something and started a new thread with it:
https://www.sidefx.com/forum/topic/58198/?page=1#post-260778 [www.sidefx.com]
https://www.sidefx.com/forum/topic/58198/?page=1#post-260778 [www.sidefx.com]
Technical Discussion » Houdini Camera autokey issue
- OneBigTree
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Technical Discussion » HQ failed
- OneBigTree
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fuosOneBigTree
Did you know that Houdini sets a keyframe for the camera when autokey is on, the camera is tied to the view and you switch from animation editor to the scene view?
Can't reproduce that bug on Linux or Windows.
In general, you want to lock the camera parameters, RMB on the Translate and Rotate parms.
Well I can repro 100%. I would make a video if I had the time. Maybe next week.
I general I don't want to have to lock anything to prevent anything from happening that shouldn't happen at all.
Technical Discussion » HQ failed
- OneBigTree
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I have somehow managed to fix the hython problem by installing the server on a different machine.
But now my clients can no find the scene file. I is in the projects subfolder which is in the shared folder.
The client can access the distro, but not the scene file.
This is my final update for this issue because after this job I will touch Houdini only when I really, really must and then only with tweezers.
I tried to do a very simple project which I probably could have done in C4D without having any prior experience.
The things I have come across during this project made it the worst user experience I have ever had with any 3D software. Did you know that Houdini sets a keyframe for the camera when autokey is on, the camera is tied to the view and you switch from animation editor to the scene view? Only one of those little things….
Back to SI…
But now my clients can no find the scene file. I is in the projects subfolder which is in the shared folder.
The client can access the distro, but not the scene file.
This is my final update for this issue because after this job I will touch Houdini only when I really, really must and then only with tweezers.
I tried to do a very simple project which I probably could have done in C4D without having any prior experience.
The things I have come across during this project made it the worst user experience I have ever had with any 3D software. Did you know that Houdini sets a keyframe for the camera when autokey is on, the camera is tied to the view and you switch from animation editor to the scene view? Only one of those little things….
Back to SI…
Technical Discussion » HQ failed
- OneBigTree
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Technical Discussion » HQ failed
- OneBigTree
- 378 posts
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I managed to fix the access issue somehow by allowing full access for everyone on the NAS. Now I have a very strange issue:
I assign the job to one client which succeeds in creating the ifds but then seems to try to render two child-job (frames) at once and the second one always fails while the first succeeds. So it only renders every second frame up to 6, 3 succeeded, 3 failed and then gets blocked for failing too often.
I have not the faintest idea why it does that. The options for HQueue seem pretty limited so there is nothing I can change to see what causes this behavior.
The log for the failed frames shows the error message from the OP: “ hython”' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file."
I assign the job to one client which succeeds in creating the ifds but then seems to try to render two child-job (frames) at once and the second one always fails while the first succeeds. So it only renders every second frame up to 6, 3 succeeded, 3 failed and then gets blocked for failing too often.
I have not the faintest idea why it does that. The options for HQueue seem pretty limited so there is nothing I can change to see what causes this behavior.
The log for the failed frames shows the error message from the OP: “ hython”' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file."
Edited by OneBigTree - Sept. 28, 2018 19:45:30
Technical Discussion » Game Development Toolset 1.28 update Breaks Redshift
- OneBigTree
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MidphaseThat works but you have to do it every time you update the game tool manually. certainly not very elegant. The env should allow for multiple Houdini_Path entries.
Here's the solution, this is in OSX and with my own user name path, so you might need to adjust the paths and possibly change the ; to : if you're using Windows or Linux.# REDSHIFT
HOUDINI_DSO_ERROR = 2
PATH = "/Applications/redshift/bin:$PATH"
HOUDINI_PATH = "/Applications/redshift/redshift4houdini/16.5.571:/Users/Kays/Library/Preferences/houdini/16.5/GameDevToolset/16.5/1.43;&"
Technical Discussion » How to fall through a ceiling?
- OneBigTree
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The3DStigI would use the active attribute. you can even keyframe it or set it with a volume linked to your character feet.
I found the file to which I was referring! Of course, it wasn't here- twas on the odforce forum!
https://forums.odforce.net/topic/24182-bullet-activate-on-collisions-or-start-sleeping/ [forums.odforce.net]
there is a nice tutorial in the learning section:
https://www.sidefx.com/tutorials/how-to-control-fracture-simulations/ [www.sidefx.com]
Technical Discussion » HQ failed
- OneBigTree
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I have the same issue. Any solutions?
Edit:
A few further infos:
It would seem that neither my HQ Server nor my clients are able to access any files on my central storage which is a NAS.
The client can run Houdini when I use the local installation instead of the distro in the shared folder but it can not access the the scene file which is stored on the NAS.
I had a similar issue some time ago when my (interactive) local installation could not access files on the NAS. This was fixed by using the HOUDINI_ACCESS_METHOD = 2 variable in the houdini.env. However this does not seem to work when I try to render with the HQ Client.
Edit:
A few further infos:
It would seem that neither my HQ Server nor my clients are able to access any files on my central storage which is a NAS.
The client can run Houdini when I use the local installation instead of the distro in the shared folder but it can not access the the scene file which is stored on the NAS.
I had a similar issue some time ago when my (interactive) local installation could not access files on the NAS. This was fixed by using the HOUDINI_ACCESS_METHOD = 2 variable in the houdini.env. However this does not seem to work when I try to render with the HQ Client.
Edited by OneBigTree - Sept. 28, 2018 11:42:54
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Is there a way to learn Houdini "more systematically" or say "more logically"?
- OneBigTree
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Midphase
Welcome to the club.
It's a tricky path for sure. I understand what you're saying and the answer is that you probably won't be able to get out of being incredibly frustrated with Houdini's complexity, particularly at first, but even years later. There are many nodes, and many ways to basically accomplish the same exact result.
Since you mention C4D and MoGraph, you should look at MOPs which is an add-on for Houdini that adds a lot of similar functions as the stuff you find in C4D without needing to resort to VEX.
https://www.motionoperators.com [www.motionoperators.com]
Other than that, keep doing what you're doing. Watch plenty of tutorials and sooner or later it will all start clicking and you'll become familiar with the main nodes that you can use to accomplish what you need to do.
Funny enough it's those third party tools that helped me find my way into Houdini a little easier. MOPs is just genius and does exactly what the noob needs: it provides all the functionality Houdini has to offer without the newcomer first having to study it all for years or write a single line of code. You can learn the underlying mechanics and nodes after you used them and made some money with it, because the nodes are all there and you can dig in ans see how it's done. And Redshift simply ported the whole Softimage Rendertree structure to Houdini making shading a lot more familiar for me.
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Is there a way to learn Houdini "more systematically" or say "more logically"?
- OneBigTree
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Konstantin Magnus
Hi Daniel,
the idea behind Houdini is that you can freely combine nodes and functions. It´s basically your task (and your freedom!) to come up with a logic that works for your project.
Everything you will see in tutorials can also be solved in an even simpler or more convoluted way.
In my opinion you learn Houdini best by doing little projects every day. Even if you will feel frustrated at times, you will unconsciously learn a lot along the way.
Doing little projects every day with Houdini is exactly where the trap lies.
People coming from other software very often struggle to do the bread and butter work in Houdini since many of the basic functions, like viewport interaction, modeling, scene handling and many other things are way behind the tools you find in other software making it much harder to do simple stuff in Houdini than making very complex stuff using shelf tools.
The way you expect to go when you're new to Houdini (or any other software) is start using it for simple tasks and then gradually start digging deeper once it is established in your pipeline.
That doesn't work with Houdini.
The reason for that is that if you hit even just a minor problem, the solution most of the time presented by a tutorial or the community is: Write a vex expression, use any kind of wrangler node or build a tool. That doesn't help. Houdini has such a vast vocabulary that if you're not familiar with scripting or complex expression, the newbie is completely lost.
Yes, you can do literally everything with code, but you need to learn it first, and the docs very often don't even tell you where to start to solve your problem.
So, if you're busy artist and not part of a company with TDs and everything, you quickly go back to your old software where you can to the simple things fast and easy, because the client doesn't not wait for you to learn a new language.
And so, unless you have a lot of time to spare, say, at least two years, you end up using Houdini shelf tools for VFX and do the rest somewhere else.
People that have been using Houdini for years often don't see that. They also often don't see how tedious some things are to do in Houdini compared to other software. I always have to smile when I see the “in time” slogan on the SideFX frontpage…
What Houdini needs is the ability to do the standard stuff that a regular artist does every day like packshots, cleaning up CAD data or Turbosquid models and other non VFX stuff as fast and efficient as any other package out there. When you can do that without writing a single expression or having to drop any wrangle node the time you start building the scene then, and only then you can start the doing little projects every day process.
SideFX is working on these improvements I know that. But Houdini is so far behind other tools in some areas that it will take the next ten years to catch up, given the 3 or 4 QoL additions we see with every release. I am not talking about even modeling nodes. Importing and organizing a CAD model consisting of thousands of unique elements is something you don't want to do in a network editor for example. You need a proper hierarchy tree that allows you to quickly select, filter group and rename objects. What Houdini offers in this respect reminds me of the scene explorer in 3ds max 4. That is just one example. I could make a long list without even touching the actual scene generation process.
So many things you see in the tutorials can also be solved in a simpler and less convoluted way if you use another software altogether, which is a shame.
I love Houdini but the time you have to invest to get somewhere with it when you're not using just the shelf tool is something I and many other simply do not have. (funny though, I just saw a tutorial where the author almost apologized for using a shelf tool. maybe that shows the fundamental problem somehow.. )
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Issues getting holes in fonts...
- OneBigTree
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Actually it seems a lot easier to get your eps files imported correctly and without the overhead of nodes to fix it if you use a completely different software in the first place.
Edited by OneBigTree - Sept. 24, 2018 09:30:35
Houdini Lounge » Turn Edges into Curve
- OneBigTree
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tamteMy point exactly
fair enough, I generally don't use Houdini for traditional modeling either, use the tool best suited for the task
Houdini Lounge » Turn Edges into Curve
- OneBigTree
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tamteOneBigTree
Why would something efficient be a toy?
I am trying to create a curve from a set of edges for half an hour now. Something that takes a few seconds in literally any other software. And I am now going back to SI and do it there.
Artists are paid for using tools not to create them. But hey, you still can feel elitist when using Houdini….
so if you tried Dissolve SOP as suggested https://www.sidefx.com/forum/topic/14838/#post-224788 [www.sidefx.com]
and it didn't work, post a file with the issue, as I mentioned since the rewrite Dissolve SOP seems to be pretty good at extracting curves from edges
you may need to append Ends SOP set to Curve U Open if you want open curves or Polypath as you see in vux's file
Yepp, I tried that. It had trouble working with an edge group. Probably a more general issue because after trying about 20 time it finally worked. But the point is that in Houdini every simple function requires so many steps, that in the end you get a massive overhead of additional actions that it nullifies any advantages you get from the procedurality. Creating a complex model doesn't stop with extracting a curve.
All the fundamental things needed for modeling in Houdini are still achieved in most other applications a lot faster and with less actions even if the tool itself in H provides greater flexibility.
At the end of the day all that counts is if I deliver the model to my client. If I instead tell them “ I have built all the tool to create the model” they will probably be impressed but refuse to pay me.
So I go back to the software that enables me to get paid, even if you can do “anything” also in Houdini.
And if it is a toy that gets me paid, yes, I am gonna use the toy.
Houdini Lounge » Turn Edges into Curve
- OneBigTree
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Konstantin MagnusThis is a joke right?Nathan Apffel
Its hard to believe that these are the best solutions in Houdini for extracting a curve from an edge.
Houdini is a toolbox, not a toy.
Sorry for reviving this.
Why would something efficient be a toy?
I am trying to create a curve from a set of edges for half an hour now. Something that takes a few seconds in literally any other software. And I am now going back to SI and do it there.
Artists are paid for using tools not to create them. But hey, you still can feel elitist when using Houdini….
Edited by OneBigTree - Sept. 15, 2018 11:30:53
SI Users » Viewport selection of obscured object
- OneBigTree
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McNistorYes, it doesn't replace the ability to directly select through another object in wireframe. But in some cases it is actually superior to direct selection depending on the complexity of your scene. But it probably should go in a right click menu because you don't want it all the time. Anyway, don't get me started on the right click menu…
@OneBigTree
Yeah, I knew about that and at one time my response to this (IIRC) was along the lines: if viewport interactivity is considered first, that feature is merely moving the necessity to select from a list like the tree-view (or explorer in case of XSI) to another place: the viewport.
Lists are lists regardless of the place they're displayed at. As a modeler, in XSI, I was never compelled to select objects in a list if I could eyeball them in the viewport.
Houdini Lounge » Modeling primarily in Houdini
- OneBigTree
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Grimwolf
I've finished the video, and the tool looks kind of… limited?
I'm glad for more modeling tools, and I can see it helping a bit with some tasks here and there, like more easily filling holes and cutting in edges. But the demonstration, plus the name “polydraw” gives the impression that it's focused on actually drawing vertices in an isometric view. Which is a very archaic and niche workflow. I was actually kinda shocked to see the presenter doing that at all. So having the tool focused on that just seems bizarre.
It sounds like the hotkeys for switching modes are kinda messy as well. I doubt I could use it for a long while without having the hotkeys listed on a second monitor at all times.
There is a fundamental issue with having an all in one tool without a history and that is not having a history. In houdini having a history means nodes. having everything in one tool is basically having no history, at least not as granular as SI users are used to. So what you want is not one tool that does it all, but a set of highly efficient tool that can be combined seamlessly and without having to manually drop nodes while retaining a relatively clean network.
Edited by OneBigTree - Sept. 13, 2018 19:29:17
Houdini for Realtime » Game Tools | Detail Mesh
- OneBigTree
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Every time I update the game tools I have to edit the env file again because the installer removes my Redshift path in the HOUDINI_PATH variable. Is there any way to avoid this?
SI Users » Viewport selection of obscured object
- OneBigTree
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Some programs pop up a small selection drop down list if there are multiple possibilities for viewport selection under the mouse pointer. It shouldn't be too hard to do that in H if the whole wireframe thing it to complicated.
Edit: I just found out that H does exactly this when you turn on “pop up menu selection” in the preferences
Edit: I just found out that H does exactly this when you turn on “pop up menu selection” in the preferences
Edited by OneBigTree - Sept. 12, 2018 19:28:39
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