I think that's massively over-complicating things, to say nothing of the fact that the overhead of managing that would easily outstrip the revenue(i.e. would lose money, as opposed to Apprentice HD which I suspect at least pays for itself in direct costs).

In the end, as you say earlier, let's see what happens. I think AHD is a win-win myself.

Cheers,

J.C.

Hi Lads,

Im one of those who just spent the $99. So far - insane deal

andrewlowell said - I'd much rather see a version with all the creative features (meaning particles and dynamics) that was affordable to the end user

Maybe I am misinterpreting your comment, but from what I see on my machine, I have full access to all features in the MASTER Edition as well as Escape - so far. In both cases all import works fine. No export and a special file type to save. No watermark and also no limits on still res, limit on anim res, but very useable. Particles and dynamics all appear to be present.

JColdrick said - Now, if they can get lots of the “sexy” style tutorials out there, like fur, fluids, rigging etc. so they aren't floundering in the details windows,

Yes - that is the first thing I noticed - a huge load of vid tutes for all you mentioned would be excellent and is noticeably absent. I say this - as I also use MODO where Luxology.TV comes choc full of your “sexy” style VID tutes - http://www.luxology.com/training/ [luxology.com]

Houdini Master is selling for $8000 - approx. You get it for personal use for $99. Personal use is hobby use, alot of people fall under this category & would be very happy with this price.

Cheers
Aidan
Realsoft 3D, Modo .. and now it seems Houdini AHD

To everyone,

Thanks for the ideas regarding different ways we could set up the Houdini Apprentice HD prgram. While these ideas are intriguing it is our intention to focus this product on non-commercial projects being done by hobbyists, fan film artists, CG artists doing work in their spare time and of course students.

The term starving artist is a bit tongue in cheek but at the same time it represents the stage in an artists development when they are focusing on their craft and not really making money from it. We didn't make Apprentice a purely student driven initiative because we see a lot of other types of people interested in CG who could benefit from this program without competing and possibly underbidding commercial Houdini customers.

I mentioned in another forum that if someone starts out working on an art piece such as an animation for a festival and this results in you receiving financial reward then a couple things could happen. If your reward is substantial then it would be wonderful to think that you would purchase a commercial version at that point. If it was something less then tell us your story and let us use your art to help show off what Houdini is capable of. I am sure that there is a win-win in there somewhere.

Over at CGtalk, Jason Iverson nicely outlined a few options for renting licenses that would help out artists who want to work with Houdini commercially. These fees can be billed directly to clients and offer a path towards eventually owning a full license.

Robert

aidanodr
Im one of those who just spent the $99. So far - insane deal

andrewlowell said - I'd much rather see a version with all the creative features (meaning particles and dynamics) that was affordable to the end user

Maybe I am misinterpreting your comment, but from what I see on my machine, I have full access to all features in the MASTER Edition as well as Escape - so far. In both cases all import works fine. No export and a special file type to save. No watermark and also no limits on still res, limit on anim res, but very useable. Particles and dynamics all appear to be present.

Yes, it's fully functional with the major limitation of it being for NC purposes. rmagee's comments outline how great SESI's vantage point with artistic issues seems to be. Sorry if I'm a bit cynical but I'm crossing over from autodesk land. The last discussion I had with an AME sales rep at a trade show I was accosted and accused of violating policy because I was asking about upgrade options for a legit but NFR version of Max that I put fourth $1200 (discount) for because I'm a trainer for them!!

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=6862220&linkID=9241175 [usa.autodesk.com]

I'm wel aware SESI isn't anything like that but I'm a bit weary anytime people pay money, even if it's a small amount, art is mentioned, and it's for a restrictive license.

andrewlowell
Yes, it's fully functional with the major limitation of it being for NC purposes.
I'm wel aware SESI isn't anything like that but I'm a bit weary anytime people pay money, even if it's a small amount, art is mentioned, and it's for a restrictive license.

To be honest, I still don't get it
Simply put, you get $8000 worth of software for $99 and you're not allowed to make money with it. Where is the problem?
Also, the commercial versions of Houdini are extremely conveniently priced on the market, when compared with competitive products.
So: if one needs to make money then spend for a commercial version as everyone does. If one is just a hobbyist/student but hates watermarks and resolution limitations, then $99 is very convenient.

Dragos

To be honest, I still don't get it
Simply put, you get $8000 worth of software for $99 and you're not allowed to make money with it. Where is the problem?

true

I purchased license for Houdini Apprentice HD.. installed everything. Now when I try to run the program, license manager popsup and declares that I need a license… that I DO NOT have valid server license.

Please advise

regards,
William

I don't have a problem with it, and I think it's a good thing as well for what it is. I might get one myself when I decide what resolution to render some demo stuff out in.

My point was that I would have serious reservations about using it for any art project beyond the scope of a few weeks. After that one tends to get attached to the work .. an NC agreement to me equates to not having full ownership of your own content. I think it will be a long time before software makers have intelligent enough pricing schemes to where indiviuals can get the same value out of an application as a corporation or company can.

masterchief,

I assume you bought the $99 version. If so download the Houdini apprentice, install - once installed, lauch the LICENCE ADMINISTRATOR from the houdini menu group in Windows Start button / Programs . Here you can retrieve the licences via this util with a click of a button, then all will work,

Cheers
Aidan

I did all of that… everything fired up as expected. The license manager is now telling me that I DO NOT have valid server license

regards,
William

andrewlowell
an NC agreement to me equates to not having full ownership of your own content.

I agree with you here. However, I'd put it differently: it's an offer which enables you to create content which you couldn't otherwise.
Then, if this content of yours suddenly becomes a commercially valuable asset, you can negotiate (with SESI) the conditions for changing your license. But now you have something to negotiate on, whereas without Apprentice HD, this would not be the case.

Dragos

masterchief,

Have a read off of the email entitled Houdini License Entitlements that you should have recieved. Here their is a link to the online License services site. You would have setup a username and password for this when you bought the app. Login and you can manually retrieve your licences,

Aidan

There's an interesting thing which crossed my mind: are companies allowed to buy Apprentice HD?
For example, I'd like my company (which I own) to buy me a copy of Apprentice HD, because I have some personal projects in development and I'd enjoy to use some Master features on them. The main reason that I want this to be done by my company is that's much more easier to make external payments as a company from here.
Also, it might be interesting for companies to buy Apprentice HD licenses for their employees (to have Houdini at home if they need/want to spend their time learning the software).

Dragos

I have just bought an escape licence and I think that this would be cool for the escape user to get the HD apprentice for…maybe free :roll: ? it makes sense, What do you think?

labuzz
I have just bought an escape licence and I think that this would be cool for the escape user to get the HD apprentice for…maybe free :roll: ? it makes sense, What do you think?

It doesn't make sense to me. Why do you think this should happen?

Dragos

I am not saying that this should happend, it's simply a better commercial policy imo.

Masterchief, please contact support@sidefx.com.

Masterchief,

I had the same thing happen with Houdini Apprentice, I had to disable my fire wall to get it to check for the license.

Hello,

Can Houdini Apprentice HD import an .Obj?
Because I couldn't find a way to import an .Obj file into the Houdini Apprentice version.

Garrick
Hello,

Can Houdini Apprentice HD import an .Obj?
Because I couldn't find a way to import an .Obj file into the Houdini Apprentice version.

The File SOP is what you're looking for. It will read obj files. Please start a new topic if you'd like a more detailed explanation.


To chime in on the apprentice HD thread:
It's perfect for guys like me “starving” to work at a studio. And even once I do, I'll continue to buy HD license for personal work.