hey just wanted to say that it's so cool that Houdini has a free apprentice version of it's software. I've 16 and have been using Maya PLE for about 3 years now and Cheetah 3D before that. I was disappointed by how big the watermark was in Maya and how much it cut down how much it could do. I just downloaded the Houdini apprentice version, i read how it had a watermark and thought it would be another annoying thing like in Maya, but i was happy to see that when i opened it that the watermark was only a small thing in the bottom.
I've gone through a tutorial or two and am impressed with it's strength.
Is Houdini HD worth the 100$? Is apprentice weaker? I saw the videos on the main page of the fire and stuff, and would really love to be able to get an effect like that.
Sorry if this is the wrong section.
Jared

HD will not have a watermark when you render
it can also do larger images
it is compatible with torque

if these are important to you, then I would say $99 is worth it.

ok, i think the sizes are fine, the watermark is pretty much out of the way, and what's torque? I have a macintosh, idk if that makes a difference.
So what's the difference between the apprentice hd and the 1500$ one? That's a lot of money to pay for something that HD seems to do already

commercial vs non-commercial.. both apprentice versions are for non-commercial work. The free one limits your resolution output and has a watermark, HD get's you 1080 without a watermark for $99. Anything else is for commercial work, hence the cost of the software.

As far as functionality goes, apprentice and HD versions have the same exact feature set as Houdini Master.

wow thats really pretty amazing, and it's like half the size (mb wise) as maya.
it also seems to load faster and has a better renderer.
i havnt tried the cloth, liquid, or those things yet, only the fire and basic stuff, but i expect to be amazed