From time to time od goes down for maybe a week then returns with no mention about what happened….

Anybody have an idea what is going on. i visit it daily I go Slashdot, od, cgNetworks then cgChannel. I am at a loss.

have a look 5 threads down the page

http://www.sidefx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2298 [sidefx.com]

i know everyone is missing my 2000 word questions most of all!

Hi mr.meshsmooth,

I know I miss odforce most of all :?

Unfortunately we have no more information for you… all we can do is hope they manage to get us back online soon..

I'm practically a lurker at Odforce…but you never know how much you like something until it's gone :cry:

It's gotta come back with a vengeance! How about more Effects Challenges? Those are really good, and very unique - very ‘Houdini’ if you will. Personally I'd like to see that be a regular series, new challenges once a week or so…with 3 levels of difficulty! Tutorials or no…nothing would educate the masses or get the word out more than that. I use Jason's first challenge to answer the common “why Houdini” question.

Think there's merit in this? Possibly get a Side Effects certified trainer involved, recognition for the winners…this could get people downloading more cuts of apprentice.

Yeah , Kemijo !
We want more challenges !
( challenge, when you compare and explain the results are one of the best way to learn from other's experience).
It could be very good to have regular recognition for the winners.
If anyone want to organize something like that, i'm a part of it!

We want challenges, and especially, we want THE challenge: the Apprentice Challenge. We want it back!

Indeed, it was and is very ‘Houdini’ !

Why oh why
I want my OdForce back :cry:

more odforce challenges - yes but it's up to the users (us!) to organise them. Different level challenges is a good idea.. a challenge for some of us is a trivial task for others.

are you sure there will be no apprentice challenge this year?

im going to think up a few challenges while we are waiting for odforce to return

It could be nice to have a special challenge section at odforce.
Could have votes for best solutions, best models, best effects etc.

im going to think up a few challenges while we are waiting for odforce to return

so am i!

I'm not sure there will no Apprentice Challenge, but isn't it a bit late to make it begin now ( last year, i think it have begun in December).
I have no information about it.

lol !!! You guys are funny.
Don't get me wrong here, I mean no offence but
where were you when Od was still around?
As for challanges, I can think of one right now.
I remember once I came across some paper at Siggraph.
In that paper was described an method of simulating fire
spreading in an closed enviroment (a room, in particular) based
on phisical simulation and what is most interesting, it was done
with L-Systems. So, since Houdini has L-systems and everything
else required to create a fire why don't you try this challange.

where were you when Od was still around?

Why, creepily lurking of course!

It was still a regular stop. I imagine most people that find a new site lurk for a while before their first post, and some never get to posting! As I'm relatively new to Houdini (worked with for the first time on the last show) I'm looking for ways to excercise the Houdini way of thinking. The Effects Challenges really are one of the best ways to get you into the mindset, and seeing everyone elses solutions at the end…there's really nothing like it in another app. Surprised there weren't more. This is one of the things I feel Houdini has over others as far as learning…with the FX Challenges, all the free videos at Sidefx.com and 3Dbuzz.com, Apprentice being so open (i.e. not crippled), and most importantly, being able to recreate every step of someone else's process in a final scene…the initial curve may be steeper, but you get a Hummer to start off with :wink:

i was thinking more normal stuff for challenges. what you describe stremick is pretty advanced…although cool.

btw kemijo there is a maya personal learning challenge now! maybe using such a restricted version is enough of a challenge!

Like I've said in the list, I miss od too. It's one of my favorite, if not most favorite, online communities.

Hi all,

Still no new word from our host.. hang in there!

Dont run away; we'll be back..

Regards,
Jason

Don't worry, I surely won't.

Oh how I'd like to have pointed up one or two resources that are on odforce on the mailing for the past couple of days.

Snif snif :cry:
I feel like having all my normals pointing towards the interior :cry:

FrenchOP
Snif snif :cry:
I feel like having all my normals pointing towards the interior :cry:

Hahaha, call me a nerd but that was funny!

I feel like having all my normals pointing towards the interior

haha… yeah, that was pretty funny

Anyway, lets hope things get back up soon. Rest assured we're doing our best to get it going again… sorry for the delay.

Ciao
Marc

od back up - almost….
looks like the site is there and all is working except the forum - soon…soon…

Bring in the machine that goes PING!

:shock: