Hi Folks,

Going through the Quickstart Tutorial (link reference below) and have a few questions that I suspect are obvious to seasoned Houdini users.

https://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1846&Itemid=346 [sidefx.com]


1) Surface Material.

The video and Page 39 of the tutorial instruct the users to create a Grid and apply the Mantrasurface material to it and then select the “Create All Local Materials Parameters” so as to override the Mantrasurface parameters.

I changed the GRID_OBJECT > Surface > Diffuse > Base Color = GREEN.

The Grid appears green in the Mantra Render (MPlayer) but remains the Default Mantrasurface material color in the Viewport. Changing the Default Mantrasurface material color DOES work correctly in the Viewport.

I'm wondering if there is an additional setting in the GRID_OBJECT that must be selected.



2) BGEO Cache.

When restarting Houdini and re-opening a Scene, playing the scene reinitiates the simulation instead of using the BGEO cache.

I clicked the Reload Geometry button in the FILE node (yes, folder is filled with BGEO files). Yet, when I play the sequence, the status bar indicates that it is “cooking” the simulation again. Once the Scene frames are re-processed, it's fine.

Is there a proper workflow to follow when re-opening a previously saved scene?



FYI … RBD Point Object *NOT* RBD Packed Object

- Page 39 of the Quickstart Tutorial (Columns)
- Quickstart Video (~00:26:10)

For those looking to reach the end of the tutorial, the RIGIDBODYSOLVER *must* be changed from BULLET to RBD.

>> http://forums.odforce.net/topic/18050-houdini-quickstart-lesson-one-need-help-please [forums.odforce.net]


Cheers,

this lessens are pretty old 4 years that's stonehenge :-)

look at the ari dansh lession they are for H12 so just about 2 Years old :-):
https://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=202&Itemid=361 [sidefx.com]

Hi mandrake0,

Appreciate the reply; I pulled those videos down last night as well and will have a look at the Dynamics lesson first.

Still curious about my questions … any insights/experience would be welcomed.

Cheers,

hjgagne
1) Surface Material.

The video and Page 39 of the tutorial instruct the users to create a Grid and apply the Mantrasurface material to it and then select the “Create All Local Materials Parameters” so as to override the Mantrasurface parameters.

I changed the GRID_OBJECT > Surface > Diffuse > Base Color = GREEN.

The Grid appears green in the Mantra Render (MPlayer) but remains the Default Mantrasurface material color in the Viewport. Changing the Default Mantrasurface material color DOES work correctly in the Viewport.

I'm wondering if there is an additional setting in the GRID_OBJECT that must be selected.

Viewport support for the Local Parameters is not working because our Viewport has gone through some major changes since this feature was first introduced. it is still supported in the renderer if you want to use it. If you want to see the change in the viewport then create a second Mantra Surface node and apply that instead of using Local Parameters.

hjgagne
2) BGEO Cache.

When restarting Houdini and re-opening a Scene, playing the scene reinitiates the simulation instead of using the BGEO cache.

I clicked the Reload Geometry button in the FILE node (yes, folder is filled with BGEO files). Yet, when I play the sequence, the status bar indicates that it is “cooking” the simulation again. Once the Scene frames are re-processed, it's fine.

Is there a proper workflow to follow when re-opening a previously saved scene?

If the display flag is set on the File node then the simulation should not be re-simulating. Can you upload your scene file (without the bgeos) and I can take a look.

FYI … RBD Point Object *NOT* RBD Packed Object

- Page 39 of the Quickstart Tutorial (Columns)
- Quickstart Video (~00:26:10)

For those looking to reach the end of the tutorial, the RIGIDBODYSOLVER *must* be changed from BULLET to RBD.

>> http://forums.odforce.net/topic/18050-houdini-quickstart-lesson-one-need-help-please [forums.odforce.net]

The default way RBD works has changed so to match what is in the lesson, the RBD solver is needed. Thanks for catching these issues. This lesson needs an update which we will be doing for the next release.

Robert

Hello Robert,

Appreciate the detailed explanations.

As I'm still on the learning curve for Houdini, I figured the issue with the Viewport was something I had set/changed.

As per your recommendation, I attached my scene (.hplc) file to this reply. As I indicated, after starting Houdini and initially opening the scene for playback, the simulation seems to be very slow and if one looks at the status bar, it seems to imply that it is re-running the simulation.

Allowing it to reach the end results in smooth playback going forwards.

Cheers,

In your scene there are two objects participating in the simulation - the columns and the sphere. The columns are not simulating because you cached them but you didn't cache out the sphere.

In the lesson we suggest hiding the sphere which would prevent it from re-simulating. If you want to keep it then cache it out - if you don't need it then hide it. Either way you won't be re-simulating when you press play.

Robert