Hi Guys,

This is my first post here so please go easy :-)

I have been super impressed with what I have seen from Houdini in the last few releases since I started to take notice. It seems like a fantastic all round software, having said that I have been using 3DMax for so many years now and have many hundreds of assets ready to go. Right now it would be really hard to turn my back on completely. I am looking at Houdini especially for water sims, clouds, steam etc.

I have seen the Nyx SideKick plugin which looks great, but in Pheonix FD they have an intergrated Pheonix Ocean map which works amazing. I really like the Houdini Ocean too, but just wondered how I can use this in 3DMax? Can you export an animated vector map or are there other options too?

In terms of a simulation of a stream/shallow river how is this best to get into 3D Max. Obviously there is the Nyx SideKick plugin as mentioned. Is this the best option or is this not the right tool for water sims?

I would like to buy an Indie license but just need to make sure it is going to be the correct tool for me.

Any advice would be more appreciated.