Hello to all.
I'd like to know if someone here had some experiences with next limit's real flow, and could compare it with houdini's particle/dynamic simulations.

It doesn't really compare - Realflow is primarily a fluid dynamics simulator, Houdini doesn't have this feature…yet.

Cheers,

J.C.

I have been using a lot Realflow and Houdini the last few months. I have been combining the two. They can complete each other quite well. It is true that Realflow has some features that Houdini hasnt ( ie Fluid ). But regarding particles works and RBD, I still think Houdini gives much more control ( on different levels ) than Realflow. The latter looks less scary to set up simulations though.
Also Realflow still have to improve their interface and be more stable.

to simulate basic dynamics, i think houdini is much better due to the fact that its much faster, creating a particle setup which includes a wall collision (simple example) could take long to calculate the meshin RF, but in houdini it's pretty much realtime playback if nothing to “heavy” is on.

Again, to clarify, RF with the mesh is about *fluid dynamics*, which is not what Houdini is doing with particles. Comparing speeds between the two is apples and oranges. As far as the rigid body dynamics in RF, it's not even close to Houdini - it's a very basic package, Houdini is the Rolls Royce.

Having said that, RF does indeed have a *lot* of GUI and stability problems, as monkey_butt suggests. There has been some indication that they're seriously dragging their heels on fixing the package, so before spending any money, get something tangible from them indicating they still plan on supporting the package.

Cheers,

J.C.