Since Houdini is looking more and more like it's going to be my prefered 3D package, I figured I'd like to give Linux another spin as well.

I've had Linux installed several times, but I always run into trouble and I'm hoping someone can give me some info to help make the process run a bit smoother this time.

1)Should I use RedHat 7.1, or will Houdini Apprentice run on RedHat 7.3? I've actually had the least trouble getting SuSE properly configured, will SuSe run Houdini? If so, which rev of SuSe should I use?

2)Are there any dependencies for Houdini I will need to install or update, excepting video drivers and their dependencies?

3)This is not Houdini related, but it's something that has always given me problems, and I cannot find info about it though I've searched many times. I run an AGP GeForce 3, and a PCI GeForce 2 MX. I can never get both working under Linux although I have read that Linux does support multiple displays. I don't care if both are accelerated, but I'd like to have them both functioning in Linux. Is it possible? Can anyone give me some pointers, or direct me to info on the net somewhere?

Thanks for any answers to these questions, or additional help you guys can provide.

MichaelC
Since Houdini is looking more and more like it's going to be my prefered 3D package, I figured I'd like to give Linux another spin as well.

I've had Linux installed several times, but I always run into trouble and I'm hoping someone can give me some info to help make the process run a bit smoother this time.

I'll try my best.

MichaelC
1)Should I use RedHat 7.1, or will Houdini Apprentice run on RedHat 7.3? I've actually had the least trouble getting SuSE properly configured, will SuSe run Houdini? If so, which rev of SuSe should I use?

Houdini is only officially supported on Red Hat Linux, 6.x and above. However, there are reports of Houdini running on Suse and Mandrake. Unfortunately, I don't know which revision of SuSe it is.

However, there is a forum user running Houdini on SuSe.

Just do a quick search.

MichaelC
2)Are there any dependencies for Houdini I will need to install or update, excepting video drivers and their dependencies?

Not that I know of.

MichaelC
3)This is not Houdini related, but it's something that has always given me problems, and I cannot find info about it though I've searched many times. I run an AGP GeForce 3, and a PCI GeForce 2 MX. I can never get both working under Linux although I have read that Linux does support multiple displays. I don't care if both are accelerated, but I'd like to have them both functioning in Linux. Is it possible? Can anyone give me some pointers, or direct me to info on the net somewhere?

There's an external discussion forum link over at the Linux drivers download page [nvidia.com]. You might want to try your luck there.

MichaelC
Thanks for any answers to these questions, or additional help you guys can provide.

You're welcome and I hope the above helps!

Cheers!
steven

Hi Michael

I have run Houdini on both Mandrake 8.2 and SuSE 8.0,

I am unsure if it will run on SuSE7.2 or earlier, but it deffinatly runs on 8.0 there was a few teething problems with 8.0

i can help out a bit but not for everything

Well, thanks guys, I'm almost there. After playing with it all day and all night, I now have RH 7.1 set up, I have my video cards working, and I've got my FAT drives mounted in Linux. I just need to get my PPPoE connection working, and then I can install and license Houdini.

I have a question about nvidia's OGL under Linux as it pertains to Houdini though. I have a long list of commented out options. I've posted the list below. I know what some of them are supposed to do, but others, I'm not so sure. Considering these setting will be for an AGP GeForce III, what changes should be made to get the best performance out of Houdini?

### Available Driver options are:-
#Option “DigitalVibrance”
#Option “PageFlip”
#Option “Dac8Bit”
#Option “NoLogo”
#Option “Overlay”
#Option “UBB”
#Option “Stereo”
#Option “BlueLine”
#Option “WindowFlip”
#Option “SWcursor”
#Option “HWcursor”
#Option “VideoKey”
#Option “NvAGP”
#Option “PixmapCacheLines”
#Option “IgnoreEDID”
#Option “NoDDC”
#Option “ConnectedMonitor”
#Option “ConnectedMonitors”
#Option “TVStandard”
#Option “TVOutFormat”
#Option “NoRenderAccel”
#Option “CursorShadow”
#Option “CursorShadowAlpha”
#Option “CursorShadowXOffset”
#Option “CursorShadowYOffset”
#Option “UseEdidFreqs”
#Option “FlatPanelProperties”
#Option “UseInt10Module”
#Option “SwapReady”
#Option “NoTwinViewXineramaInfo”
#Option “NoRenderExtension”

Thanks for any help.

Woohoo, I am now browisng this forum from Linux. This PPPoE connection was actually easier to setup on Linux than Win2K

I just had to post something to see if Mozilla worked with this forum, still waiting for advice on the driver options, thanks.

Hi Michael,
I don't recall the Nvidia options offhand, however if you read the install doc that is on Nvidia's website, they mention the ones that you need and don't need. I don't add any others except

Option “NvAGP” “1”

which apparently gives a performance boost. However, if you find your machine locking up then remove it )

If Houdini's tiles pan and zoom quickly and the viewport gives you a fast tumble with 50,000 polys or so, then you're set! You might have to turn off Draw Lines Smoothly in prefs, some Nvidia cards don't have hardware anti-aliasing.

Cheers,

Peter B

I am very happy right now. I just got Houdini Apprentice up and running under Linux 7.1, and so far it's working flawlessly. All of the interface redrawing problems from Win2K are minimized, and the cursor problems I had with Win2K are gone, I have two seperate accelerated desktops, and Houdini actually runs a bit faster based on a Sub-Division model I had been playing with in Win2K. The only problem I noticed so far is that my object level transform gizmo is getting clipped at the far end, and I can't fix it no matter how far away I set the far clip plane. It was a pain to setup, I actually had to reinstall Linux 3 times, but it looks like the effort was worthwhile. Thanks Peter, Lucas, Steve and everyone who replied in Rikki's threads about setup and licensing.

I'm going to investigate these Nvidia driver options to see if I can get better performance. These GF gaming cards do support overlays and AA Lines, but Nvidia cripples their Windows drivers. Since there is only one Linux driver for the entire Nvidia line, I'd think these features should be available in Linux even on gaming cards. Once I get my XConfig straightened out, I'll post it along with a few things I learned along the way that might help some Linux newbies who are just getting started.