Hi awesome Houdini developers, and community here,

So I was really impressed by the new LOP context, and really looking forward to using it in person.

But there is one thing I've thought about while watching the video.
“Do really lighters need to use SOP context, or layout tools?”

I know SOPs are really powerful and fun, I've been a big fan of procedural modeling since H12.


But in the actual production, when there is a dedicated lighting department, lighters hardly need to modify or do something in SOP context.(I'm sure you all know already.)
They don't need grooming toolset, no heightfield, no cloud or crowd, or any other modeling tools.

So I was thinking, would you guys add another lower license tier, something like, “Houdini Lite”?
Which can only deal with LOPs and MATs, no SOPs or any other modeling related tools, purely for lighting and lookdev.

I feel this is gonna bring us two benefits.
1. Obviously financial reason. Less feature means less expensive.
2. Less clutter. You can really focus on Lookdev and Lighting with this license. No need to worry about other contexts.

Maybe you guys are already thinking, or there are other reasons for not doing this which I can't see, but just thought about it and wanted to throw in the idea.
This might help more studios or artists to use Houdini.
Less initial cost makes it easier to adopt for lighting, and less features helps artists to concentrate only what they need to know.

I can only speak for myself, but to me the most exciting part of LOPs/Karma is that you have the full power of Houdini behind it.

I've used Clarisse and I know something of Katana, and the biggest problems with both those apps is that to fix many things you need to export from another DCC (maya, houdini, whatever). With LOPs, for the first time, is a lighting package that is truly a one-stop-shop.

I can't wait

I hope SESI don't cripple LOPs by offering it without SOPs, COPs, CHOPs and the other things that will make LOPs an outstandingly powerful lighting package.

I certainly can't comment on SESI's plans for pricing with Indie etc, but compared to Clarisse and Katana, LOPs in Houdini Core (Escape etc) is crazy cheap, as both those apps are around $8k per seat to get only 1/10th of what Houdini offers. It's incredibly good value.

Cheers,

Peter B

That is true.
Even the Core license is really reasonable and with this new LOP context, it's just even more competitive.
Personally I like to use Core license, so I can work on from layout, procedural modeling, and up to lighting.

But just thought about those who aren't familiar with Houdini yet, when there are so many tools right in front of you, it could be intimidating and hard to navigate.
And from the workflow stand point, some studios might prefer that way, such as no fixes or generating data out of lighting scene.
I'm not saying that's the proper workflow in the big production, but just the fact there are studios work like this.

Anyways, I'm really excited about where Houdini is going!