Hi all -
I've transitioned from production to teaching at a university. They are in the process of replacing their existing render farm and we're having a meeting to discuss options.
With everything being GPU accelerated, I wasn't sure what the current trend is. These machines will be rendering everything from After Effects projects to Renderman to Redshift and Arnold. So both CPU and GPU performance is important.
Does anyone have a particular server they like for this application? Note, it can't be any kind of DIY machine. This is a large university and they want warranties and the ability to call someone if something goes wrong.
Or are trends shifting in a different direction? Are there any rack-mount servers that run with Ampere-based GPUs favored by folks in this industry?
Thanks for any advice & input!
-Paul
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Technical Discussion » Input on render farm machines wanted
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Houdini Lounge » Attribute paint - capture paint question
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
I wasn't talking about the UI, I was talking about the concept of things being object-oriented. So, everything that uses a brush as a tool would be pulling from the same brush library. Update or create a new tool, everything else inherits the update.
But again, I realize that's way too simplified of a concept. I was just wondering.
-Paul
But again, I realize that's way too simplified of a concept. I was just wondering.
-Paul
Houdini Lounge » Attribute paint - capture paint question
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Got it. I know nothing about coding at all, so I was thinking of it the way I think about UI's. You have a library of things, so every button is referencing a single (or a few) button designs. Change the referenced design and everything in the UI immediately updates. I just figured a brush is a brush, so update or create a new one, and propagate the features to all brushes.
I'm sure it's significantly more work than that, but I was kinda hoping it was a reasonably quick update. The new tool is pretty darned nice.
Thanks!
Paul
I'm sure it's significantly more work than that, but I was kinda hoping it was a reasonably quick update. The new tool is pretty darned nice.
Thanks!
Paul
Houdini Lounge » Attribute paint - capture paint question
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Perhaps this has already been discussed, or I'm just showing my level of ignorance, but…. why doesn't the capture layer paint node have all the same brush features as attribute paint?
Shouldn't any node that uses paint function the same?
I was recently working with capture layer paint and realized it was missing some of the great features in attribute paint.
Just curious.
Paul
Shouldn't any node that uses paint function the same?
I was recently working with capture layer paint and realized it was missing some of the great features in attribute paint.
Just curious.
Paul
SI Users » Quick, simple rigging questions (SI users)
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Thanks! Yep, I had a look at his series. The problem I had was, there was just too much information for something as simple as what I am trying to do. Even that series gets into Python scripts, etc., etc., which is something I never had to deal with in Softimage.
I ended up using the autorig tool to generate a leg and foot. I tried just generating a foot, but for some reason, a foot alone had a lot of issues with the weights being strange. When I added the leg, it did a much better job & once I used the paint tool to isolate and smooth them, it worked pretty well.
Actually, if you look at Michael's section on rigging the foot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UeeHezuxcA [www.youtube.com] You can see why I thought I could set up a rig like in Softimage. He has the foot split by groups forming lower resolution sections. It looks like that split geometry would then be used to drive higher-res geometry. But as far as I could see, he left it as is with the splits intact.
In any event, it's not something I do more than once a year at most, so no big deal. It was the first time where I really felt like Houdini still lagged way behind Softimage. Softimage's rigging tools always seemed very straightforward and easy to use.
Thanks!
Paul
I ended up using the autorig tool to generate a leg and foot. I tried just generating a foot, but for some reason, a foot alone had a lot of issues with the weights being strange. When I added the leg, it did a much better job & once I used the paint tool to isolate and smooth them, it worked pretty well.
Actually, if you look at Michael's section on rigging the foot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UeeHezuxcA [www.youtube.com] You can see why I thought I could set up a rig like in Softimage. He has the foot split by groups forming lower resolution sections. It looks like that split geometry would then be used to drive higher-res geometry. But as far as I could see, he left it as is with the splits intact.
In any event, it's not something I do more than once a year at most, so no big deal. It was the first time where I really felt like Houdini still lagged way behind Softimage. Softimage's rigging tools always seemed very straightforward and easy to use.
Thanks!
Paul
SI Users » Quick, simple rigging questions (SI users)
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
I rarely get asked to rig anything, but the issue came up and I realized I never really made the transition from the Softimage way to Houdini.
All I'm rigging is a leg from the shin down to the toes (with a shoe on the foot). In Softimage, I would have set up some simple bones and created some low res geometry to envelope. Then I'd use that low res geometry to drive the high res mesh.
In Softimage anything could be used as “bones” - you'd just select whatever you wanted to use and apply an envelope to your geometry.
However, in Houdini rigging seems to be totally different than Softimage. And, unfortunately all the guides & tutorials either are ones that take you through rigging an entire character or just cover one or two nodes, but there's nothing that covers the basics of how the Houdini way works.
I've looked at Jordi's guides and it's helped but I'd love a bit more insight.
Thanks,
Paul
All I'm rigging is a leg from the shin down to the toes (with a shoe on the foot). In Softimage, I would have set up some simple bones and created some low res geometry to envelope. Then I'd use that low res geometry to drive the high res mesh.
In Softimage anything could be used as “bones” - you'd just select whatever you wanted to use and apply an envelope to your geometry.
However, in Houdini rigging seems to be totally different than Softimage. And, unfortunately all the guides & tutorials either are ones that take you through rigging an entire character or just cover one or two nodes, but there's nothing that covers the basics of how the Houdini way works.
I've looked at Jordi's guides and it's helped but I'd love a bit more insight.
Thanks,
Paul
Houdini Lounge » Creating a "mud monster" for Unreal Engine?
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Yes! The character in Spirited Away has a similar look to what I'm thinking of. I was just watching someone's video on creating sort of a splashing, bubbling mud in Unreal Engine as well. They were using geometry from Houdini that was then used with UE's particle system to create a fake splashing, bubbling effect.
Oh, and MFA is basically a terminal degree - masters of fine arts. It's the equivalent, I guess, to an MBA in business. Universities won't hire you full-time anymore if you don't have a terminal degree of some sort, so at age 50 I'm back in school….
Thanks!
Paul
Oh, and MFA is basically a terminal degree - masters of fine arts. It's the equivalent, I guess, to an MBA in business. Universities won't hire you full-time anymore if you don't have a terminal degree of some sort, so at age 50 I'm back in school….
Thanks!
Paul
Houdini Lounge » Creating a "mud monster" for Unreal Engine?
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Greetings! I'm a few months away from finishing up my MFA and I'm currently taking a gaming elective.
The character I'm planning on building is based on Japanese mythology, but for the sake of clarity, I'll just describe it as a “mud monster” or “lava creature” - a character with a constant flow of thick fluid that is running or dripping down its body (not dripping off its body - just a flow on its body).
I was curious if there are techniques that can be created in Houdini Engine that would work in Unreal Engine 4.24 to create a continuously melting or dripping effect? I know if I stayed inside Houdini it'd be fine, but sending things over to Unreal is where I'm unsure.
I am still extremely new to Unreal Engine and my Houdini knowledge would be described as “artist-level”.
Any suggestions or advice would be fantastic!
Thanks,
Paul
The character I'm planning on building is based on Japanese mythology, but for the sake of clarity, I'll just describe it as a “mud monster” or “lava creature” - a character with a constant flow of thick fluid that is running or dripping down its body (not dripping off its body - just a flow on its body).
I was curious if there are techniques that can be created in Houdini Engine that would work in Unreal Engine 4.24 to create a continuously melting or dripping effect? I know if I stayed inside Houdini it'd be fine, but sending things over to Unreal is where I'm unsure.
I am still extremely new to Unreal Engine and my Houdini knowledge would be described as “artist-level”.
Any suggestions or advice would be fantastic!
Thanks,
Paul
Houdini Lounge » Correct 3D Coat export settings for Karma?
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
I've been a Redshift user for as long as they've been around, but after the company was bought they discontinued their student discount program, which means I can't recommend it to students or use it in classes I teach, so Karma has arrived at the perfect time.
So I was wondering if there were any known ideal settings for exporting textures from 3D Coat for use with Karma? I tried using the generic “PBR metalness” setting in 3D Coat's exporter, but when plugging the textures into the Principled shader I am not getting the results I am expecting. Specifically with reflections, specularity and metalness.
I'm wondering if 3D Coat's terminology is different than what Houdini uses, so I'm simply either exporting the wrong textures or specifying the wrong texture because 3D Coat's metalness is not the same as Houdini's.
Thanks!
Paul
So I was wondering if there were any known ideal settings for exporting textures from 3D Coat for use with Karma? I tried using the generic “PBR metalness” setting in 3D Coat's exporter, but when plugging the textures into the Principled shader I am not getting the results I am expecting. Specifically with reflections, specularity and metalness.
I'm wondering if 3D Coat's terminology is different than what Houdini uses, so I'm simply either exporting the wrong textures or specifying the wrong texture because 3D Coat's metalness is not the same as Houdini's.
Thanks!
Paul
Houdini Lounge » Karma crash - are there specific requirements?
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Thank you! That did the trick!
I never put 2 and 2 together. I've seen the DSO ERROR setting a million times, but when hit with loads of DSO errors didn't think once about the ENV file.
Thanks for the fast fix!
-Paul
I never put 2 and 2 together. I've seen the DSO ERROR setting a million times, but when hit with loads of DSO errors didn't think once about the ENV file.
Thanks for the fast fix!
-Paul
Houdini Lounge » Karma crash - are there specific requirements?
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
I've tried testing Karma on 2 machines - a Surface Book 2 w/ an Nvidia 1060 and a workstation with multiple Titan cards. On both machines the moment I try Karma I get a load of DLL errors related to Optix.
I've totally uninstalled and reinstalled 18 with the same results.
Does it only work with RTX cards?
Is there a compatibility list somewhere?
Thanks
Paul
I've totally uninstalled and reinstalled 18 with the same results.
Does it only work with RTX cards?
Is there a compatibility list somewhere?
Thanks
Paul
Houdini Lounge » Houdini 18 Sneak Peak
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Thank you SideFX! These are exactly the kind of updates that reminds me of what a good idea it was for me to dump everything Autodesk. It's clear SideFX is focused on supporting their users.
-Paul
-Paul
Houdini Lounge » A general observation - SideFX needs to pay attention to details
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
I touched on this in a post I made about Game Tools (now SideFX Labs) but again today I ran across this issue. Quite often, SideFX will post a video that discusses a great new feature in the latest version. They show how things used to work and how this new tool/feature/whatever is significantly better. The problem is, 9 times out of 10, they leave it at that. There's no link to a detail page, no additional tutorials, nothing.
For example, there was a recent video showing how the Houdini viewport and latest (principled) shader updates can give you a view of your model/scene that is nearly the same as what you'd see in Substance and nearly the same as a Mantra render. But there's nothing on how the feature works or how to use it.
Perhaps for the experienced user this is all trivial stuff, but not everyone knows Houdini that well.
At the moment I can't even seem to find the video on the SideFX site.
In any event, SideFX, if you're putting out a demo video of a new feature/tool/etc., that is available in the shipping version of Houdini, please include links to more detailed information/tutorials/etc. It's really frustrating to see something that would be a big help, only to not be able to get information on how to implement that thing.
Sorry for the slight rant - I just finished a small project that involved lots of PBR materials on objects and I never was able to view them properly in Houdini.
-Paul
For example, there was a recent video showing how the Houdini viewport and latest (principled) shader updates can give you a view of your model/scene that is nearly the same as what you'd see in Substance and nearly the same as a Mantra render. But there's nothing on how the feature works or how to use it.
Perhaps for the experienced user this is all trivial stuff, but not everyone knows Houdini that well.
At the moment I can't even seem to find the video on the SideFX site.
In any event, SideFX, if you're putting out a demo video of a new feature/tool/etc., that is available in the shipping version of Houdini, please include links to more detailed information/tutorials/etc. It's really frustrating to see something that would be a big help, only to not be able to get information on how to implement that thing.
Sorry for the slight rant - I just finished a small project that involved lots of PBR materials on objects and I never was able to view them properly in Houdini.
-Paul
Houdini Engine for Unreal » Could someone do some general housekeeping?
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
EDIT: I wrote this before Gametools was rebranded as SideFX Labs….
I have just a basic observation from someone who is very much an artist with almost zero TD skills and has minimal game knowledge; so take everything with that in mind.
At nearly age 50 I'm back in grad school pursuing my MFA in motion media design. I'm currently taking an elective in creating environments with UE4. Obviously, I wanted to leverage Houdini Engine for the class and I've been trying. But what I run into time after time is, the tools are updated so quickly and with so little documentation or tutorials, I routinely find myself watching a presentation from 1-3 years ago, only to find out that workflow isn't how things are done, but instead there's a new node, new tool, etc., etc.
It makes it really frustrating for a student who doesn't really know UE4 and has no experience with Houdini Engine. You see video after video explaining how something is now incredibly easy and simple, but it's out of date or not really documented for newbs like myself.
Could someone just be in charge of general housekeeping? So if a tool is out of date or significantly updated, perhaps pull down the old videos or at least mark them with a note that a newer technique or tool now exists with a link to that tool/technique?
I also have noticed most of the documentation, tutorials and videos tend to skip large chunks of information on either the Unreal side or the Houdini side, assuming the viewer already knows whatever is being discussed. So I can create a simple HDA and bring it into UE4, but there doesn't seem to be any information on how to UV/texture/surface something like that either in Houdini first or in UE4 after import.
At the moment I am doing what should be very simple. I want to use the built-in Steam PyroFX to create some whispy smoke in my UE4 environment. I've found multiple, semi-incomplete tutorials from SideFX and others on similar topics, but none of them really explain when or why you'd use a particular technique or if the technique is still valid.
Example 1: https://vimeo.com/207832662 [vimeo.com] Vertex Animation GDC Project - looks like it'd deal with smoke, but it's not really particles or a fog-like volume. I tried following along, but the tools are different and even when I thought I'd managed to nail it, my imported mesh wound up a jumbled mesh (even with the correct UV settings in UE4).
Example 2: https://vimeo.com/265077965 [vimeo.com] - Fire Presets Game Tools - not exactly what I was looking for, but interesting. However, there's zero information on how to take them from Houdini and get them to Unreal. If it's a game tool, it'd be nice to know how to get things into a game engine.
Example 3: https://www.sidefx.com/tutorials/channel-packing-pyro-data-using-the-texture-sheets-rop/ [www.sidefx.com] - Game Tools PyroFX Texure Sheets. Looks amazing. But I have no idea how to go from Houdini to UE4. He shows Unreal. He shows how excellent things work. He just skips any information on how to actually use any of it. I have no idea what a texture sheet is. Is it something native to Unreal? It's not been covered in my class. I downloaded the example files - they're all .ueassets - great, but not really helpful in going from Houdini to UE4.
Finally: https://www.sidefx.com/docs/unreal/index.html [www.sidefx.com] - the docs. Can you find any examples of how to use anything? How about, right after the info on installation, something simple like, “lets create a textured cube HDA that can have some parameters changed in Unreal”? Or, here's the basic workflow for making an HDA in Houdini that ends with a finished, game-ready, textured, surfaced asset? There doesn't seem to be anything in the docs that helps get the new user up and running.
The docs are just not “artist friendly”. I didn't want to be hit with RTFM, but if anyone can point to the docs and show how I can take a basic PyroFX steam object from Houdini and get it into UE4, I'd be thrilled.
Sorry for the long rant, but it is really frustrating when you absolutely know things are possible and shouldn't be as difficult as they seem. I just spent over an hour rendering with the Texture Sheets ROP only to discover there doesn't seem to be any information on what to do with what you get from the node over to Unreal.
-Paul
I have just a basic observation from someone who is very much an artist with almost zero TD skills and has minimal game knowledge; so take everything with that in mind.
At nearly age 50 I'm back in grad school pursuing my MFA in motion media design. I'm currently taking an elective in creating environments with UE4. Obviously, I wanted to leverage Houdini Engine for the class and I've been trying. But what I run into time after time is, the tools are updated so quickly and with so little documentation or tutorials, I routinely find myself watching a presentation from 1-3 years ago, only to find out that workflow isn't how things are done, but instead there's a new node, new tool, etc., etc.
It makes it really frustrating for a student who doesn't really know UE4 and has no experience with Houdini Engine. You see video after video explaining how something is now incredibly easy and simple, but it's out of date or not really documented for newbs like myself.
Could someone just be in charge of general housekeeping? So if a tool is out of date or significantly updated, perhaps pull down the old videos or at least mark them with a note that a newer technique or tool now exists with a link to that tool/technique?
I also have noticed most of the documentation, tutorials and videos tend to skip large chunks of information on either the Unreal side or the Houdini side, assuming the viewer already knows whatever is being discussed. So I can create a simple HDA and bring it into UE4, but there doesn't seem to be any information on how to UV/texture/surface something like that either in Houdini first or in UE4 after import.
At the moment I am doing what should be very simple. I want to use the built-in Steam PyroFX to create some whispy smoke in my UE4 environment. I've found multiple, semi-incomplete tutorials from SideFX and others on similar topics, but none of them really explain when or why you'd use a particular technique or if the technique is still valid.
Example 1: https://vimeo.com/207832662 [vimeo.com] Vertex Animation GDC Project - looks like it'd deal with smoke, but it's not really particles or a fog-like volume. I tried following along, but the tools are different and even when I thought I'd managed to nail it, my imported mesh wound up a jumbled mesh (even with the correct UV settings in UE4).
Example 2: https://vimeo.com/265077965 [vimeo.com] - Fire Presets Game Tools - not exactly what I was looking for, but interesting. However, there's zero information on how to take them from Houdini and get them to Unreal. If it's a game tool, it'd be nice to know how to get things into a game engine.
Example 3: https://www.sidefx.com/tutorials/channel-packing-pyro-data-using-the-texture-sheets-rop/ [www.sidefx.com] - Game Tools PyroFX Texure Sheets. Looks amazing. But I have no idea how to go from Houdini to UE4. He shows Unreal. He shows how excellent things work. He just skips any information on how to actually use any of it. I have no idea what a texture sheet is. Is it something native to Unreal? It's not been covered in my class. I downloaded the example files - they're all .ueassets - great, but not really helpful in going from Houdini to UE4.
Finally: https://www.sidefx.com/docs/unreal/index.html [www.sidefx.com] - the docs. Can you find any examples of how to use anything? How about, right after the info on installation, something simple like, “lets create a textured cube HDA that can have some parameters changed in Unreal”? Or, here's the basic workflow for making an HDA in Houdini that ends with a finished, game-ready, textured, surfaced asset? There doesn't seem to be anything in the docs that helps get the new user up and running.
The docs are just not “artist friendly”. I didn't want to be hit with RTFM, but if anyone can point to the docs and show how I can take a basic PyroFX steam object from Houdini and get it into UE4, I'd be thrilled.
Sorry for the long rant, but it is really frustrating when you absolutely know things are possible and shouldn't be as difficult as they seem. I just spent over an hour rendering with the Texture Sheets ROP only to discover there doesn't seem to be any information on what to do with what you get from the node over to Unreal.
-Paul
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Update on Insider Builds
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
As far as I can tell, as of build 18219 Redstone 5, Houdini works just fine again.
So if you are on the fast ring or skip ahead, you need to jump from 17704 to 18219 to keep Houdini running.
-Paul
So if you are on the fast ring or skip ahead, you need to jump from 17704 to 18219 to keep Houdini running.
-Paul
SI Users » Modeling slows to a crawl
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
I think the problem was not actually Houdini, but Microsoft deciding to run a Windows Update thread in the background. I noticed when I went to reboot my machine that it offered the option of update and restart.
SI Users » Modeling slows to a crawl
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
In Softimage we could always freeze the modeling stack if things got slow, but other than locking a node at a particular point what else can you do?
I'm working on a model at the moment and Houdini has gotten to a near unusable state. I'm on a semi-decent machine with 32 gigs of ram and 2 Titan cards with multiple SSDs.
I'm pushing points around, and the viewport is stuttering and jittering.
I'm sure this is just a case of trying to do things the Softimage way inside of Houdini. I'm slowly making the transition..
-Paul
I'm working on a model at the moment and Houdini has gotten to a near unusable state. I'm on a semi-decent machine with 32 gigs of ram and 2 Titan cards with multiple SSDs.
I'm pushing points around, and the viewport is stuttering and jittering.
I'm sure this is just a case of trying to do things the Softimage way inside of Houdini. I'm slowly making the transition..
-Paul
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Is licensing broken?
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
I at least figured out how to copy and paste the keys from the website, so I think I'm up and running. But something seems weird to me.
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Is licensing broken?
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Since Houdini isn't working with Windows Insider builds, I did a clean install of the last version I know will work - 17704. However, now I can't get the license manager to work. It says my workstation is already the server, then when I put in my email address and password, it hkey just freezes.
So, after uninstalling and reinstalling Houdini 3X, I decided to use the website to redeem the license. I picked my workstation from the list and clicked “Redeem Entitlements” and I get the error:
Error:
Please select at least one license to redeem.
But I've already clicked the radio button that is next to the name of the machine I'm using.
So, is the SideFX licensing system broken at the moment?
Thanks,
Paul
So, after uninstalling and reinstalling Houdini 3X, I decided to use the website to redeem the license. I picked my workstation from the list and clicked “Redeem Entitlements” and I get the error:
Error:
Please select at least one license to redeem.
But I've already clicked the radio button that is next to the name of the machine I'm using.
So, is the SideFX licensing system broken at the moment?
Thanks,
Paul
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Latest houdini UI is exploded , what is going on ?
- Paul Griswold
- 73 posts
- Online
Here's where I have gotten. If you delete all the .pyc files and set Houdini to launch in Windows 8 compatibility mode, it will launch with only a couple of errors like opalias: ‘heightfield_quickshade’ is not a known operator.
However, any object in the viewport will be invisible unless you switch to wireframe or wireframe ghost mode.
I've installed 16.5.550 and still get the same results.
However, any object in the viewport will be invisible unless you switch to wireframe or wireframe ghost mode.
I've installed 16.5.550 and still get the same results.
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