Danicka Oglesby

I don't think it's Mantra being phased out. I'm able to use Simple Baker just fine in 20.5.522. I'm also able to render using a Mantra render node as I always have. I do think something strange is going on with your Mantra permissions, however I don't think it's anything to do with SideFX purposefully limiting its use.

Do you get an error message when pressing the render button or trying to render with a Mantra node? Do you have Mantra licenses available to you in your License Manager? What version of Houdini are you using?

Hi, wanted to chime in here as I've taken a look at both Simple Baker and Maps Baker, and they're both working with my relatively simple setup (baking the Rubber Toy onto a box with default settings). While Simple Baker does use Mantra for rendering, Maps Baker is purely COPs-based. I'm using 20.5.522.

For those with Simple Baker issues, that particular error is attempting to push the Render button on the ropnet1 SOP inside the network. I wonder if you run into the same error if you dive into the network and push the Render button manually. (Right click the HDA, select Allow Editing of Contents to unlock the HDA, double click to dive in and find the ropnet1 node).

Maps Baker is newer and since it uses a different rendering system, it might fit the bill.