249 replies to this topic

[anim]

LaidlawFX, on 10 May 2013 - 10:31 AM, said:

With houdini fx you can make tools that have dynamics and pops in them for use in houdini, but these tool are kind of useless if you can not press the resimulate button because it is locked. This needs to be fixed or they shouldn't have this feature in houdini, useing daily build 12.5.398 and have used 12.5.316.22, windows 64 sadly.

opparm -c dopnet1 resimulate;

what do you mean? cannot you promote resimulate button to your tools as Solver SOP has so it is available for houdini(escape) users?

[LaidlawFX]

anim, on 11 May 2013 - 05:09 PM, said:

what do you mean? cannot you promote resimulate button to your tools as Solver SOP has so it is available for houdini(escape) users?

Technically I did not do a promotion of parameter so the link next to the default channel is not connection, so that could be a slight culprit, but often most buttons are based on call back scripts for versatility. A sop solver is a special case scenario, try just including a dopnet from sop level or object in an asset and you will reach the same problem. The buttons are locked and the cache can get stuck, possibly a windows issues alone, but willing to be money it's a bug/rfe don't have access to submit any presently. nor a linux box to test on.

[anim]

LaidlawFX, on 11 May 2013 - 09:50 PM, said:

...try just including a dopnet from sop level or object in an asset and you will reach the same problem. The buttons are locked and the cache can get stuck,....

I tried including the same dopnet or any other dopnet in a new asset, promoted the buttons I want users to use (like Resimulate), everything works in Escape
I don't really understand the root of your problems, in my opinion everything works as it's designed
and if you promote button that calls python script, it will still execute that script and do what it meant to do (except for changing non-promoted parameters inside of locked asset on non-editable nodes or other thinks that violate permissions, but that's not specific to escape)

[dennis.weil]

cpb, on 11 May 2013 - 04:26 PM, said:

something like this?
http://www.sidefx.co..._ports__560.gif

For rigging this sort of thing would get very messy... maybe just show a dependency curve between nodes,then double-click on it to show the vops in a subnet, with inputs and outputs hosting the available parameters of the connected nodes.

Yes, this is what I had in mind.
On second thought though a separate context would really be the way to go as Tomas suggested. Didn't think about connections that span across contexts, which of course happen all the time
I would also much prefer a VOP like representation over the way CHOPs deals with channels.
I could imagine CHOPs as pre- and postprocessor for this new context as it can operate on channels across the whole animation range and can calculate integrals and slope etc.

Edited by dennis.weil, 12 May 2013 - 03:00 AM.

[mantragora]

dennis.weil, on 12 May 2013 - 02:24 AM, said:

Yes, this is what I had in mind.
On second thought though a separate context would really be the way to go as Tomas suggested. Didn't think about connections that span across contexts, which of course happen all the time
I would also much prefer a VOP like representation over the way CHOPs deals with channels.
I could imagine CHOPs as pre- and postprocessor for this new context as it can operate on channels across the whole animation range and can calculate integrals and slope etc.

Cinema4D have something like this. It's called Expresso. VOPS + Expressions together.

[LaidlawFX]

anim, on 12 May 2013 - 02:01 AM, said:

I tried including the same dopnet or any other dopnet in a new asset, promoted the buttons I want users to use (like Resimulate), everything works in Escape
I don't really understand the root of your problems, in my opinion everything works as it's designed
and if you promote button that calls python script, it will still execute that script and do what it meant to do (except for changing non-promoted parameters inside of locked asset on non-editable nodes or other thinks that violate permissions, but that's not specific to escape)

I am triggering the resimulate buttons of dopnets using an hscript callback with, opparm -c path/to/dopnet execute; this will not work on a dopnet as the dopnet is locked. Did some homework and this seems to be true through the versions of 12s I have acces to on windows. This would be an rfe for the opparm -c command to override this locking functionality, esp for the resimulate button.

I will try a relative reference link, instead of an hscript opparm callback, next time the fx license frees up. I do not often use the the From Nodes promotion in the Create Parameters menu as in Operator type properties, especialy on buttons. If your not paying attention you can often get multiple button presses when you do setups containing more than one simulation task, like a wire solver, with a post sim addition. Rebar followed by breaking stone attached to it as an old example. If a relative reference works, it means i need to build complex actions internal to non accessible nodes, then have to relative reference down to those nodes. That make sense?

Don't have houdini on phone to send an example file. Can I make that as a wish

[stevegh]

A couple minor things that I think have either been mentioned already in this post or submitted elsewhere:

1) The Ramp Parameter - Can this look more like the motion view curves when in spline mode? The motion view curves are some of the nicest in any package I've used, shame we can't have that in the Ramp Parameter!

2) Shaders - Instead of more presets, revamp the Mantra Surface Shader to include all the controls found in other renderer's materials (map control for specular/reflection angle for example). Also the ability to select from a set of procedurals from any map slot. Perhaps a map browser, that pulls up all the different stuff we have access to in VEX/VOPs (all the patterns, noise) that would populate the area under the map with that patterns parameters (multiparms maybe with basic compositing operations to get layered effects quickly).

3) The Move tool - Needs to have planar constraint just like the rotate and scale have. Takes twice the clicks to move something in 1 plane.

[old school]

stevegh, on 16 May 2013 - 07:19 PM, said:

3) The Move tool - Needs to have planar constraint just like the rotate and scale have. Takes twice the clicks to move something in 1 plane.

Try Ctrl-Clicking on one of the three X Y Z axes to get the planar constraint handle. Does that do what you want?

[stevegh]

old school, on 17 May 2013 - 04:18 AM, said:

Try Ctrl-Clicking on one of the three X Y Z axes to get the planar constraint handle. Does that do what you want?

Yes! But this should be there by default and become more/less visible based on the relation to the camera no? Still take two clicks to do it.

[phrenzy84]

This reminds me i need to submit a RFE for Gimbal mode, it doesn't pre-highlight individual axis when Rotating, but it does for Translating.