Momo Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Hi everyone. I got a mess in my head and one big problem. I started learnin' Maya about 10 months ago and it's great. I think know this stuff not bad. My main focus area are simulations: dynamics, particles, fire - water effects, ya know that kind of stuff. I do only this and I love it. I'm a person which always lookin' for best solutions and about few months ago I heard that there is sumthin' like Houdini and some use it for simulations. Ya know for people like me, interesting in simulations, this message were very intersting. I found SideFx site and download Houdini stuff but I got a problems using it. I didn't know about 3DBuzzTuts and stuff like that. But few days ago I download tuts from 3DBuzz and now see that Houdini is not bad :-) Look very very promising 3D app with not bad power :-) . My all question are from point of view simulations, so please don't consider such things like: modelling, texturing, char.animation, etc, Ya know. -I wonder if I really should focus on Houdini? -What this app can give me comparing to Maya? -May I be proficient with it? I see that very few companies use it. -What about job in future? -Will Houdini survive? Maya got Mel, right? -But what about Houdini? -Is it got any sumthin' simmilar to Mel? -Is Houdini use connectivity with Java or C++? Next. Comparing with Maya. -Is Houdini got sumthin' like Fluids or PaintFx? -What about workflow speed? I've seen that working philosophy in Houdini - making stuff like catalogTree - is very interesting but isn't make it slower than other app? About rendering. I know Maya got PRman through MTOR and RAT in example, everyone can make great stuff. -What about Houdini and Renderman? Is it support particles? About simulations: -Is there sumthin' comparable to Mayas's MelBots ? Sorry for bigListQuestion but nobody on the net can't answer me CLEAR. Greetz to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Gary Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Simulation... To me, there's two kinds of simulation: scientific simulation and artistic simulation. There may be a gap between them in some situations! Really precise simulation like scientific ones are really difficult to handle interactively, and don't give you some artistical feedback. Simulation is an "art" in the fact that, to be manageable it often requires to rather use a geometrical description of the phenomenon, which bypasses the exact physical definition. I'm currently doing a volcano eruption simulation, with cracks, lava flows, with Houdini and i didn't use any plug-ins, but just its procedural nature, and it gives me some good feedback and good result Moreover, total proceduralism enables you to easy create non-realistic phenomenon. good points -> Houdini is often used where other software just give up... -> For rendering: Houdini+Renderman is 10000000 more efficient and manageable than Maya+MTOR. Point attributes, shading language of renderman are quite native... In general: If you know some maths or some programming, you can do everything you want in an interactive fashion. For very very classical simulation , it may not be the best, but to create new special effects, and if you have a good workflow to describe the effect, Houdini can do it . -> volumetric rendering (i3d), compositing, object instancing are almost unique features. -> POP are the best particle system i've ever seen. It's near behavioral animation. bad points: -> don't like the way that rigid body are treated in houdini. ->Fluids doesn't exist in standard, but you can use RealFlow plug-ins. ->there's no paint FX but you can re-create them. that's my personal point of view... i don't use maya anymore :) IF YOU KNOW HOW TO USE HOUDINI, YOU CAN USE ANY OTHER SOFTWARE. THE CONTRARY IS NOT TRUE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 IF YOU KNOW HOW TO USE HOUDINI, YOU CAN USE ANY OTHER SOFTWARE.THE CONTRARY IS NOT TRUE!! hear! hear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momo Posted February 11, 2004 Author Share Posted February 11, 2004 Hey! Thanx for answer. Did Ya use Maya before? Do Ya know some programming? C++ -- Your answer about kind of simulations is interesting. I didn't go that way: scientific simulations or artistic simulations. Hmmm.... I think it's depend of future plans and when I wanna look for job, correct? Is Nasa use Houdini? I see in SideFX reel some NASA stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Gary Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 yes, i used Maya. I know some programming. But i rarely use c++. too heavy. I think it's depend of future plans and when I wanna look for job, correct? so do the softwares !? you haven't always the choice, no? But you will learn so many things in 3d using Houdini that you can bring back to other software... (it's never lost) So, with a good knowledge of Houdini, and of the general workflow behind each effect , you can face many many situations, and it's a very good background for any job research. Is Nasa use Houdini? I see in SideFX reel some NASA stuff... Yes, Houdini is (but largely under-)used as a scientific visualisation tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenong Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Is Nasa use Houdini? I see in SideFX reel some NASA stuff... I believe you saw the International Space Station sequence which was created by DKP & not by NASA. Cheers! steven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edward Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Well, then there's the stuff that no one is allowed to talk about like the job postings from Dave Johnson at TRW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momo Posted February 11, 2004 Author Share Posted February 11, 2004 But you will learn so many things in 3d using Houdini that you can bring back to other software... (it's never lost) I think I get the point. I wondered if I'll spent some time for Houdini couldn't be waste of time. I didn't thought that way. Very interesting note. I think I should go study little more :-) that all Houdini to see what it really can do. I believe you saw the International Space Station sequence which was created by DKP & not by NASA I don't know. I just downloaded a SideFx demoReel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest xionmark Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Is Nasa use Houdini? I see in SideFX reel some NASA stuff... Hi there, I'm currently working with the Lunar and Planetary Lab at the University of Arizona on the Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer project. Currently all of the visualization tools are done with IDL and a few home grown tools (GMT and others). Here's the web site: http://grs.lpl.arizona.edu/ Soon I'll be doing some viz work on the Mars GRS data in Houdini and will be posting some of the results on the web; I'll be sure to mention it on the various Houdini lists. In addition, I'll be using RenderMan for some of this work as well. Lot's of fun! On another note, I started working with A-W's PowerAnimator/Maya about 10 years ago ... some 6 years ago I found Houdini and have never used anything else (except when I have to); it's clearly the most flexible and powerful application for 3D. I love it! --Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest xionmark Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Do Ya know some programming? C++ One other note, you can extend VEX using C/C++ but to use the HDK (Houdini Development Kit) you'll need an additional license (bummer), perhaps this will change in the future, I'm hoping so. --Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momo Posted February 12, 2004 Author Share Posted February 12, 2004 On another note, I started working with A-W's PowerAnimator/Maya about 10 years ago ... some 6 years ago I found Houdini and have never used anything else (except when I have to); it's clearly the most flexible and powerful application for 3D. I love it! so, Ya worked with Maya 6 years ago, looong time.... I think You should try it now, it's much more better anyway, I also heard from SOME that Maya code is much more stable and mature also better integrate with C++, what about Houdini code? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest xionmark Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 so, Ya worked with Maya 6 years ago, looong time.... I think You should try it now, it's much more betteranyway, I also heard from SOME that Maya code is much more stable and mature also better integrate with C++, what about Houdini code? Oh I've worked in Maya extensively as recently as a year ago, but as I said, only when I have to ... :-) Maya is mature all right, so mature it's "stuck" in it's current state. When I first heard about Maya being developed, it was *supposed* to be completely procedural, as opposed to PowerAnimator. Unfortunately, that was wishful thinking from A|W and never came to pass. Houdini's a pretty darn stable application when you consider all that's going on under the hood. The HDK is not very well documented but is quite a lot of fun and very powerful once you get into it. A suggestion: if you start to get into the HDK, run the header files through Doxygen, it will generate some very good docs to help you navigate thru the interface. Here's the URL: http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/ --Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old school Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 anyway, I also heard from SOME that Maya code is much more stable and mature also better integrate with C++, hahahahahahahaha! Thank's for waking me up. what about Houdini code? Always in motion. It is a wonderful thing when you write every line of your code and it is a proper c++ design, so much so that supporting multiple platforms from the same baseline is pretty straightforward. Isn't that the whole idea behind c++? Expect some instability periods when new releases are upcoming. If you are the careful type, use the *.1 builds instead of alpha's, beta's or the *.0 builds. I myself prefer them right out of the oven but then I am not in production, right Wolfwood? Hmmmm, I wonder how the Indian programming team for Alias that did the mac port is doing these days... Working on Unlimited? Could be tough now that Santa Barbara is no longer leaving catch-up on cloth r+d support. I could go on for days, and please remember that you commented on the c++ implementation and that is what I focused on. No flame wars on sofware useage and features please. Anyhow, I think you should do your own homework before making such comments but then again, this is a great place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfwood Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 If you are the careful type, use the *.1 builds instead of alpha's, beta's or the *.0 builds. I myself prefer them right out of the oven but then I am not in production, right Wolfwood? I like them right out of the oven too. Personally I think its kinda good to use the latest builds because you can find bu Fatal error: Segmentation Fault Saving application data to /tmp/price.6460.hip Crash log saved to /tmp/crashlog_price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcronin Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 Best post ever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momo Posted February 14, 2004 Author Share Posted February 14, 2004 this Houdini is little strange, I tried to do some particles with dynamics but, comparing to other apps, it's like eating soup using legs and fork..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest xionmark Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 this Houdini is little strange,I tried to do some particles with dynamics but, comparing to other apps, it's like eating soup using legs and fork..... The best thing to do is to not try to use Houdini like you would any other 3D application. Rather, work through some of the tutorials until you get a sense of what proceduralism is like, then you'll better understand why it's so powerful and different than any other application of it's kind. --Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meshsmooth Posted February 16, 2004 Share Posted February 16, 2004 Thanks to Houdini I model more procedurally when I am at work using max. Too bad it really isn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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