Simulate Multiple DOP networks simultaneously

[Dispel]

My hip files has 5 dop networks in it, but with the little "brain" icon I can only select one active simulation at a time. I would like to simulate all 5 at once, so that I can output caches to disk all in one run, since I know my system has the RAM for it. Why can't I seem to do this?

[anim]

current simulation through brain icon doesn't mean that only selected DOP network is active, but it is the dopnet which will be used for the shelf tools

if the simulation is enabled, then all DOPnets will simulate if something cooks them

so if you for example import some objects from every DOPnet with Dopimport SOPs or anything and merge them with Merge SOP, you will see all of them updated at the same time

so if you insert File SOPs to each branch and set to Write Mode or Automatic, they all will write your caches while playing the playbar just once, not necessarily multithreaded, that part is up to Houdini how it's optimized and how it can parallelize different simultaneous simulations

of course you don't need to import them to the same object, just make all object displaying the geometry so it is updated while playing, if they have live File SOPs inside they will cache, but if you are triggering caches with ROP Output SOP or Geometry ROP then it is always one by one however it still can be frame by frame

[Dispel]

Awesome explanation Tomas, thank you! I am simming using dop IO node in SOPs which seems to not have a good way to wire it up to multiple nodes like a ROP does, but I think I will set up the file caches in sop networks like you suggest.