The Things I Miss So Much...

[kubabuk]

For me, the biggest problem while working with Houdini (as a complete 3D package) is the lack of support for camera import and light information, from scenes created in another software. I understand the idea that Houdini was designed to be the last software in the production pipeline in which everything except geometry is set up. But I've come up very often the situation where different people work with different software and they exchange data frequently. Don't you think at this stage this issue makes Houdini very unflexible tool to work with...?

I know Martian Labs offer martian Glue to import/export RIB files (but this plugin is rather designed for big film studios) So for the freelancers maybe the answer lays in FBX support...?

Yes, I know some might say that tons of information can be read from channel data or I can write my own plugin to export anything I want as well. I would do that, if I knew a liitle more scripting... Now the only thing I managed to do was some simple scripts to exchanged camera information between 3DS max and Houdini as a chan file. But this requires acces for CHOPS which is only available in Houdini Master. Don't you think it would be easier to expand Houdini Select with some simple support for CHOPS (just like import export...) for thoes who can't afford to buy Master?

This is only my private afterthought, maybe someone in SideFX will come across one day these tiny wishes...

Kuba

[Mcronin]

I think you can get around this with scripting.

In all seriousness, not being a Select User, I agree that limited CHOPs should be available in Select for exactly this purpose. File read in, export, maybe math, and a couple of other handy general pupose CHOPs. Wishing for it won't make it happen quickly enough though.

I don't think FBX is the answer. With Autodesk owning Alias, thus owning Motion Builder, thus owning FBX, I'd be wary of investing time in supporting it. I think Collada is probably the best way to go, because it's not owned by any specific DCC vendor, it's attempting to be an open standard, and it supports and intends to support much more data than any other interchange format in existance. I've been reading through the spec and had begun work on a Collada importer/exporter for Houdini (they already exist for pretty much every other application out there) but the going is slow. I know none of this really helps you now, sorry, just posting my thoughts.

[digitallysane]

I agree with the FBX concerns, but I also see that FBX is the solution that works now: tracking software, max, maya, digital fusion, flame...

As for the scripting solution... I don't know but I remember people saying: Houdini is better than maya because you can do so much without scripting

Dragos

[Mcronin]

As for the scripting solution... I don't know but I remember people saying: Houdini is better than maya because you can do so much without scripting

[digitallysane]

And this is absolutely true, if you are actually using Houdini, and not trying to use Houdini and 50 other pieces of off the shelf software ;p

26455[/snapback]

I know, but it's not about 50 pieces of software but about a typical workflow of a studio: tracking, animation, effects, compositing. That is Houdini and some tracking software, a flame or a Fusion seat etc. After all, I think it's pretty legitimate to want to use the software together with others.

Good communication with other software is a nice feature I think, and quite a basic one. And, not without importance, is a feature which competitive software already has.

Dragos

[sibarrick]

I agree with you. But as another workaround until things change it's been suggested in the past that you write out camera paths as geos and just read those in and then attach the camera etc straight to the paths.