Add RealFlow or not?

[anicg]

As the question is formulated, this is not an A vs B. I have Houdini and it's the heart of everything 3D in the pipeline, but I have worked a bit with Realflow much earlier (when I used to work with Maya) and I wonder if it's worth it to add RealFlow to the pipeline or you think Houdini has everything for fluid simulations.

I haven't yet worked with Houdini oceans and fluid simulations, planned soon, but I'd like to know whether I should use the discount period for adding "game changer" applications to the pipeline.

I know what I can do with RealFlow, but I do not know how much of that can be done with Houdini.

I need small as well as large scale simulations, not just oceans, also playing with fluids (swirling around pillar and other stuff)

Why would you add RealFlow to your pipeline if you already have Houdini?

Edited December 22, 2018 by anicg

[Mandrake0]

I don't think it makes sense at all... 

You need to play with the solvers when you know them then you can ask your self do you need realflow. I would say in 99% you don't need realflow. 

[anicg]

Any idea on the differences in simulation speed?

[Mandrake0]

I can't anwser that... sorry.

[LaidlawFX]

Real flow is a very powerful piece of software that used to out handle Houdini real well. They have a lot of default behaviors that when you use it out of the box's are better than Houdini's setup. 

As far as adding it once you have Houdini is a different story. It used to be people would have realflow and the debate would be should you add Houdini. As Houdini was/is the more expensive product. The major different is Houdini was designed as a full 3-D app and Realflow is a really good specialist software. For those who only need a particle system and say after effects, Houdini doesn't make much sense. Or if you want you wanted to pair Realflow with Maya or Max it makes a lot of sense. Also if you are on a short term project with a Realflow specialist versus a Houdini specialist it makes sense. 

Additionally since Realflow is not a full 3-D package you will need to render, surface, instance, or cleanup in another app. Which often was the case of using Houdini or going straight to a 3rd party render engine.  

In your particular case it doesn't make as much sense. Houdini's particle and fluids are extremely comparable in today's builds. The default's in Houdini are not as good as in Realflow, but you can get there pretty quickly if you have a bit of time. Also if you already paid for Houdini FX you don't really need to splurge the extra money. In the end it comes down to time or money.

[anicg]

From a cost perspective, Realflow (700 Eur permanent license) is more expensive for me than Houdini (250 per year). I have the indie version. It's a one man band.

I use Houdini as a full 3d Package, and I love it for many reasons, one of which is: it doesn't need plugins.

Sometimes I see some other software, specialised ones like RealFlow, and ask myself: do I use Houdini for that, or is it worth it to use RealFlow instead only for that part, since there is a RealFlow plugin for Houdini integration.

I'm a beginner in Houdini (used to work with Maya), so when you say

On 12/23/2018 at 7:33 PM, LaidlawFX said:

but you can get there pretty quickly if you have a bit of time.

I do not know how quick it can be for a beginner, does it require VEX stuff.

as a comparison, I've seen Houdini clouds and it seems very easy to learn, if that's what you mean by pretty quickly then that's great.

The same situation about Houdini Cloth vs Marvelous Designer.

[LaidlawFX]

Yeah Houdini is more a toolbox than a set of specific tools, which is good and bad. 

The cloud setup is a few shelf buttons, and the fluid/particle setups are a few buttons and example files away. The defaults if you keep them within default Houdini scale, so not trying to make planets or microscopic sims, work pretty well. You can allways scale before and after sim. VEX is not really needed in DOPs. You can use it for sure, but it's the hundreds of microsolvers you use instead. If you run a few shelf operations you can see for sure the patterns on how to run the setups. DOPs has a different network flow than SOPs or COPs, etc... as time is the primary cyclical factor. So if you have time to play with a few of those setups to get your bearings, then it can be pretty quick. If that makes more sense wording it that way. Realflow on the other hand you don't have to worry how another context works it's just plug and play, like most plugins.