Fixed a bug where some animation could be lost when merging APEX Animation Layers in certain cases.

Fixed an issue with `handler.removeFromAllEmitters()` hanging when called from within an Python event handler function.

Hide deactivated lights from the light linker since it has no way to activate them.

Fixed a performance regression with string hashing vs 20.0 which could affect many parts of Houdini, such as merging geometry with string attributes.

#<tag_name> can now be used as an APEX node/port pattern. This pattern behaves the same as %tag(<tag_name>).

Fix CH_Manager.h in the HDK to work around a bug in gcc13 so this compiler can be used to build HDK plugins that include this header.

Update unsubdivide algorithm to account for non Catmull-Clark topology.

Hide deactivated lights from the light linker since it has no way to activate them.

Fix update issue when locking/unlocking a parameter in the light mixer.

Fix update issue when locking/unlocking a parameter in the light mixer.

Fix hotkey editor showing the Esc key assignment window when pressing enter in the search field.

Fix hotkey editor showing the Esc key assignment window when pressing enter in the search field.

Fixed a potential crash in the APEX Character Deformation display option, along with a bug that could cause stuck geometry in certain situations.

Update Houdini's USD library to include the following fix:

• Avoid crash when writing USD to volumes mounted to NTFS folders

Fixed a potential crash in the APEX Character Deformation display option, along with a bug that could cause stuck geometry in certain situations.

Fixed a crash when using detail-level material assignment on particles

Fixed an issue in the APEX Character Deformation display option where rigidly skinned packed primitives were displayed incorrectly if the nested packed geometry contained a boneCapture attribute.

Made level instances read only when not being edited. Fixes several bugs when using HDAs in level instance levels.

Fixed a couple issues with packed primitives in the Convert SOP. Nested packed primitives are now unpacked, and the unpacked geometry is now correctly converted to the specified primitive type.

HDAs are now placed in a dormant state if loaded as a level instance inside a level. Editing the level instance will allow the HDA Component to be cooked. This fixes several issues when using level instances.

Added a Combine Normals COP that blends normal maps together.

Fixed a bug with Glow where the threshold parameter was not working as intended. This causes a slight change in behaviour which means older files will look a bit different.

Added Spline2 component. This version is updated to have better custom controls. It also now supports controls for squash and stretch and the ability to keep its length.

The Bullet solver's information about initially overlapping objects is no longer lost when solver resets, e.g. when resimulating an earlier frame after making a parameter change.

Fixed issues in the APEX ragdoll tool which could cause unexpected motion after changing a parameter on a previously cached simulation frame.