Best Houdini Utility Entries

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Hello,
People of Earth,

I'd like to present my lookdev tool for quickly laying down a material network. It loads all the files from a given folder and gives each layer a name. Then, it loads them as a hex grid with distortion and automatically adds a tweak node and a height mix node.

There are inputs open to add masks so that you have more manual control over what goes where. The HDA only works if it is unlocked because it can't add nodes to a locked network.

It requires the data to be in a certain format. It's the Quixel format in RAT. It also works with preprocessed 0-centered displacement.

Some of the functionality requires an averages.md. I will add a hipfile that you can use to preprocess images.

Edited by NicTanghe - Jan. 15, 2024 08:07:18

Attachments:
average_ratify.hiplc (1.0 MB)
vop_nanghe.main.material_compositor.10.0.hdalc (72.9 KB)
vop_tanghe.main.material_loader.6.1.hdalc (54.4 KB)
BLANK_DEMO.hiplc (1.6 MB)
test.jpg (297.7 KB)

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Hello all!

Here's my contribution to the Art Challenge contest.

Find Center Spline HDA

This tool aims to solve some of the more typical VFX challenges I've faced when receiving or using models from others. Very often you need, or it would be very helpful to have a spline for different objects. Ropes, wires, pipes, cables etc. which can then be used for dynamic simulations. Or it can be helpful to rebuild a mesh, for cleanliness, UV purposes etc.

Main features of the fool
  • Three different methods of finding a center spline from an input object/geometry. Edge loop, primitive loop and step growth.
  • Aims to automate the detection of loops and directions automatically
  • Calculates the object width (static or varying) and adds pscale attribute to the spline
  • Support for curveu and tangentu attributes with or without resampling
  • Use original geometry for point generation (center on edge or primitives) or resample curve
  • Experimental feature of rebuilding bad input geometry. The tool can try to quad remesh the geometry and find edge loop from end to end from there. Doesn't work well on models with sharp corners though.

Example video:
Edited by Tronotrond - Jan. 15, 2024 12:19:40

Attachments:
ExampleScene_and_geo.zip (412.6 KB)
sop_th.find_center_spline.3.1.hdalc (46.8 KB)
fcs_header_v01.png (677.2 KB)
ui2.png (1.4 MB)

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Houdini 2 Godot Exporter

This is a HDA Setup for Exporting 3D Scenes to Godot Engine.

Current target was to have a Basic 3D Scene Exporter for the Godot Engine inside Houdini.
The Scene Exporter can Export a CSV file with the required Optimisation where indie Developers can create 3D Scenes with +50K Instanced Objects with no problems.

OBJ HDA Asset Exporter
The target is to have multiple Asset Exporters to organize the Project in sections.

  • Export multiple assets in gltf or glb
  • can create Godot Scene Files
  • define Godot Asset Folder

OBJ HDA Scene Exporter
Creates CSV Files and Godot Scene File with Instance Data for small and medium Indie Game Levels

  • Exports CSV in UTF-8
  • can create Scene Files
  • Optimizer for reducing File Size

SOP HDA Instance Asset
Helper Node for creating the required Attributes for the Scene Exporter Node.

  • creates all required Attributes
  • Custom Godot path or Houdini Object


The Project is on Github with some Examples.
https://github.com/Mandrake0/houdini2godot [github.com]

Setup Guide
Edited by mandrake0 - Jan. 15, 2024 14:37:13

Attachments:
houdini2godot-master.zip (3.3 MB)
houdini2godot_01.png (1.3 MB)
houdini2godot_02.png (1.2 MB)

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UPDATE: Last-Minute Bug Alert, please check the footnote at the end



AUTO FIX INTERSECTIONS HDA

This node identifies self-intersecting areas in a geometry or a set of UVs, selectively applying a blur operation only to the problematic primitives to preserve the overall shape.

HOW IT WORKS:
The process operates iteratively within a feedback loop. If an iteration results in no improvement, the next one increases the blur intensity and expands the blurred area around the intersections, all based on user-defined parameters.

NOTABLE FEATURES:
  • Faster Detection Mode: Offers a multithreaded and approximate approach for detecting intersections.
  • Progressive Workflow with Custom Iteration Caching: A time saving feature, enhances the traditional Feedback Loop system in Houdini.
  • Dynamic Report and UI: As depicted in the attached image, it provides visual feedback throughout the progressive workflow.
  • Various Intersection Visualization Modes: Assists in identifying in the viewport even the smallest self-intersecting primitives.

DEPENDENCIES:
  1. Xpolys Fast Detection HDA - included in the zip file. Ensure its installation alongside the main HDA.
  2. SideFX Labs Attribute Normalize Float


------------------------------------------------

Important Note: Last-Minute Bug Alert
Users of Hou 20.0.547 on Windows 11, please be aware of a potential issue when directly opening 'autofix_intersections_examples.hiplc' or any other project files containing the AutoFix Intersections HDA. You may encounter the following error, which results in the HDA loading without any parameters:
"oplib:/adn.H20TAC::Sop/auto_fix_intersections::0.03?adn.H20TAC::Sop/auto_fix_intersections::0.03 Error(11): error binding handle sidefx_hud_button because it doesn't exist."
WORKAROUND:
To avoid this problem, first launch a blank Houdini session. Then, open 'autofix_intersections_examples.hiplc' from the File Menu.
This method should allow you to use the HDA without encountering the error.




Attachments:
AutoFix_Intersections_poster1.jpg (135.1 KB)
Dynamic_UI_progressive_workflow.jpg (164.2 KB)
ADN_AutoFix_Intersections.rar (171.3 KB)

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Hi!

I have created the Discord Houdini Tracker Toolset to help track your caching progress without the need to go back to the computer. I had the issue of leaving the cache to cook overnight at the office, and I really want to know how it goes, but I don't have access to the computer right away. Therefore, I created this Discord bot toolset to help me see the progress of my cache just on my phone without going back to the office.



You can check out my blog [kylelinvfx.com] for more detailed information.


Image Not Found

Attachments:
KyleLin_DiscordHoudiniTracker.zip (129.6 KB)
DiscordHoudiniTracker_Toolset.png (58.8 KB)

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Visualize Attribute Distribution

Description:
It can be useful to inspect how many occurences of a certain attribute value exist on a geometry.
One way to visualize them is the distribution. For example:
* A random distribution should not show any patterns.
* A normal distribution should show up as a bell curve

Note that the output of this visualization is normalized and fit to the 0-1 range.

Features:
  • Normalized visualization of attribute value distributions
  • Quantization functionality for floats, integers and vectors
  • Additional visualizer on each point for the value it represents and the amount of occurrences of the value on the input mesh

EDIT: Fixed some typos and issues with the video

Demo file walkthrough:
Edited by sebastianknoll - Jan. 16, 2024 00:48:08

Attachments:
sop_knolls.visualize_attribute_distribution.1.0.hdanc (23.1 KB)
knolls_visualize_attribute_distribution_demo.hipnc (403.6 KB)
knolls_visualize_attribute_distribution_image.png (198.7 KB)

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