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Technical Discussion » [SOLVED] Convert Volume from PyroFX - missing Velocity
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Ocean Surface material - where is Attenuation?
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Hello, after a small nightmare with switching to new whitewater system I'm a bit stuck with rendering an ocean shot:
I would like to see a structure in water dissapear slowly into the abyss. Because Mantra is quite slow I don't want to use the volumes or a uniform volume shader for that (which is recommended). Absorption/Attenuation would be ok I think but it's missing from the Ocean Surface material! It's mentioned in the manual… What's going on? Any ideas how to switch it on? I've attachned a screenshots, maybe I'm not looking at this correctly.
Extra question - any ideas why Mist shelf tool was removed? We're supposed to build our onw on Pyro, right?
I would like to see a structure in water dissapear slowly into the abyss. Because Mantra is quite slow I don't want to use the volumes or a uniform volume shader for that (which is recommended). Absorption/Attenuation would be ok I think but it's missing from the Ocean Surface material! It's mentioned in the manual… What's going on? Any ideas how to switch it on? I've attachned a screenshots, maybe I'm not looking at this correctly.
Extra question - any ideas why Mist shelf tool was removed? We're supposed to build our onw on Pyro, right?
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Wiresolver - stick/stop on collision
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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EnivobThanks - this helps to cheat a bit but the force is still influencing the wires, they still wiggle a bit.
Set the wiresolver2 Tolerance to 0.5.
I will try to build what derrick suggested but this is new ground for me so time will tell.
As far as I understand the Wiresolver is a bit different and doesn't have a built in simple “disable sim” attribute for the points of the wire.
Thank you very much for the tips.
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Crowd and Volume collisions
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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For small crowd I guess it's ok, but I always think about some more extreme cases For example I have a scene with 5000 agents - the VDB generation (which is what the Collision Source does)kills my computer
Thanks for sharing what you did, though.
Thanks for sharing what you did, though.
Edited by Lukas Stolarski - Dec. 5, 2017 08:12:30
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Crowd sim - missing parts in render - random and changing between frames.
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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I've tried it before you posted but didn't succeed. However, now I did it again setting both current layer and collison layer to “default” (I don't need the collision layer anymore, because the sim is done) and on one of the frames it works. I'll set up an overnight render to see how it goes.
Thank you for your swift reply. If there are any other ways, maybe more “proper” ones, I would love to learn about them.
EDIT: It helped a lot but there are some frames that still have clipping geo. I couldn't continue - no more time. I'll try to get back to the project in the future. That's often a problem for me with Houdini - some small things that stop me from using it in fast paced production - usually those things are not mentioned in official videos or the manual (this clipping problem should be stressed somewhere).
Here's another possible solution:
http://forums.odforce.net/topic/32119-crowd-sim-missing-parts-in-render-random-and-changing-between-frames/ [forums.odforce.net]
Thank you for your swift reply. If there are any other ways, maybe more “proper” ones, I would love to learn about them.
EDIT: It helped a lot but there are some frames that still have clipping geo. I couldn't continue - no more time. I'll try to get back to the project in the future. That's often a problem for me with Houdini - some small things that stop me from using it in fast paced production - usually those things are not mentioned in official videos or the manual (this clipping problem should be stressed somewhere).
Here's another possible solution:
http://forums.odforce.net/topic/32119-crowd-sim-missing-parts-in-render-random-and-changing-between-frames/ [forums.odforce.net]
Edited by Lukas Stolarski - Jan. 19, 2018 15:49:24
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Crowd sim - missing parts in render - random and changing between frames.
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Ok, I think that's a good guess Thank you! I put Verbose level to 3 and see the messages:
Procedural generated out of bounds geometry
Actual Box: (-14.1973, -24.3555, 24.4797) - (-10.0625, -17.6432, 30.9894)
Specified Box: (-13.5555, -24.2203, 24.9912) - (-10.8644, -21.4461, 27.9729)
This message is also printed for the smaller agents, which render properly - why is that? I would never guess that New area to me. Especially that the same agents render in different ways - sometimes only the legs, sometimes the torso with the legs. It varies. Shouldn't the bounding box of a given agent always be the same?
If you could elaborate a bit cwhite I would really appreciate that
Edit: Ok, I've read some more here:
http://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/crowds/agents [www.sidefx.com]
In the section about the bounding box it says it will use a collision layer if I have one. I started building one for that agent - but I added collision shapes only to the legs - so I assume this is why the bounding box is usually only in the lower parts, right? But sometimes the whole agent is visible… Shouldn't that be more consistent?
Well - how can I force the bounding box to take the whole agent into consideration. Also the smaller agents give errors - and they have they're whole body set up for collisions… Is it because of the objects attached to their hands?
How can I get rid of the errors?
Can I change agent current layer or influence the bounding box post-sim?
Thank you so much for any tips.
Procedural generated out of bounds geometry
Actual Box: (-14.1973, -24.3555, 24.4797) - (-10.0625, -17.6432, 30.9894)
Specified Box: (-13.5555, -24.2203, 24.9912) - (-10.8644, -21.4461, 27.9729)
This message is also printed for the smaller agents, which render properly - why is that? I would never guess that New area to me. Especially that the same agents render in different ways - sometimes only the legs, sometimes the torso with the legs. It varies. Shouldn't the bounding box of a given agent always be the same?
If you could elaborate a bit cwhite I would really appreciate that
Edit: Ok, I've read some more here:
http://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/crowds/agents [www.sidefx.com]
In the section about the bounding box it says it will use a collision layer if I have one. I started building one for that agent - but I added collision shapes only to the legs - so I assume this is why the bounding box is usually only in the lower parts, right? But sometimes the whole agent is visible… Shouldn't that be more consistent?
Well - how can I force the bounding box to take the whole agent into consideration. Also the smaller agents give errors - and they have they're whole body set up for collisions… Is it because of the objects attached to their hands?
How can I get rid of the errors?
Can I change agent current layer or influence the bounding box post-sim?
Thank you so much for any tips.
Edited by Lukas Stolarski - Dec. 4, 2017 14:47:56
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Crowd sim - missing parts in render - random and changing between frames.
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Hi. I don't know how many people actually go crazy with crowds and render them but after simulation fun, all the flipbooks, there's rendering nightmare. I solved many issues but this just beats me - does anybody know what could be the cause of random parts of the agents disappearing? The smaller ones, knights, are taken from Mixamo and they never flicker, but the bigger ones, baked before and and all that stuff, just go crazy. Some of them are ok the whole time, some of them partially disappear and reappear. I'm out of ideas. They're ok in the viewport.
Some short videos:
I've attached a screenshot.
Is it the scale problem? (they have a scale of 3, with some randomization). But why do we have scale then… I put them in separate network, so after the sim each group is in its own GEO node, because at first it seemed to solve the problem, but no - different frame and it's back again. I've reopened the scene, restarted the computer, rendered several times. I've removed the shader, changed it to simple Principled Shader without any adjustments - nothing helps
Any tips are welcome.
Some short videos:
I've attached a screenshot.
Is it the scale problem? (they have a scale of 3, with some randomization). But why do we have scale then… I put them in separate network, so after the sim each group is in its own GEO node, because at first it seemed to solve the problem, but no - different frame and it's back again. I've reopened the scene, restarted the computer, rendered several times. I've removed the shader, changed it to simple Principled Shader without any adjustments - nothing helps
Any tips are welcome.
Edited by Lukas Stolarski - Dec. 4, 2017 13:42:37
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Wiresolver - stick/stop on collision
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Hello everyone. I got stuck - anybody knows how can I make the Wiresolver disable the points of the wire when they collide with the ground plane (or anything really ). Just stop solving them so they stop moving.
This is a simple scene. There is only a Windforce dop with some noise and downward velocity in Y and the Wiresolver (and ground plane connected to the Static Solver).
With pops we have collision behavior but the wires don't work with pop nodes. Is there any built in functionality for this or does it need code?
Extra question:
When I use gravity and windforce the gravity doesn't work, so I faked it. We cannot mix those forces accepted by Wiresolver with stuff like gravity?
I've tried introducing POP forces as well - with POPsolver connected to Multisolver, together with Wiresolver, but the sim just goes crazy.
I've attached a test scene (I've also added a box to collide with).
This is a simple scene. There is only a Windforce dop with some noise and downward velocity in Y and the Wiresolver (and ground plane connected to the Static Solver).
With pops we have collision behavior but the wires don't work with pop nodes. Is there any built in functionality for this or does it need code?
Extra question:
When I use gravity and windforce the gravity doesn't work, so I faked it. We cannot mix those forces accepted by Wiresolver with stuff like gravity?
I've tried introducing POP forces as well - with POPsolver connected to Multisolver, together with Wiresolver, but the sim just goes crazy.
I've attached a test scene (I've also added a box to collide with).
Edited by Lukas Stolarski - Dec. 4, 2017 13:24:45
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Crowd and Volume collisions
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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I think you have to unpack them, convert them to VDBs and stuff to be able to collide with smoke and fluid sims.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
For generating smoke - there is a way to use the positions from packed geometry (which is what agents are) but I don't know how yet But I've seen some advice somewhere, try googling it.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
For generating smoke - there is a way to use the positions from packed geometry (which is what agents are) but I don't know how yet But I've seen some advice somewhere, try googling it.
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Help with Crowd Avoidence
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Hi. I have a similar problem. I'm sure you've tried changing the Particle Scale Multiplier with the Guide turned on (in Avoidance). Doesn't help in my case - crowd looks worse, becase the space is bigger, but when agents run they still go through each other from time to time.
Have you tried PopSteerSeparate? It helps but doesn't solve the problem completely. You can force it to separate - just click “Force Separation” there. But this way the agents slide when they push each other. Doesn't look good close to camera.
By the way, I was wondering if we're supposed to use Avoidance AND PopSteerSeparate together.
Well, it's blocking my projects. If you ever find a good solution, please share
Have you tried PopSteerSeparate? It helps but doesn't solve the problem completely. You can force it to separate - just click “Force Separation” there. But this way the agents slide when they push each other. Doesn't look good close to camera.
By the way, I was wondering if we're supposed to use Avoidance AND PopSteerSeparate together.
Well, it's blocking my projects. If you ever find a good solution, please share
Edited by Lukas Stolarski - Dec. 4, 2017 13:09:07
Technical Discussion » Render hangs on random frame, doesn't finish
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Hi. Sorry for not comming back immediately - I've found no solution and the project had to be finished in a different way (compositing magic). I've tried rebuilding the scene, making everything simple, different versions of Houdini - it still was randomly freezing
Maybe the problem is gone now in H16.5, with narrow band sim and stuff. If I ever get some time to go back to this I'll check. This was however my first major disappointment with Houdini.
Maybe the problem is gone now in H16.5, with narrow band sim and stuff. If I ever get some time to go back to this I'll check. This was however my first major disappointment with Houdini.
Edited by Lukas Stolarski - Nov. 27, 2017 13:03:02
Houdini Learning Materials » Paper Burn Effect Help
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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I just want to say thank you Jeff (especially that your help was unanswered). I ended up here looking for something else but this is also new for me! Huge respect for the support you're giving. I love your webinars
All the best.
All the best.
Technical Discussion » How to stick geo to simulated wires so it stays with it during simulation
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Hi. You can add PolyWire in Sops, just after you import your sim.
To add stuff to the points, for example small boxes, you can just use Copy SOP.
To make the lines more smooth you can convert to NURBS Curve after importing your sim and then Resample.
After that PolyWire, as mentioned, or in Redshift you can render as strands
This in new stuff for me, just learned it
Also, check the old tutorial from Ari Danesh, at about 1 hour mark:
https://vimeo.com/81414364 [vimeo.com]
Good luck
To add stuff to the points, for example small boxes, you can just use Copy SOP.
To make the lines more smooth you can convert to NURBS Curve after importing your sim and then Resample.
After that PolyWire, as mentioned, or in Redshift you can render as strands
This in new stuff for me, just learned it
Also, check the old tutorial from Ari Danesh, at about 1 hour mark:
https://vimeo.com/81414364 [vimeo.com]
Good luck
Technical Discussion » Crashing in 16.5 using Crowd sim - cannot re-open hip file!
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Just a warning, maybe somebody will have a similar issue: in my case showing Material Stylesheets in viewport, which is on by default, crashes Houdini as well. You open a scene and it immediately crashes. It was tricky to figure out because it didn't crash when I added the stuff - only after reopening. Maybe it started after attaching textures, it was ok at the beginning, with simple colors and stuff. The solution (workaround really) is to open Houdini first, disable material display and, for safety, change to wireframe mode and then open the scene.
This, however, is happening in H16 Indie. Haven't checked H16.5 yet (I'm in a middle of a project).
This, however, is happening in H16 Indie. Haven't checked H16.5 yet (I'm in a middle of a project).
Edited by Lukas Stolarski - Nov. 23, 2017 12:22:17
Technical Discussion » Fur Sticks to Collision Object
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Well, I was wondering about something reverse - how to make Wires stick to a surface, stop moving, being influenced by forces, etc? Lets say I have falling wires, like single strands of hair. They hit the ground and collide with it, no problem, but they keep moving, are still being influenced by vector field. How can one stop them? With POPs there is collision behavior, but here I'm stuck…
Technical Discussion » Import - fracture dop - export - wheres my uv's?
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Have you checked importing the Alembic back into Houdini to check if UVs are there? I'm going through a similar problem now but in 3dsmax. One tip: when you import back into Houdini through Alembic SOP the vertex attributes (where UVs are stored) in the Geometry Spreadsheet probably will still be missing (because of that I wasted like an hour) - you have to Unpack it first! I can see all my attributes comming back, but I don't have any idea how to “unpack” in 3dsmax so it sees the UVs. Going insane here…
Technical Discussion » Render hangs on random frame, doesn't finish
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Hi everyone. For me the problem still remains. I'm using Guided Ocean Layer in Houdini Indie and after many days of setting up the details, sims, etc. I'm stuck (or extremely slowed down) in the rendering stage because I have to babysit the render. Impossible to leave it for the night or whatever - it gets stuck on a random frame. When I run it again from that frame there are no problems. When I run it from the beginning it freezes on a different frame - no repetitive stuff.
I've tried disabling other layers (interior, boat, whitewater etc), just leaving the extended ocean. I've changed dicing, I've disabled and enabled “Add Bump to Ray Traced Displacements”. When I set Verbose to the max (5) I understand I see all the details, well it gets stuck on stuff like this:
" Creating geometry (/obj/guidedoceanlayer_fluid_extended)
Rendering: X(47, 62) Y(351, 359)
Rendering: X(63, 78) Y(351, 359)
Creating displaced geometry (/obj/guidedoceanlayer_fluid_extended)
Rendering: X(79, 94) Y(351, 359)
Rendering: X(95, 110) Y(351, 359)
Rendering: X(111, 126) Y(351, 359)"
Random frame every time. I think it's a bug, because I've tried to simplify stuff back to the basic shelf tool setup. Or maybe it's because my waves are bigger that usual? The geometry says it would need dicing set up to 24. But why the problem always occurs on a different frame?
I've checked on Houdini Indie 16.0.633 and 16.0.736. Same thing.
Thanks for any tips.
I've tried disabling other layers (interior, boat, whitewater etc), just leaving the extended ocean. I've changed dicing, I've disabled and enabled “Add Bump to Ray Traced Displacements”. When I set Verbose to the max (5) I understand I see all the details, well it gets stuck on stuff like this:
" Creating geometry (/obj/guidedoceanlayer_fluid_extended)
Rendering: X(47, 62) Y(351, 359)
Rendering: X(63, 78) Y(351, 359)
Creating displaced geometry (/obj/guidedoceanlayer_fluid_extended)
Rendering: X(79, 94) Y(351, 359)
Rendering: X(95, 110) Y(351, 359)
Rendering: X(111, 126) Y(351, 359)"
Random frame every time. I think it's a bug, because I've tried to simplify stuff back to the basic shelf tool setup. Or maybe it's because my waves are bigger that usual? The geometry says it would need dicing set up to 24. But why the problem always occurs on a different frame?
I've checked on Houdini Indie 16.0.633 and 16.0.736. Same thing.
Thanks for any tips.
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Crowd fur simulation
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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edwardThank you so much! Sorry for replying so late Edward but I've missed your response.
You need to use the clip named “mixamo.com” from Mixamo FBX files because that's what they name the animation. The problem is that I can't find a way to put multiple clips into the same FBX file so it's a bit tedious to fix the fact that all the animation clips are named “mixamo.com”. So I think one might need to manually use the Agent ROP to bake out the agent and then rename the clip files on disk to something meaningful.
I really aprreciate the pictures!
Technical Discussion » Style sheets and agents
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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Hi Winkel - have you managed to figure this out? I still haven't started to use the agent layers (that's the layer type you're referring to, right?), but the problem will come up eventually
The only help I can give is the stuff I've put in the .pdf file several post above.
I haven't been playing with Houdini from some time but now I'm comming back and also trying to figure out how to do limb detachment. But that's another story
The only info I have is this: www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/crowds/ragdoll#detaching-limbs-advanced
But I don't have any idea how to use the layers so that the skin doesn't stretch etc.
The only help I can give is the stuff I've put in the .pdf file several post above.
I haven't been playing with Houdini from some time but now I'm comming back and also trying to figure out how to do limb detachment. But that's another story
The only info I have is this: www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/crowds/ragdoll#detaching-limbs-advanced
But I don't have any idea how to use the layers so that the skin doesn't stretch etc.
Houdini Indie and Apprentice » Crowd fur simulation
- Lukas Stolarski
- 35 posts
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tomtm
I have another question concerning crowds. What is the new FBX feature with crowds, I can't see in 15.5 any difference to 15.0 Version…
I was thinking about starting a new thread about it, but I didn't It's in the agent SOP (I've attached a screenshot) but I don't know how are we supposed to use it. If you e.g. put a path to a character exported from lets say Mixamo it still doesn't work - there are no clip names in the FBX so what should we put there?
No clue. I hope help files will improve on that topic.
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