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These days you need to speed up content creation process for games.
tsiwt
Obviously SideFX needs to revamp its U.I/U.X I have to jump between so many windows just to render. This is absurd. Material assignment and the material interface is such a drag visually. Parameter windows needs better organization not everything on the same hierarchy. Just making some text bolder than other to differentiate the operations can go a long way. What if you hover over a node and there is another icon that if you click it gives you an example of how to use that node in a small window.
These are things at the top of my head, what if improving houdini was my job? hummm.
SIgor420
As we are discussing UI here maybe it would be better to create separate topic and pitch ideas there? Here it's hard to follow and the topic is not meant to discuss UI!
eikonoklastes
Houdini's UI is mostly fine. It's extremely functional and quite versatile. They can tweak, but no overhaul is needed imo.
The only thing I'd really want to see is the ability to easily dock panels that span across the full width of the UI. Since the current paradigm is to split existing panels first and then assign the type, it makes it impossible to create a new panel that spans across without rebuilding an entirely new set with that layout in mind.
This is what I'm referring to:
sekowHot damn! That's a pretty remarkable bit of condescension on a professional forum. You seem really comfortable behind that veil of online anonymity. But let's move on from that.
this took me under 10 seconds to do...A bit of effort will take one a long way
eikonoklastessekow
The current method is to copy the node, drop down an Object Merge, and then paste the path as text in the Object parameter - something that takes about 2-3 seconds to execute. However, a SideFX staff member acknowledged that the proposal would make a good RFE and encouraged us to submit it as such.
Jonathan de BlokI think we can all agree that this applies to anything Houdini, in general.
Once you're up to speed on these things it will take about 10 minutes to make.. first tool will involve crying in a corner for a few hours but after that it will go faster and faster.
eikonoklastes+100 for that one!!!
Ultimately, I want Houdini to be an easier app to work with, shed its "you need a PhD to work it" perception, attract more users, grow in popularity, and eventually be The One App That Does it All. Is that too much to ask? Maybe with H20...
osong
complicated things are much easier in Houdini than elsewhere. working with attributes (as an example) directly in other DCCs is gonna change your perception fast
Jonathan de Blokeikonoklastessekow
The current method is to copy the node, drop down an Object Merge, and then paste the path as text in the Object parameter - something that takes about 2-3 seconds to execute. However, a SideFX staff member acknowledged that the proposal would make a good RFE and encouraged us to submit it as such.
The correct way for doing this is writing a few lines of Python![]()
eikonoklastesCareful what you wish for. Looking at Autodesk's offerings I get the impression that the popularity of an application is inversely related to its feature set evolution.
Ultimately, I want Houdini to be an easier app to work with, shed its "you need a PhD to work it" perception, attract more users, grow in popularity, and eventually be The One App That Does it All.
Jonathan de BlokBuddy, just because you loved it, enjoyed it, and so on, doesn't mean everyone else will. I don't want to be a programmer, I don't want to suffer for days searching for solutions and then to realize I missed one letter in the code and that's why things didn't work. I want to be an artist that can do cool stuff without ever touching the code. If I wanted to a programmer, I would go to programming school. If Houdini wants to be an artist-friendly software, then programming should be left for geeks and technical artists, and should not force anyone into it. As much as I respect programming as a calling, I simply don't want to do it, it's still a pain for me and I don't enjoy it. Luckily for me, I still find Houdini very enjoyable to work with because we can do a lot even now without any kind of Vex or Vops. I am sure things are going to get only better for those seeking simplicity over tehnicalitiies.
Ok, maybe they were idiotsAll I'm saying is that there is a subtle cost by making things more accessible.
I gained a much deeper understanding of Houdini because I actually had to write a lot of tools myself, discovering a lot of stuff while going through API docs or even hacking stuff beyond the api. And looking back the most rewarding and enjoyable jobs I did are those involving both epic technical and artistic challenges, growing both skill sets in the process.
It a balancing act between challenging the users vs scaring them away.. Just like in videogames, no feel of achievement makes a project quite boring.