Hi Guys,
I'd like to import a spiders crowd simulation inside Unreal. Do you have any tip for a workflow to follow to make it readable by the engine?

Thx =]

I explain myself clearer, my question is if there's a way to make a crowd simulation inside Houdini and then export it baked as FBX inside Unreal. A solution I can think of is to export each agent as a single bone with its animation cached inside the FBX, but I don't know exactly how to achive that..

Maybe you guys have a better way to do it…?

Thank you

I am far from an expert on the topic, but you could:
1. Export one full bone rig via FBX. (And import it into Unreal.)
2. (Batch) export the animation of each actor separately via FBX. (And import those as separate animations into Unreal.)
3. Create each actor in Unreal based on the same rig. Possibly randomize the looks of your actors in Unreal by hand or via blueprints.
4. Assign each animation to each actor. And make them animate.

At least, that's how I would approach it. I wouldnt be surprised if it could be achieved much easier. For example, you could try making a digital asset out of your baked sim and just importing it via Houdini Engine.

Hi DASD,
thank you for you answer. The digital asset way would be cool, but how would you “play” the baked simulation through it? I mean, Is there a way to get access to a DA parameter through the sequencer or matinee and animate it on a timeline so you can make it work runtime?

Thx a lot =]

If you can wait for 4.13 there will be alembic support. I'm not sure how it will work in practice though.

Alembic will be your best bet in the short to medium term, at least. Houdini Engine does not run at runtime because that would require shipping all of Houdini with your game. Even if you did change parameters in the Editor's sequencer, none of that will work once you compile and package your game at the moment.

Thank you for the info and advice =]

For runtime, your best bet would currently be to implement it entirely in blueprints or C++. And basically treat them like normal AI enemies. Implement them as a character with its own animation tree and create variations of it by using blueprints.

man… I look forward to alembic in unreal though…