Houdini Apprentice HD Now Available!

Submit your own resources!

Todd Pickens   (Jun 12, 2008 at 17:52 GMT)

That is Awesome! good job.

Julian R   (Jun 12, 2008 at 18:02 GMT)

Nice!

Joseph Greenawalt   (Jun 12, 2008 at 18:15 GMT)

Looks fantastic, great work guys :-)

I've got a quick licensing question. From the Houdini Apprentice HD EULA:

Quote:

---

2. RESTRICTIONS ON USE. You agree that you will not: (a) copy The Software except that you may make one copy of The Software solely for backup purposes; (b) copy any of the written materials for any purpose; (c) assign this Agreement or transfer, lease, export or grant a sublicense of The Software or the license contained herein to any other party unless authorized by the Licensor in writing; (d) reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble The Software; (e) use The Software except as authorized herein; (f) permit third parties to use The Software in any way that would constitute breach of this Agreement; (g) use the software for other than non-commercial uses; (h) disassemble, modify, or reverse engineer the Houdini Apprentice Edition file format; and (i) convert Apprentice Edition files to a Commercial (non-Apprentice Edition) file format.

Non-commercial uses are those that don't involve paid work (i.e. compensation) or work for commercial purposes. You are permitted to use this software for learning, creating content for demo reels, participating in animation contests, game asset creation, and entering the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theatre. You are not permitted to profit from work done with the Houdini Apprentice HD Edition, with the sole exception being game assets exported to the Torque Game Engine are covered under the terms of the Torque Game Engine INDIE End User License Agreement.

---

(emphasis added)

Just to clarify, does the license for the $99 apprentice version permit you to use the models commercially (in a released game, for sale)? The wording seems a bit contradictory, but it seems that the $99 dollar version is all that's needed, correct?

Julian R   (Jun 12, 2008 at 18:26 GMT)

The EULA contradicts what is on their own website, but looks like an exclusive deal for Torque Indie Developers which is great. From what I can tell... As long as you export to Torque DTS you can sell the packs and use them in games you sell. But yes, clarification for peace of mind would be great! :)

Derek Bronson   (Jun 12, 2008 at 19:09 GMT)

Hey guys. This deal will only allow you to use the models commercially if they are in the .dts format whether it be for a content pack or in a game. If you would like to create a content pack using Houdini that features models in other file formats other than DTS you are going to have to upgrade to Houdini Escape. Hope that answers what you were looking for.

Joseph Greenawalt   (Jun 12, 2008 at 19:28 GMT)

Thanks Derek, that answers my question. Sounds like a pretty good deal for people who are looking for a powerful and easy 3d modeling program and aren't willing to part with the soul-wrenching amount of money needed to purchase a 3dsmax license :-)

Dave Young   (Jun 12, 2008 at 19:50 GMT)

I think Rex should also be recognized here, he put massive amounts of time into testing and insight into what was needed for the exporter, working closely with Chris :) Great stuff, cool tool!

Derek Bronson   (Jun 12, 2008 at 20:25 GMT)

My bad. Rex certainly does need a huge amount of recognition as he has poured tons of hours into helping Chris form the exporter into what you see. He has done a large amount of testing, given great feedback and been an overall pleasure to work with. Please forgive me Rex for not addressing your efforts sooner.

Chris Robertson   (Jun 12, 2008 at 20:33 GMT)

Quote:

---

I think Rex should also be recognized here

---

I'd second that. Rex's testing and feedback was invaluable, and he has had a huge impact on the quality of the tool.
Edited on Jun 12, 2008 20:40 GMT

Logan Foster   (Jun 12, 2008 at 21:28 GMT)

So out of curiousity, what makes this the "Best" DTS exporter for Torque?

Tom Eastman (Eastbeast314)   (Jun 12, 2008 at 21:37 GMT)

This is a really great step for the future of Torque.
Good to see!

eb   (Jun 12, 2008 at 23:33 GMT)

I am with L Foster on this...

Gimmick/Fact ?
""This is the best exporter currently available for Torque.""


This should really be explained.

Joseph Greenawalt   (Jun 13, 2008 at 00:03 GMT)

Here's proof:

Tom Eastman (Eastbeast314)   (Jun 13, 2008 at 00:19 GMT)

Guess that clears it up ;)

jydog   (Jun 13, 2008 at 01:21 GMT)

One spot ( the education one ) on the Side Effects site states the $99 Apprentice HD is an annual fee.

I trust it is perpetual from GG right?

James Brad Barnette   (Jun 13, 2008 at 03:04 GMT)

on their website it says that you license is valid for the version that you purchased but you have to pay for upgrades.

For instance if you go right now to the site Apprentice HD is 99 and it is based on the 9.1.xxx version of Houdini. but if you click that you want the 9.5 it is a additional $69 upgrade fee. I. not sure but I think that this only applies to full point and half point releases but I'm not positive.

Secondly I'm not sure what this line the best exporter means either. What about Those of us that do have the more expensive packages like Maya, max, and XSI? How come we are being completely ignored it seems? Are we expected to all toss out the thousands we have spent on our softwares that are our core business applications "for some of us" and adopt Houdini? I have been using Maya for a little over 10 years and Alias before that. I'm not gonna change applications now.

the state of the rest of the exporters is pretty damn embarrassing to be honest with you. It should not be the end users job to build their own tools but especially in the case of Maya this is the case. and users are forced to tool the forums to even find. not to mention that it is usually around 6 months before an exporter is available after a new version of the application comes out.

for instance look at this page:
www.garagegames.com/developer/torque/artist/

That is not even the TDN that is the main website. Maya 7 was almost 4 years ago!

the TDN was finally updated with the current ones last year but if you are not a license holder" and many of the indie artist are not though they may be one a team that is. Regardless they don't have access to the TDN.

Not to mention that all of the documentation is on a users website. I hope he doesn't decide to take it down or not renew his domain or something.


AND...... XSI which is one of the finest character animation packages and has users that have been crying out for an exporter have been getting even more neglect. Softimage give the mod tool free for commercial use. and has a far sweeter deal of having the foundation available for only $495 not the $2k that SideFX wants you to pay for Houdini Escape


And...... 3DSmax wish grated is the most expensive package of them all to get started with exporters are almost impossible to find on TDN that above mentioned page has a version that is 2 versions now out of date....

As for Houdini's pedigee:

Quote:

---

Established in 1987 Side Effects has been an industry leader in 3D animation and digital effects for film. Houdini has been used in more than 5000 shots and in over 200 feature films, including blockbusters like Transformers, Spider-Man 3 and Beowulf. Chances are, if you are seeing awesome digital effects, Houdini is behind it.

---

well your statement is pretty misleading at best.

99% over all of the CG shots in those movies were rendered in Renderman. Which Houdini has great support for. But was and always has been done for these moves for the most part is the dynamics. The CG liquids, smoke and gases and things of that nature.

When it comes to things like character animation "Something that is actually useful for game designers" Houdini is not even thought of most of the time. Houdini is know as the package that you use for doing dynamics and explosions and things of that nature.

I know for a fact that everything in both Spider-man and Transformers that had to do with any character was done in Maya. Then ALL of it was rendered in Renderman. Every single robot in Transformers and most every other 3D object was modeled and animated in Maya.

As for Beowulf I cannot really comment as I don't know anyone that worked on that one. I have glanced at some web stories about Houdini being used but I cannot really comment on it as I do not know first hand.

Don't get me wrong Houdini is a amazing package and if you are new to 3D and short on cash well then it is prolly best choice to you since GG seem to be doing anything for XSI which would be even better for you and your cash strapped team. But then again I bet if GG was getting a cut for selling you mod tool instead of giving it away for free, there would be a fully functional exporter tomorrow. XSI and Maya are both much more well know for their modeling and animation capabilities than Houdini. Having tried them both I have to say that the work flow of Houdini doesn't even hold a candle Maya or XSI when it comes to modeling or character animation. If you want to do some dynamics effects shots the Houdini HD is the tool for you. But I'm pretty sure we are all here to make games not movies.

Well GG, what is the deal so is this it? is this the way it is going to be? Personally I hope not I think that the customers of GG have been very loyal and patient for a very long time.

honestly I know that for my self if it was very well done and kept up to date "by that I mean that when I new version of Maya or XSI comes out within a week or two there is an updated exporter." I would be will to pay a few bucks for a "PRO" exporter. I f that is what it is going to take. I don't feel that we should have to do this but that seems to be what it take to get things out of GG.

Don Leuenberger   (Jun 13, 2008 at 03:12 GMT)   Resource Rating: 5

Joseph's feature chart has almost sold me. But is there any chance a demo will be available with the exporter? I realize I can download a demo of Houdini itself from Side Effects but it would be nice to see how the exporter actually works too. If nothing else, maybe some nice youtube videos of exporting various objects (static, sequences, etc.)

I'm also hoping, as someone who has already invested time and cash in other tools (XSI), that there is more in store for us too. I'm reluctant to switch from something I already know and own to yet another unknown tool. If I'm going to do that learning curve thing again I might as well spend effort learning Blender better which costs $0.

Derek Bronson   (Jun 13, 2008 at 03:23 GMT)

@L Foster - Here is why I consider the Houdini exporter to be the best exporter currently available for Torque:

1. Probably the most feature complete exporter currently available. From the DTS Exporter comparison table (tdn.garagegames.com/wiki/DTS/FeatureChart), the only features not supported by the Houdini exporter are:
- Decals (not supported in TGE anyway)
- Bump Maps (not supported in TGE anyway)
- Windows only for now (HD runs on linux and is coming to the Mac, the exporter source is portable to both platforms)

2. GUI based approach to scene exporting. The old Base01->Start01 hierarchy and meta-nodes for LOD markers, sequences and other DTS specific features are no longer required. Nor do you need to add tags to the node names (BB::, LOSCol etc). Everything can be managed from the Torque exporter GUI.

3. The DTSMaterial node in Houdini allows IFL sequences to be loaded, edited, saved and viewed all from within the application

4. Useful actions on export:
- generate a single DSQ file with all animations, or a separate DSQ file for each animation
- auto-generate the TorqueScript file to load the DSQ animations into a player shape
- auto-copy textures used in the shape to the export directory

Louis Dargin   (Jun 13, 2008 at 03:48 GMT)   Resource Rating: 5

The feature matrix for Houdini Apprentice ( at http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=589&Itemid=221 ) lists "FBX import". Depending on how well it works, that could plug a big hole for users of XSI and Cinema 4D, as a reasonably priced export tool.
Edited on Jun 13, 2008 03:49 GMT

Derek Bronson   (Jun 13, 2008 at 03:59 GMT)

@James - Wow James, what a post. I will do my best to answer your concerns and issues. Your comments are all valid, I won't try to argue that. Trust me, we want Torque to be an artist-friendly tool and we're totally aware that it's been rough at times up to this point. Softimage tools are great and yes, Autodesk stuff is pretty ubiquitous in games at the moment too. We've got guys in our studio using everything from Lightwave to Maya. We're not ignoring those options or free options like Blender at all, but Side Effects offered to work with us to provide a pro-quality tool that's usually quite expensive at a very affordable price and with a nice EULA for the community. They also helped us with the exporter which was nice. We don't expect being a Torque user to mean that Houdini is the only option. We want to support as many as possible. Houdini's no pushover in this realm though. I've seen what it can do and it's definitely handles some very tricky operations with impressive features.

I hope people pick up Houdini and give it a far chance, even if its just the free Apprentice to check out the workflow. But we know people don't just use one art tool or have art tools that they have invested a lot of time in like yourself James. This announcement isn't meant to say that you have to switch to Houdini or else. It's simply to let you know of a new tool that is being made available to indie's to help them make games or to help enhance your workflow. Also, that Side Effects is looking to make their way into game asset creation and are listening to your feedback to create a tool that meets your needs.

Quote:

---

Well GG, what is the deal so is this it? is this the way it is going to be? Personally I hope not I think that the customers of GG have been very loyal and patient for a very long time.

---

I know your frustrated with the lack of support and I know GG artists have been very patient and forgiving. As I mentioned at the end of my blog this is just the beginning of where we are taking the art pipeline and we have much more in store for artists using Torque coming very soon. So James please understand that we are not ignoring you or others like you and we hear you.

@Don - Currently there is no hands-on demo of the exporter. I will see what I can do about getting some video's up that show the exporter and how it works.

Rex   (Jun 13, 2008 at 05:13 GMT)

With the current FBX Import portal, most existing assets can be brought into the HD environment, rigged and ready to animate & export. Collada reading is another 'target' Import option that, I believe, may get some improvement with time. FBX Import is seemingly a high priority and continuous work is being done to improve it, almost daily.

A great amount of effort was put into the ROP[renderOperator]/GUI parameters that take the building of the DTS 'hierarchy' away from the base--start schema. The GUI/parameter Tab has all the needed feature options, with either radio boxes or navigation/browse entry fields for input.

Auto LOD's are generated as well thru the dialog.

Perhaps I'm biased, because of my work involved, but I do think that HD/TorqueROP is the best available, lowcost solution for the formats and this is but one direction GG need to head. I see nothing wrong with attempting to provide as many solutions as possible, at the lowest price point. Derek is to be commended for securing Houdini as a source.

I have at my disposal, several programs that will produce the required formats for this engine. I evaluated Max[~5], and at the price point; it didn't fit my requirements. At the time, I found the Modifier stack to become unstable with moving and rearranging things as I workflowed. I moved on...to other programs. I'm not telling any purchaser of Max that it was a mistake or wrong for them to spend $3500 for DTS/DSQ format output, it[Max] can certainly be used for other 3D graphics projects an artist chooses...so no loss there. I use whatever program necessary[I'm licensed to drive...btw], that will get any particular job done. Perhaps I just enjoy 3D graphics so much; it doesn't matter to me what program I need to learn, to continue doing what I really enjoy!

I try to always keep one eye on the 'future' as it were; to keep just with the bubble of what's possible constrained against what is affordable. I see HD, at the modified EULA, as a very good example of the 'future' of what is affordable/possible.

I think it really boils down to the native platform formats and their constraints of building the DTS shape. Apparently the procedural schema of Houdini is more 'affable' to the DTS build than these other programs, and if so; why not move towards a more harmonious parse? And to visualize your features in the UI, is a priceless.

I was amazed at how complex HD is, and yet; how easy it was for me to work my way thru it towards the production of a DTS shape or animated DTS shape. In practically 1 hour, I had a dancing KORK touched up on the weights and exporting as a dancingFOOL....

James Brad Barnette   (Jun 13, 2008 at 16:32 GMT)

Just out of curiosity has anyone from GG tried to get the the same co-operation from Autodesk "Maya/Max" or Avid "XSI" ? The Softimage Website has many game engine exporter available directly on their website and are Well know for working with game engine developers to make the types of exporters? Autodesk may be a bit harder to get any co-operation out of but Avid/Softimage are well know for giving their support to these types of things.

I just want to say that despite the way it may have come across I'm very happy about the Houdini thing. It will be a blessing to many in this community. It is just not for me. Our studio is all Maya and we have long running maintenance contracts and people that have been using and customizing it for a very long time. And I don't feel like taking animated characters in to another pack and having to redo things just to get them exported to the engine.
Edited on Jun 13, 2008 16:38 GMT

Logan Foster   (Jun 13, 2008 at 17:21 GMT)

@James

It all comes down to which application developers feel that they are desperate enough to want to spend the money on a possible high risk - low reward scenario. Obviously SideEffects are desperate to get their claws into the games market and as such theyre more willing to expend resources on making Torque support as opposed to spending it on their app. This is their choice and while I appauld them for being forward thinking, I personally doubt they will get much from effort in the long run except for some positive PR.

Keep in mind Alias did this with Maya, in fact they were one of the first companies not to tell GG to go somewhere else in regards to getting a free copy of their software in regards to supporting their application. But we all know where Alias is now.

SoftImage in the past has supplied some support to guys like Matt Summers so they are certainly paying attention and giving what I would assess as a proper level of support for the initiative, but until the community reciprocates it more I would guys they will just stick with making their XSI Game Mod for Valve engines to be honest.

Autodesk on the other hand really doesn't need to do much, without breaking any NDAs I know they are doing some things to support the Indie initiative here at GG, though it is certainly the least supportive in comparison to what Side Effects, XSI or others have delivered. With that said Autodesk is spending the most at this time on R&D for 3D development on Max and Maya, so to be brutally honest, I would rather see resources spent on making the core app bigger and better than I would on supporting grass roots projects that like I said have a high risk - low reward payoff.

James Brad Barnette   (Jun 13, 2008 at 17:38 GMT)

ok so there is some support that these other companies are giving to GG at some level? then why are the other export solution in the state that they are in? are things at GG so tight that they cannot afford a couple guys to work on this full time? Max and Maya are prolly 90+% of what is used to make todays video games. GG can't take the time to make sure 90% of the artist int he games industry can have a pleasant experience getting their art in to you engine?

hmm. maybe i am using the wrong engine and have been waisting my money and time with GG.

Benjamin L. Grauer   (Jun 13, 2008 at 19:03 GMT)

Collada Importer, need it quickly.

Logan Foster   (Jun 13, 2008 at 21:38 GMT)

@James

Yes, though I think you are assuming that these companies are giving support as in man power and not just a resource or two (aka think "inside" the box).

I agree that Max and Maya (and even XSI to a lesser extent) should be the big focus for GG to support with their art tools. Sure these tools might be out of reach for the hobbyist indie with a small budget, but they are still used by the majority of the teams that use the engine for their day to day work, and as such rel on it to be feature complete as possible for them to earn a living. Nevermind the fact that these same teams are the ones who are making the games that are truely making people stand up and take notice of Torque.

eb   (Jun 13, 2008 at 22:35 GMT)

no demo, no videos...

...this is falling a bit short 'before the gate even opened' IMO.
- I can't buy anything because someone says it is better.
-> Prove it is a better exporter than the max9 exporter and I will buy.
Edited on Jun 13, 2008 22:37 GMT

jydog   (Jun 14, 2008 at 01:38 GMT)

Is the pictured dragon included in the download to play with / experiment on?

Idelfix125   (Jun 14, 2008 at 12:31 GMT)

So, where is the actual exporter? I installed the HoudiniHD (Version 9.5) but I don't see any usable export option.

Dustin Sims   (Jun 14, 2008 at 14:12 GMT)

@eb & @Idelfix125

Derek metioned that over in the developement snapshot gallery..

Quote:

---

"As far as trial versions there is nothing that includes the exporter. You can however download Houdini Apprentice from www.sidefx.com which is free and everything that HD is except it won't let you render in HD or export to Torque, it is also non-commercial. It will however give you a good idea of what the Houdini workflow is like. I am going to try to get a video up sometime soon that shows the actual export process."

---

I think I would have just one or the other (blog or snapshot) , when it comes to things like this as everyone either has to jump back and forth or just misses something..

I have downloaded the trial and am trying to decide whether I should jump on board. I have been making some decent progress on Blender for a while..
Edited on Jun 14, 2008 14:29 GMT

Robert Magee   (Jun 15, 2008 at 04:39 GMT)

In line with Houdini's node-based workflow, the Torque exporter is implemented as a Render Operator (ROP). Instead of a generic File > Export > torque that would take out the whole scene, you can use the Render Operator to either export the whole scene or pick and choose specific elements. You can also have several different ROPS in a scene exporting different parts.

When you first launch Houdini, you will see the network editor in the lower right. Click on the path bar that says "obj" and from the menu choose "out." Move your cursor down into the network area and press the tab key and then start typing torque. When it shows up select it and the place the node into your scene. That is your exporter. Of course there is more to it that this but at least you know where it is now.

Now in the parameter pane above the network editor, you can find the Torque node's parameters. Click on the ? next to right of the name and the help comes up. In the help there is an "Example Files" tab. click on this and you can open up some Houdini files that show you the exporter in action.

Robert Magee
Product Marketing Manager
Side Effects Software Inc.

Robert Magee   (Jun 15, 2008 at 04:40 GMT)

If you buy Apprentice HD right now you are given a Houdini 9.5 license so that you can help us test the new version. That license will continue to work when the product goes gold. You can also run Houdini 9.1 using your 9.5 license if you wanted to.

The version sold on our site is the same as the GG version.

Robert Magee
Product Marketing Manager
Side Effects Software

You must be a member and be logged in to either append comments or rate this resource.

Home | Products | Solutions | Downloads | Support | Search | About Us
Copyright © GarageGames.com 2000 - 2008 All Rights Reserved