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Houdini 14 sneak peek


ajz3d
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awesome! time to start learning houdini :D

Yeah. I already installed Houdini Apprentice just after Houdini Indie was announced, but I found it had no 3dconnexion device support, and it's the only 3D app without it...and on their forums, they could care less. Strange. For me to give that up in an app I would use most all day most every day (if I switched from 3ds Max, which I've been tempted to do, because of Autodesk's recent pricing policy changes and paltry updates), would be like giving up my Wacom tablet to work in Photoshop.

 

Once you start using one, you don't want to give it up. It's not a matter of preference, either. It really does shave a lot of time out of one's work day. Why/how? Cause we navigate about our scene hundreds if not thousands of times per day. Having to STOP to navigate with the same stylus/mouse you use to work, then resume your work, amounts to an hour or so each day of wasted time. All you have to do is a little simple math....how many times do you stop to navigate in your scene, per minute? Multiply the time it typically takes before you can resume working on the model (2-3 sec) by the number in a minute x minutes in the hour x hours you work in a day = time wasted....just navigating about your scene.

 

A 3dconnexion device lets you navigate WHILE you move your cursor into place to continue working. This is why it's so addictive, once you start using one. Your mind senses it's wasting time and energy. I don't understand why software companies just blow this off. It's not an expensive toy. Until SideFX can get with the program, like all other 3D apps have, I'm not fooling with it.

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i user a razer naga with 12 buttons as my mouse, and my other hand is on the keyboard using shortcuts.

 

for painting i guess i can see how this would be nifty, but i think i'd still miss my shortcuts.

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Most of the time you spend in Houdini is on piping nodes, tweaking parameters and (optionally) writing code. For navigating the network viewer, having a support for a 3DConnection device isn't of much help, me thinks. From my experience Houdini isn't a great modelling application, and in this kind of applications and sculpting programs, 3DConnection devices probably shine the most. Houdini has a full set of modelling tools, but the traditional modelling process isn't as streamlined and efficient as it is in dedicated modelling programs (NVil, Silo, 3DS Max, etc.). I've noticed that people are creating their models elsewhere and importing finished work to Houdini for rendering, rigging, animation or simulation. This might be the reason of a low priority for supporting 3DConnection devices - there's simply little need for this kind of navigation in the workflow.

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Most of the time you spend in Houdini is on piping nodes, tweaking parameters and (optionally) writing code. For navigating the network viewer, having a support for a 3DConnection device isn't of much help, me thinks. From my experience Houdini isn't a great modelling application, and in this kind of applications and sculpting programs, 3DConnection devices probably shine the most. Houdini has a full set of modelling tools, but the traditional modelling process isn't as streamlined and efficient as it is in dedicated modelling programs (NVil, Silo, 3DS Max, etc.). I've noticed that people are creating their models elsewhere and importing finished work to Houdini for rendering, rigging, animation or simulation. This might be the reason of a low priority for supporting 3DConnection devices - there's simply little need for this kind of navigation in the workflow.

this is the correct answer. 

 

Houdini is not your ordinary 3d app.

 

Houdini is for insane people.

Edited by L'Ancien Regime
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Most of the time you spend in Houdini is on piping nodes, tweaking parameters and (optionally) writing code. For navigating the network viewer, having a support for a 3DConnection device isn't of much help, me thinks. From my experience Houdini isn't a great modelling application, and in this kind of applications and sculpting programs, 3DConnection devices probably shine the most. Houdini has a full set of modelling tools, but the traditional modelling process isn't as streamlined and efficient as it is in dedicated modelling programs (NVil, Silo, 3DS Max, etc.). I've noticed that people are creating their models elsewhere and importing finished work to Houdini for rendering, rigging, animation or simulation. This might be the reason of a low priority for supporting 3DConnection devices - there's simply little need for this kind of navigation in the workflow.

That's understandable if you are using it almost exclusively for VFX shots....no modeling and no character animation. However, I have read other promoting it's procedural modeling as well, and then the Character Animation tools are already pretty nice, but getting some attention from former XSI developers. So, with that in mind, that type of support would indeed be rather important. It's being sold as a full-fledged 3D app, but those who blow off the need for 3dconnexion device support seem to view it as merely a VFX toolkit and little else.

 

I may just go ahead an buy a seat of Houdini Indie and use it exclusively for that purpose, when I may need some smoke/fire/fluids in a project. Cheaper now than buying the FumeFX or PhoenixFD plugins for 3ds Max.

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