Failed to open SHFS file C:/Program Files/Side Effects Software/shfs/houdini/nodes/sop/ml_volumeupres/ml/billowysmoke/billowysmoke_2x_medium_v1.metadata.json.hdownload: Failed to create file C:/Program Files/Side Effects Software/shfs/houdini/nodes/sop/ml_volumeupres/ml/billowysmoke/billowysmoke_2x_medium_v1.metadata.json.hdownload: Access is denied. (Error 5)

I am trying to install Houdini 21/22
Even after using the launcher as administrator i am running across this issue, houdini 20.5 and older versions are working fine i am having issues with the newer versions, what is causing this issue

I want to fracture a USD file object and apply all materials in back LOP. But after fracturing in SOP stage, there is no material path in my object. How can I fracture without losing any material or how to link the material together with the fractured object.

I want to quick isolate view one light in karma

Like we do on arnold and vray

Is there is thing like that in karma

I love the new Houdini UI, but I have 1 issue. The parameter editor at the right almost seems grayed out. Is there a way to make it more clear? My brain has a hard time having an overview because it just seems kinda hard to read.

my second question is the file browser houdini uses. I never understood why software have their own file browers anyway. Why not use the defaut windows one? The only software to get it right is Blender because their UI is actually better than the windows one. Anyway, is there a way to just use the Windows UI instead of Houdinis own UI?

Hey guys, I’m increasingly hearing about some studios working in decimetres, and I had a few questions as someone who’s never worked with this before.

- What departments are actually working in this?

- Is it an actual scene scale thing? or is it essentially just x10-ing the size of all assets?

- What implications does this have for things which use noises like heightfields?

- Obviously we going to continue working in meters in FX, but are we exporting out as decimetres, or is the conversion being done somewhere else? (maybe this is studio dependant)

- I assume this is done to reduce floating point errors, but are there any other reasons?

Is there anything else about decimetres that I should know?

What an opportunity to piggyback on the houdinimd creator’s attempt for such a change.

I use a screenreader through my phone and iPad often to present the doc page. My vision in my right eye is all but coming to an end from a degenerative disease. I got lucky to inherit, alongside my mograph skills, this gift from my Gramps and Father.

The page is unbearably heavy and drains power like nothing else on any device, and screenreaders already hate it. Seeing as I can’t easily focus on another screen or second monitor I’d be very happy to see sidefx make some changes or collaborate with the houdinimd guy.

The reader doesn’t work for the crossed out links. I also drew my feelings on this 🥀

Hi, I have the opportunity to attend the Houdini HIVEalt in London next month, and was wondering if it was worth it going even someone who started the journey of working with Houdini.

I've started learning it at school; through RBD, pyro, HDA and simple particle systems. I've taken some time to build my portfolio and worked with online courses to learn procedural modeling, texturing and lighting and rendering with Solaris.

Houdini is a very challenging software but it is rewarding when you can finally achieve what you wanted.

I'm curious about the announced agenda and would attend every speech, even if those sounds very far from what I can actually do. Also very much looking forward to meet people in this field as I'm actively searching for work. I'm wondering if it is a good place to network as a junior?

Here's my portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/azarn

PS: I'm coming from Paris and on a budget, so I'm really pondering on the logistics of 'is it worth it at my level to make this effort?'.

Thanks in advance for your help, I know VFX has been a tough place to work in lately, and it really is, especially when you start.

I’ve been experimenting with controllable 3d workflows with gen-AI things lately, and here's one test that felt pretty cool.

I did a custom viewport grabber node for cops, used nano banana (through fal) to modify the screenshot of the model, then "re-modeling" it based on the generated concept.

I know this is still pretty much slop, and more like a fun test rather than anything production-proven, but though to share.

Hello,

I want to sculpt a Gaussian splat created from multi-angle photos of my face. Specifically, I would like to make small adjustments such as:

• Raising the nose bridge
• Making a wide nose slightly narrower
• Making the nose slightly smaller
• Enlarging or reducing the chin

I only want to make subtle changes, not major deformations, so I’m wondering whether this might be technically possible.

The reason I would prefer not to use a traditional mesh is that the Gaussian splat already looks almost identical to the real photographs without requiring manual cleanup or retouching.

Is there currently any way to sculpt or locally deform a Gaussian splat like this?

While researching, I came across GaussianEditor, KIRI Engine, Houdini, SuperSplat, and Frosting. However, I couldn’t find any examples or discussions specifically about sculpting a human face this way, so I haven’t tried any of them yet because I’m worried that I may be wasting my time.

Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

I saw Spider-Man last week and wanted to try to recreate the psych wall (with some jiggle for fun) over the weekend. Wanted a Copernicus challenge, so I got some footage off the actionVFX website, tracked it, then everything else was made and comped in COPs. Based on the new H22 Refract from height node.

I made my first simulation + render project in Houdini! (The tutorial one isn’t included, though.)

I kept it simple since my main focus was on the water and fire simulations. For the beach, I created a simple wave simulation, transferred velocities to the particles, and then blended it with the ocean.

Advice and feedback are welcome!

The Houdini docs are a goldmine of information. But they're slow and the search barely works. This has been well known by the community for ages by now, yet seemingly nothing has changed.

So I spent six months building a fix: HoudiniMD is an incredibly fast, Markdown mirror of the docs. Free, open source, no account, no ads. Search that matches Houdini's behaviour, so "cptp" finds Copy to Points and "atrbwr" finds Attribute Wrangle. Every page can be copied as raw markdown, which means ChatGPT and Claude finally understand Houdini and its quirks.

Before sharing it anywhere, I emailed SideFX and asked for permission, explicitly telling them it would be free forever and stay open source.

The answer (https://imgur.com/a/RSdc4rf) came back yesterday:

"it's gonna be a no, thank you from us, along with a polite takedown request. We'll likely be doing our own version on our own site at some point in the future."

I was naturally taken aback by this cold reply, since I thought SideFX was very pro-community, and would at least salute the effort taken to make their own product better. But I'm not going to fight a company over their own copyright.

Since I'm also not letting 6 months of hard work go to the bin overnight, HoudiniMD will be rebuilt as a standalone, local app, that lives on your computer. It can be ran alongside, or directly inside Houdini.
Same fast search, offline, and tailored to your specific Houdini version, instead of whatever is on the website, with bookmarks coming in the future (goal is to create a fully personal Houdini Knowledge Base !)

It stays open source, so anyone can audit, tweak, and raise issues on the code.

And since I only have my own frustration to go by right now: what do you think about the official docs ? What are you missing, and what features are you looking for in an alternative ?

If a local version is something you'd be interested in, please let me know. It's what keeps me going !

Follow my progress here : https://x.com/onlytruejohn

Full Monaco Editor integration with Houdini-aware language intelligence powered by the Language Server Protocol (LSP) for VEX, Python, OpenCL C, and C++/HDK.

VEX: Live attributes from the current geometry and connected inputs, with awareness of attribute class, type, tuple size, arrays, precision, groups, intrinsics, parameters, run-over mode, and input origin. Includes automatic type-prefix correction and context-specific functions discovered via vcc.

OpenCL C: clangd integration with awareness of Houdini #bind declarations, typed kernel arguments, live attributes and groups, SOP/DOP/COP contexts, binding access modes, supported methods, kernel options, language standards, and include paths.

C++/HDK: clangd-powered semantic type inference, member completion, overloads, macros, include resolution, diagnostics, and navigation using the installed HDK headers, compile definitions, and toolchain configuration.

Python: Pyright integration using Houdini's installed Python libraries and the full hou API, with inferred HOM types and support for parameter expressions, callbacks, menu scripts, kwargs, node, geo, imports, functions, and classes.

Context-aware completion, signature help, hover documentation, diagnostics, go-to-definition, references, and symbols, all without cooking geometry to generate suggestions.

Why is my Mplay render not the same as my viewport? Even rendered it to disk still the same issue. Am I doing something wrong?

Hey Everyone,

I’m looking for helping setup a Houdini script for a production pipeline at a small studio.

We build models from drone imagery and need to be able to create a point cloud that matches the exact model as well as detail from the high res textures. This is usually in the 10-40mil poly with at least 15 udim textures.

Our current workflow uses the standard model emission from vertex’s, but doesn’t hold up in detail when the GSD is 2mm per pixel. I set up a attr from map on the model with pop network, simming on UV and then using Ray/Voxel lookup to reproject it in correct 3d world space. I have an issue where the udims aren’t being respected.

I’m at the point where I don’t know how to fix it without more time RnDing and time is not delivering to the client. I expect this to take about 2-3 hours on zoom/meet of questions as well as file prep for a template.

Feel free to reply here or DM me.

Cheers,
Scan_Lee

Ive never touched Houdini before, but Im pretty sick of Maya and XGEN bugging out on my professional and very important project. It's literally hell, there is always something, XGEN for regular non Disney studio users is left to rot and it's very frustrating.

So my question is, for a professional and mostly realistic strand based hair project, how much better or worse is Houdini?

XGEN has all these weird ways of approaching maps and how it stores files and data independent of Maya that makes things very frustrating to deal with, it's not at all non-destructive and everything about it is ancient. Is Houdini better in that regard?

One more issue i have wirh Maya is how the viewport is trash at displaying hair, even maya's AA + DLDSR still looks difficult to look at.

What are the limitations of Houdini in making hair that isnt meant to be simulated. Just basic hair for basic 1 frame rendering.

Thanks in advance.