Thanks for sharing. It's useful to see where you see issues.
> I miss the "sort array with key"
You need two nodes: "Array Arg Sort", and "Array Reorder". Use the Array
Arg Sort to sort your "key" value and produce indices, which you then
feed to the "Array Reorder". Maybe that's the first Softimage ICE HDA
someone could make. Just encapsulate these two to become a "Sort Array
by Key" node.
I think a lot of problems with learning Houdini is the complexity and
the overwhelming feeling of "great, I can do anything, but where the
heck do I start". Much of which is over the linquistical issues like,
for example, the disconnectivity between slightly obscure naming of
nodes and what they actually do. I wouldn't mind betting that if people
start putting together Softimage->Houdini digital assets, the first
noticeable thing will be the Softimage style names that are used!
Maybe learning Houdini is a similar process to learning a foreign
language? Takes a while to get fluent.
A
On 29/03/2017 14:33, Olivier Jeannel wrote:
I'm not comfident enough to tell, and I can only speak for vop (not vex).
Having to build a for each loop set of nodes, well it took me time to
figure (in fact Mikael tut was the answer)
Having to work with per prim vertex array seems to be a limitation
when coming to sort those vertex.
I have overal sorting issues : it's ok to sort ptnum but an arbitrary
integer attribute I'm not sure I can.
I wish there was more example (in vop) of array building and sorting.
I miss the "sort array with key"
I'm just starting with arrays in H but I find it over complicated.
On Wednesday, March 29, 2017, Andy Nicholas <a...@andynicholas.com
<mailto:a...@andynicholas.com>> wrote:
Heh! Flattery will get you everywhere ;)
Yes, they make sense in both packages to me, and you have the
added benefit of being able to see the arrays directly in Houdini
using the Geometry Spreadsheet, rather than turning on the
visualisation in Softimage and have them disappearing off the top
of the screen. You can do Python style array slicing in VEX too
which is awesomely useful.
Anyway, that's why I wanted to ask Olivier an honest question to
try and understand where Houdini is lacking. Maybe I'm too close
to it to see the issues.
A
On 29/03/2017 13:06, Jordi Bares wrote:
I was wondering if using arrays in Houdini makes as much sense as
in Softimage… Andy??? You are the expert here.
jb
On 29 Mar 2017, at 10:57, Andy Nicholas <a...@andynicholas.com
<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','a...@andynicholas.com');>> wrote:
Hi Olivier, where do you see the biggest difference with ICE
arrays and Houdini arrays? In both you have ways of adding,
removing, sorting, etc. elements in the array in whatever
context you're in, no?
A
On 29/03/2017 09:48, Olivier Jeannel wrote:
An example of something we own as ice user :
One of the first thing I replicated was the Modulate by Volume.
When I arrived on Houdini and saw all those tutorial with
people using the Attribute transfer, I tried to use it myself
and was horrified : I found it slow and not precize.
Nobody was using a UV location + dotproduct method, and imho
that's by far the most efficient method.
The hardest thinking was "how should I wire it in Houdini way
of working ?". I came up with one Vop HDA, and one SOP HDA
(which is simply the vop compounded).
The great "plus" with Houdini, is that it's able to transfer
values of any context (point, prim, you name it, ..)
I'll try to record something.
I think there's a large place for improvement in H for
everything that concerns arrays. In ice, there was a lot of
things to do with arrays , hence the speed. And the ice tools
were super efficient for that. In Houdini, there's a kind of
"thinking" that as VOP by nature is looping through points it
is an "enough" solution.
Well, "maybe" but it's so criptic that unless you're a
vex/C/python programmer I find it very time consumming to
understand. Plus there are no doc samples or tut, a part from
the one from Mikael Perterssen
http://shortandsweet3d.blogspot.fr/
<http://shortandsweet3d.blogspot.fr/>. That makes me wonder if
other people really consider or understand this.
Also, if you compare Peter Quint and Mikael way to deal with
States, hell, I'm 200% on the ice method.
2017-03-28 20:39 GMT+02:00 Olivier Jeannel
<facialdel...@gmail.com
<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','facialdel...@gmail.com');>>:
I'm a morron, but I'd love to have exclusive pure Ice
minded HDA library.
2017-03-28 20:29 GMT+02:00 Rob Chapman
<tekano....@gmail.com
<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','tekano....@gmail.com');>>:
Thought I'd pipe in since tekano got invoked, also
slowly attemting to transition and agree with most
already said and thanks, is already a huge pointer to
as yet unknown aspects and features of how complex
houdini is.
also would be interested in a more 'compounded' way of
learning Houdini like ice was introduced. Everything a
compound node of nested compound logic with exact same
UI logic and Core nodes and complexity under the hood
but still accessable in a single click and an 'easy for
artists' ability to follow the logic flow into further
nested compounds and see how it was made. Not so with
houdini yet 😎 open one compound and is equivalent to
inside of the neighborhood telephone junction box. Part
of the enjoyment, for me, was building own logic and
then seeing the contrast of the 'Softimage' way, and
for sure, if you are building something fairly complex
requiring macro detailed interactions with something of
a much larger scale, eg characters running through a
several fields of flowers, then somethings can be
improved or optimised from the off the shelf examples.
Otherwise prepare for big data and long iteration
times. It seems covering all bases like the 'houdini'
way is fine for examples and base setup but not so in
more complicated tasks is better to be good at
understanding which bits to leave out. 😀 or be able
rapidly prototype your own. I think like Mr Bolland has
done and Pooby is asking for is these intermediate
compounds between that Softimage bought with it to help
us poor artists out 😂
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