Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 12, 2019. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
New release for Houdini from SideFX: version 17.5 is now available and has several new feetures in store…
Houdini 17.5 New Features
Alongside changes to existing features (Vellum, viewport and more), SideFX has focused Houdini 17.5 primarily on the new “Procedural Dependency Graphs” – “PDG” for short. This new technology is available in the upcoming version of Houdini 17.5 as a new Houdini context called TOPs (Task Operators) and as a standalone application, PilotPDG.
PDG: Procedural Dependency Graphs
With Task Operator nodes (TOPS), the new PDG API makes it possible to define complex dependencies between different tasks in a project. SideFX gave a detailed presentation about this at its launch event last week:
PDG: Visual Task Management System
In the Houdini user interface, the respective connected tasks are displayed as a grid in the TOP context – one point for each task (“Work Item”). Color markings provide information about the status and duration of the operations. This makes it possible to quickly analyze where there are problems or excessively long calculations. You can also display associated assets directly in a preview. The many areas of application shown in the presentation include improved render management, rapid creation of asset variations, lookdev and much more.
PDG as a Pipeline Tool
Alongside its use as “ROPs 2.0” for fast simulation and rendering, as well as a general Houdini task manager, PDG also targets entire pipeline aspects. Users can also create dependencies between Houdini and other software tools. Alongside TOPs for integration with tools such as HQueue, Deadline, Tractor and Shotgun, PDG can also be used to copy, download and zip files or process various data (SQL, CSV, JSON, XML). Nodes for integration with Substance tools and Photoshop already exist, although these are currently still in beta. Support for custom tools is supposed to be easy for users to implement. You can find more information here.
Further Features
Apart from PDG and Vellum, SideFX has also tackled several other features, including:
- GPU-accelerated volumes in the viewport (up to 3x faster preview)
- Vellum improvements – per-point friction attribute, stiffness drop-off control and more
- Heightfield Alpha cutouts
- Principled Shader consistency between the 3D viewport, Mantra and other software (such as Unreal Engine)
- Material-based destruction
- Distributed FLIP for white water and narrow band solvers
- Measure SOP 2.0
- Selections via pattern face selection via normal
You can find a short presentation of these new features in the launch video from 1:28:00:
Update Availability
Edit 13.03: Houdini 17.5 has now been officially released by SideFX
The 17.5 update is now available on the SideFX website for Windows, Mac and Linux. In the new documentation, you can find all the feature details for the new release! For a feature comparison of the different packages (Indie, Core, FX and Apprentice), you can view this table.
