Houdini Roadmap Presentation | SIGGRAPH 2016

[Mathaeus]

If anyone from sidefx is reading this, it would be great if the autorig would also generate a shadowrig that could be used with unity mecanim.

I'd say, if you really want this, perhaps it's best time to start asking them, or on forums. Presentation from first post, shows new bone icons, but same old structure, different than rest of 3d world. Making exactly such task is a way harder to do 'manually' than in SI or Maya. Maybe the best method could be a skeleton created of nulls, to allow matching to Unity bone local axis, connected by 'Object' CHOPs to base skeleton. Anyway I think it's possible to create some more or less universal scripted procedure, so it worth asking.

[jonmoore]

If anyone from sidefx is reading this, it would be great if the autorig would also generate a shadowrig that could be used with unity mecanim.

I'd say, if you really want this, perhaps it's best time to start asking them, or on forums. Presentation from first post, shows new bone icons, but same old structure, different than rest of 3d world. Making exactly such task is a way harder to do 'manually' than in SI or Maya. Maybe the best method could be a skeleton created of nulls, to allow matching to Unity bone local axis, connected by 'Object' CHOPs to base skeleton. Anyway I think it's possible to create some more or less universal scripted procedure, so it worth asking.

Houdini leads in the areas it does because of it's architecture not despite it. The chances of SideFX making changes to this core way of working to satisfy what some consider to be an alien workflow to the rest of the 3d world is highly remote. Houdini's not going to change so that it can appeal to a group of disgruntled ex XSI customers who refuse to move to another Autodesk application. But SideFX are attempting to widen Houdini's appeal.

I love Houdini but I've never seen it as an XSI replacement and I'm still to be convinced of it's merits as a character animation/rigging toolset. I want Houdini to be as strong as Houdini can be and I think the roadmap looks fantastic. The accessibility that has been built into the toolset since H14 in a relatively short space of time hasalso been fantastic.

If if there's one thing you can say for SideFX it's that they listen to their customers. If there's a unifying chorus of disapproval for the 'bone shaped bones' et al. it will be significantly improved or even removed before H16 comes to market.

I'm personally of the belief that there will never be a replacement for XSI as the days of the wide ranging DCC seem to be on the wane. We're moving to a world of Katana's, Clarisse's and specialist proprietary tools such as Pixars Hydra powered Presto. Maya will continue to be a Frankenstein's monster workflow wise but 2017 has finally integrated an NLA that seems not only to have matched but also to have improved on the XSI inspiration.

If your bread and butter is character animation you'll be better of holding your nose and accepting that Maya is the only viable alternative. Character animation may be possible in Houdini it's just not necessarily going to be the most fluid of workflows.

[Mathaeus]

Great moral speech.
By the way I was talking about SI *and* Maya just to keep it short and to respect the forum. Actually, it's about more or less the same kinematics system present in Softimage, Maya, Max and Blender (as far as I know), but not in H. Just for small example and not only one, Houdini is only 3d app, having a fixed bone rotation order - is it *that* hard to add a just a few options there, just for start, or it's intention to keep it inferior, not compatible even to Unity? Pet Shop design is enough?
It's Houdini who is seeking for artists all around. Once they will come, is it realistic to believe how everything will stay the same. I wouldn't say so.
Really don't understand why that CHOP thing is so important, where are relevant results, what you'll loose one day when, if, they'll remove it.
As an more or less, Maya user these days, honestly I don't understand 'leading' part. Not at all.

[jonmoore]

Great moral speech.
By the way I was talking about SI *and* Maya just to keep it short and to respect the forum. Actually, it's about more or less the same kinematics system present in Softimage, Maya, Max and Blender (as far as I know), but not in H. Just for small example and not only one, Houdini is only 3d app, having a fixed bone rotation order - is it *that* hard to add a just a few options there, just for start, or it's intention to keep it inferior, not compatible even to Unity? Pet Shop design is enough?
It's Houdini who is seeking for artists all around. Once they will come, is it realistic to believe how everything will stay the same. I wouldn't say so.
Really don't understand why that CHOP thing is so important, where are relevant results, what you'll loose one day when, if, they'll remove it.
As an more or less, Maya user these days, honestly I don't understand 'leading' part. Not at all.

Mateus, I wasn't intending any kind of Moral speech. But both the Odd Force and SideFX community forums have many threads from ex XSI users wanting radical changes to the way Houdini works so that it fits their existing workflows better. CHOPS is huge part of Houdini that's used within many of the other contexts. It's admittedly getting a little long of tooth but it offers unique functionality that you can't get in any other DCC.

What SideFX need rather than wide sweeping statements are specific examples like the one you highlight, these are especially pertinent whilst they're further developing the character rigging toolset. Any Houdini owner can ask to be included in the beta testing over the next 6 months, so that's probably going to be the most effective way of ensuring the Houdini developers get the feedback they require.

[Mathaeus]

What SideFX need rather than wide sweeping statements are specific examples like the one you highlight, these are especially pertinent whilst they're further developing the character rigging toolset. Any Houdini owner can ask to be included in the beta testing over the next 6 months, so that's probably going to be the most effective way of ensuring the Houdini developers get the feedback they require.

If it is about choice of bone rotation order, choice of aim axis for aim constraint , the way how constraints are working (blendable override of local transform while constraint operator is not a part of transform hierarchy, or just a plain parent) and such. This seems to be present in similar way everywhere, so I think we can talk about standards. While these standards were set long time ago by only two apps, Softimage 3d and Maya. Perhaps not best standards, but that's how this is working in last twenty years. That's why it wasn't hard for me to switch from Max to XSI while ago, in many ways Max was directly inspired by Softimage 3d. Some people can live without some features, some can't. In any case, kinematics defined by let's say Blender as a minimum, I think it is a non - negotiable starting point. Even if I want to live without, I just can't, if I'll be using 3d app as an generalist or animator. Super structure for controlling channels is always welcome, but only as addition over basic kinematics, definitively not as a replacement.
I'm pretty sure, there are people already around Side FX, having an impressive knowledge about kinematics systems in other apps, no need for me.