In nuce: The new version is here! SideFX has released version 19.5 of Houdini. This is the latest iteration of the important software for visual effects, motion graphics and game development. According to Cristin Barghiel, SideFX’s Vice President of Product Development, the new release is centred around the Quality of Life (loosely translated: the overall usability of the software). The new features that users can expect with Houdini 19.5 cover the entire range of Houdini functions.
New functions: The following is an overview of the new functions of Houdini 19.5: The simulation of liquids, smoke and fire is becoming more modular. Full information on the new version can be found at side.fx.com and in the corresponding product documentation.
- Fluid simulation: Flip fluids are now available as SOPs (Surface OPerators). This means that all dynamics solvers can be selected as SOPs. This should make Houdini even more user-friendly. Another new feature is that flip simulations can now have user-defined limits.
- Smoke and liquid simulation: Pyro, responsible for smoke and fire simulations within Houdini, gets several workflow improvements. For example, source instancing has now been made available as a general tool. This allows users to change sources directly. Users can also adjust multiple Pyro sources at the same time.
- Crowd simulation: The look-at system for crowd agents has been fundamentally revised. These revisions include supporting multiple targets at the same time – including different agents within the crowds.
- Hair and fur simulation: According to SideFX, the development of grooming tools has been successfully completed with Houdini 19.5. This means that the associated tools are moving more in the direction of a fully equipped toolbox, ready for professional production, instead of being more of a work-in-progress, as was previously the case. In particular, improvements have been made to the workflow for hair and fur simulations.
Click further: We first reported on Houdini 19.5 on 13 July, when we covered the launch event at the St-James Theatre in Montreal, Canada. The full-length video of the launch event is linked below.
Read on: If the mere list of new functions is too superficial for you: In our next issue, DP 05 : 2022, our expert Olaf Finkbeiner puts Houdini 19.54 through its paces. Olaf finds out for our readers why the user interface has been standardised and to what extent the interactive tools have been simplified. DP 05 : 2022 will reach our subscribers in the last week of August.
Houdini 19.5 Launch
