Side Effects Software is proud to announce the immediate release of experimental Houdini Engine for Unity plug-in for public preview. This plug-in allows for deep integration of Houdini technology into the Unity editor and will be available freely to CG artists during the experimental testing period.
Side Effects has also released a plug-in for Maya.
We have a new video online showing a Track Builder asset running in Unity via the Houdini Engine.
You can get the Unity Package for this asset at http://labs.sidefx.com
just for clarity, this provides a way for developers to bring node-like assets that are constructed in your commercial product for use with the engine? (not even sure that is the right description)
However, the plugin will require a fee after the beta testing, and to create the assets would require Houdini FX? So, for someone to get started with designing assets this route, we will be looking at 4500$ + plugin fee per seat?
Will one be able to simply purchase “assets” somehow here along with the Houdini plugin? Is there a Houdini store with a list of available assets, will these be additional purchases available similar to how allegorithmic provides substances?
Lots of questions I guess… just seems very cool.
Yes,
Any node-based procedural content or tool you create with Houdini and encapsulate in a Houdini Asset can be loaded into Unity, in theory. Consideration needs to be given to the desired results, limitations on types of data and UI elements, etc.
Not sure yet.
How to license something like this is always a sticky issue. On one hand you want it everyone’s hands, on the other you want to recoup the dev costs. The public tech preview and private beta testing will hopefully inform this decision process.
Currently, you can use the non-commercial versions of Houdini (Apprentice and the $99 Apprentice HD) to build Houdini assets that you can sell through the Orbolt asset store in both commercial and non-commercial versions. We do this as incentive to get more Houdini assets onto the store.
Yes.
Orbolt.com is our asset store, where Houdini Digital Assets (the encapsulated node networks) can be purchased. However, most of the assets available on the store at this time are designed and built for use in Houdini. Some may work with Unity, some may not. The ones flagged with “Unity Supported” will load into the Unity editor via the plugin without crashing Unity. Beyond that, not much testing has been done other than on the ones we’re showing in the demo videos.
There’s a FAQ on labs.sidefx.com, and there’s a lot of great learning material for Houdini on the sidefx.com website.