Hi @ricky_otoy @juanjgon @PDivision1 and the rest of Octane developers!
We use Octane for Houdini quite a lot, and while it is a very powerful engine, the Houdini integration feels a bit lagging behind.
We've done a digital double of real Sharon Stone using 4D technology,
and Octane was really great, Juanjo has fixed a few bugs almost instantly (with hair, etc) but we still have some essentials missing.
1. Proper matte workflow.
The layers workflow (at least as in all the forums messages combined through the years) makes render out (not IPR) render each layer separately, so every matte starts from the beginning.
Please, provide the solution including all the steps, not only where to look for. Why do we need to search through 7-year-old messages to get a clue what to do? In IPR we can switch through layers and it all works, but not while rendering to disk. It's not production ready for this kind of work.
I wonder if the new compositing nodes can help here to create mattes? That will not double the render time
2. Rest position - I really hope it's finally coming (2024.1?)
3. Updates come too slow, also the Solaris plugin is quite separated, but it also includes the main Houdini plugin - we wish to be intact and to be updated more frequently for the actual versions.
4. Volume shader - I don't know if it has something to do with the Houdini plugin, but hope you could bring it closer to Karma.
5. Zdepth pass - ability to switch between white/black BG. When rendering with Alpha it can make issues. Or in the compositing nodes can we invert the result?
Overall, with all the latest advancements to Octane and announced 2024 features, it is an incredible engine, and the work can be done in Houdini, the new IPR is great. We just really hope you could invest some love to Houdini users, as it becomes more and more widespread. And in the 2024 announcements it feels like the main focus is C4D, Unreal and Blender.. Don't leave Houdini behind, you will only benefit from it, as well as all the users!
Thanks
Daniel