OctaneRender 2023.1.4 for Houdini beta (2023.1.4.0) Tweet

[PDivision1]

This is a beta release of the OctaneRender™ 2023.1.4.0 for Houdini™ plugin compiled with the Octane 2023.1 Beta 4 core. This 2023.1.4.0 release is available for the latest Houdini production builds on Windows x64, Linux, and macOS arm64.

Houdini production builds supported by this release: 18.5.759, 19.0.720, 19.5.534, 19.5.569, 19.5.605, and 19.5.640-19.5.752+ (higher versions should work as well) (using the 19.5.605 build).

If you are not sure if your Houdini version is compatible with the plugin - just run it and you will see an error message in case of incompatibility.

Note
The main purpose of this beta release is to catch bugs in the plugin and version conversion. Please let us know if your scene renders differently or there is something wrong in the Octane Houdini UI.

New features
To learn more about the new features and improvements of OctaneRender 2023.1 Beta 4, please check out the 2023.1 Beta 4 release post

Downloads

Release 2023.1.4.0 Studio+ license
Windows Houdini 18.5.759 - https://render.otoy.com/customerdownloa ... _Win64.zip
Windows Houdini 19.0.720 - https://render.otoy.com/customerdownloa ... _Win64.zip
Windows Houdini 19.5.534 - https://render.otoy.com/customerdownloa ... _Win64.zip
Windows Houdini 19.5.569 - https://render.otoy.com/customerdownloa ... _Win64.zip
Windows Houdini 19.5.605 and 19.5.640-19.5.752+ - https://render.otoy.com/customerdownloa ... _Win64.zip

Linux Houdini 18.5.759 - https://render.otoy.com/customerdownloa ... dio%2B.zip
Linux Houdini 19.0.720 - https://render.otoy.com/customerdownloa ... dio%2B.zip
Linux Houdini 19.5.534 - https://render.otoy.com/customerdownloa ... dio%2B.zip
Linux Houdini 19.5.569 - https://render.otoy.com/customerdownloa ... dio%2B.zip
Linux Houdini 19.5.605 and 19.5.640-19.5.752+ - https://render.otoy.com/customerdownloa ... dio%2B.zip


Release 2023.1.4.0 macOS Prime license
MacOS Houdini 19.5.534 - https://render.otoy.com/downloads/2c/f4 ... _Prime.zip
MacOS Houdini 19.5.569 - https://render.otoy.com/downloads/29/cf ... _Prime.zip
MacOS Houdini 19.5.605 and 19.5.640-19.5.752+ - https://render.otoy.com/downloads/26/e5 ... _Prime.zip

Release 2023.1.4.0 Demo version
Windows Houdini 18.5.759 - https://render.otoy.com/downloads/b1/a5 ... _Win64.zip
Windows Houdini 19.0.720 - https://render.otoy.com/downloads/3a/6b ... _Win64.zip
Windows Houdini 19.5.605 and 19.5.640-19.5.752+ - https://render.otoy.com/downloads/e1/52 ... _Win64.zip

Linux Houdini 18.5.759 - https://render.otoy.com/downloads/6f/81 ... x_Demo.zip
Linux Houdini 19.0.720 - https://render.otoy.com/downloads/de/c3 ... x_Demo.zip
Linux Houdini 19.5.605 and 19.5.640-19.5.752+ - https://render.otoy.com/downloads/c4/6d ... x_Demo.zip


Release Notes
=============================================
RELEASE 2023.1.4.0
=============================================
* PLUGIN FEATURES AND FIXES:
- Added new "instances IDs from" option: "point number". It will use index of a point and will work without having to manually add any attributes. Also it's now a default option.
- Directional and Analytic Lights feature is added in the Octane Spectron node
- When opening scenes saved in previous plugin versions, now version conversion will be executed. It is required to ensure that new properties added on the existing nodes and that the scene render visually looks the same as the old version. It will show a prompt asking what exactly to convert so it can be skipped in case there is a bug in the conversion.
- Added post processing lens and volume effects
- Light IDs and Light Pass count increased to 20
- Added new composite texture layers
- Default Spectron Light changed to be Quad
- Save orbx and image dialogs now use corresponding extension mask (e.g. *.orbx or *.png)
- Save orbx and image dialogs now have pre-populated file name in the dialog, e.g. mySceneName.orbx
- When overriding existing file, confirmation dialog is shown
- OCIO view/look in the render target imager changed to be more like in standalone - one dropdown for view and one for look. Added previously missing ability to select "None". If a view/look is missing (e.g. another config is loaded), the label should appear with a "missing" message.
- Toon material and Toon Ramp nodes are moved to the Materials section
- If plugin is loaded in Houdini version with unsupported ABI version, an error message will be shown. It means it's now easier to check if a new Houdini version is compatible with the plugin - just run it and if there is no error messages, it should be good.
- Fixed Spectron Spotlight "Throw Distance" freeze/crash.
- Fixed Saving the render from the QT Render Window gives errors. (No OCIO configured)
- Fixed the wrong default value for OCIO view/look
- Missing OCIO view/look now should render with no view/look instead of triggering OctaneRender error
- Fixed compatibility mode behaviour for nodes that didn't have compatibility mode in previous version
- Fixed composite texture connections bug (disconnecting of reverse-ordered pins)
- Fixed Adding Adjustment Layers (Math Binary) or (Saturation HSL) freezes Houdini
- Fixed Packed Geo Instancing on Object does not use AOV / Render Layers correctly
- Fixed incorrect behaviour in Gradient nodes
- Fixed scatter on mesh node that wasn't working correctly
- Fixed bugs in loading of some LocalDB shaders
- Removed underscores from octane light digital asset names
- Removed "composite output AOV on gpu" setting
- Only one imaging gpu can now be selected in the settings. Imaging GPU is always enabled for rendering.

Common Issues and Solutions
- If the plugin doesn't work at all, set HOUDINI_DSO_ERROR = 2 in houdini.env and check for messages in the terminal.
- If you're missing libglut.so.3, install the freeglut package.

Happy rendering,
Your OTOY Team

[lavrenovlad]

Thanks for the release!
Don't forget about AI upsampler feature in the upcoming builds. It still doesn't work.

[PDivision1]

Thanks for the release!
Don't forget about AI upsampler feature in the upcoming builds. It still doesn't work.

Thank you for the reminder, I'll look into it

[snakeboxmedia]

Is the postFX fog and light beam working? I can get the fog to do something but the colour doesn't seem to change anything. The light beam does nothing, super low or super high values, nothing, so it feels like its broken?

Also, 2023 had an official stable release? when can we expect to see that for Houdini? Blender is getting a plugin update ever 2-3 days it feels like, Houdini is in a sad state when it comes to updates and communication, not only does the dev cycle seem much slower after a certain someone left and I'm sure you all had some restructuring, but also, for the life of it, sort out combining the houdini and solaris plugins, keep them up to date, ship them together, the fact they exist seperate and don't follow the same versions when released is such a mess, no one should have to deal with.

[aias]

Noticed that the gradient node is not working properly. Tried to use one to control an texture for vertex displacement and I can swap black and white order to make it negative but sliding the ramp controls doesn't do anything.

[ricky_otoy]

Is the postFX fog and light beam working? I can get the fog to do something but the colour doesn't seem to change anything. The light beam does nothing, super low or super high values, nothing, so it feels like its broken?

Hi snakeboxmedia, for fog color contribution you need to set the 'Fog Environment Contribution' slider less than 1.0 (1 = full env contribution)
As for light beams, you need to use the Analytic Light with 'Use in Post Volume' on.

[ricky_otoy]

Noticed that the gradient node is not working properly. Tried to use one to control an texture for vertex displacement and I can swap black and white order to make it negative but sliding the ramp controls doesn't do anything.

Hi aias, when using the Gradient it works as in Standalone where there is a start and end value. Add another slider marker with the same color as the start or end value and adjust that one. Let us know if you come right with it, thanks!

[lavrenovlad]

Is Post-effect fog planned to be added as an AOV?

[lavrenovlad]

Also the new Composite AOV functionality isn't finished? Couldn't get it to work.

[ricky_otoy]

Is Post-effect fog planned to be added as an AOV?

Hi lavrenovlad, yes there should be an Auxiliary AOV "Postfx Media" - which would have light beams and fog. It still needs to be added, thanks.

The Output AOVs for Composite AOV aren't quite ready yet - there are still things to be done there. Sorry for the inconvenience!