知名3D 与特效软体公司Side Effects 今日推出Houdini 14，带来更惊人的新功能！

Houdini是知名3D特效软体，几乎所有好莱坞特效电影裡的物理模拟，包括碎裂、烟尘、碰撞、火焰、流体等模拟，都看得到它的身影。

其独特的节点式操作方式，尤其适合大规模大尺度与複杂的特效製作。

此次Houdini 14 主要新功能如下：

※ 基于位置的物理模拟（Position-Based Dynamics）

它基于多重物理环境（multi-physics environment）的新模拟功能，特别适合用于类似潮湿沙子与乾沙的效果模拟，其多线程解算可透过CPU 或GPU 进行。

当然对于非刚体（Soft Body）与布料模拟也是非常有用。

※ 群众模拟（Crowds）

新的群众模拟工具支援硬体加速，不只更易于操作，还能让群众与物理环境互动，产生更逼真物理模拟效果。

※ 毛发梳理（Hair Grooming）

基于OpenVDB 的工具，提供使用者容易操作的梳理方式。

※ 使用者经验（User Experience）

有新的动画编辑器（Animation Editor）与动画图层（Animation Layer），以及可客製化的Python 介面。另外也有新的选取模式，加速工作效率。

价格部分，基础的Houdini 为$1995 ，而具物体模拟功能的版本Houdini FX 为$4995，佛心来的Houdini Indie 则是年费$199，学习版的Houdini Apprentice 可免费下载。

SideFX

Houdini

FX 14.0

Win32: 407 Mb | Linux64: 600 MB /MACOSX 515MB

Side Effects Software, an industry leader in 3D animation and visual effects software, is proud to announce the immediate release of Houdini 14. With a new Position-Based Dynamics solver for granular simulation, new crowd pipeline tools, user interface enhancements and grooming tools for hair and fur, this release brings a better user experience, improved scalability and optimized performance to VFX artists, animators and game makers.

The new Position-Based Dynamics is a multi-physics environment ideally suited to the creation of wet and dry sand. Multi-threaded thanks to its exclusive reliance on VEX-based operators, the new solver can run on the CPU or on the GPU using OpenCL. In addition to sand effects, artists can create solids, sheets or tethers to generate soft body, cloth and wire-like simulations.

Bullet and Sand/Snow simulations by Graham Collier, Senior Generalist and VFX TD at RealtimeUK

The new crowd system uses artist-friendly shelf tools along with a new packed agent primitive type, a Finite State Machine solver and hardware accelerated display of instanced crowds. The system has a seamless conduit to Houdini’s Mantra renderer and is equipped with controls for crowd layout, steering, collision avoidance, terrain adaptation, motion blending, and look-at targets.

This crowd pipeline is intended primarily for large, mid-to-background, non-interacting crowds executing basic motions and can seamlessly interact with dynamic elements such as Bullet, fluids and sand. This pipeline will be enhanced in future releases to support more complex agent interactions and AI for creating hero quality crowds.

With Houdini 14, a great deal of work has gone into user experience. From preselection highlighting to new handles, improved edge-loop selection, new UV Flatten and UV Layout tools with UDIM support, grooming tools for hair and fur, an advanced visualizer architecture, custom panels and much more, this release will make it easier for artists to work procedurally. Meanwhile, animators will appreciate the new faster Animation editor with Animation layers and significant speed improvements to the display and playback of rigs.

System Requirements

Windows

:

Requires Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 (32 or 64 bit)

Mac OS X

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Requires 64-bit Intel-based Mac with OSX 10.8, OSX 10.9, or OSX 10.10.

Linux

:

Ubuntu 10.04+ (64-bit)

Debian 6.0+ (64-bit)

RHEL 5+ (64-bit)

Fedora 12+ (64-bit)

Open SUSE 11.2+ (64-bit)

CentOS 5+ (64-bit)

Mint 13+ (64-bit)

gcc 4.8 is strongly recommended.

Note

: 32-bit Linux is no longer supported

Home page

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http://www.sidefx.com/