Updated SideFX has announced the release of Houdini 19.5 at a 90-minute livestreamed launch event. Some of the new features and improvements include:
- SOP Flip workflow – Flip Fluid sourcing and solving are available in SOPs
- SOP Flip Viscosity
- SOP FLIP Configs – many convenient setups for FLIPs in SOPs including lava, beach, wave, ocean
- SOP FLIP Boundary – Custom Flip Boundaries
- SOP FLIP Domains – Resizable domains with multiple collisions within a tank
- SOP FLIP Uprising – Balance low and high-resolution sims to capture detail where needed
- Kelvin Wakes – a new time-independent deformer
- Curve Orientation – Enhanced curve tool with orientation and auto-tangent support
- Polyscalpel – a versatile cutting tool for curves and surfaces
- PolyWireUV – UV Generation for polywire geometry, plus the ability to output the rig to pose and deform using KineFX Tools and the ability to animate curves to drive geometry output
- Pyros source instancing – GPU accelerated instancing and turbulence
- Environment Lights – enhanced lighting for volumes in the 3D viewport
- Content Library – Free pyro project files for Karma, Unreal, and Unity
- Layout Line Brush – more dedicated brushes for building environments in Solaris
- USD Asset Database – Create, save and load individual database files for quick access to assets
- Layout Finish Brush – Place USD assets with random scale, orientation, and distribution
- Layout Stack Brush – vertical placement with optional spacing, randomized translation, and rotation
- Layout Comb Brush – Orient USD Asses based on the direction of the cursor
- Light Filters – Karma gobo, barn doors, and gels
- Light Filter Network (CPU Only)
- Crowds LookAt – redesigned and expanded Agent look at capabilities
- Grooming Improvements – mirrored brush actions also now work on asymmetrical grooms
- Hair HDA Procedural – Generate simple fur and deform complex hair grooms at render time
- Karma Ocean – dedicated ocean rendering with Karma Ocean LOP and Encino waves in Ocean Spectrum SOP
- Material X Nested Dielectrics
- Ongoing Karma XPU development
- Facing Ratio and Curvature VOPs
- Rounded Edges VOP
- Coving – watertight subdivision or displacement
- Material X SSS – random-walk subsurface scattering.
- Motion Blur – Dedicated Motion Blur SOP for simplified setup.
- Muscles and Tissue – Vellum muscle, tissue, and skin sims are faster, more accurate, and robust
Detail: The official website contains details about new features.
