RE: alembic from hou to xsi issues

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Hi Sebastian

It seems that Houdini exported the ‘up’ attribute not as vec3f, but an array of 
floats. I know binary-wise it’s the same, but Alembic still treats it as custom 
data, and we don’t support these on our side.
To work around this, can you convert them into vec3f type in Houdini first 
before exporting?

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of l...@sekow.com
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 8:00 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: alembic from hou to xsi issues

hey, here is the file: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5cLxJeOrDLldXN2LUtQQTlaVTA/edit?usp=sharing
there are following attributes included:

- vel (3f), loads as vector
- normal (3f), loads as vector
- up (3f), loads as single float in softimage
- angular (3f), loads as single float in softimage

thanks for looking into it.

-sebastian


> Ho Chung Nguyen 
> mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>> hat am 11. 
> September 2014 um 06:00 geschrieben:
>
>
> Hi Sebastian
>
> Do you mind sending us the Alembic file you exported from Houdini?
> Vec3f is a basic type we support in XSI Alembic, unless Houdini exports the 
> data into some unexpected Alembic type.
>
> From: 
> softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
>  
> [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com]<mailto:[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com]>
>  On Behalf Of Sebastian Kowalski
> Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 3:45 AM
> To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
> Subject: Re: alembic from hou to xsi issues
>
> I can work with that issue. just writing 3 different float attributes for 
> every vector attribute I need. Stupid, but a workaround,again.
>
> s.
>
> Am 10.09.2014 um 21:21 schrieb Andy Goehler 
> mailto:lists.andy.goeh...@gmail.com<mailto:lists.andy.goeh...@gmail.com%3cmailto:lists.andy.goeh...@gmail.com>>>:
>
>
> Hi Sebastian,
>
> as already mentioned Exocortex Crate does this reliable.
> See here: http://exocortex.com/blog/crate_custom_attribute_softimage
>
> Just a side note, getting custom attributes from XSI into Houdini can be a 
> pain too and I've had much better luck exporting those from 2015 with its 
> onboard Alembic than with Crate.
>
> Andy
>
> On Sep 10, 2014, at 17:29, Sebastian Kowalski 
> mailto:l...@sekow.com<mailto:l...@sekow.com%3cmailto:l...@sekow.com>>>
>  wrote:
>
>
> I am exporting some points into an alembic file from houdini to xsi and 
> stumble on one issue.
>
> Transferring attributes works good for what you could call 'factory 
> attributes' like P or v (we have to rename that to something with more than 
> just one letter, cause it wont appear in xsi).
> But I also compute angular velocity (w) and couple other 'arbitrary user 
> attributes', all vectors (3f). This suckers come in as single float value. 
> Not even as a array of 3 values per point.
>
> As the same alembic file works like expected as re-import in houdini, I am 
> pretty sure it is an eff up in xsi.
> Just want to make sure I am not doing something stupid.
> Anyone experience the same?
> Its with the 2015 version of xsi.
>
> sebastian
>
>
> --
> http://www.sekow.com<http://www.sekow.com/<http://www.sekow.com%3chttp:/www.sekow.com/>>
>
>
<>

RE: Tweaking crowdfx

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Hi Arvid

The ground speed of each animation is stored in ICE attribute 
“__CrowdFX_Actor_HorizontalSpeed” of the simulation pointcloud 
(Crowd.Point_Cloud)
It’s an array of float, in the order of the animations set up for the actor 
proxy. So for the pedestrian actor, with 3 animations idle, walk, run, you’ll 
get something like this in the array: [0.0342, 13.2465, 24.9061]
These values are averages taken from the AnimSource.

Hope this helps. Ping me if you have more questions.
HoChung.

[cid:image001.png@01CFD341.BAA404C0]

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Arvid Björn
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2014 3:19 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Tweaking crowdfx

Sorry for the nag, but I'm a bit stuck. I'm sure there's some definition of the 
length of a walkcycle somewhere? Or is it all automatic?

On Fri, Sep 12, 2014 at 10:22 AM, Arvid Björn 
mailto:arvidbj...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Hey folks,

I'm building a pretty simple CrowdFX scene, but I'm noticing that the feet are 
sliding a bit on the surface, it's pretty noticable from the angle I've got, 
otherwise it works. I've been digging through the compounds, but I can't find 
any way to tweak it, I assume there's some value somewhere that controls the 
speed of the animation loop relative to the velocity of the character, that's 
what I want to tweak.

I'm using the default actor skeleton with another mesh gator'ed to it, so 
there's no custom loops or anything like that.

Any tips?

<>

RE: alembic from hou to xsi issues

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Hi Sebastian

Do you mind sending us the Alembic file you exported from Houdini?
Vec3f is a basic type we support in XSI Alembic, unless Houdini exports the 
data into some unexpected Alembic type.

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Sebastian Kowalski
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2014 3:45 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: alembic from hou to xsi issues

I can work with that issue. just writing 3 different float attributes for every 
vector attribute I need. Stupid, but a workaround,again.

s.

Am 10.09.2014 um 21:21 schrieb Andy Goehler 
mailto:lists.andy.goeh...@gmail.com>>:


Hi Sebastian,

as already mentioned Exocortex Crate does this reliable.
See here: http://exocortex.com/blog/crate_custom_attribute_softimage

Just a side note, getting custom attributes from XSI into Houdini can be a pain 
too and I've had much better luck exporting those from 2015 with its onboard 
Alembic than with Crate.

Andy

On Sep 10, 2014, at 17:29, Sebastian Kowalski 
mailto:l...@sekow.com>> wrote:


I am exporting some points into an alembic file from houdini to xsi and stumble 
on one issue.

Transferring attributes works good for what you could call 'factory attributes' 
like P or v (we have to rename that to something with more than just one 
letter, cause it wont appear in xsi).
But I also compute angular velocity (w) and couple other 'arbitrary user 
attributes', all vectors (3f). This suckers come in as single float value. Not 
even as a array of 3 values per point.

As the same alembic file works like expected as re-import in houdini, I am 
pretty sure it is an eff up in xsi.
Just want to make sure I am not doing something stupid.
Anyone experience the same?
Its with the 2015 version of xsi.

sebastian


--
http://www.sekow.com


<>

RE: Alembic workflow question/problem

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

The alembic exporter in Maya has this option to export the geometry in world 
space, this should fix the problem you’re having.

[cid:image001.jpg@01CFB186.7D5A07E0]

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Byron Nash
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2014 11:43 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Alembic workflow question/problem

Thanks for the tips. We seemed to overcome it by enveloping the extra bits, but 
that could be an issue if we get into eyeball animation. Sending you a direct 
link Ho.

On Fri, Jul 25, 2014 at 7:12 AM, Ben Beckett 
mailto:nebbeck...@gmail.com>> wrote:
In the past I cached and then cached with Alembic

On 25 July 2014 12:11, Ben Beckett 
mailto:nebbeck...@gmail.com>> wrote:
You could prebake there positions

On 25 July 2014 10:36, Ho Chung Nguyen 
mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>> wrote:
You might have to also export the parent hierarchy of those extra items, cause 
the animation is in their transforms.
Do you have a scene we can help look into?

From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>]
 On Behalf Of Byron Nash
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2014 1:42 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
Subject: Alembic workflow question/problem

I'm testing out the Alembic cache workflow to get characters from Maya to 
Softimage. The enveloped characters are coming in good but sometimes the 
parented objects don't receive the animation. Extra items like hats, glasses 
and eyeballs are having trouble because they aren't enveloped. It seems like 
I'm just missing a checkbox or something when I send it out but I can't figure 
it out. Right now we are using Maya 2014 and Softimage 2015. Could go to Maya 
2015 if needed.

Thanks for any tips!

Byron



<>

RE: Again with the crowdFX

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

For the curve-following behavior, the goal is a moving target along the curve. 
It stays a few steps ahead of the actors.
You can access ICE attribute Self.__CrowdFX_CurveGoal_CurrentIndex to see which 
point on the curve it is. If the curve is sampled at 100 points, that index 
should be from 0 to 100

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Ognjen Vukovic
Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2014 7:01 PM
To: softimage
Subject: Again with the crowdFX

Hi,
One more question :)
I have a crowd sim, in which 5 emitters are following 5 curves. I presume the 
end of a curve is treated as  a goal, but i cant seem to test the distance to 
the goal.
What i would like to achieve is that the actors bunch up around the goal, stop 
the animation and have them change state when reaching the goal but i seem to 
be at a dead end.
Also is it possible to get the normalized length of that curve, and have it 
drive for instance the convergence factor on a follow curve?
Cheers,
Ogi.
<>

RE: Alembic workflow question/problem

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

You might have to also export the parent hierarchy of those extra items, cause 
the animation is in their transforms.
Do you have a scene we can help look into?

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Byron Nash
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2014 1:42 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Alembic workflow question/problem

I'm testing out the Alembic cache workflow to get characters from Maya to 
Softimage. The enveloped characters are coming in good but sometimes the 
parented objects don't receive the animation. Extra items like hats, glasses 
and eyeballs are having trouble because they aren't enveloped. It seems like 
I'm just missing a checkbox or something when I send it out but I can't figure 
it out. Right now we are using Maya 2014 and Softimage 2015. Could go to Maya 
2015 if needed.

Thanks for any tips!

Byron
<>

RE: Softimage Alembic Plug-In with Selective Import

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Hi Nuno

Thanks for identifying this issue, we’ve logged it in our database.

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2014 7:09 PM
To: No name
Subject: Re: Softimage Alembic Plug-In with Selective Import

Sorry Ho, but the mesh I'm importing shows no new ICE attributes, if I do the 
color map lookup I also don't get any color from the color at vertices either.
If I import this .abc file in maya I immediately see one of the CAVs 
(bifrostVelocity)
So either the Alembic importer in Softimage doesn't support these CAVs or I 
need to force ICE to read them somehow from the file (haven't managed to do 
that either)
I'm supplying a link to the .abc file I'm using for this test   if want to have 
a look (attachment wont work).>> http://we.tl/0eGt6wcODE

Thanks

On Tue, Jul 8, 2014 at 3:19 AM, Ho Chung Nguyen 
mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>> wrote:
Hi Nuno,

Any property in the .abc file will be imported as ICE attribute.
You’ll need to add node Color Map Lookup to the RenderTree to render vertex 
colors.
Note that setting the Vertex Color Display Property on the material will not 
work if its RenderTree doesn’t have the Color Map Lookup node. Besides this 
property is only meant for the viewport rendering.

[cid:image003.jpg@01CF9A96.1D2A7F50]<mailto:[cid:image003.jpg@01CF9A96.1D2A7F50]>

From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>]
 On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2014 12:13 AM
To: No name
Subject: Re: Softimage Alembic Plug-In with Selective Import
This is good news, at least Autodesk is doing something good to help smooth 
things out in a future transition.

If I may request little a feature for this plugin, I notice that Alembic is not 
importing Vertex Color maps even though they are present on the .abc file 
exported from Maya.
Is this something that can be implemented in a future update?

On Fri, Jul 4, 2014 at 12:04 PM, Leendert A. Hartog 
mailto:hirazib...@live.nl><mailto:hirazib...@live.nl<mailto:hirazib...@live.nl>>>
 wrote:
Interesting.
Would you please consider registering at the si-community,
so all these goodies get announced there as well?

Greetz
Leendert
AKA Hirazi Blue

--

Leendert A. Hartog AKA Hirazi Blue
Administrator NOT the owner of 
si-community.com<http://si-community.com><http://si-community.com>

<>

RE: Crowd FX - losing textures with RS on RRfarm?

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Hi Darren

This is due to the fact that the ICE attribute that the shaders use as UV is 
not evaluated on render farm.
You can find the attribute name in tspace_id parameter of Image node in a 
render tree. In CrowdFX, it's named "Texture_Projection"
If you are using Softimage 2015, we have an API to force the attribute to 
always evaluate
http://docs.autodesk.com/SI/2015/ENU/Softimage-Developer-Help/index.html#!/url=si_cpp/classXSI_1_1ICEAttribute.html#a66c6820ed6a052016ff08b7e19d2a9bb

For earlier versions of Softimage, I'm afaid you'll have to work around this 
issue by turning on the Show Values option for this attribute.

-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Darren Blencowe | 
VA
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2014 11:25 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Crowd FX - losing textures with RS on RRfarm?

Hi. We have got a problem with the textures in CrowdFX.
 
We're using Royal Render and Redshift.
 
What's happening is that the crowd has no texture in the render when rendered 
in RR.
But it renders fine on my workstation.
 
Mental Ray renders ok, but not all the time.
 
If I save the scene at frame 10 for example, when I open it again all the 
characters are black 'til I go to frame 1, where the environment simulation 
starts, and all the textures pop on.
 
So I save the scene at frame 1, but Redshift still won't work on the network.
 
So, it looks like rendering the scene without the gui, and not getting kicked 
by actually going to frame 1, means that Redshift is struggling.
We can't really cache the crowd because there's so much to do. Data management 
might become an issue.
We control the crowd with some nulls and sliders that the animators have, which 
we export into the master scene for rendering.
 
A bit long winded, sorry. Any help, very welcome.

Thanks!

D. 


<>

RE: Softimage Alembic Plug-In with Selective Import

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

This is for Softimage 2015
It won’t be in the SP release, but Hans has made the binary available on 
sourceforge

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Morten Bartholdy
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2014 10:06 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Softimage Alembic Plug-In with Selective Import


Thanks for sharing Hans. I take it this is Softimage 2014 and 15 only!?



Morten



Den 4. juli 2014 kl. 04:24 skrev "Hans Adrian (Intern)" 
mailto:hans.adr...@autodesk.com>>:

> Hi all,
>
> Here is a link to Softimage Alembic Plug-In with added selective import 
> feature:
>
> https://sourceforge.net/projects/softimage-alembic-plugin/
>
> You can choose to import the whole Alembic file or to import only certain 
> objects from the file. You can also choose to target an Alembic object to be 
> imported to an existing object in the scene. There is no change in export 
> mechanism.
<>

RE: Softimage 2015 Alembic export options

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Hi Angus

You can find the export options here:
http://docs.autodesk.com/SI/2015/ENU/Softimage-Developer-Help/#!/url=./si_cmds/AbcExport.html


-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Angus Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2014 4:53 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Softimage 2015 Alembic export options

Hi All

I am busy looking at workflows to try and get students to export alembic files 
for lighting and rendering.

However Maya 2015 alembic export include options like use world co-ords etc. In 
the Softimage one all that I can see are basically options for ICE attributes. 
Does anyone know what the export defaults are for the Softimage Alembic export 
are ?

Kind regards

Angus=
  This communication is intended for the addressee only. 
It is confidential. If you have received this communication in error, please 
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University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All agreements between the 
University and outsiders are subject to South African Law unless the University 
agrees in writing to the contrary.   


<>

RE: Xray selection toggle in 2015 not working...

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

It might be related to refactoring of selection we did for 2015.
To enable to the old selection system, you can set environment variable 
XSI_DISABLE_NEW_PICK=1

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Andres Stephens
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2014 9:09 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Xray selection toggle in 2015 not working...

In SI2013, when you activate Xray display mode, you can select objects behind, 
whitin and around objects. In SI2015, this is impossible, or disabled by 
default. You can see it, but can’t select it.

Is there a fix to this? Was this a feature that was disabled in 2015?

Any pointers, or even a fix would be kindly appreciated, it’s very annoying 
when I can’t select a deformer null to envelope, because I can only select the 
main envelope (unless I toggle it’s selectability).
-Draise

PH: +57 313 811 6821

<>

RE: Linking to an external weightmap

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

You can use ICE to write the weightmap value to a per-Sample attribute and 
cache it to Alembic.
After reading the cache back, you can again use ICE to set it on the weightmap.
Unless I’m missing something obvious.

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Tyler Fox
Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2014 10:39 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Linking to an external weightmap

So with Alembic, we've got a decent way of getting the meshes out of our files. 
This could be an awesome thing.
Model change coming through? Get the new alembic from modeling, load the rig, 
fix the skeleton, update your reference poses.  No shapes, no gatoring weights, 
just kinda works ...

That is, of course, if your point count/order doesn't change. This is my 
problem.

So, is there any existing way to have a weightmap linked to an external file 
that could be loaded along with the alembic? (envelopes too, but I'm using 
weightmaps)

~T.Fox
<>

RE: SI2015 alembic vs maya

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

The issue with faceSets not rendered in Maya is already filed, but I think it’d 
take a while for the fix to be accepted into the Alembic main line.
Meanwhile, you can use the plugin I’ve recompiled here
https://sourceforge.net/projects/mayaalembicimport/files/

Just download the .mll and copy it to c:\Program 
Files\Autodesk\Maya2015\bin\plug-ins\
That should fix the faceSet rendering problem.

About the materials not exported into Alembic, this is due to the fact there is 
yet a universal standard for exchanging materials between tools. Even the Maya 
AbcImport and Export don’t support this.
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alembic-discussion/1HaVR4LvHK8/f4732VncozwJ

However, you can always use FBX to bring your materials to Maya.

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Ho Chung Nguyen
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2014 8:00 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: SI2015 alembic vs maya

I’ve logged an issue in the Alembic issue list
https://code.google.com/p/alembic/issues/detail?id=341

I do have a fix in the softimage-alembic clone. You can get the source and 
recompile AbcImport plugin.
https://code.google.com/r/nghochung-softimage-alembic/source/detail?r=e6512b6db1792aa797641511737124fb2cbf0794

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Ho Chung Nguyen
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2014 9:22 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: SI2015 alembic vs maya

This seems like an issue with the Alembic plugin in Maya, even an abc file 
exported from Maya can’t be re-imported correctly when there are multiple 
materials on the mesh.
We’re looking into it.

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Szabolcs Matefy
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 11:47 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: SI2015 alembic vs maya

Ok. So far I could exchange between Maya and Softimage static geometry, and 
non-deformed geometry. Whenever deformed (deformer, envelope, shape animation) 
is involved, the geometry apparently doesn’t take the material IDs with itself, 
and the geometry is appearing in Maya in green shade, not rendering at all, 
etc, unless I assign a material. If it is a multi-material stuff, then 
apparently the clusters are empty in Maya.

If anybody could confirm that or had such an issue and resolved it, please drop 
me a line!


Cheers

Szabolcs

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of John Richard 
Sanchez
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 5:34 PM
To: XSI List to post
Subject: Re: SI2015 alembic vs maya

Good Question.

On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 6:25 AM, Szabolcs Matefy 
mailto:szabol...@crytek.com>> wrote:
Is there any differences between the alembic coming out from Maya and Softimage?

Chhers


Szabolcs
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--
www.johnrichardsanchez.com<http://www.johnrichardsanchez.com>
<>

RE: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Oops, I forgot these files:
awBoost_python-1_52.dll
AlembicPyImath.dll
AlembicPyIex.dll

Copy them from
c:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2015\bin\
to
c:\Program Files\Autodesk\Softimage 2015\Application\bin\


From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2014 5:50 PM
To: No name
Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Thank you Hans and Ho, this is awesome.

Unfortunately I'm unable to get this plugin to work yet, for some reason its 
not finding the python modules you provided.
"import imath
# ImportError: DLL load failed: The specified module could not be found."
I have copied the 3 python libraries to the path you specified and also tried 
putting them on other locations like "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Softimage 
2015\Application\python\DLLs"
for example, but with no success.
I tried borrowing the package files from Maya 2015 and also the ones from the 
link provided by Hans, but they seem to be exactly the same with a slightly 
different date stamp.
I have a PYTHONPATH environment pointing to a network location where I have 
extra python packages, I tried putting the files there also, but no luck 
either...

I'm guessing I'm still missing something :)



On Tue, May 27, 2014 at 7:41 AM, Hans Adrian (Intern) 
mailto:hans.adr...@autodesk.com>> wrote:
You can download the PyAlembic package from here:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/pyalembic/

and as mentioned, put the 3 pyd files in c:\Program Files\Autodesk\Softimage 
2015\Application\python\Lib\site-packages\

Thanks.

From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>]
 On Behalf Of Ho Chung Nguyen
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2014 1:06 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
Subject: RE: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Hans forgot to mention that you’d need the PyAlembic package for the plugin to 
work.

If you have Maya 2015, you can ‘borrow’ their package by copying these 3 files
c:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2015\Python\Lib\site-packages\alembic.pyd
c:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2015\Python\Lib\site-packages\iex.pyd
c:\Program Files\Autodesk\Maya2015\Python\Lib\site-packages\imath.pyd
over to
c:\Program Files\Autodesk\Softimage 2015\Application\python\Lib\site-packages\

FYI, the PyAlembic package allows you to read and write Alembic file using 
Python.

From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>]
 On Behalf Of Hans Adrian (Intern)
Sent: Tuesday, May 27, 2014 10:49 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
Subject: RE: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Hi Nuno,

Attached is a plugin that you could use to attach an object from Alembic file 
to a SoftImage object. Hopefully it is sufficient for your use.

Instruction to Use

1.   Unzip the file

2.   Put the file into your SoftImage Plug-in folder, or load it from 
Plug-in manager

3.   Open Plug-in Manager

4.   Expand AlembicSelectiveAttach

5.   Right click on AttachAlembicToObjectDialog (Property) and choose 
Create Property

6.   The dialog below will pop up. Configure your settings and click Apply.

[cid:image001.png@01CF79B9.C02B0830]<mailto:[cid:image001.png@01CF79B9.C02B0830]>


From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>]
 On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Saturday, May 10, 2014 1:08 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Well apparently you can, but you will need to add quite a few lines of code per 
geometry to fix something that could have been just one line if the attach was 
supported.


On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 6:00 PM, Matt Morris 
mailto:matt...@gmail.com><mailto:matt...@gmail.com<mailto:matt...@gmail.com>>>
 wrote:
I was expecting alembic to be much more orientated towards a pointcaching 
pipeline as well. Very frustrating not to be able to use it like existing pc2 
etc.

On 9 May 2014 17:36, Nuno Conceicao 
mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com><mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com<mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com>>>
 wrote:
Now , I know Softimage development is now at a maintance level(so no new 
features) but I'm strongly inclined to suggest that an alembic attach to 
existing geo option is created in order to make this process much easier.
Even if its just in the sdk would be

Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Can you try using node Current Frame instead of Current Time?
Also, pls make sure the option Map Subframe to Frame (on Alembic node) is off.

Sent from my iPad

On May 10, 2014, at 12:10 AM, "Nuno Conceicao" 
mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com>> wrote:

1. Yes, same framerate which is 25 FPS in this test, also keep in mind that if 
i import the same .abc file the animation plays back correctly, so the issue is 
in this manual method

2. Thanks, I should have read more carefully your code comments, so this one is 
sorted but suffers the same time scale issue raised in 1.




On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 4:51 PM, Ho Chung Nguyen 
mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>> wrote:
1. Did you export the abc at the same framerate as you read it?

2. In the script, there's a flag specifying if the XSI object kine is driven by 
the abc cache. Should set it to True
gridData.SetCell(2, 0, True)

Sent from my iPad

> On May 9, 2014, at 10:31 PM, "Nuno Conceicao" 
> mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> #This flag specifies if the XSI object kine is driven by the abc cache
> gridData.SetCell(2, 0, False )

<>

Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

1. Did you export the abc at the same framerate as you read it?

2. In the script, there's a flag specifying if the XSI object kine is driven by 
the abc cache. Should set it to True
gridData.SetCell(2, 0, True)

Sent from my iPad

> On May 9, 2014, at 10:31 PM, "Nuno Conceicao"  
> wrote:
> 
> #This flag specifies if the XSI object kine is driven by the abc cache
> gridData.SetCell(2, 0, False )
<>

Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

If the mesh topology doesn't change, it should work

Sent

On May 9, 2014, at 8:14 PM, "Nuno Conceicao" 
mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com>> wrote:

Thanks, does this works with geometry instead of a pointcloud?



On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 1:05 PM, Ho Chung Nguyen 
mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>> wrote:
Do you create the Alembic node in the ICETree yourself?
For this to work, you’ll need to set the mapping from the Alembic object to the 
XSI object.
The mapping data is stored in a grid, which is a parameter of the Alembic node.

You can use the following Python script to set the mapping:

#Get the grid data which defines the mapping
gridData = 
Application.Dictionary.GetObject("PointCloud.pointcloud.ICETree.AlembicCacheNode").Items.Value
gridData.RowCount = 1
gridData.ColumnCount = 3

#This is the full path to the pointcloud in abc cache
gridData.SetCell(0, 0, "/PointCloud/PointCloudShape")

#This is the XSI object which the cache is applied on
gridData.SetCell(1, 0, "self")

#This flag specifies if the XSI object kine is driven by the abc cache
gridData.SetCell(2, 0, False )


From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>]
 On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2014 6:10 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Its a workflow thing, the objective is to have pointcach animation being 
transfered between an animation scene and a render scene.

If in the render scene the geometry stack needs to be frozen for any reason 
(could be for many reasons) and the alembic node re-atached later, then it 
seams that at the moment re-attaching the Alembic ICE node doesn't work 
properly.

If I re-create the ICE tree with the alembic read node attached,  it no longer 
is able to read the abc cache unless I re-import the alembic file again with a 
new mesh, which can be a bit messy if I need to update changes done on the old 
mesh (transfering clusters, weightmaps, tangent maps, materials, etc)

Instead it would be much simpler just to re-attach an alembic read cache node 
to the frozen mesh and reconnect to the point cache path which is easily 
script-able.





On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 5:27 AM, Ho Chung Nguyen 
mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com><mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com<mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>>>
 wrote:
Can you explain what you need?

From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com><mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com><mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>>]
 On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2014 5:54 PM
To: 
softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com><mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry
Anyone found a way to attach an ICE alembic cache node to a frozen geometry yet 
?

On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 11:04 AM, Nuno Conceicao 
mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com><mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com<mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com>><mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com<mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com><mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com<mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com>>>>
 wrote:
Thanks didn't knew it would export subframe, it wasn't so obvious to me but now 
it makes sense.
 :)
On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 4:06 AM, Ho Chung Nguyen 
mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com><mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com<mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>><mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com<mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com><mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com<mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>>>>
 wrote:
Caching of subframe is supported, the objects need to have property 
SimulationSettings and option Cache All Simulation Samples checked.
Pointclouds have this property by default. Polymeshes will have it if you 
create a simulated ICETree.
[cid:image001.png@01CF5E1A.E62EC860]<mailto:[cid:image001.png@01CF5E1A.E62EC860]><mailto:[cid:image001.png@01CF5E1A.E62EC860]>

From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com><mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>><mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com><mailto:softimage-boun...

RE: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Do you create the Alembic node in the ICETree yourself?
For this to work, you’ll need to set the mapping from the Alembic object to the 
XSI object.
The mapping data is stored in a grid, which is a parameter of the Alembic node.

You can use the following Python script to set the mapping:

#Get the grid data which defines the mapping
gridData = 
Application.Dictionary.GetObject("PointCloud.pointcloud.ICETree.AlembicCacheNode").Items.Value
gridData.RowCount = 1
gridData.ColumnCount = 3

#This is the full path to the pointcloud in abc cache
gridData.SetCell(0, 0, "/PointCloud/PointCloudShape")

#This is the XSI object which the cache is applied on
gridData.SetCell(1, 0, "self")

#This flag specifies if the XSI object kine is driven by the abc cache
gridData.SetCell(2, 0, False )


From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Friday, May 09, 2014 6:10 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Its a workflow thing, the objective is to have pointcach animation being 
transfered between an animation scene and a render scene.

If in the render scene the geometry stack needs to be frozen for any reason 
(could be for many reasons) and the alembic node re-atached later, then it 
seams that at the moment re-attaching the Alembic ICE node doesn't work 
properly.

If I re-create the ICE tree with the alembic read node attached,  it no longer 
is able to read the abc cache unless I re-import the alembic file again with a 
new mesh, which can be a bit messy if I need to update changes done on the old 
mesh (transfering clusters, weightmaps, tangent maps, materials, etc)

Instead it would be much simpler just to re-attach an alembic read cache node 
to the frozen mesh and reconnect to the point cache path which is easily 
script-able.





On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 5:27 AM, Ho Chung Nguyen 
mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>> wrote:
Can you explain what you need?

From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>]
 On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2014 5:54 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry
Anyone found a way to attach an ICE alembic cache node to a frozen geometry yet 
?

On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 11:04 AM, Nuno Conceicao 
mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com><mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com<mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com>>>
 wrote:
Thanks didn't knew it would export subframe, it wasn't so obvious to me but now 
it makes sense.
 :)
On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 4:06 AM, Ho Chung Nguyen 
mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com><mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com<mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>>>
 wrote:
Caching of subframe is supported, the objects need to have property 
SimulationSettings and option Cache All Simulation Samples checked.
Pointclouds have this property by default. Polymeshes will have it if you 
create a simulated ICETree.
[cid:image001.png@01CF5E1A.E62EC860]<mailto:[cid:image001.png@01CF5E1A.E62EC860]><mailto:[cid:image001.png@01CF5E1A.E62EC860]>

From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com><mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com><mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>>]
 On Behalf Of Ho Chung Nguyen
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 10:56 AM
To: 
softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com><mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Subject: RE: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Can you attach the abc file so we can look into it?
From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com><mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com><mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>>]
 On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2014 10:28 PM
To: 
softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com><mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>>
Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Weirdly enough this is the error I get if I try to connect an ICE Alembic Cache 
node:
P

RE: SI2015 alembic vs maya

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

I’ve logged an issue in the Alembic issue list
https://code.google.com/p/alembic/issues/detail?id=341

I do have a fix in the softimage-alembic clone. You can get the source and 
recompile AbcImport plugin.
https://code.google.com/r/nghochung-softimage-alembic/source/detail?r=e6512b6db1792aa797641511737124fb2cbf0794

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Ho Chung Nguyen
Sent: Thursday, April 24, 2014 9:22 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: SI2015 alembic vs maya

This seems like an issue with the Alembic plugin in Maya, even an abc file 
exported from Maya can’t be re-imported correctly when there are multiple 
materials on the mesh.
We’re looking into it.

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Szabolcs Matefy
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 11:47 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: SI2015 alembic vs maya

Ok. So far I could exchange between Maya and Softimage static geometry, and 
non-deformed geometry. Whenever deformed (deformer, envelope, shape animation) 
is involved, the geometry apparently doesn’t take the material IDs with itself, 
and the geometry is appearing in Maya in green shade, not rendering at all, 
etc, unless I assign a material. If it is a multi-material stuff, then 
apparently the clusters are empty in Maya.

If anybody could confirm that or had such an issue and resolved it, please drop 
me a line!


Cheers

Szabolcs

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of John Richard 
Sanchez
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 5:34 PM
To: XSI List to post
Subject: Re: SI2015 alembic vs maya

Good Question.

On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 6:25 AM, Szabolcs Matefy 
mailto:szabol...@crytek.com>> wrote:
Is there any differences between the alembic coming out from Maya and Softimage?

Chhers


Szabolcs
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--
www.johnrichardsanchez.com<http://www.johnrichardsanchez.com>
<>

RE: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Can you explain what you need?

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2014 5:54 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Anyone found a way to attach an ICE alembic cache node to a frozen geometry yet 
?


On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 11:04 AM, Nuno Conceicao 
mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Thanks didn't knew it would export subframe, it wasn't so obvious to me but now 
it makes sense.
 :)

On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 4:06 AM, Ho Chung Nguyen 
mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>> wrote:
Caching of subframe is supported, the objects need to have property 
SimulationSettings and option Cache All Simulation Samples checked.
Pointclouds have this property by default. Polymeshes will have it if you 
create a simulated ICETree.

[cid:image001.png@01CF5E1A.E62EC860]<mailto:[cid:image001.png@01CF5E1A.E62EC860]>

From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>]
 On Behalf Of Ho Chung Nguyen
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 10:56 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
Subject: RE: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Can you attach the abc file so we can look into it?

From: 
softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>
 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com>]
 On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2014 10:28 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com<mailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com>
Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Weirdly enough this is the error I get if I try to connect an ICE Alembic Cache 
node:
P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1 Absolute paths ? Autodesk!?

# HDF5-DIAG: Error detected in HDF5 (1.8.9) thread 0:
#   #000: P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1\source\contrib\hdf5-1.8.9\src\H5F.c line 
806 in H5Fis_hdf5(): unable to open file
# major: Low-level I/O
# minor: Unable to initialize object
#   #001: P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1\source\contrib\hdf5-1.8.9\src\H5FD.c line 
1101 in H5FD_open(): open failed
# major: Virtual File Layer
# minor: Unable to initialize object
#   #002: P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1\source\contrib\hdf5-1.8.9\src\H5FDsec2.c 
line 362 in H5FD_sec2_open(): unable to open file: name = 
'T:\120911-PIPELINETOOLS\Simulation\scene_root\cube1\cube1_Take1_1.abc', errno 
= 2, error message = 'No such file or directory', flags = 0, o_flags = 0
# major: File accessability
# minor: Unable to open file


On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 11:45 AM, Nuno Conceicao 
mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com><mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com<mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com>>>
 wrote:
Just trying the Alembic new feature on SI 2015 and noticed that apparently 
there is no attach to geometry function.
Also it has no subframe functionality.
Unless there is a coding way to do it I'm a bit disappointed on this new 
feature since its limited to be used for import/export and no point cache 
workflow between animation and rendering disciplines.
:(



<>

Re: Alembic export in 2015 not exporting attibutes

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Those attributes were not found or defined on the exported objects.

It's not a problem if you don't use those attributes in your scene.

The default list is comprehensive, including necessary attributes for the 
built-in renderers and sample scenes. Therefore you sometimes gets these 
warning if you don't use as many attributes.
Just remove those attributes from the list in the export dialogue if you don't 
want to see the warnings.


Sent

> On May 6, 2014, at 1:22 AM, "Arvid Björn"  wrote:
> 
> Hey folks,
> 
> I'm trying to export an Alembic with some custom properties, Exocortex Crate 
> doesn't seem to export anything other than the usual attributes, and there 
> are no options for it. Then I noticed that the new built-in exporter has 
> options for this, but when I export, I get this for just about every 
> attribute in the list:
> 
> // WARNING : Attribute not exported: AngularVelocity
> // WARNING : Attribute not exported: ColorAlongStrands
> // WARNING : Attribute not exported: MaterialID
> // WARNING : Attribute not exported: Materials
> etc..
> 
> What's up what that? There are not clues as to why they aren't exported. Is 
> there anything I need to do to get this to work?
> 
> Cheers!
<>

RE: SI2015 alembic vs maya

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

This seems like an issue with the Alembic plugin in Maya, even an abc file 
exported from Maya can’t be re-imported correctly when there are multiple 
materials on the mesh.
We’re looking into it.

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Szabolcs Matefy
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 11:47 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: SI2015 alembic vs maya

Ok. So far I could exchange between Maya and Softimage static geometry, and 
non-deformed geometry. Whenever deformed (deformer, envelope, shape animation) 
is involved, the geometry apparently doesn’t take the material IDs with itself, 
and the geometry is appearing in Maya in green shade, not rendering at all, 
etc, unless I assign a material. If it is a multi-material stuff, then 
apparently the clusters are empty in Maya.

If anybody could confirm that or had such an issue and resolved it, please drop 
me a line!


Cheers

Szabolcs

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of John Richard 
Sanchez
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 5:34 PM
To: XSI List to post
Subject: Re: SI2015 alembic vs maya

Good Question.

On Tue, Apr 22, 2014 at 6:25 AM, Szabolcs Matefy 
mailto:szabol...@crytek.com>> wrote:
Is there any differences between the alembic coming out from Maya and Softimage?

Chhers


Szabolcs
___
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--
www.johnrichardsanchez.com
<>

RE: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Caching of subframe is supported, the objects need to have property 
SimulationSettings and option Cache All Simulation Samples checked.
Pointclouds have this property by default. Polymeshes will have it if you 
create a simulated ICETree.

[cid:image001.png@01CF5E1A.E62EC860]

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Ho Chung Nguyen
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 10:56 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Can you attach the abc file so we can look into it?

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2014 10:28 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Weirdly enough this is the error I get if I try to connect an ICE Alembic Cache 
node:
P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1 Absolute paths ? Autodesk!?

# HDF5-DIAG: Error detected in HDF5 (1.8.9) thread 0:
#   #000: P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1\source\contrib\hdf5-1.8.9\src\H5F.c line 
806 in H5Fis_hdf5(): unable to open file
# major: Low-level I/O
# minor: Unable to initialize object
#   #001: P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1\source\contrib\hdf5-1.8.9\src\H5FD.c line 
1101 in H5FD_open(): open failed
# major: Virtual File Layer
# minor: Unable to initialize object
#   #002: P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1\source\contrib\hdf5-1.8.9\src\H5FDsec2.c 
line 362 in H5FD_sec2_open(): unable to open file: name = 
'T:\120911-PIPELINETOOLS\Simulation\scene_root\cube1\cube1_Take1_1.abc', errno 
= 2, error message = 'No such file or directory', flags = 0, o_flags = 0
# major: File accessability
# minor: Unable to open file


On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 11:45 AM, Nuno Conceicao 
mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Just trying the Alembic new feature on SI 2015 and noticed that apparently 
there is no attach to geometry function.
Also it has no subframe functionality.
Unless there is a coding way to do it I'm a bit disappointed on this new 
feature since its limited to be used for import/export and no point cache 
workflow between animation and rendering disciplines.
:(


<>

RE: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Can you attach the abc file so we can look into it?

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Nuno Conceicao
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2014 10:28 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: Softimage 2015 Alembic attach to geometry

Weirdly enough this is the error I get if I try to connect an ICE Alembic Cache 
node:
P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1 Absolute paths ? Autodesk!?

# HDF5-DIAG: Error detected in HDF5 (1.8.9) thread 0:
#   #000: P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1\source\contrib\hdf5-1.8.9\src\H5F.c line 
806 in H5Fis_hdf5(): unable to open file
# major: Low-level I/O
# minor: Unable to initialize object
#   #001: P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1\source\contrib\hdf5-1.8.9\src\H5FD.c line 
1101 in H5FD_open(): open failed
# major: Virtual File Layer
# minor: Unable to initialize object
#   #002: P:\ThirdParty\Alembic_1.5.1\source\contrib\hdf5-1.8.9\src\H5FDsec2.c 
line 362 in H5FD_sec2_open(): unable to open file: name = 
'T:\120911-PIPELINETOOLS\Simulation\scene_root\cube1\cube1_Take1_1.abc', errno 
= 2, error message = 'No such file or directory', flags = 0, o_flags = 0
# major: File accessability
# minor: Unable to open file


On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 11:45 AM, Nuno Conceicao 
mailto:nunoalexconcei...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Just trying the Alembic new feature on SI 2015 and noticed that apparently 
there is no attach to geometry function.
Also it has no subframe functionality.
Unless there is a coding way to do it I'm a bit disappointed on this new 
feature since its limited to be used for import/export and no point cache 
workflow between animation and rendering disciplines.
:(


<>

RE: Crowd FX 2014 help

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

Hi John

You can find the foo fighter scene done in the new CrowdFX system here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/81523789/FooFighter.zip


From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of John Richard 
Sanchez
Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2014 12:01 AM
To: XSI List to post
Subject: Crowd FX 2014 help

So I am working on crowd for the first time. I am trying to get one actor 
(Angels) to fight another actor (demons). Something like the Foofighters 
example. However, the foo fighters example is in the legacy (2013 crowd) mode 
so it is tough for me to reconstruct it in the 2014 workflow which I really 
like. Is there a scene file out there recreating foo fighters in 2014? Any help 
on what I would need to get this done would be a big help
Thanks
John

--
www.johnrichardsanchez.com
<>

RE: C++ : custom ice node with custom data type

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

This was to support polymorphism for Custom data type,
similar to how you define a polymorphic port "siICENodeDataLong | 
siICENodeDataFloat" with built-in data types.

For custom types, you can pass in an array of custom types that the port 
accepts.

From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Steven Caron
Sent: Friday, April 12, 2013 11:43 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: C++ : custom ice node with custom data type

hey ho chung

thanks for the response! i am well aware of this example code and have been 
referencing it already, my question still stands.

if you look at the example at line 118-124

CStringArray outStateCustomType(1);
outStateCustomType[0] = L"GridWalkState_v1";

st = nodeDef.AddOutputPort(ID_OUT_OutState, outStateCustomType, 
siICENodeStructureSingle, siICENodeContextComponent0D, L"Out 
State",L"OutState", ID_UNDEF,ID_UNDEF,ID_CTXT_CNS);

why is it a string array? why not just a single CString? can i put two data 
types into one output port? doesn't make sense. i am trying to understand if 
there is some trick or benefit for having the argument be an array of strings 
vs a single string

s

On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 8:07 PM, Ho Chung Nguyen 
mailto:hochung.ngu...@autodesk.com>> wrote:
You can connect to the SDK example workgroup and check out this custom ICE node
\XSISDK\examples\workgroup\Addons\CustomICENodes\cppsrc_gridwalker\GridWalker.cpp


<>

RE: C++ : custom ice node with custom data type

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

You can connect to the SDK example workgroup and check out this custom ICE node
\XSISDK\examples\workgroup\Addons\CustomICENodes\cppsrc_gridwalker\GridWalker.cpp

(To connect, go to File > Plugin Manager > Workgroup > Connect > Try SDK 
Examples workgroup)

The demo scene for this ICE node is here:
\XSISDK\examples\workgroup\Addons\CustomICENodes\Data\Project\Scenes\GridWalker.scn

The node registers a custom ICE data type called GridWalkState_v1
st = nodeDef.DefineCustomType(L"GridWalkState_v1",
   L"Grid Walk State",
   L"Hold particle states used for moving them on a 
grid.",
   23, 255, 255);

And the custom data structure is actually:
struct GridWalkerState
{
   ULONG m_nRandomSequencePosition;
   ULONG m_nCurrentStep;

   LONG m_nCurrentPositionX, m_nCurrentPositionY;
   LONG m_nDirectionX, m_nDirectionY;
};

There is no constraint between what you register and what data structure you 
actually use.
You will still be using CDataArrayCustomType to read and write to the data 
passing between nodes.

And you're also have to take care of resizing the elements in that array before 
writing to it. Custom data can have varying size, so you can have string or 
dynamic array in it if you'd like.


From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Steven Caron
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 2:18 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: C++ : custom ice node with custom data type

does anyone know why the ICENodeDef.AddOutputPort() method asks for a 
CStringArray of custom data types?

http://download.autodesk.com/global/docs/softimage2013/en_us/sdkguide/index.html?url=si_cpp/classXSI_1_1ICENodeDef.html,topicNumber=si_cpp_classXSI_1_1ICENodeDef_html,hash=ac0713341d32a19f748fec65f6837e6d3

i am trying to understand what benefit or feature providing multiple custom 
data type identifiers would do here. the documentation isn't clear on this, and 
since i am a n00b i need straight and to the point.

thanks
steven
<>

RE: finding the hidden variable

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

This is another plugin you can use
https://bitbucket.org/nghochung/public/src/7ea9985ee032/FindICEAttribute?at=master


-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Jeff McFall
Sent: Saturday, April 06, 2013 2:52 AM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: RE: finding the hidden variable

Thanks!

-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Stephen Blair
Sent: Friday, April 05, 2013 2:47 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: finding the hidden variable

Hi

Bradley Gabe's ICE Tree Trace:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1YpeWdrXDofSEFYWW9LUG5LclE

On 05/04/2013 1:53 PM, Jeff McFall wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I thought this would be a common question but I have not found anything so 
> makes me wonder where I missed the obvious.
>
> Is there not a way to do a search on ice trees to find where in the tree that 
> specific variables are accessed or set?
>
> thanks
> jeff
>
>




<>

RE: setting ICEAttribute.DataArray in JScript

[Ho Chung Nguyen]

- In Jscript, the array needs to be converted to safearray before you can set 
it on ICE attribute data. Check out the code below for the conversion.
- As a workaround for setting MaterialID, you can store the data in a custom 
attribute, then use ICE to read from it and set MaterialID

function getSafeArray(jsArr) {
var dict = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.Dictionary");
for (var i = 0; i < jsArr.length; i++)
dict.add(i, jsArr[i]);
return dict.Items();
}

//to a safe array
var safearr = getSafeArray([1,2,1,2,1,2]);

//back to a js array
//var jsArr = new VBArray(safearr).toArray();

cube = Dictionary.GetObject("cube")

attr = cube.ActivePrimitive.Geometry.AddICEAttribute("CustomMaterialID", 
siICENodeDataType.siICENodeDataLong, 
siICENodeStructureType.siICENodeStructureSingle, 
siICENodeContextType.siICENodeContextComponent2D)
attr.DataArray = safearr

-Original Message-
From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com 
[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Stephen Blair
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 7:29 PM
To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com
Subject: Re: setting ICEAttribute.DataArray in JScript

Last time I tried, I gave up on JScript (it seemed impossible) and got 
something to work in Python.

si = Application
from win32com.client import constants as C# 
win32com.client.constants

oObj = si.Selection(0)
oICEAttrMats = oObj.ActivePrimitive.AddICEAttribute("MyString",
C.siICENodeDataString, C.siICENodeStructureArray,
C.siICENodeContextSingleton)
oICEAttrMats.DataArray2D = ["a", "b", "c", "d"]

x = oICEAttrMats.DataArray2D
print x
print len(x)
print len(x[0])
print len(x[0][0])

for d in x[0][0]:
 print d


# (((u'a', u'b', u'c', u'd'),),)
# 1
# 1
# 4
# a
# b
# c
# d





On 12/03/2013 5:18 AM, Eugen Sares wrote:
> Ok... I'm trying this workaround:
> - Create custom ICEAttributes instead of the factory ones via 
> scripting, with exactly the same type.
> - Create a simple ICE graph that reads from the custom attributes and 
> writes to the factory attr via scripting.
>
> I've managed to write the "MaterialID" this way, but with "Materials" 
> I have the problem that I cannot create an equal string array custom
> attribute:
>
> 
> var oObj = CreatePrim("grid", "MeshSurface", "", ""); oICEAttrMats = 
> oObj.ActivePrimitive.AddICEAttribute("MyString",
> siICENodeDataString, siICENodeStructureArray, 
> siICENodeContextSingleton); oICEAttrMats.DataArray = ["a", "b", "c", 
> "d"];  // WARNING : 3392 - Invalid offset specified while 
> extracting data from this attribute: 
>
> The DataType, StructType and ContextType of that string array 
> attribute is exactly the same as the factory "Materials" attribute.
> (I checked in XSI_SAMPLES\ICE\Modelling_Materials.scn)
>
> What's wrong now?
> Thanks,
> Eugen
>
>
>
> Am 11.03.2013 18:46, schrieb Stephen Blair:
>> I don't think it is possible.
>>
>> MaterialID becomes undefined/uninitialized pretty quick...
>> http://screencast.com/t/HeNPz4qgwlh
>>
>> On 11/03/2013 12:25 PM, Eugen Sares wrote:
>>> Thanks, Steven!
>>> IsDefined is read-only, by the looks.
>>> So how do I write to it to define it (outside of ICE), when it 
>>> cannot be written until it's defined??
>>>
>>>
>>> Am 11.03.2013 17:15, schrieb Stephen Blair:
 MaterialID isn't defined. Seems that you cannot set 
 MaterialID.DataArray unless IsDefined is True

 On 11/03/2013 11:44 AM, Eugen Sares wrote:
> Whereas this throws a warning:
> 
> NewScene("", "false");
> var oObj = CreatePrim("grid", "MeshSurface", "", ""); 
> SetValue("grid.polymsh.geom.subdivu", 2, null); 
> SetValue("grid.polymsh.geom.subdivv", 2, null); var oICEAttr = 
> oObj.ActivePrimitive.GetICEAttributeFromName("MaterialID");
> oICEAttr.DataArray = [0,1,2,3]; // WARNING : 3403 - The data is 
> not set on this ICEAttribute: MaterialID
>
> var oProp = oObj.AddProperty("AttributeDisplay");
> SetValue(oObj.Name + ".AttributeDisplay.attrname", "MyLong", 
> null); 
>>>
>

<>