Procedural Race Tracks - Houdini 17.5/18 and Houdini Engine

Install Whodini and the Whodini engine in Unity and Unreal to build HD content, and learn to download, install, and create your first Whodini project with organized assets.

Create a new Unity project and install the Houdini engine by dragging the Unity package into the assets folder, then set up a pipe session to connect Houdini.

Install the Houdini Engine in Unreal Engine and create a new project. Enable the Houdini Engine plugin and set up a race track tools folder with an HD subfolder.

Find the Houdini engine documentation for Unreal and Unity on the Side Effects support site, learn what parameters, attributes, and groups do, and compare engine differences for cross-platform HD workflows.

Recap installing Houdini and the engine for unreal, creating your first Houdini project, managing project files for portability, and reviewing engine differences and documentation to prepare for building hd.

Explore the Houdini user interface, including the top menus, desktops, shelf tools, and the network view. Learn to place objects, adjust transforms, and use the timeline for animation and audio.

Create and work with notes (nodes) in Houdini, build geometry inside an object level geo node, transform and reconnect components, and craft procedural models through node networks.

Import Houdini assets into Unity with the Houdini Engine, organize and update hdr/hdl files, and adjust asset parameters in the Unity inspector to build race track props.

Procedurally build a road cone in Houdini by adding legs with the grid and extrudes, copy to points, apply vertex colors, and package as HDR for Unity and Unreal.

Finish the road cone by grouping primitives into legs and platform, applying color groups and normals, and packaging it as a scalable digital asset for Unity or Unreal.

Add and expose track geometry parameters in Houdini: set resolution, refinement amount, width, and color, and link the user curve to the Houdini Engine editable node for Unity testing.

Test Whodini track tool in Unity, saving changes with save node type. Drag it into Unity hierarchy, then edit and shape curves by moving points using control to add points.

Learn to generate track sidelines by creating outer curves with an add node, sweeping lines, and offset controls, then assemble track and sidelines with an object merge.

Test the Houdini track tool in unreal by re-importing the Houdini asset, rebuilding the asset, and adjusting width, offset, and track width to refine the race track.

Fix the open curb issue by examining normals and vectors, and reveal a surprise bonus Houdini technique in this introduction.

Fix open curvature by transferring normal from first point to the last, fuse points, and retain moves promoted to the vertex class, then apply center line technique in procedural models.

Set up a basic Houdini HDA to import geometry and extract the track user curve, using object merge, dot notation, and groups to pass data between nodes.

Test geometry importing in unity by configuring ui test inputs, promoting track input to hdr, and importing curve data to drive a procedural race track with the houdini engine.

Learn procedural techniques to generate race track bumpers, detect turn direction by measuring curve length, and create normals, bumper geometry, and vertex color patterns for Houdini.

Measure the length of each track segment from the inner to the outer curve to guide bumper placement, using separation of curves, primitive matching, and per-segment length attributes.

Detect the direction of a turn by comparing inside and outside curve lengths using an attribute wrangle in the Whodini engine, with clear turn visualization.

Smooth bumper curves and offset ends to avoid overlaps, then sweep a profile along the curve to create bumper geometry, adjusting clipping and directionality for inside versus outside turns.

Learn to generate bumper geometry procedurally in Houdini by copying a profile to points, skinning to shape the bumper, beveling edges, and adding caps with a poly fill node.

Offset the bumper from the road, add end caps, adjust normals for extrusion, bevel edges via group promote, and fuse geometries while preparing for UVs and materials.

Learn to compute curve directions in Houdini by flattening normals, creating a stable right vector with cross products, and deriving an up vector to maintain orientation on moving curve points.

Review how to create flow levels with the policy framework and use normals to extract curve directions, maintaining orientation when copying or sweeping along curves for procedural, curve-based models.