Midphase

The new title is quite good...if you're a fifth grader. Congrats?

Would it be too much to ask the OP to change the click-bait title to something that more clearly describes the issue?

Redshift will apparently need Big Sur due to some AMD driver stuff. Assuming the typical Apple release cycle, that would be late September/early October at the earliest.

Well...wouldn't you know it? OTOY managed to actually deliver on their promise of an OSX Metal version of Octane. I know many C4D users prefer Octane to other options, as well as working in OSX. Now they can have both. It will be interesting to see how this shapes things up, particularly with upcoming AMD GPU's, as well as in the future with ARM based Macs (which supposedly Octane is also already compatible with). Here's a link to the official announcement: https://home.otoy.com/octane-x-pr1/

I thought Camera Mapping in Houdini is quite doable. There is however a severe lack of tutorials on it. Also, check out the brand new SideFX Labs Trim Texture.

Same here, it's a bit like visiting an old friend that you don't really hang out with anymore, but you still care about knowing how they're doing.

An even simpler solution -- create Blendercafe.com!!!

I'm curious as to what your favorite way is to send files back and forth between Houdini and Blender? I tend to use Alembic since FBX gives me issues with Blender Z-up vs. Houdini Y-up as well as the different scale.

For those interested in modeling in Houdini, there is this 3rd party product that makes it a lot more feasible:

ODForce seems weirdly semi-abandoned lately. The Discord server is pretty active: https://discord.gg/b8U5Hdy

Redshift for Metal official preview?

I think that's true for most industries. Everyone is (rightfully) afraid that their value will be diminished as more and more people enter their particular trade.

True, but the thing about Houdini (and I'm not trying to convert anyone here) is that it doesn't have to be that way. It can operate just as well through basic functions as it does through the more complex test cases. One of the things that drove me nuts (it still does) about the "old school" Houdini community is its aversion to the so-called Shelf Tools. These are basically presets of sorts that can get you very good results at the click of a button. There is no need to understand what is happening beneath the surface -- unless you want to; then it's all there for you to inspect and tweak. Thanks to other tools that I use on a daily basis such as MOPs which I already mentioned, and the SideFX LABS add-ons, this simple approach is reinforced. For instance, SideFX LABS has a cool one-node tool for adding snow on top of your geometry (works wonders as cake frosting too). One node, some basic parameters -- done! I think part of the problem with Houdini has been the core user base, which has not only created a weird sense of shame for wanting to use some of these simple solutions, but has also perpetuated the notion that you need a computer science degree to operate Houdini through the tutorials which they have created which tend to be unnecessarily complex.

Hello Dave, Thanks for the sympathy. I understand perfectly well the difference between a subscription and a so-called "maintenance plan" which in other industries involves being able to make a phone call to a technician whenever you please to solve whatever issue you might have -- not an option with RS. As I said, for all intents and purposes, since quite often RS will release a version with missing functionality/incorrect functionality, the end user is tied to the "maintenance plan" regardless making it effectively a forced subscription whether they want to call it that or not. MAXON is the reason for a push for RS to work with OSX since many C4D users still prefer to work in OSX. Regardless, the more colleagues I talk with offline or Discord, the more I hear various frustrations with RS. For me it's tied to the whole OSX thing, for others it's tied to other reasons -- but it's frustration nonetheless. As I said, up until recently I was a big promoter of RS, including giving lectures on RS in Houdini and making RS a big part of my tutorial channel. Now I feel like they've completely turned their back on people like me and I'm not quite sure I have much interest in going back even when they do eventually deliver an RS Metal version. Maybe they will consider doing the right thing, and create an incentive for users like me to return, like for instance allow my maintenance renewal to start from the public release of RS for Metal as opposed to backdating it from when it expired? I certainly hope so.

I guess someone should tell that to AVID and many of the other companies that allow you to do just that. Also, can we stop calling it a "maintenance" plan whatever that means? It's a subscription, paid in full for the entire year! Sure your license will continue working after the maintenance has expired, but what's the point if the version you have is riddled with bugs, or is now incompatible with the software or hardware that you're using? So whether you like it or not, you're still bound to having to pay the maintenance plan year after year. I'm on OSX -- RS promised a Metal version by the end of 2019, that came and went. Then they said 1st quarter 2020, and that is now passed. Latest from Panos is an evasive weeks or months. What am I supposed to do? Pay them $250 for the hell of it? I stayed on High Sierra for as long as I could, but ultimately I had to upgrade since all of my other apps required it (I can't move to Windows because of other OSX-only apps that are key to my business). So where does that leave me? To pay $250 if/when RS for Metal beta is released hopefully later this year (with I'm sure will have tons of bugs), and then pay yet another $250 in January in hopes that the bugs and missing features are added back in 2020? If you can step in my shoes for just a bit, you can see just how frustrating this can be -- and up until recently I considered myself an RS evangelist! I think there are better ways to handle this. Offer a returning customers discount to get back unto a full maintenance, so maybe instead of another $500 after one lapsed year, it's more like $300 or some other figure that doesn't quite feel like a spit in the face of past customers. Alternatively, maybe make the "maintenance" plan more affordable, how about $100/year? That seems reasonable. Or alternatively, if OSX is currently not-really supported, offer an option for OSX users that doesn't penalize them for missing a year of maintenance where they would be paying for absolutely nothing. Best option of all IMHO would be to just go to a subscription plan similar to Octane. $20/month, sign up when you need it, cancel when you don't. In the meantime Blender EEVEE and Cycles GPU are looking mighty fine!