I'm attempting to export ASS scene files from Houdini using HtoA so that we can render scenes using our bespoke render farm but I'm having problems with regards to absolute file paths in image nodes and texture_searchpath attribute. I'm using Houdini FX 17.0.416 and htoa 3.2.2.
The image node always generates absolute paths in the ASS file regardless of how the file path was entered in Houdini. I've tried a number of different ways of entering the image file path (relative, absolute, picked with the file picker) and having texture_searchpath set. For our render farm we will be setting texture_searchpath from the command line.
Am I confusing the point of the texture search path property in HtoA (or how the image node filepath attribute works) as I'm used to having the “Absolute Texture Paths” option in MtoA to remove the absolute path from image names when exporting ASS files.
I just tested it.
If I put a relative path in the image node, and the rest of the path in the texture search path, I get a relative path in the output.
options { texture_searchpath "[TEXTURE_PATH]" }
image { name /shop/arnold_vopnet1/image1 filename "noicon.tx" }
We should provide an option in HtoA to export the filenames relative to the texture search path, I'm creating the ticket https://trac.solidangle.com/htoa/ticket/1183 for this.