[HOU-2329] Houdini 18.0.532 VRAY Nodes Installed but Render/VrayFrameBuffer don't work.

[jannasophie_gaede]

Hello,

I am using Houdini Indie 18.0.532 and I installed Vray 18.0.532.
Vray seems to be installed and is showing up in Houdini.
All Nodes are there but the Buttons for Rendering or Vray Frame Buffer don't work.
Nothing happens when clicking them.

I tried to reinstall Vray several times.

I had previously Houdini Indie 18.0.391 running with Vray and that was working.
I uninstalled the Houdini Version 18.0.391 and also uninstalled Vray for 18.0.391.
The Vray Houdini 18.0.391 Folder still is in the Vray Programm Folder.
I also deleted it once there. Didn't help.

What can I do to fix this problem?

Many thanks for the help.

[Gosho.Genchev]

Hey jannasophie_gaede ,

when you install V-Ray with the installer, two things happen:
1) The V-Ray folder holding the V-Ray files is created under C:\Program Files\Chaos Group\V-Ray\Houdini 18.0.532
2) A vray_for_houdini.json file is created under C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini 18.0.532\packages

1. Could you please verify that the folder "C:\Program Files\Chaos Group\V-Ray\Houdini 18.0.532" is not empty ?
2. Could you please verify that the "vray_for_houdini.json" file points to the "C:\Program Files\Chaos Group\V-Ray\Houdini 18.0.532" folder ?

In my case, here's how it looks inside the "vray_for_houdini.json" file:

"INSTALL_ROOT" : "C:\Program Files\Chaos Group\V-Ray\Houdini 18.0.532"

3. We had a couple of reports on the forum that we're looking into, stating that V-Ray won't load - it seems the common thing is the new SideFX Launcher - did you use that to install Houdini ? If so, maybe Houdini is not installed under "C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini 18.0.532" - could you please check if that is the case ?

4. Could you please check the Python version of Houdini - you can do so by opening Houdini -> Windows -> Python Shell. The top line reads "Python 2.7.15 (default, Mar 10 2020, 16:25:26) [MSC v.1916 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32" for me. SideFX recently added Python3 builds of Houdini - we do not yet support those.

Best regards!

[jannasophie_gaede]

Hi Gosho.Genchev ,

thank you for your answers. I checked all the things you asked for.

Nr. 1) the Folder "C:\Program Files\Chaos Group\V-Ray\Houdini 18.0.532" isn't empty.

Nr. 2) the jason file points to "C:\Program Files\Chaos Group\V-Ray\Houdini 18.0.532".

Nr. 3) Yes Houdini isn't installed at C, but I took care of that while installing Vray and pointed it to "E:\Side Effects Software\Houdini 18.0.532\packages" - the vray jason is also in that ...\package Folder.
I just saw that there is also this folder at C but seems that there are missing most of the usual Houdini installation folders. There is also no vray jason file.
I am not sure if I have been using the SideFX Laucher to install Houdini. I don't think so. I made a screenshot that shows what my installer looked like.
Can I check somehow if my Houdini starts from "E:\Side Effects Software\Houdini 18.0.532...."? -> just checked it. It starts from E:\...
There is also a Houdini 18.0 folder under Documents.

Nr.4) Python 2.7.15 (default, Mar 11 2020, 10:04:57) [MSC v.1916 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32

[bdancer]

You could try adding those variables to help debugging the issue to the houdini.env:
HOUDINI_WINDOW_CONSOLE=1 # This will show a console window with text output
HOUDINI_DSO_ERROR=2 # This will report module loading errors.

[jannasophie_gaede]

Hi bdancer,

thank you, I will try that.
How do I add these variables to the houdini.env.?
I can't remember where and how to do that...

OK found it. Added it here. Hope that's correct.
It's working. Doesn't seem to have any errors.

Sry for all the editing. I don't have a lot of experienced with this.
I just tested Vray with the Console and got this error.

[Gosho.Genchev]

Hey jannasophie_gaede ,

do you have a V-Ray License Server installed locally, or are licenses being pulled from a remote server ?

You can go to http://localhost:30304/#/ to check what licenses are available under your account ( you may need to log in with your Chaosgroup account)

If the licenses are provided by a remote machine, you can go to "C:\Program Files\Chaos Group\V-Ray\Houdini 18.5.408\appsdk\bin" and open the "setvrlservice.exe" to point to the correct IP address.

Hope that helps!

[jannasophie_gaede]

Hi Gosho.Genchev,

this is how it looks, is there something wrong?

[Gosho.Genchev]

Hey jannasophie_gaede

Could you please set the "Primary License Server" (top left field that is currently empty) to localhost and hit OK. I've no idea why it's empty for you.

Hpe that helps!

[jannasophie_gaede]

Hi Gosho.Genchev,

Its working!
Thank you so much.

[Dubbie99]

This issue also caught me out. I really think vray needs to throw up a prompt or something when it can’t get a license. It would save a lot of wasted time trying to troubleshoot.

[Gosho.Genchev]

Hey Dubbie99 ,

Absolutely, I'll log a request. I'm not sure why the problem appears in the first place but a pop up box stating no license can be found would be helpful.

Best regards!