Guide : installing Quixel Bridge (Megascans) plug-in with Houdini 19.5 on Windows
Hello, Quixel Bridge allows to get textures directly inside Houdini and in theory the installation of their export plugin for Houdini is as easy as going to the "Export settings" menu and clicking "Download" then "Install" with Houdini closed. Once the plugin is installed, open Houdini and if you have the "Megascans" menu available you may stop reading right here.
In my case, the plugin said it got installed but the menu labeled "Megascans" did not appear. Upon clicking export I would get the message "Could not send data over port 13290" which is another sign the plugin did not install properly. If you have this error, here's the fix.
Follow the instructions at https://help.quixel.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002427238-User-Guide-Megascans-Plugin-for-SideFX-Houdini under "Custom installation" but ignore the step 8 to 10.
In other words :
- attempt to install the plugin as described in the first paragraph and check if you have the error from the second paragraph
- close Houdini and Quixel bridge
- download the zip file from https://quixel-megascans-static.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/bridge/plugins_12/houdini/win/4.5.zip (at the time of this post, check the previous link for the latest version)
- Extract the folder "MSLiveLink" from the zip file into your Houdini folder under your Documents folder. So for me this created the folder here : C:\Users\user\Documents\houdini19.5\MSLiveLink
- Go to the "packages" folder under your houdini19.5 folder. Ex: C:\Users\user\Documents\houdini19.5\packages
- Create a file named MegascansPlugin.json
- Paste the following text inside of it, adapt it to point to your MSLiveLink folder, making sure that the slash are escaped (replace all slashes by two slashes)
{ "path": "C:\\Users\\user\\Documents\\houdini19.5\\MSLiveLink" }
Then open Houdini and ensure the "Megascans" menu is visible. If so, you can then go to Quixel Bridge, in your Export Settings select Houdini (not Custom Socket Export) and now the exports should be successful.
BONUS #1 : I personally did not experience this issue but if in Houdini the window from "Megascans > Megascans plugin" is empty, follow these instructions. https://help.quixel.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360013375318-Please-Help-after-installation-the-settings-window-is-empty-Houdini-18-499-and-18-532
BONUS #2 : I got the bonus #1 above from this excellent tutorial from the under rated YouTube channel Carvalho VFX : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6gqut0Xf98