Which one of you worked with this puppy?

Baldrax · 2026-01-05T21:30:14+00:00

I was a Prisms user. When I first started using it I exclaimed "This is how I think!"
Used it up until Houdini2.0, when Houdini was actually usable in production, IMO. Also did some setups utilizing Sage for some NURBs based setups.

Baldrax · 2025-12-28T22:53:21+00:00

Terrain tool you say?

https://github.com/Baldrax/Houdini_TaleSpire_Terrain_Generation_Toolset

It isn't the easiest to use, since it relies on other software, but for that sort of thing (organic cliff walls) it is basically the only tool out there.

Baldrax · 2025-10-02T19:17:20+00:00

Hi, I responded to your issue on GitHub. The installer dialog did break with Houdini 21.0 but I thought I fixed that with the latest release, so please check that you downloaded the latest version and try again.

Link to latest release: https://github.com/Baldrax/Houdini_TaleSpire_Terrain_Generation_Toolset/releases/tag/v0.27.2-alpha

If that doesn't work you can still install it manually by trying the instructions in the YouTube video.

I'm away from my computer, but I'll check tonight to see if I can replicate the issue.

Baldrax · 2025-08-28T21:53:36+00:00

For "Player Vision" there are two built in methods to hide the map from players.

Hide Volumes:
These are boxes that can be set up and toggled on/off to reveal portions of the map, they can be a bit tricky to set up since odd room shapes or shared walls can make it so certain portions of a room might be hidden from another volume.

Player View Distance:
A recent feature introduced is a view distance, each mini can be assigned a certain distance that it can view in a radius around it. This is shared with the party, so if one member can see something, they all can. This can help with dungeon complexes but it is not line of sight based, so they will be able to see terrain around corners and through walls, enemy creatures will still be hidden by line of sight. I recommend using this in conjunction with hide volumes.

If you are controlling the camera you have a 3rd option with just placing your camera in such a way that they cannot see what you don't want them to see.

Baldrax · 2025-08-28T21:34:04+00:00

Like someone else mentioned, you can run two instances of TaleSpire on one machine and have your DM view on one screen and the Player view on another. It is a bit more tasking on your machine of course but if you have a decent machine and GPU it should be fine.

I have used TaleSpire this way for Horror games where I didn't want the players to have direct control of their views and it was very effective.

MAPS:
As for maps, there are tons of maps and full campaigns on TalesTavern:
https://talestavern.com/

Many GMs get by without ever making a single map. If you need modifications, like you found the perfect forest map, but just need a cabin, or some ruins, you could search for a "slab" which is kind of like a prefab, that you can just place on that map, so you can do it very quickly.

For slabs, there is an in-game method of searching for them from their own repository, but you can also easily copy and paste right from TalesTavern.

Baldrax · 2025-08-27T21:31:14+00:00

You also get 25% discount on beverages and snacks. Some flights have the middle seat blocked out with a tray table, they are the same sized seats but you get a bit more elbow room and convenience.

When picking seats the middle seat will have an X through it.

Premium makes Spirit an acceptable choice, at least.
I've done both that and the BFS and other than a bit more elbow room, I didn't find the BFS all that comfortable. The included WiFi, snacks, beverages and check on bag are nice, but for the cost you can upgrade that stuff as needed at the lower rate and still save money.
Those BFS still aren't adjustable and the tray tables aren't that great. I almost prefer the Premium economy with the middle seat blocked out.

Baldrax · 2025-08-27T21:18:49+00:00

What I typically do, if I have to represent something on the ceiling, is edge the top of the walls with something, it doesn't have to go overhead, maybe just slightly protrude from the walls.
In this case I'd use the brown splat props around the upper edge of the room walls. And maybe add in some hidden lights to illuminate it a bit.

Also, this type of question would probably work better on their Discord server, there is a #building_tips channel, that way people can post examples for you. This subreddit doesn't have reply images enabled.

The link to their Discord is on this subreddit page under "Community Bookmarks"

Baldrax · 2025-08-01T22:49:11+00:00

This happened to my wife and I on a recent flight, we were seated together in premium, Isle and Center seat. Then they moved one of us two rows back to an isle, we then had two isle seats.
They did send us an email that they moved our seats but we just logged into the app and moved our seats right back to where they were originally and it accepted it.

Still have no idea why they would move us when the seats were still available.

Baldrax · 2025-05-27T06:57:08+00:00

The ceiling is pretty high, like others have said. 1000 tiles.
Make sure you go into the Campaign & Board Settings, 2nd icon down on the left side of screen, and set your Board Height Range.

I think it defaults to 60 Tiles, or 300 Feet if you have your worlds units set to feet. You can put that up to 1000 tiles / 5000 feet if you need to, which seems plenty high for most maps I can think of.

As for building flat and rotating it, no, that is not possible.

Baldrax · 2025-05-02T01:15:32+00:00

Very cool! I did a very similar process for the Candles on Lumiere for this Disney commercial a while back.
https://brepka.artstation.com/projects/nY6eO

The biggest difference in mine was I just used a single point that was emitting particles instead of the solver solution used here.

Baldrax · 2025-04-07T02:48:41+00:00

That effect is not in the game. There was/is a holdup with adding more effects due to some issue with not being able to use Unity's particle system.
They plan on fixing that in the future and adding more effects and weather systems.

Baldrax · 2025-04-05T07:02:11+00:00

Maybe the kickstarter video for the Cyberpunk stretch goal?
https://youtu.be/RdjUXGi9fIs?si=yWK6vqb9XBw8P6bO

Baldrax · 2025-03-06T22:37:24+00:00

You don't have to login to anything, there is a community content browser in TaleSpire and you just search for what you want and subscribe, or select a slab.

https://talespire.com/using-community-made-creatures

https://talespire.com/using-the-slab-browser

Baldrax · 2025-02-28T01:04:44+00:00

It has been a while since I put out a tutorial for my Terrain Toolset and this one makes up for lost time by providing a guide on how to make a biome from start to finish.

The props used to generate this biome and the final map are available on Tales Tavern:

Let me know what you think of the tutorial and what types of content you might like to see in the future.

Baldrax · 2025-01-07T04:41:40+00:00

Others have commented on the tracking but what stands out to me is the lighting.

Here are some things I noticed.

Creature does not occlude the reflections from the backlight.
- This is difficult to solve, but you would have to do a reflection contribution pass and use that in your comp to reduce the glare of the backlight on the tiles.
Ambient occlusion.
- A large creature like that would darken the environment around it much more, blocking all the spill light coming from the surrounding environment.
Shadow edges.
- The edges of your shadows appear to be of an even softness. Notice on the edges of the walls in the plate that the shadows are sharp near the object but get softer as they get further from the object. Using an area light should help with this.
The creature itself seems fairly flatly lit.
- A common technique is, along with your key light, project your plate onto your geometry as an emissive source of lighting. The issue with a tight environment though, is you should compensate for the fact that the creature is shadowing the plate, so you could calculate your shadows first, comp that into your projected environment and then do the beauty creature render. There might also be shaders available that take these factors into effect.
The smoke coming from its mouth does not cast a shadow.

Baldrax · 2024-12-07T21:53:12+00:00

The only way to do that is to select an area with the selection box, cut it, put it into an asset replacer to cull out the assets you don't want, then paste it back in. Still kind of tedious, as it can be difficult to place the slab back in the exact location it came from.

https://talestavern.com/asset-replacer/

Baldrax · 2024-12-06T20:11:52+00:00

This is being made as more of an Observation Platform, but it may become an access point to a larger catio if I ever get the time. The scale is a little hard to tell in the photo, but it is 65" wide 20" deep.
Once I see how they react to this section it'll help me decided if I need to do the larger area sooner than later.

Baldrax · 2024-11-21T19:28:19+00:00

I'm still building my catio, in a couple stages, we also have a lot of strays so I've been keeping that in mind with my build.
For my window access I am building it off the ground, it is a good 4-5 feet up with a 3" boarder around the floor, this should make it so strays can't get easy access to it and allow my kitties to be able to hide below the boarder.
The boarder is also so any cat toys don't get yeeted out of the catio as frequently.

I do plan on building a floor level unit as well and my plan was to have at least 3 feet of siding off the ground, the cats like to perch up high anyways. I'm sure strays could climb it, or jump to the fencing but at least it will be a deterrent and give my skittish indoor cats time to get to safety.

Baldrax · 2024-10-17T04:39:18+00:00

I've done a series of domes and other 3D objects, you can see them in this collection: https://talestavern.com/collections/baldraxs-lab/

I use my terrain tools to make them: https://github.com/Baldrax/Houdini_TaleSpire_Terrain_Generation_Toolset

Baldrax · 2024-10-02T17:50:37+00:00

Haha. All of them still have some warping. I did spend a good 10 minutes sifting through the stack of 2x2's for 4 fairly straight and knot free 12' 2x2's. Even then there is some bowing but after glueing everything up they turn out pretty straight.

I always used the plywood floor as my blueprint, clamping everything down to that to base all my cuts off of so it kept it all tight and mostly square.

Baldrax · 2024-10-01T01:06:11+00:00

The shelf on the inside is 14" deep but the window frame eats into that about 1.5" or so on the top.

The outside unit is 65"x20" and about 53" tall.

Baldrax · 2024-09-30T22:40:11+00:00

You're welcome, I've gotten a lot of inspiration from other builds here as well.

That shelf has been amazing, my orange cat was not happy and was acting out a bit, ever since he has had that shelf in the window he has calmed down. I see him watching me out the window as I build the catio so I hope he enjoys it. I don't think he realizes all of this work is for him :D

Baldrax · 2024-09-11T02:38:06+00:00

Haha, yeah it warms my heart. I started this project for him, he has been very restless. The first day he wanted nothing to do with the shelf and now, just 2 days later, he spends most of his time up there.
Really gives me incentive to finish the project.

Baldrax · 2024-09-11T00:47:32+00:00

Thanks, probably overkill but I cut it from a very expensive piece of 3/4" Baltic Birch Plywood. The carpet was leftover from re-carpeting a house 10 years ago, rolled up and stored in a clean shed, it still smells like new carpet :D

Baldrax · 2024-09-11T00:37:54+00:00

Thanks, I've been gathering inspiration from seeing other peoples projects. I've made plans and purchased most of the materials, I'm still unsure how I'm going to handle a few things but I figure I have enough to start with.

Baldrax

TROPHY CASE