H16.5 is not just an iteration on the features released in H16. It also includes a lot of tools we had prepared for H17 that are ready now – and this is how we like to operate: when the tools are ready, we don’t hold back – we release them.

Film & TV Features
For film, TV, advertising and motion graphics artists, the top new features and enhancements include:
Narrow band fluids – ? memory usage and 3X speed (compared to full band
Air incompressibility – for accurate bubble behaviour
Optical flow – use 2D or 3D sources to drive any type of Houdini simulation
Simulated muscle and flesh – point deform & FEM
Crowds with partial ragdolls and quadruped support
Grooming enhancements – flexible grooming, faster controls, and artist-friendly tools

GameDev & VR Features
For game developers and artists, the top new features and enhancements include:
PolyReduce – improved reduction algorithm, preserve quads, reduction based on texture maps, geometry silhouettes or any other attributes
UV layout – insanely tight packing
Terrain – smoothly transplant a feature from one height field into another
Rounded-edge rendering – generates beveled edge at render time, output to texture maps – rounded edge can also double as a mask for dirt maps