Up to 2012+ Theoretically most of the scripts are working properly on older versions of 3dsmax. Since they are maxscripts and not plug-ins they don't have to be recompiled.
I personally spent some time studying Houdini decade or more ago but found a company would be reluctant to build their toolset on Houdini base. Same story in a way with Substance Designer actually which nobody uses really but me. Then I found all I ever wanted to do in Houdiny like complex arrays and scatter systems are…