Water Block

The Water Block object can add a lot of realism to your level’s environment. Primarily, you should use a WaterBlock to simulate isolated bodies of water with a limited size. They do not necessarily need to be small, but a WaterPlane can simulate a massive/endless body of water.

Adding a Water Block

To add a water block, switch to the Object Editor tool. Locate the Library panel and click it. Click on the Level tab and then double-click the Environment folder. Locate the Water Block entry.

../_images/LibraryWaterblock.jpg

Double-click on the Water Block entry. A dialog box will appear:

../_images/AddWater.jpg

Enter a name for your Water Block then click the Create New button. A square body of water will be added to the scene. This is your Water Block. Like any other object, you can manipulate its transform using the gizmos.

../_images/WaterblockAdded.jpg

Water Block Properties

Additional properties can be accessed with the Inspector pane. To change a Water Blocks properties using the Inspector Pane click the Scene tab, then click the name of your new Water Block object. The Inspector pane will update to display the current properties of your new sun.

Inspector

Name
TypeName. Optional global name of this object.
id
TypeCaseString. SimObjectId of this object. Read Only.
Source Class
TypeCaseString. Source code class of this object. Read Only.

Transform

position
MatrixPosition. Object world position.

WaterBlock

gridSize
TypeF32. Duplicate of gridElementSize for backwards compatibility.
gridElementSize
TypeF32. Spacing between vertices in the WaterBlock.

WaterObject

density
TypeF32. Affects buoyancy of an object, thus affecting the Z velocity of a player (jumping, falling, etc).
viscosity
TypeF32. Affects drag force applied to an object submerged in this container.
liquidType
TypeRealString. Liquid type of WaterBlock, such as water, ocean, lava. Currently only Water is defined and used.
baseColor
TypeColorI. Changes color of water fog, which is what gives the water its color appearance.
fresnelBias
TypeF32. Extent of fresnel affecting reflection fogging.
fresnelPower
TypeF32. Measures intensity of affect on reflection based on fogging.
specularPower
TypeName. Power used for specularity on the water surface (sun only).
specularColor
TypeColorF. Color used for specularity on the water surface (sun only).
emissive
TypeBool. When true, the water colors do not react to changes in environmental lighting.

Waves (vertex undulation)

overallWaveMagnitude
TypeF32. Master variable affecting entire body of water undulation.
rippleTex
TypeImageFilename. Normal map used to simulate small surface ripples.

Ripples (texture undulation)

overallRippleMagnitude
TypeF32. Master variable affecting the entire surface of the WaterBlock.
foamTex
TypeImage Filename. Diffuse texture for foam in shallow water (advanced lighting only).

Foam

overalFoamOpacity
TypeF32. Opacity of foam texture.
foamMaxDepth
TypeF32. Maximum depth for foam texture display.
foamAmbientLerp
TypeF32. Interpolation for foam settings.
foamRippleInfluence
TypeF32. Intensity of the ripples.

Reflect

cubemap
TypeCubemapName. Cubemap is used instead of reflection texture if fullReflect is off.
fullReflect
TypeBool. Enables dynamic reflection rendering.
reflectivity
TypeF32. Overall reflectivity of the water surface.
reflectPriority
TypeF32. Affects the sort order of reflected objects.
reflectMaxRateMs
TypeF32. Affects the sort time of reflected objects.
reflectDetailAdjust
TypeF32. Scale up or down the detail level for objects rendered in a reflection.
reflectNormalUp
TypeBool. Always use Z up as the reflection normal.
useOcclusionQuery
TypeBool. Turn off reflection rendering when occluded (delayed).
reflectTexSize
TypeF32. Texure size used for reflections (square).

Underwater Fogging

waterFogDensity
TypeF32. Intensity of underwater fogging.
waterFogDensityOffset
TypeF32. Delta, or limit, applied to waterFogDensity.
wetDepth
TypeF32. The depth in world units at which full darkening will be received giving a wet appearance.
wetDarkening
TypeF32. The refract color intensity scaled at wetDepth.

Misc

depthGradientTex
TypeImage filename. 1D texture defining the base water color.
depthGradientMax
TypeF32. Depth in world units, the max range of the color gradient texture.

Distortion

distortStartDist
TypeF32. Determines start of distortion effect where water surface intersects.
distortEndDist
TypeF32. Max distance that distortion algorithm is performed.
distortFullDepth
TypeF32. Determines the scaling down of distortion in shallow water.

Basic Lighting

clarity
TypeF32. Relative opacity or transparency of the water surface.
underwaterColor
TypeColor. Changes the color shading of objects beneath the water surface.

Sound

soundAmbience
TypeSFXAmbienceName. Ambient sound environment when listener is active.

Editing

isRenderEnabled
TypeBool. Toggles whether the object is rendered.
isSelectionEnabled
TypeBool. Toggle whether this object can be selected in the editor.
hidden
TypeBool.Toggle visibility in editor.
locked
TypeBool. Toggle whether the object can be edited.

Mounting

mountPID
TypePID. Unique identifier of the mount.
mountNode
TypeS32. Node where the mount occurs.
mountPos
TypeS32. Offset for positioning the node.
mountRot
TypeS32. Rotation of this object in relation to the mount node.

Object

internalName
TypeString. Non-unique name used by child objects of a group.
parentGroup
TypeString. Group object belongs to.
class
TypeString. Links object to script class namespace.
superClass
TypeString. Links object to script super class (parent) namespace.

Persistence

canSave
TypeBool. Toggle whether the object can be saved in the editor.
canSaveDynamicFields
TypeBool. True if dynamic fields (added at runtime) should be saved, defaults to true.