Anyone working on a water shader?

zastels

Has anyone tried working on a water shader? I've searched around but didn't find much.

Could definitely use a shader at the very least, I have no plans for actual water that will be swam in. I'm in need of water behind glass, shallow water to walk through, puddle decals. I've have the skills to make textures and their normal maps, but I've never programmed in C or C++. I know decals aren't in yet either.

Is such a thing possible to make right now, or is the mod community waiting on something for UWE to do to make it possible? Anyone ever make a shader before?

McGlaspie

Technically decals are in, but not being utilized or treated in the traditional usage of the word "decal". A decal wouldn't be the right approach for some kind of puddle or body of water. In order to have water related effects or react like water (surface ripples, warped vision, refracted lighting, etc.) you would need a volume or 3d space of water. The devs have spoken to this a few times and have no plans to implement water before v1.0 release. This doesn't mean we won't see it in the future.

zastels

So what I'm thinking is, maybe UWE can float us the water shader a couple weeks before retail. This would allow us to make our maps sexy. I know there is still a <b>ton</b> of things associated with water like, splashes, ripples, sounds, ect. In my mind these are what can wait, with a water shader mappers can get some head start. The community can make water sounds, particles, textures, ect.

I know water isn't a priority, but I think a water shader should be. I don't need every aspect of water but the surface effect, I want to incorporate it in the same ways NS1 did, atmospherically. With a base shader to work from, the community can easily edit it to be lava, sewage, anything really. So maybe with this approach we can get it squeezed in before retail.

I make this suggestion because I really want to have a great map when the game launches. I've got all sorts of ideas planned, a lot having to do with water. I've got clear pipes transporting water, shallow flowing water to cool the computer servers, dripping/leaking water, shallow floods, water behind glass walls to give an under water effect, I've got big glass canisters that will hold some bubbling water with floating aliens in there. My goal is to have something that has been tested, and is very solid to play for day 1 retail. Right now I'm about to do my first play test, I'm fairly confident I will reach my goal.

MurphyIdiot

You can do a lot of these effects with particle effects.

We have a new material system incoming that will allow some basic water shader effects but we have no plans currently to actually implement water shaders. That doesn't mean somebody else can't.

BJHBnade_spammer

hopefully someone will build a water/lava mod for it then. next thing we need is a damage box like the kill box but does damage over time not an instant kill.

IronHorse

between particle effects and the new shader system, it would be relatively easy to make rain..