Water - my recommendations

[Cruachan 705]

Hi all,I will start by stating that I take no credit for these recommendations as some have already been mentioned briefly in the odd other post in this forum. However, many of you may still be struggling and have not yet achieved the ideal combo. So, I thought it might be useful if I detail my current installation which I find approaches perfection and continues to give me the greatest pleasure.There are still some issues, mainly to do with the various night reflections, but until wizards like Daniel Buechter continue to work their magic I have contented myself with what we have available to date.First, the files you will need (all available here from the library)Johan de Vries and Ed Truthan:oceansfx.zipoceanstx.zipofx20sa.zipBill Lyons:fs9wat2a.zip (the file you require is called 'InstlWat2.zip' and is contained within the parent archive).Daniel Buechter:new_waves3.zip (NOT the dxt version)The files in this archive are larger in size than in the 'dxt' version but, IMHO, look much nicer and don't seem to hit performance noticeably on my system.Installation procedure:Backup the 13 x env_*.bmp files in the Flight Simulator 9SceneryWorldtexture folder.I recommend you extract all files from their zip archives to a temporary location. It's easier to identify what goes where and allows you to delete files that are not needed prior to installation.1. Install OceanFX 2 - FS2004 (from ofx20sa.zip) and create a shortcut for easy access in the future.This program acts as a convenient front end that allows you to choose and install a Waveset, Swell Direction and Seafloor Appearance. It also allows you to return to the FS2004 defaults should you so wish. You won't ;)Make your choice, install and exit.2. Install the 11 x 'env_*.bmp' files from 'InstlWat2.zip' by cutting and pasting into the Flight Simulator 9SceneryWorldtexture folder and overwrite the originals. 3. Install the 6 x 'env_*.bmp' files from 'new_waves3.zip' by cutting and pasting into the Flight Simulator 9 SceneryWorldtexture folder and overwrite the originals. Yes, some of these files will overwrite Bill Lyon's files, but rather than pick out the specific files to install this is just an easier way to achieve what we are after. These cover dawn, dusk, highnoon, lowsun, midsun and overcast. 4. After you have extracted 'new_waves3.zip' to a temporary location you will note a file called 'OceanHeightField.bmp' in the texture folder. This file should be cut and pasted into the Flight Simulator 9Texture folder (Backup the original first).Daniel has also provided an alternative file as described in his 'readme.txt' file but I would try the 'OceanHeightField.bmp' in the texture folder first before trying the other. 5. Fire up the Sim and set Terrain Detail to 'Land Only' and Water Effects to 'High'.Apart from some of the best reflection effects I have seen to date, the water textures at times do appear quite uncanny with very convincing cloud reflections and in many places you often feel you are looking below the surface towards the sea floor! As stated earlier, I feel the night reflection effects could benefit from more work as you are still aware of that irritating cyclical pattern spreading across the water surface. During the daytime this is now barely noticeable. It just looks great :)Try a late afternoon flight (say 1000-2000ft) low and slow over water and look back towards the setting sun and tell me that all this was not worth it!Try a flight around midday with scattered clouds from St Just UK, fly on a southerly heading and admire the breakers on the beach beyond the cliffs with the rolling Atlantic waves stretching out behind. Look down and see the sun's reflection sparkling below and those cloud reflections slowly drifting by on the surface of the waves.My heartiest congratulations to all the authors mentioned. Enjoy!Mike :-waveP4 2.4GHz (400FSB), 1Gig PC2100 DDR Crucial, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB (Omega 2.4.96c), Hyundai ImageQuest Q17 17" Monitor (1280x1024x32), Gigabyte GA-8IRXP MoBo, Ultra-Quiet PSU 400W, WinXP Home (SP1), DirectX 9.0b

[Guest Digital_Flight]

It's not that I don't trust you Mike but how about posting a screen shot of all this stuff working together? The reason I ask is I've tried a lot of things like this and more often then not I end up going back to the original textures because of one problem or another or because my idea of what looks right just doesn't agree. TonyDigital-Flight

[RobdeVries 28]

hear hear...Rob "Holland&Holland" de Vries http://www.emotipad.com/emoticons/Flying.gif"To go up, pull the stick back. To go down, pull the stick back harder"

[Cruachan 705]

http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/51645.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/51646.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/51647.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/51648.jpgMike :-wave

[RobdeVries 28]

I'm convinced :) Great going to implement it right away!!!Rob "Holland&Holland" de Vries http://www.emotipad.com/emoticons/Flying.gif"To go up, pull the stick back. To go down, pull the stick back harder"

[Guest Henri W]

Mike,Thanks so much for your recommendations. I thought I had improved my water textures to the best I could get already and I did not want to play around with them anymore. Well, I am glad I did anyway after reading your advice.Attached two screen shots. The first shows the situation I had before, the second shot shows the result after following your recipe. Thanks so much. The same, of course, applies to the authors of all packages I used.Best regards,HenriBefore:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/51685.jpgAfter:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/51686.jpg

[michal 44]

Yep, I got to agree - best water so far !!Michael J.http://www.reality-xp.com/community/nr/rsc/rxp-higher.jpg

[Cruachan 705]

Hi Henri,Glad to have been of some help :)Hey, that second screen capture looks gorgeous - where is it? I've just got to visit.These RealAir machines sure do get around, don't they ;)Mike :-wave

[Guest Henri W]

Hi Mike,The scenery is St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, default FS2004 scenery. And yes, these RealAir planes do get to see some parts of the world. In fact I have not been flying anything besides the SF.260 and Decathlon in the last few weeks.Cheers,Henri

[Guest Wills402]

Thanks Mike! Tried your suggestions and for the first time I was able to turn my water effects to high and not have my pc go to it's knees.Will

[maxter 0]

Mike,I'm not sure how to phrase this question, but here goes...Do these changes give me regionalised water or if I implement the change as per the St Maarten pic below, will it give me the same ocean floor in say off the coast of Alaska?The photos look stunning by the way. Thanks for the suggestions.:-beerchugChris Porter:-outtaPerthWestern Australia

[Guest Henri W]

Chris,No, the ocean floor will not look the same as in the tropical regions. Wether it is still too blue for your liking is up to you. I made a screen shot of the Alaskan coast, which I attach below.Cheers,Henrihttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/51735.jpg

[Cruachan 705]

Hi Chris,I confess I'm as surprised as you! My own pictures were taken around the UK and, as you have noted, the appearance is quite different and definitely in keeping with the way it should look.Now, I've just completed a hop from St Maarten to St Barthelemy Is. and to say I was gobsmacked with what I was seeing en route is the understatement of the year :)So, the answer to your question must be yes, this installation may well give you regionalised water. However, at his stage I would encourage caution as it is equally likely that MS have given this area special attention. The detail seen on the islands does seem to support this view. Further exploration around the world is needed before a definitive answer can be given. Meantime, I think we can safely say that my 'recipe' is a worthy compliment and, indeed, seems to enhance these localised ocean textures.On the other hand, I think we may well owe a great debt of thanks to Ed Truthan and Johan de Vries as I am pretty sure what we are seeing are textures installed by OceanFX 2. It may be that the ocean textures vary much as the land textures do according to the dictates of landclass. This is all speculation, of course ;)Cheers!Mike

[maxter 0]

Henri, Mike,Thanks for your responses. I am certainly going to give this a try.As I am currently on my 4th Around the world flight (see the link below) and this is using the low and slow method :-) , one of the things that I have noted previously is the requirement for some more "regionalised" coastlines and waterscapes. I hope that this will indeed provide it.Thanks again for your efforts,Chris Porter:-outtaPerthWestern AustraliaMy "Around the World 4" flight pagehttp://members.iinet.net.au/~portercbp/fly...e%20World_4.htm

[Cruachan 705]

I've just looked again at the OceanFX 2 Help file and I feel I should revise my previous response.My reference to the landclass analogy has to be wrong (although this could be a good idea to implement in FS2006). In fact, it would appear that the appearance is ours to control.We have three options under 'Seafloor Appearance' in OceanFX 2, viz. Default, Deep Water and Tropical Water. The fact that I saw all this splendour during my flight tends to support the view that this is indeed a local MS enhancement. Ed Truthan's Ocean textures along with Daniel Buechter's modified reflection effects do seem to improve the appearance very nicely, so, in that sense, provide a very worthwhile complimentary enhancement to the original textures.I may still be a little off base here and it would be interesting if either Daniel or Ed (if he is watching ;)) would chip in to help us out.Mike