Ocean Water is a Dirty Green Color since Japan Update

[Marc Collins 45]

Ever since the Japan update, ocean water has a dirty green appearance when I look directly below the plane. As I look toward the horizon, the color gradually changes from dirty green to a more normal dark blue. Take a look at the photo below for an example of the dirty green hue. This is still true in the latest patch (version 1.10.8.0). Is anyone else experiencing this? I scrolled through the graphics settings options to see if I inadvertently changed something related to water appearance, but I can't find any settings related to water at all. 

[hjsmuc 393]

Unfortunately, I see the same. Water was nice last time in the early alphas. 

[overt 55]

I've noticed a greenish hue when looking at the ocean from above prior to the most recent patch, so it has always been there, though it wasn't as pronounced as it is in your screenshot. Not sure of the cause.

Areas of what should be coral reefs have a cyan hue to them, so it might be something related to the incomplete water masking.

[bobcat999 8,444]

That shade of water is quite natural in a lot of areas of the world, and I have seen it myself from aircraft and from land.  As we know, water can run through all of the shades of blue, and then include brown and green, and anything in between.

If you were looking directly down through a fairly deep layer of blue water to a yellow sand base underneath, it can look that colour for example.

[Marc Collins 45]

24 minutes ago, bobcat999 said:

That shade of water is quite natural in a lot of areas of the world, and I have seen it myself from aircraft and from land.

Good point. I wondered if it might be intentional -- i.e. maybe the Bing maps imagery in the locations where I've flown shows a brownish green water color. I've seen the same color while flying in both the Hawaiian islands (specifically flying between Molokai and Oahu) and the southern Japanese islands. When I checked the Bing satellite imagery for those areas, I found that there isn't much imagery over the open water -- only very close to the shoreline. The imagery that's available near the shoreline doesn't have the brackish green color, though. 

I also don't recall seeing this color in the first month after the official release. I went back and looked at screenshots I took during flights in Hawaii in early September, and the green color is either entirely absent, or much more subtle. Here's a shot of a flight from Oahu to Molokai on September 9th: 

[bobcat999 8,444]

58 minutes ago, Marc Collins said:

Good point. I wondered if it might be intentional...

Yes.  I would go as far as to say I would actually expect these different colours in the sim.  Orbx actually put them in their scenery add-ons.  I have seen brown rivers, and this green colour around the coast and inland waterways.

If water was just different shades of blue everywhere it would be boring and unrealistic. 🙂

[hjsmuc 393]

I wonder, did anyone say that variations are bad? To the contrary. There need to be variations but they should be realistic. A flat green pond over miles is not realistic in the Caribbean e.g. We saw great water masks advertised but I couldn't locate one yet in the sim. Maybe it's just one of those "wait a year" things.

[captain420 3,099]

Oceans aren't always blue and varies depending on many factors. That picture you posted actually looks nice. It's nice that MSFS has variety in the water color based on location, weather, and possibly other variables.

[hjsmuc 393]

That's what I mean with variation:

[Bosco19 198]

Water is not blue. It reflects, refracts, and filters light and color.

[fppilot 4,352]

5 hours ago, bobcat999 said:

That shade of water is quite natural in a lot of areas of the world

Spot on!  Not all water looks like the Caribbean or Polynesia.  

In all honesty, water needs some area-specific work.  The Missouri and Mississippi rivers are not blue.  Not even close!