water transparency

cocakola · August 06, 2008, 09:24:42 PM

I have gotten really frustrated trying to figure out how to get the water transparent, so i can see through it! I have the Waterworks plugin and the SO Opacity, but they don't seem to help. Are there specific settings i need to set or something? Thanks

buzzzzz1 · August 07, 2008, 09:21:48 AM

Hi,

Assuming you are using v9.43? Click on the Water Icon on the left, the water settings window should appear. The transparency setting are in the sub-surface tab.

Have Fun!

cocakola · August 07, 2008, 03:02:39 PM

I have tried using and adjusting those settings but the water transparency never changes.

Here is what i will get:
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/2184/79772000tr3.png
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4981/44906256lk4.png

I would like to see through the water. Its just confusing. And Yes, i am using 9.43. Thanks

PG · August 07, 2008, 03:37:54 PM

Well you've got transparency there. You're not going to be able to see through the water plane very far unless the water is very very shallow. Turning up the Transparency Dist. setting will allow you to see further though.

cocakola · August 07, 2008, 07:25:52 PM

Ok, i have set the water level to 1, and have raised the terrain slightly so it will be like a shore. And this is the result.

I do see a little transparency, but its not much. I would like to have the water like this: http://sanby.deviantart.com/art/terragen-Beach-1663248 . The water looks completely different than mine. Thanks for the help.

jo · August 07, 2008, 08:33:54 PM

Have you tried using the presets? They should be a quick and easy way of showing you different effects.

I see a lot of transparency, but obviously you aren't getting the depth effect kicking in. Part of your problem may be that the water isn't very deep. It looks to me like the water might be filling a very shallow area with a pretty constant depth, is that right? Try reducing the Greatest Depth setting ( might be called Transparency Dist. or something in the Windows version ). If you set it to just a little bit less than the depth of your water in the area you want to see more intense water colour then you should get a much stronger depth effect. The readout at the bottom of the View & Sculpt window will show you the depth of the water when you move the mouse over it, it's the number which comes after the "D".

The brightness of your sky and its reflection isn't really helping, it's overwhelming the water so it would be hard to see much effect in the distance anyway, if that's what you're after.

Regards,

Jo

cocakola · August 08, 2008, 12:01:41 PM

Ok, this time i got more of what i wanted. Here it is:

I just need to adjust the water levels a little more so i can get more transparency. Thanks for the help. Also, is there any way to blur the part between the water and terrain so it looks more natural? Or does that have to be done in photoshop?

jo · August 08, 2008, 08:00:28 PM

Hi,

If you're happy with the water level, to increase the amount of transparency you can increase the Transparency Dist. setting. That will move the point where the "solid" ( or diffuse ) water colour takes over further offshore.

You will need to smooth the transitions yourself. TG v0.9s terrain is a faceted heightfield which just happens to be make fairly smooth looking by the surface texturing. The edge of the water shows the true intersection with the terrain though, so it can look angular rather than smooth.

Regards,

Jo