How do I set global sea level?

[PabloMack]

All I can find in the Water Tab is Lake and the Planet Node doesn't seem to have a control for this.  
Thanks. 

[neuspadrin]

I believe one method is creating another planet object at the same location only slightly bigger then the other one.  Then you change its surface shader to be a water shader.  Thus a planet of water and a planet of land mixed together.

[PabloMack]

The Water Shader doesn't seem to have any way to make it conform to a sphere.  I found that cyphyr did something like I am trying to do but he used a Surface Layer which has a "Along normal" dropdown under the Displacement Tab.  

http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=5832.msg61003#msg61003

Otherwise, I would think he might have wanted to use a Water Shader on his project instead.  But it would really be nice if your could do it.  The effect would be much more realistic.  

[neuspadrin]

Heres using planets:

As you can see in the TGD, planet 2 only has a surface shader of a water shader, and i deleted the default atmosphere shader it created too (as we don't need two atmospheres on top of each other)

[PabloMack]

I didn't think it was working until I realized that the fuzzy white ball is just the reflection of the sun off the surface of the water.  Atmosphere is turned off to see it better.  The water is really black looking.  I tried to feed a lighter blue color into it with a colour shader but it had no effect. 

[attach=#]

[FrankB]

that's because water as such does not have a color. It merely reflects color.

[PabloMack]

Water is like atmosphere.  A thin veneer doesn't have apparent colour but a thick layer of ocean should dispurse a deep blue colour back into space.  Any ideas how to get this effect?

[neuspadrin]

By disabling the atmosphere, your disabling what is giving your water its true color, the sky.  Instead it just gets the blackness of space, and went off that.

Basically put your atmosphere back in

A thick layer of ocean isn't deep blue really either - its deep blue because the sky is. Water being clear, only takes in the blue look from the scattering light happening in the atmosphere.

Then the color of the water you choose will show a bit better too.  As whats currently happening is its going ok water = blue.... but scattering = black.  And black overwhelms the blue into nonexistence.  

You could try just using a oceany blue surface shader if this is going to remain from space and apply the color that way.  won't technically be water, but maybe give you the look your going for?

[Tangled-Universe]

This happens because the atmosphere is switched off. See attached image.
I see neuspadrin just explained it

[PabloMack]

It still looks like a black ocean covered by a light blue sky.  Even when the camera is close to the water under most of the atmosphere, it looks like a black ocean reflecting the sky. 

[attach=#]

Something like this looks more realistic: 

[attach=#]
 
I found the Sub-surface Tab under the Water Shader that I am feeding into its Surface Shader input.  After selecting a bright blue-green color and cranking up the setting, it gave the water a more believable glow: 

[attach=#]

Thanks for the help guys. I can see this thing's gonna take a lot of tweaking.