Help please with water textures

[martinstebbing]

I have been trying to get my inland water (streams) etc. to look less (much less) bright, azure blue. In Winter in the UK (or in Summer, come to that!), the rivers are just not that colour! :-)

 

I have so many programmes installed (though not necessarily running) that I can't see the wood for the trees any more - maybe someone could help me out? I have (not all are relevant to water textures of course):

 

REX + Overdrive

AS6.5

Ultimate Environment

Flight Environment (Flight1)

Ground Environment Pro (Flight 1)

nuversion_water_environment_2_0 (from file library here) - not installed

 

and I just added Zintertek 'Water Advanced' to that lot (discounted at SimMarket at the moment), since it is spoken of so highly.

 

But I am guessing I am doing something wrong, because no matter how I tweak settings, saving and then installing different inland water sets in REX, my streams all look the same every time I reload FS (as screenshot - which has come out a bit darker than I see in FS9).

 

I followed some advice here

 

http://www.avsim.com/topic/270958-rex-water-settings/

 

and, having installed the Zinertek, I re-ran the REX install, with only Inland and Tropical Water checked in the (water) options tab. But still my streams are vivid light blue.

 

Can anyone can help me set this up, please? Do I need to restore the all original textures (as someone mentions in the above thread), and start again? I have an out-of-the-box installation of FS9 too - would it be easier (rather than running installers than don't seem to work, at the moment at least) to copy and paste? Have to be careful to get the right files for the water.. I guess I'll find a list if Google this.

 

I'm trying to get rid of the distracting pulsating wave effect too - it only goes away if I turn the Water Effects to 'Low' in the FS9 menu, which Zinertek says needs to be set to 'High'. I am trying some different Env_****.bmp files...

 

Maybe I'm getting too old for this!

 

Thanks.

[tiger1962]

I got too old for this myself years ago, and made my own inland water files. At first I made them black, because that's what lakes and rivers look like in Google maps 'satellite mode', but it didn't look right somehow in FS2004. I have compromised with a blue-black tint, and I have kept the reflections and pulsating waves having tried it without them. Here's a shot showing a reservoir to the right and a canal and river in the valley to the left:

 

 

There are 3 files you need to edit, which are: 001b2wa1.bmp, 002b2wa1.bmp and 003b2wa1.bmp.

[Qballbandit]

That really looks pretty spot on perfect there, Tiger, especially for an overcast sky.....very nicely done. :)

I really need to try that, as that is the exact look I am after.

 

Aquarama inland rivers and streams (in the files library here) can certainly help with those small rivers/creeks/streams. Has 6 different color sets to choose from. I am using "muddy blue", and it looks much better.

 

But, to get Tigers coloring would be fantastic.

 

Neil :cool:

[martinstebbing]

Thanks for that. I can try editing the files myself with Photoshop. Nothing I have found in REX or Zinertek produces satisfactory colours (nice though many of the other results are). The problem may well have been, as you mention, that the colours I got when editing the bitmaps within REX didn't match those I got in FS9... I can also try the relevant bitmaps from the freeware 'nuversion' download. Plus I'll locate the Aquarama. Bit ironic that I have to go back to freeware though for this when I have so much payware installed for this sort of thing!

 

Any chance of attaching your files Tiger??? Be good to try those too.

 

I have had to turn the 'wave' effect off though - by turning Water Effects to Low. That regular, fast pulsing soon drives me nuts! Surely someone must have tweaked this at some stage and uploaded a file? If anyone is aware of one....

 

Finally, flying over the ocean, I now have this ugly dark ring following my aircraft. If it's supposed to be cloud shadow, it's not a bit realistic: I have to go and search for what's added it - and hopefully be able to switch it off!).

[Johan_Dees]

FEG1.2 has a very good water texture, both inland and ocean.

[tiger1962]

Thanks for the compliments Neil & Martin, I haven't uploaded these or any of my other scenery texture tweaks yet because there are such varied opinions on what is 'realistic'. You can't attach files to forum posts here, but I can upload them to the library sometime over the holidays for you.

Martin, the wave effect is also controlled by the OceanHeightField.bmp in the main Texture folder. Have you tried Peter Wildings mod for this in the library, pwover16.zip?

[martinstebbing]

the wave effect is also controlled by the OceanHeightField.bmp in the main Texture folder

 

Ah! I saw that file but didn't know what it did - I'll have a go with other versions. Thanks.

 

Meanwhile, I am getting nowhere with that dark circular shadow following my plane when over water. If I turn the weather to cloudless skies, it's still there, so I don't know what it is! Can't find any options in REX yet. It looks ridiculous!!! :mad:

[Qballbandit]

Tiger, that is quite generous of you, and I certainly thank you kindly for offering to upload these files :)

[martinstebbing]

I uninstalled the Zinertek and the dark circle disappeared. Reinstalled my REX options from the UI, then, having backed up all the necessary files, I reintroduced the Zinertek files in batches to the scenery/world/texture folder, to test what might be causing the shadow. All the files from Zinertek are reinstated, but still no dark shadow following me! Very odd, but quite typical of FS troubleshooting, I have found over the years!

 

Still got to try out for inland water (original reason for my post!). Later today probably...

[tiger1962]

Tiger, that is quite generous of you, and I certainly thank you kindly for offering to upload these files :)

 

No problem Neil, and Martin - I've uploaded them now so they should appear in the Library sometime tomorrow, named Inland Water Textures.zip

[martinstebbing]

The inland water stubbornly refuses to change colour! I downloaded the Aquarama file and having saved the current bmp files, pasted the Aquarama bitmaps (riversu.bmp) into the scenery/world/texture folder. Restarted the sim - the same colour (azure) every time, whatever season I chose.

 

If anyone can get these files to work, please do let me know! Thanks.

[tiger1962]

The riversu.bmp will only appear in summer. There should also be riverfa, riverwi and riversp bitmaps for the other 3 seasons. It could be that only the riverbank colours change, not the water.

[martinstebbing]

It could be that only the riverbank colours change, not the water.

 

Could be... I'll have a try with Tiger's files, when they appear in the library.

 

Interesting post here (re. sky colour effecting water colour, #6 onwards):

 

http://www.avsim.com/topic/327330-what-files-are-the-default-water-textures/

[martinstebbing]

OK, I have tried several sets of files now (thanks for yours Tiger) and I realise that the colours are going to be very hard, maybe impossible to get 'right' since the reflection from the sky is way more important in FS9 than the colour of the bitmaps themselves. Of course, the sky is also crucial to water colour in the real world and I suppose FS9 makes a fair job of addressing that under the circumstances. It just means that I will have to be a bit less 'picky' about what looks real and what looks odd.

 

Whatever, no matter what I do to the time/season/weather, I can't get my rivers to look as muted and natural as those in Tiger's screenshot - the result is always this bright blue - turning purple at dusk and so on. It can't be another programme doing this as I am pasting the bmps straight into the scenery/world/texture folder.. :-(

 

I'll continue to tweak the colours, to reduce the saturation maybe using Paintshop; I know this works, as, to test, I made some bright pink files, which is what I got in FS9! But what you see in Photoshop is not what you see in FS9, so it's hard going!

 

I wish I could get rid of the waves on little streams, but that effect is clearly either on or off in FS9 for all water. Again, if I want some waves on the ocean, I'll have to learn to turn a blind eye!

 

Martin

[martinstebbing]

OK, some success since my last post. I have experimented with Photoshop and I think this is about as good as I am going to get it (EDIT: I just made a set which are just a tad less purple, but you get the idea). Your files didn't look like your screenshot when I installed them Tiger. The water was still too blue. Very odd..

 

Some may prefer the bright blue version (from Zinertek? I've lost track now!), but I think that in my experience, the Thames near London City airport is more often much closer to the less tropical shades of the second screenshot - especially since, as you can see, it was raining at the time!

[old_wombat]

Completely off topic, is that near where that World War II ship with the thousands of tons of explosive is sitting there under the water just waiting to go off?

 

That second shot is very realistic - on my 13 year old laptop it looks almost like a photo !

[martinstebbing]

is that near where that World War II ship with the thousands of tons of explosive is sitting there under the water just waiting to go off?

 

Sorry, I have no idea! :rolleyes: I guess you could Google it...

 

Incidentally, can I recommend the OceanHeightField.bmp file that comes with aquarama.zip (library here) - it minimises the wave action and is much less obtrusive than any other I have used, freeware or payware. Short of turning the effect off completely of course.

[tiger1962]

Completely off topic, is that near where that World War II ship with the thousands of tons of explosive is sitting there under the water just waiting to go off?

 

Hi Steve, yes it is (London City Airport EGLC), the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery is further downstream in the Thames estuary off Sheerness:

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2195590/3-000-ton-timebomb-shipwrecked-Thames-estuary.html

[martinstebbing]

Well, you learn something every day (if you keep your eyes and ears open!). Lived in central London for years and years - and that's the first time I've ever heard of this!

[old_wombat]

Martin, my wife and I were fully expecting that Boris would detonate it for the highlight of the closing ceremony of the London Olympics. :D :D : D (we need a font designting facetious humour)

[martinstebbing]

:D