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Shore Waves

Shore Waves in Oceanology provide a sophisticated way to simulate wave interactions as they meet the coastline. This feature is designed to bring realism and depth to your water environments by dynamically changing the behavior of waves as they approach shallow areas or the shore. Shore Waves use a hybrid approach that takes into account various environmental factors like wave length, wave speed, and wave height to achieve a natural appearance.

Overview of Shore Waves

The Shore Waves system in Oceanology uses a combination of dynamic calculations to produce realistic coastal wave behavior. By taking into account the height map of your landscape, wave depth, and other physical parameters, the system provides a dynamic and flexible approach to generating shoreline wave effects. It includes several parameters that users can manipulate to achieve the desired look and feel.

Key Features

  • Wave Length and Speed Adjustment: Control the coastal wave length and speed to adjust how far waves propagate towards the shore.

  • Wave Intensity and Crest Factor: Adjust the crest factor and wave amplitude for realistic wave peaks and breaking effects.

  • Depth-Aware Wave Transitioning: Uses water depth to influence wave dynamics, including how waves transition from deeper ocean conditions to shallower coastal environments.

Important Parameters to Know

  • CoastalWaveLength: Defines the wavelength of waves approaching the shore.

  • CoastalWaveSpeed: Controls how quickly waves move towards the coastline.

  • CoastalWaveFrequency: Determines how frequently waves crest as they near the shore.

  • CoastalWaveCrest: Adjusts the height of the wave crest, which is key for creating realistic breaking waves.

  • WaveScale: Controls the overall scaling of wave height, helping blend the wave dynamics smoothly from deeper water to shallow shore areas.

  • DepthAttenuation: Attenuates the strength of waves based on water depth, effectively reducing their impact as they approach shallow areas.

Requirements: Oceanology Manager

To generate Shore Waves, you must have the Oceanology Manager configured in your scene. The Oceanology Manager provides essential height data from the landscape, which is used to accurately calculate wave interactions with the shoreline. This ensures that the waves behave naturally as they approach and interact with the coast.

How to Use Shore Waves in Your Project

Setup the Shore Waves System

  1. Navigate to the shoreline or coastal area where you want to simulate Shore Waves.

  2. Add the Shore Waves component to your water body (either ocean or lake).

Configure Parameters

  1. Open the NS_WaveCrestSplash or OceanologyShoreWaves settings to access the relevant parameters.

  2. Set the CoastalWaveLength and CoastalWaveSpeed to match the look you want for your shore environment.

  3. Fine-tune CoastalWaveFrequency and CoastalWaveCrest to adjust how waves behave as they get closer to the shore. Larger crest values create more dramatic breaking waves.

  4. Adjust WaveScale to control the overall height of the waves; this is particularly important to ensure smooth transitions from deep to shallow water.

Drag and Drop Niagara System

  1. Add the NS_WaveCrestSplash particle system into your scene to simulate splashes as waves crash into the shore.

  2. Link the Niagara particle system to the Shore Waves data for the best synchronization.

Manipulate Transition Factors

  1. Use the WaveTransition parameter to control how smoothly the waves blend between ocean and shore dynamics. Adjusting this parameter will help achieve a natural-looking transition from deeper waves to calmer coastal water.

Important Actor Configuration

  • The parameters for Shore Waves can be found in the OceanologyInfiniteOcean or OceanologyLake actors. There is a boolean setting named ShoreWaves that can be toggled on or off to enable or disable the generation of shore waves.
  • The Oceanology Manager must generate the height data of the landscape, which is then provided to the shore waves, allowing them to obtain essential information such as water depth, ensuring proper functioning.

Example: Creating Realistic Shoreline Waves

Consider a beach scene where waves gently come to shore and break upon reaching shallow water. To create this effect:

  1. Set CoastalWaveLength to a higher value for longer waves that roll in slowly.

  2. Reduce CoastalWaveSpeed for a more relaxed wave motion.

  3. Increase CoastalWaveCrest and WaveScale to create noticeable peaks that break when they reach shallow water, which adds drama to your shoreline.

  4. Finally, use NS_WaveCrestSplash to add foam and splashing effects to enhance realism.

Summary

The Shore Waves feature in Oceanology allows developers to create beautiful and realistic coastal wave effects that respond dynamically to landscape and depth. By adjusting the available parameters and using the NS_WaveCrestSplash system, you can customize how waves interact with your coastline, providing an immersive experience for players. Whether you want calm rolling waves or intense surf, Shore Waves give you the flexibility to achieve your desired outcome.