Oceanology Legacy

oceanology-legacy

Oceanology Legacy is a production-ready water simulation system for Unreal Engine, optimized for broad hardware compatibility and consistent frame rates. Whether you're building action games, exploration experiences, or multiplayer projects that need to run smoothly on mid-range PCs, Oceanology Legacy delivers reliable water rendering without sacrificing visual quality.

Who It's For

Oceanology Legacy is designed for teams who need water that performs consistently:

Game Studios — Targeting 60-120 FPS on mid-range hardware while maintaining visual quality.
Indie Developers — Accessible setup with clear controls and predictable behavior.
Multiplayer Projects — Foundational replication support for synchronized water states.
Large World Projects — Quadtree tessellation and World Partition compatibility for expansive maps.

Core Features

Wave Simulation

Gerstner Wave System — Four customizable wave layers (Σ1-Σ4) for complex, organic wave patterns.
Customizable Wave Profiles — Full control over amplitude, speed, wavelength, and direction.
Deterministic Calculations — Synchronized wave states for multiplayer and buoyancy systems.

Performance & Scalability

Optimized Rendering — Smooth frame rates on mid-range GPUs without sacrificing quality.
Quadtree Tessellation — Dynamic mesh density based on camera distance.
World Partition Support — Native streaming for large open worlds.

Visual Effects

Underwater Volumetrics — Light scattering, caustics, and post-process effects.
Surface Rendering — Reflections, refractions, and depth-based coloring.
RVT Landscape Integration — Runtime Virtual Texture support for seamless shoreline blending.

Gameplay Systems

Pontoon Buoyancy — Physics-accurate floating with configurable density and damping.
Swimming System — Complete character swimming with bubbles, transitions, and surface detection.
Navigation — Water-aware AI navigation support.

Workflow & Flexibility

Presets System — Save and load complete water configurations.
Multiple Water Bodies — Infinite oceans and local water bodies with independent settings.
Dynamic Audio — Audio analyzer for wave-driven soundscapes.

Technical Requirements

Requirement	Specification
Engine	Unreal Engine 5.6 or newer
Platform	Windows
Graphics API	DirectX 12 (Shader Model 6 recommended)
Hardware	Mid-range GPU or better

Documentation Structure

This documentation is organized to get you productive quickly:

Section	Description
Setup	Installation, project configuration, and first scene verification.
Waves	Gerstner wave parameters, presets, and wave layer customization.
Buoyancy	Pontoon-based floating physics for vessels and objects.
Swimming	Character swimming component setup, bubbles, and transitions.
Underwater	Volumetric effects, post-processing, and caustics.
Surface	Water surface rendering, reflections, and refractions.
QuadTreeCPU	CPU-based quadtree tessellation and LOD configuration.
Navigation	Water-aware AI navigation setup.
Presets	Saving, loading, and managing water presets.
RVTHeightmap	Runtime Virtual Texture and landscape integration.

Quick Start

Install the Plugin — Enable Oceanology Legacy in your project's Plugins menu.
Add Water to Your Level — Use Quick Add (+) and search for BP_OceanologyInfiniteOcean.
Add the Manager — Place an Oceanology Manager actor to initialize the system.
Configure Water Volume — Add an Oceanology Water Volume for buoyancy and swimming.
Play — Enter Play mode to see your ocean in action.

For detailed instructions, see the Setup Guide.

Support & Community

Need Help?

Discord — Join our community for real-time support and discussions.
Marketplace — Open a support ticket through the Unreal Marketplace page.
Issue Reports — Include engine version, plugin version, logs (Saved/Logs/), and screenshots.