Riverology
Riverology is a professional spline-based river and water flow system for Unreal Engine, engineered for seamless integration into open-world environments. From tranquil streams to rushing rapids, Riverology provides the tools to create believable, interactive water bodies that respond to terrain, physics, and gameplay — all while maintaining consistent performance across platforms.
Who It's For
Riverology is designed for teams who need dynamic river systems at scale:
- Open-World Studios — Spline-driven river generation that spans kilometers with automatic terrain adaptation.
- Adventure & Exploration Games — Interactive water with swimming, buoyancy, and flow-based physics for immersive gameplay.
- Environment Artists — Intuitive spline tools with real-time foam, caustics, and surface effects for rapid iteration.
- Technical Artists — Exposed parameters for custom shaders, landscape integration, and procedural workflows.
Core Features
River Generation
- Spline-Driven System — Define river paths with intuitive spline tools that automatically adapt to terrain.
- Flow-Based Physics — Realistic water flow that affects buoyancy, swimming, and floating objects.
- Large-World Continuity — Rivers that span World Partition cells without seams or performance drops.
Visual Effects
- Dynamic Foam — Procedural foam generation at rapids, obstacles, and shorelines.
- Caustics — Underwater light patterns that respond to surface movement and depth.
- Surface Rendering — Reflections, refractions, and flow-driven normal animation.
- Refraction — Physically-based light bending for realistic underwater distortion.
Underwater Environment
- Volumetric Effects — Light scattering, fog, and depth-based color absorption.
- Normal Maps — Detailed surface normals for fine water detail and ripples.
- Post-Processing — Underwater camera effects with smooth surface transitions.
Gameplay Systems
- Buoyancy Volumes — Physics-accurate floating with flow forces that push objects downstream.
- Swimming Mechanics — Complete character swimming with current response and stamina integration.
- Debug Tools — Visual debugging for flow vectors, spline paths, and collision volumes.
Terrain Integration
- Landscape Deformation — Automatic riverbed carving and shoreline blending.
- RVT Support — Runtime Virtual Texture integration for seamless terrain-water transitions.
- Waterfall Generator — Tools for creating waterfalls with splash effects and mist.
Technical Requirements
| Requirement | Specification |
|---|---|
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5.6 or newer |
| Platform | Windows (consoles supported) |
| 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 river creation. |
| Buoyancy | Flow-based buoyancy physics for objects and vessels. |
| Swimming | Character swimming with current response and transitions. |
| Surface | Water surface rendering, flow animation, and reflections. |
| Underwater | Volumetric effects, fog, and underwater camera settings. |
| Foam | Dynamic foam generation at rapids, obstacles, and edges. |
| Caustics | Underwater light patterns and caustic projection. |
| Refraction | Light bending and underwater distortion effects. |
| NormalMaps | Surface detail normals and ripple configuration. |
| Landscape | Terrain integration, riverbed carving, and shoreline blending. |
| Debug | Visual debugging tools for flow, splines, and volumes. |
Quick Start
- Install the Plugin — Enable Riverology in your project's Plugins menu.
- Create a River Spline — Use the Riverology spline actor to define your river path.
- Adjust Flow Settings — Configure flow speed, width, and depth along the spline.
- Add Water Volume — Place a Riverology Water Volume for buoyancy and swimming.
- Play — Enter Play mode to see your river in action with flow physics.
For detailed instructions, see the Setup Guide.
Key Concepts
Flow Direction
Rivers in Riverology have a defined flow direction determined by the spline. Objects in the water experience forces pushing them downstream, and swimming characters must fight against or swim with the current.
Spline Width & Depth
Each spline point can have independent width and depth values, allowing rivers to narrow through canyons, widen into deltas, or shallow out near banks — all with smooth interpolation.
Terrain Adaptation
Riverology can automatically carve riverbeds into landscape geometry and blend shorelines using Runtime Virtual Textures, eliminating manual terrain painting.
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.
Riverology vs Oceanology
| Feature | Riverology | Oceanology |
|---|---|---|
| Water Type | Rivers, streams, lakes | Oceans, seas |
| Generation | Spline-based | Infinite plane |
| Flow Physics | Directional current | Wave-based |
| Best For | Inland water, flowing rivers | Open water, coastal scenes |
Use Riverology for rivers, streams, and inland water bodies. Use Oceanology for oceans, seas, and large open water. Both systems can coexist in the same project for complete water coverage.
Ready to create your first river? Start with the Setup Guide →