Seasonal Ice water mod - is it possible?

[apeguy]

After reading a reply made by Kergelen on Noah's MD Siilijoki, stating that Icy water would be perfect for the wintery environment, and that got me thinking. Wouldn't it be good to have a mod that gives the impression of frozen water i.e. opaque at all depths. (except perhaps VERY shallow water) Perhaps other effects to go with the mod, such as ice around bridge piers?

Also, although I'm pretty sure that this would be impossible, but what about a seasonal water mod? There are seasonal trees and MMPs, and I know they're quite different from water in terms of modding, but wouldn't it be good when you're playing to have a coniferous forest that gets covered in snow when winter arrives, the ground gets covered with a blanket of snow and the water to freeze too? It would be more realistic, especially for arctic climates and tundra areas.

Like I said, I imagine seasonal game water is impossible or too difficult/impractical to do, but it's just a thought.

[dedgren]

Alex, at first blush what would need to happen in order to do this would be for the game to have the ability to seasonally swap game water textures, as only one can be in use- or for that matter even in the Plugins folder, at any one time.  That is probably beyond any current ability to MOD.  Smaller water bodies, such as ponds, if they are ploppable can be made seasonal.  I have experiments with ploppable ponds in the past and I liked the result.

Thinking as I type, it might be possible to "seasonalize" the textures under the game water, making them ice colored under the semi-transparent water MOD.  One to take a look at, eh?


David

[noahclem]

An icy water mod would sure be nice! I've been hovering around waiting for Carl to answer first as I think if anyone could answer your seasonal question it would be him. I can't think of any tricks for that to work though i'm very cautious about saying "impossible" when it comes to sc4. On the other hand, for the right look you'd need a seasonal terrain mod as well which would open up a whole new can of worms.

So question is: anybody with the aptitude for this type of project interested? 

[nbvc]

PEG SKI RESORT contains MMP water which turns to ice with the PEG Snow Mod 2.

[vortext]

Although the terrain textures already can display some seasonality, water isn't included. At least as far as I'm aware. To make that happen it would go like David said; make a 'frozen' water texture + adjust opaqueness in the terrain controller and then swap it for the ordinary water texture.

[dedgren]

Actually what I was thinking was more along the lines of the seasonal terrain mods where the snow comes down to lower elevations in game wintertime.  What if the snow was made to extend below the game water table?


David

[vortext]

What if the snow was made to extend below the game water table?

There're only 3 textures used for water.   Actually only 1 for the surface. The other 2 are the beach and deepsea textures. Moreover there're outside the .ini file, which is the table that contains the terrain textures. In other words, the terrain textures don't extend below sealevel.

[Lowkee33]

I'll stick with the "As far as I know" mentality, but I don't think there is anyway to have sea-water change in-game.  The water texture is just like the cliff, beach, lower beach, and deep sea textures.  There are rules that define exactly when these textures appear.  Also, moisture is what changes textures and water is always wet.  Actually, I think water is wetter than wet, it is 1 step wetter than the ground can ever be.*

There is nothing stopping us from making a mod that has ice water (and snowy cliffs and all that jazz) though.  I may actually do it, as I've run tests and the results do make the terrain very much arctic (It's also easier to deal with less colors ).

You could potentially make a timed prop that looks like ice, and plop it in a way that it is a little above the water.  This poses a real challenge though, because only a Building will rest on the surface (props go to the sea floor).

I don't feel that a seasonal terrain makes the transition from all snow to all grass very well.  Moisture, which changes monthly, sort of rolls across slopes, so there is always at least one month that have both grass and snow (and it isn't pretty).  The best I could do was have two months ruined, and as I planned my terrain I didn't want to set out to make something I would never be happy with.  Best I could do.

*Not quite true.  Using the rain tool increases moisture of the ground.  When the ground crosses that moisture level, that is what makes the sea-level rise.  If there was a long shot for flowing water, controlling this event would be my first idea.

RippleJet has a mod on the LEX that removes that bridge effect, way easier than modifying the effect itself.

[apeguy]

What if the snow was made to extend below the game water table?

There're only 3 textures used for water.   Actually only 1 for the surface. The other 2 are the beach and deepsea textures. Moreover there're outside the .ini file, which is the table that contains the terrain textures. In other words, the terrain textures don't extend below sealevel.

What about lower elevations for snow in the winter, and a seasonal beach mod that turns white in the winter? At least then the white textures could be seen at shallower depths, which is still somewhat realistic as wider stretches of water don't freeze over completely.

I'll stick with the "As far as I know" mentality, but I don't think there is anyway to have sea-water change in-game.  The water texture is just like the cliff, beach, lower beach, and deep sea textures.  There are rules that define exactly when these textures appear.  Also, moisture is what changes textures and water is always wet.  Actually, I think water is wetter than wet, it is 1 step wetter than the ground can ever be.*

There is nothing stopping us from making a mod that has ice water (and snowy cliffs and all that jazz) though.  I may actually do it, as I've run tests and the results do make the terrain very much arctic (It's also easier to deal with less colors ).

You could potentially make a timed prop that looks like ice, and plop it in a way that it is a little above the water.  This poses a real challenge though, because only a Building will rest on the surface (props go to the sea floor).

I don't feel that a seasonal terrain makes the transition from all snow to all grass very well.  Moisture, which changes monthly, sort of rolls across slopes, so there is always at least one month that have both grass and snow (and it isn't pretty).  The best I could do was have two months ruined, and as I planned my terrain I didn't want to set out to make something I would never be happy with.  Best I could do.

From what I've seen from certain terrain mods, the way snow is added on the highest elevations, surely you could just change the elevation at which snow appears, so in winter the terrain is completely covered, in spring the snow retreats to higher elevations, and by summer only the highest peaks have snow?

[vortext]

From what I've seen from certain terrain mods, the way snow is added on the highest elevations, surely you could just change the elevation at which snow appears, so in winter the terrain is completely covered, in spring the snow retreats to higher elevations, and by summer only the highest peaks have snow?

True, but this was probably the result of changing the height of the terrain, not seasons proper. The issue where Lowkee33 is aiming at is the blending of textures during seasonal changes. Have a look for yourself.

a seasonal beach mod that turns white in the winter?

Beach textures are handeled differently than normals terrain textures. Ergo, no seasons. 

[dedgren]

You could potentially make a timed prop that looks like ice, and plop it in a way that it is a little above the water.  This poses a real challenge though, because only a Building will rest on the surface (props go to the sea floor).

Heh!  What about a very large very flat white building?


David

[vortext]

You could potentially make a timed prop that looks like ice, and plop it in a way that it is a little above the water.  This poses a real challenge though, because only a Building will rest on the surface (props go to the sea floor).

Heh!  What about a very large very flat white building?


David

Is it actually possible to have a timed building? i.e. add the simulator properties to the building exampler?