Liquids
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Tomasz 'Millennium' Jachimczak
tomasz@planetunreal.com

Forward:
Okay, Here comes an easy tutorial on how to make water...

Abstract:
Making water is VERY easy, but you have to know how to do it first...

Assumptions:
I assume that you know how to make basic rooms. 

Tutorial:
Introduction:
Water adds a lot more depth to a level, whether it be in the form of a pool, a puddle here or there or perhaps a whole "Flooded In" level, with air pockets here and there... I assume that you have a level where you want to place water, so you should start off with a room allready... 

Creating the water "hole":
Just as you would normally create a room, or a hallway or whatever for that matter, "cut" out the space for the water to go. I mean if you want a pool in a certain room, then make the room and cut out the place where you want the water to go into. If you are just starting out, it's a good idea to stick with simple things first, maybe a small square pool. 

Adding the water sheet:
Now that you have a place for the water to go, select the sheet* brush. When you see a thin red line, simply select the sheet properties (right click the sheet button) and select Floor ceiling orientation. The size of your brush should be a little larger then the hole you created for the water level (ie. It should actually overlap the sides). Now place it just below the level of the sides - otherwise it looks like it's going to overflow) and hit the "intersect" button (the fourth one down on right hand column). This will then make the brush fit your water level EXACTLY. At this point you might say why not just make the same dimensions, right? Well that is becuase if later down the track, you want to add in things like rocks jutting out of the water, or you have water levels that are not rectangular, you will allready know how to make the proper brushes for them - rather then having to learn a whole new method. Better to get it right the first time. You will have to load in the textures for water, so under the texture bar, select "load" and scroll along until you find "liquids", load it and choose a water texture for the sheet you want to build. Now that you have the sheet the right size, and in the right place and with the right texture, click "add special" (the fifth button down right hand column) and from the drop down list, select water. Simple isn't it??? At this point, sometimes - the water sheet won't show up - if this is the case, just "rebuild" the level, and it will be there. 

Creating the water itself:
Now that you have the water sheet, you can add the zone info for water... Where the texture bar is, select "classes" from the drop down list (it should currently display "textures". Choose info>zoneinfo>waterzone and right place it into the area your pool is in (right click in either a 2D or 3D view) and make SURE it is inside the area you want the water to occupy. 

Adding sound:
When you select the waterzone info and place it into the map, it will automatically add some sound into the water for you, but you can change the actual sounds that you hear by bringing up the waterzone properties (right click the waterzone icon - the cube with a question mark next to it). Then select "sound" and choose "ambientsound" this will then bring up some buttons. Click the 3 dots and you will be shown a list of sounds to choose from. If you haven't loaded any sounds, they won't be there yet, so to load them click the "load" button below the "sounds" bar and choose "AmbOutside". Then in the drop down list select "water" and play them until you find one that will suit your needs. Go back to the properties and under AmbientSound, choose "use". That's it, Done. 

Rebuild and Play:
Simply rebuild your level, and play it to check out your water settings. To see more cool things that can be done with water, look out for the "Advanced Water tutorial that I will be posting shortly. 
