Water effects in video games. Which is best?

[2099net]

After a bit of kerfuffle, I managed to get a second hand copy of Bioshock for my 360 which wasn't scratched to hell and spent a good few hours playing it this morning.

Most of the water effects were spot on (but sadly not all of them). Considering how hard it is to model water though, Bioshock is an amazing achievment. (its also the 1st game that has actually scared me in a long time)

Some Bioshock Water Effects here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_UzUJbhVPE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysSO5H2Xe1c&NR=1

But that got me thinking, Bioshock isn't the first game to have realistic water effects - lots of other games do. And they all do it differently.

Farcry Instincts/Predator on the 360 has amazing water effects too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1fFzQHt ... re=related


and other games have subtle water effects, such as the soft reflections on the rain covered roads in Project Gotham Racing 4, or the rain drenched surfaces on the first level of the Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End video game.

It would appear the Direct-X 10 driven Crysis on the PC currently has the edge on water effects:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAfjN2e_ ... re=related

But which game do you think has the best water effects?

[Chernabog_Rocks]

Honestly, I don't play a huge variety of games so I can only comment on what I've seen.

World of Warcraft has probably the best water effects that I've seen so far out of the games I've played, but then again visually the game is rather good all around as of yet.

Another game I'll mention is Resident Evil 4, the gamecube version is rather good (the lake scene being the major reference here) however I'm sure that the Wii version has upped the graphics (or so I assume). Other than that perhaps Resident Evil 0........or maybe not

That's all that comes to mind since I don't play anything on XBox or PS3 etc. so I'm out of the loop on most games that are now out........

[rs_milo_whatever]

Mario Sunhine has stunning water graphics too

[Mermaid Kelly]

I personally loved the water effects in Zelda Twilight Princess...long live the Zoras!

[I Love Bambi]

I don't know much about the listed games, but Mario Sunshine and Zelda: Twilight Princess had very good water effects. Just about every next-gen game out there now has good water effects, it depends on your personal taste.

[thatartguy]

Uncharted for the PS3 has AMAZING water effects. So much thought has gone into the water that even your character has wet clothes when getting out of it!

[2099net]

Yeah, Tomb Raider Legend on the 360 sort of did that (the clothes weren't wet, but Lara's skin was). Talking of more unusual "water effects" the sweat on the players in NBA Live 07 and NBA Live 08 is rather good too.

I recently played Perfect Dark Zero at it has excellent water effects in some respects - the transparent nature of the water (ie, being able to see the bottom surface through the water and the refraction effect on objects in the water) is excellent. Sadly the water doesn't quite move like water should which spoils the effect. Another Rareware 360 game has less convincing transparancy for it's water, but mathamatically calculated and looking very real ripples on its surface.

Why the two Rare teams couldn't get together and create on all-in water effect is beyond me. And that's the biggest issue with Water effects - everyone seems to do them differently, resulting in different visuals in different games. I'm surprised a middleware company like Epic with its Unreal engine or Havok with its Physicls engine don't just create one multi-purpose kick-ass water routine and licence that.

[2099net]

I'm surprised a middleware company like Epic with its Unreal engine or Havok with its Physicls engine don't just create one multi-purpose kick-ass water routine and licence that.

I just suggested it, and Unreal did it. Here is a link to a video showing the Unreal Engines new Dynamic Water Effects. Looks like it will debut in Gears of War II

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/20/gdc08 ... e-surface/

[Disney Duster]

But wouldn't you want all the games to try different techniques for water? So each game is unique? Like different art styles for animated movies...

[2099net]

Possibly, and you raise a good point. However, the trend for most games is "realism" these days. It's not something I agree with 100% but most developers aim to recreate real world objects as much as possible. And that's why it can be frustrating if the water effects don't match the realism of the environment. Oblivion for example has okay water effects, but they aren't as good as the trees, ruins and buildings that surround them and as a result the not-quite-right water does "pull you out" of the game.

However, if the videogame world is a stylised one, such as Sonic, Jet Set Radio or Hot Shots Golf, sure. Let the developers come up with their own version.

[yamiiguy]

My favourite is Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, you can plainly see Drake's clothes getting wetter the longer he is in the water

[Disney Duster]

Well, Netty (I finally feel I can call you that!), I guess that will make me okay with every game using the same water pattern. But it would be nice if even in trying to look realistic, they could pull of distinctively different realitsic looks. Sounds pretty impossible, I know. Hopefully games don't get so real we can't tell if they're reality or not.

I was saving this thought because it would make a great movie, but I worry that one day CGI will get so good people can animate videos of people stealing something or killing someone that looks like the real thing, and use it as evidence for them to get arrested or jailed or executed.

Yamiiguy, that sounds good if he gets progressively wetter!

[rexcrk]

Pikmin had some nice lookin' water

[2099net]

I've found somebody else who shares my obsession! Behold, the top 25 water effects in videogames!

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/user ... 98932.html

[ajmrowland]

Oblivio's water effects are some of the better ones I've seen. Though, the downloadable demo for Bioshock makes that game look good on all levels.

[xxhplinkxx]

I've found somebody else who shares my obsession! Behold, the top 25 water effects in videogames!

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/user ... 98932.html

I loved this video! I love games that have water in it and you can swim in it.

(Probably subconsciously related to my love of TLM lol)


But I just beat Tomb Raider: Underworld, so it was fun to see it in the video.

[2099net]

Oblivio's water effects are some of the better ones I've seen. Though, the downloadable demo for Bioshock makes that game look good on all levels.

Some top titles which I feel should have been in the 25:

Fallout 3
I was never that impressed with the Oblivion water, the surface was just too uniform. Now, Fallout 3's water on the otherhand is leaps and bounds ahead of oblivions, especially shallow areas which have convincing refraction effects as well as reflections.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DZ393OwPSg

Virtua Fighter 5
A lot of people overlook VF 5's graphics, but they really are superb, if a little subtle. There's two stages with water in, the Chinese stage in a fenced off pool (which is good, but really no great improvement on a similar stage in VF4) and a New York stage in the rain, which is superb. Reflections on the damp tarmac are flawless, and the puddles move and react to the players perfectly. An under-looked gem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ixSs8NHYEU

WaveRace64
This game is the daddy of water effects. It did so much with so little hardware, its never been beaten, even though many have tried to. Here for the first time we really had water racing where the swell and waves of the water affected the vehicle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsF7dlty ... re=related

DOAX 2
Has a Jetski section that looks about 10 times better than WaveRace64, but plays about 10 times worse. However, the water effects in the pool are incredible. And yes, I know I'm probably the only person looking at the water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOKntVe7 ... annel_page

Eccho Dreamcast
Again, like WaveRace64, going back a few years, Eccho on the Dreamcast was a milestone in videogame water. Jumping up above the sea's surface and then diving down below is still something special even today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8p-wz-oVHE

[ajmrowland]

Oblivio's water effects are some of the better ones I've seen. Though, the downloadable demo for Bioshock makes that game look good on all levels.

Some top titles which I feel should have been in the 25:

Fallout 3
I was never that impressed with the Oblivion water, the surface was just too uniform. Now, Fallout 3's water on the otherhand is leaps and bounds ahead of oblivions, especially shallow areas which have convincing refraction effects as well as reflections.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DZ393OwPSg

Virtua Fighter 5
A lot of people overlook VF 5's graphics, but they really are superb, if a little subtle. There's two stages with water in, the Chinese stage in a fenced off pool (which is good, but really no great improvement on a similar stage in VF4) and a New York stage in the rain, which is superb. Reflections on the damp tarmac are flawless, and the puddles move and react to the players perfectly. An under-looked gem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ixSs8NHYEU

WaveRace64
This game is the daddy of water effects. It did so much with so little hardware, its never been beaten, even though many have tried to. Here for the first time we really had water racing where the swell and waves of the water affected the vehicle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsF7dlty ... re=related

DOAX 2
Has a Jetski section that looks about 10 times better than WaveRace64, but plays about 10 times worse. However, the water effects in the pool are incredible. And yes, I know I'm probably the only person looking at the water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOKntVe7 ... annel_page

Eccho Dreamcast
Again, like WaveRace64, going back a few years, Eccho on the Dreamcast was a milestone in videogame water. Jumping up above the sea's surface and then diving down below is still something special even today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8p-wz-oVHE

I don't have many PS3 games, so I'm easily impressed. Oblivion does look uniform, but that's only part of my point here.

[Kyle]

Mario Sunshine, no question. many games are pretty good at covering the basics, few reach the interactivity that Sunshine did. even a generation later.

If you want something underwater, endless ocean is worth mentioning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1NvmVybDWE

[KubrickFan]

WaveRace64
This game is the daddy of water effects. It did so much with so little hardware, its never been beaten, even though many have tried to. Here for the first time we really had water racing where the swell and waves of the water affected the vehicle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsF7dlty ... re=related

Wave Race: Blue Storm is the same game, but made for the GameCube. The graphics were a little better, but the overall look was very much the same (even down to the voice overs). I always thought that had the best water effects, because there's a lot of interactivity with the water. The tides coming in gave it something extra. It was really cool when it was storming, and it interfered with the lap you were doing.