Euphotica Gradient is the odd one out of the Euphotica family - it doesn't even pretend to be physically based. However it's basic aim is the same, so it's part of the clan. Euphotica Gradient is designed for the artistic approach, you have control over the colours used to give the transparency effect. Euphotica Gradient lets you specify up to 4 colours for the effect.

As with the other plugins in the Euphotica family, Euphotica Gradient is also able to fix, or at least improve, the "climbing quads" problem you sometimes see around the edge of the water, where you get solid blocks of the water colour going up onto the land. It will replace the block of water colour with the base colour you've specified. If the base colour is similar to the colour you have along the shoreline, then it should be much less noticeable. This can markedly improve TG images. However, if you use a plugin which changes the colouration of the water, such as Ice Shelf, Lava or Sorta Surf, then the problem can come back. To rectify this, you can use the Shore Snipper plugin.

The Interface

Mac version	Windows version

Euphotica Gradient is easy to use. Here's a guide to it's settings :

• File Menu
  The File menu allows you to open and save your plugin settings. The settings are saved in files with a .wwk extension. All of the different plugins save their settings in files with a .wwk extension, but each has it's own format. If you try and open a .wwk file that was saved by a different plugin, then you will be notified about it.
  

  All of the commands in the File menu should work pretty much as you expect them to, however there is a File Menu page here if you would like it explained.
  

  WaterWorks settings files are cross platform, and can be exchanged between the Mac and Windows versions.
  

• Gradient preview
  The gradient preview to the right displays an approximation of what the final gradient will look like. It updates in real time as you change or turn on and off colours, and if the Base Colour is turned on it shows how the gradient will look blended from shallow to deep.
  

• Base Colour
  Click the colour button to choose the colour that Euphotica Gradient blends with the water to give the transparent effect. The default colour is the same as the default colour of Terragen's base surface layer. If you don't want Euphotica Gradient to blend with the base colour, then uncheck the checkbox to the left.

• Colour 1 ( shore )
  Click the colour button to choose the colour that Euphotica Gradient gives to the start of the gradient, closest to the shore. The default colour is a rather nasty turquoise. You can't turn Colour 1 off.
  

• Colour 2
  Click the colour button to choose the colour. Colour 2 is situated half way along the gradient if Colour 3 is off, or 1/3 of the way from the shore otherwise. You can turn Colour 2 on or off using the checkbox to the left. The default colour is red, to remind you to change it to something else.
  

• Colour 3
  Click the colour button to choose the colour. Colour 3 is situated half way along the gradient if Colour 2 is off, or 2/3 of the way from the shore if colour 2 is on. You can turn Colour 3 on or off using the checkbox to the left. The default colour is red, to remind you to change it to something else.
  

• Colour 4 ( deep )
  Click the colour button to choose the colour that Euphotica Gradient gives to the end of the gradient, at the point that you specify with the Deepest Point setting. This colour completely overrides the water colour you set in TG itself, so any parts of the water deeper than the deepest point will be this colour. Hopefully plugins will be able to retrieve the water colour from TG at some stage, so this colour could be set to that by default. In the meantime, the default colour is a pretty unrealistic pure blue. You can't turn Colour 4 off.
  

• Deepest Point
  This setting controls the point where the gradient ends, any areas deeper than this will be given the colour you have set for Colour 4.
  

• Cancel button
  This button closes the plugin window without recording the changes you've made to the settings.
  

• OK button
  This button closes the plugin window and records the changes you've made to the settings.

Tips for using Euphotica Gradient

Here are some hints and tips to help you get the most out of Euphotica Gradient :

• Make a note of the colour of the surface layer you would like to represent the underwater terrain and use that for the base colour. Of course, you can set the base colour to anything you like, depending on the effect you want. It's possible to make some truly vile combinations...
  

  If you are using the Mac version, then there's an easy way to transfer the colour of the surface layer. Open the surface map editor for the layer which has the colour you want to use as the base colour. Click on the Colour button, and then click the Pick Up button in the colour picker. Now open the Euphotica window again, and click on the Colour button. When the colour picker opens, click the Drop button. This will copy the colour settings from the surface layer into Euphotica. The Pick Up and Drop buttons are like Copy and Paste for colours. Unfortunately this isn't possible with the Windows version yet, but hopefully will be at some stage.
  

• For those interested, if Colour 2 and Colour 3 are off, then the gradient is a linear blend between Colour 1 and Colour 4. If Colour 2, Colour 3 or both are on, then the blend between colours is done using a piecewise cubic spline. The blend between the gradient and the base colour is always a linear blend depending on depth. I may make it possible to change this at some point.
  

• Results are often better with higher settings for the waves ( Roughness and Wave Size in the Water window ), to break up the surface of the water a bit. If the water is too smooth it can look as if the blended water / terrain colour is almost painted on the surface of the water. The rougher water surface can help alleviate this.

Requirements

WaterWorks needs the TGPGuiLib to run. This file provides cross platform interface functionality. To find out more about the TGPGuiLib and download the latest version, visit it's website.

© Jo Meder 2000, all rights reserved