How realistic is the water?

[maestro]

I'm a stickler for realistic water especially in a game like this.

A few questions:
1 - Does the water line clip through the hull like in many games or does it realistically keep water outside the hull as long as there's no leaks etc?

2 - If there is leaks, does water physically fill in through doors, gaps, or is there just one generic water line that gradually goes up?

3 - How does the realism of sinking compare to games like Sinking Simulator?

4 - Can you drown?

5 - How does it look underwater? I'm not expecting Subnautica, but hopefully decent enough.

6 - Non related question: Is there or will there be damage modelling or deformation?

[Happenstance]

Personally, I feel the ocean physics are one of the standout features of the game. In a full scale storm, the waves are really impressive and challenging!!

Check out some of Camodo Gaming’s recent streams on YouTube to get a feel for how the water in the game functions, both above and below the ocean.

A hardcore mode is being worked on the devs have specifically said, which will include drowning amongst other things, but I expect it’s a couple of months away as Steam P2P Support, a multiplayer career mode and adding advanced editing tools are the current focus.

The game gets weekly (small but decent) updates and a major update every 6-8 weeks. It is one of the best Early Access experiences I have ever had, with the creative mode an absolute blast. The devs really listen and are actively engaged with the supportive community on Discord, so I can only see this game getting better and better.

[maestro]

Originally posted by Happenstance:

Personally, I feel the ocean physics are one of the standout features of the game. In a full scale storm, the waves are really impressive and challenging!!

Check out some of Camodo Gaming’s recent streams on YouTube to get a feel for how the water in the game functions, both above and below the ocean.

A hardcore mode is being worked on the devs have specifically said, which will include drowning amongst other things, but I expect it’s a couple of months away as Steam P2P Support, a multiplayer career mode and adding advanced editing tools are the current focus.

The game gets weekly (small but decent) updates and a major update every 6-8 weeks. It is one of the best Early Access experiences I have ever had, with the creative mode an absolute blast. The devs really listen and are actively engaged with the supportive community on Discord, so I can only see this game getting better and better.

Thank you for your very complex and conscise response.

[Casia Loopy]

But to answer your specific questions.

1 - The water doesn't clip through the hull of sealed compartments, but it will clip through the deck.

2 - Not sure because there is no damage, so leaks are only when you forgot to plug all the holes in your boat, and when that happens it spawns with water in the hull.

3 - Not sure i've never sunk.

4 - No not yet.

5 - There's a decent amount of underwater flora clutter, and different sea creatures. There's a good water distortion shader, but it's dark so you'll need a light.

6 - A question for the devs.

The actual handling of boats that aren't sinking is pretty good, but if you just want a 3d sinking ship simulator this isn't it yet. Follow the dev blogs and maybe they will add damage and other features related to it.

Edit: So water does fill up from the bottom. I left a door open, and my ship sank :P Not compartmentalized enough.

[RoboJon]

Just to clarify on what's already been said, the water is compartmentalised so you could flood one section of a boat but keep the rest dry by sealing the door. When you open the door, water will level between the two rooms. You might want to check out ComodoGaming on YouTube to see some videos of ships that have been "rigged" to take on water and sink.

We're looking at starting to add some forms of destruction including hull breaches in a few months time as one of our major updates. Same goes for drowning which will be part of hardcore mode. But I agree that as of now at least, this isn't really a ship sinking simulator unless you're really unlucky or design your ship to sink, so if that's what you're after you may be disappointed. Stormworks is more about building vehicles and then using them to tackle missions rather than just destroying them.

[maestro]

Originally posted by RoboJon:

Just to clarify on what's already been said, the water is compartmentalised so you could flood one section of a boat but keep the rest dry by sealing the door. When you open the door, water will level between the two rooms. You might want to check out ComodoGaming on YouTube to see some videos of ships that have been "rigged" to take on water and sink.

We're looking at starting to add some forms of destruction including hull breaches in a few months time as one of our major updates. Same goes for drowning which will be part of hardcore mode. But I agree that as of now at least, this isn't really a ship sinking simulator unless you're really unlucky or design your ship to sink, so if that's what you're after you may be disappointed. Stormworks is more about building vehicles and then using them to tackle missions rather than just destroying them.

Yeah I've watched a number of ComodoGaming's vids and got a good general idea of things.

Glad to hear about a hard core mode. However, one might assume that rescuing people on a burning oil rig in a storm would include the possibility of dying as a given. I just don't get the challenge if you can crash into the sea and fly out and complete the mission.

Either way thanks for your response!