[gap]

Originally Posted by MLF

I don't think I meant shadows, but more light and shade.

Originally Posted by MLF

I added water reflection to all nodes with the following settings:-

ClipHeight = 0
Reflection = 1
Refraction = 1
FrustumTest = False (What IS that???)
MaxVisDistance = 0.0
MinVisDim = 0.02
MaxVisDim = 0.2

Basically I think they were the settings Kendras used on his lighthouse at the beginning of the thread so I used them as they worked.

Thank you. I have Reflection/Refraction parameters set as in your model. I doubt other parameters have any impact on the quality of the reflections, but on their appearance/disappearance based on distance from the model, on its rendered size on screen etc (BTW: in short, FrustumTest makes reflections to fade out when their parent object is out of camera).
Curiously, the version of WaterReflection I am using has not MaxVisDistance parameter. Are there two versions of the controller? Might the version you are using lead to a better visual quality of the effect? Other than that, I can only think that I have checked the DX2/3 compression flag of the texture used for reflection. This, indeed, might have an impact on their quality

Originally Posted by MLF

It's actually a 3DsMax model at the following link:-...

Not sure what light house it is, but it looked so decrepit I thought it would be a good one to start with.

Sure, I had seen that model long ago, and I think I already have in on my HD. It is very nice indeed, though I don't think it represents any real lighthouse in particular and, if memory serves me well, its poly count is a bit too high for our needs

Originally Posted by MLF

It still needs work, especially with scaling. really need to get my head around Blender as my 3Ds Student license has expired. I've attached another screenshot with La Plate in the distance (same positions as La Veille and La Plate) and it's obvious the scale is out. Any observations and suggestions would be appreciated.

Learning Blender is a good idea; despite its counter-intuitive UI, I think it is a good and poweful program. I am also slowly learning it, especially for model post-processing. For modelling, my tool of election is still Wings-3d. Should you decide to switch to it, while you learn the more complicated Blender, I am sure you will find many valid tutors on the forum, me included

Originally Posted by MLF

Also the texture, although I tried to include OA seems a bit flat - all trial and error.

That's true. Texture map settting is much more complicated, unreliable and restrictive in SHIII than in it is in SHIV and 5. The good thing is that the more we make mistake, the more we learn. With this mantra in mind, I also plan adding specular and bump maps to the La Plate model (as you might have noticed, the AO map is overlapped to the diffuse map), but I am leaving those as the last task