Random environmental pictues of the Pacific (PIC HEAVY)

[Ducimus]

I personally took these pictures on a 14 day cruise to Hawaii. During this time i noticed that the environment in the pacific is HIGHLY variable. What the ocean looks like depends on many factors. Aside from the obvious such as wind, your position, the position of the sun, time of day, how close you are to the water, proximity and geography of any land, even the angle at which your observing things all seem to make a difference. I honestly think, that is it virtually impossible to accurately model the Pacific ocean in SH4, although i also think you can come close to it.

I also noticed that some things i saw on the ocean were things that modders sometimes try and remove from the game as an annoyance, when in fact said "annoyance" was in all actuality, a semi accurate depiction. (I do not claim exemption here). The chief example of this is the "milk on the water" effect, which i think is caused from reflections of clouds and sunlight.

Also, I have to mention that I do not think these pictures comprehensive and representative of the entire pacific. The pictures taken were all east of Midway Island and the international dateline. I think it concievable that the ocean could have some stark differences west of said location.

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[Ducimus]

[Ducimus]

[Ducimus]

[pabbi]

So are you saying that vanilla version of the game is right when it comes to enviromental.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by pabbi

So are you saying that vanilla version of the game is right when it comes to enviromental.

No I'm not. Vanilla may have one or two things right, but by and large it isn't correct. Mods are closer to being right, but I don't think all the mods are entirely correct either. The thing is, everyone has their own idea and resources they draw upon, but it isn't until you actually go out there for a few days do you see all the nuances.

[Fish40]

Those are beautiful pics Ducimus! I have to say though, our modded environment does come fairly close. More than one of those pics looks like similar conditions I've seen in game. The "blue" of the ocean is also pretty dead on. I hope you had a great trip!

[pabbi]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

No I'm not. Vanilla may have one or two things right, but by and large it isn't correct. Mods are closer to being right, but I don't think all the mods are entirely correct either. The thing is, everyone has their own idea and resources they draw upon, but it isn't until you actually go out there for a few days do you see all the nuances.

Ok, thanks and thanks for those pics it kind a surpriced me to see how blue the ocean could be an than in the next pic so gray. Here on the atlantic side its always gray.

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

No I'm not. Vanilla may have one or two things right, but by and large it isn't correct. Mods are closer to being right, but I don't think all the mods are entirely correct either. The thing is, everyone has their own idea and resources they draw upon, but it isn't until you actually go out there for a few days do you see all the nuances.

Ok .... I can see clearly now ......

[Rockin Robbins]

Okay, so what color is the Pacific, blue, turquiose, gray, black?

Yes.

[Armistead]

First I thought those were new SS's from a new env. mod from Ducimas..

Great pictures. I've been playing with a new enviroment mod for over a year and keep changing the looks. I use pictures of clouds and waters and then keep tweaking until I get the closest match, but as you know it takes forever to test 1000 different settings and match all things up.


One thing that has been an issue for me is the size of the sun, you can see some sun in your pics, but I've played with making mine a lil bigger at dawn and dusk transitions...Maybe you can see the difference, is my big sun still too big in SS where sun is bigger, think one is a TMO sized sun.

[CDR Resser]

Great pics, Ducimus. Enjoy the trip. Looks like a lot of fun !!!!!!!

Respectfully Submitted;
CDR Resser

[CCIP]

Amazing pictures, thanks for sharing! (Kept searching them for targets...)

Otherwise it's important to keep in mind that the ocean is, first and foremost, a huge mirror. The colour will heavily depend on what it's reflecting, so the atmosphere conditions matter a lot.
Kind of a shame that in SH4, the environment model just focuses on pre-set colors for particular conditions, rather than actual reflectivity.

[joea]

Fan-effin-tastic Ducimus. I loooove those shots. To CCIP's assertion the ocean is a mirror I would add, not a perfect one, the constituents of said ocean matter. Red tide and other microscopic life in coastal areas, sediment as well. Out to sea I imagine the large oceans have some mixture changes also.

[0rpheus]

Hehe thought this was a prelude to a new environment tweak for TMO

Great shots Ducimus