# Local Water Zone Settings ### **Override color** Changes local optical properties within the zone (transparency distance, base water color, turbidity color). Optional spherical falloff for smooth radial blending. \ Used to separate biomes or create distinct water looks in confined areas {% embed url="" %} **Parameters**: * transparent (meters) – controls how clear or opaque the water is * water color – defines how water absorbs light with depth, giving the liquid its natural tint, like ocean blue or cola brown * turbidity color – defines how particles scatter light, adding murkiness, like algae-green lake or muddy river * use sphere blending – fades overrides using spherical falloff from zone center; good for round ponds or smooth radial transitions. *** ### **Override wind** Scales the global wind effect within the zone and blends it at the edges. Used to reduce wind response in sheltered places (piers, bays) or calm lakes and courtyards. {% embed url="" %} **Parameters**: * strength multiplier – scales global wind locally * edge blending – width of the fade between local wind and global wind at the zone border. *** ### **Override height** Applies a visual height offset or clipping of the surface inside the zone with edge blending. Used to cut out water inside enclosed geometry (submarine interior, underwater windows, etc) or to create a local raised body of water (rooftop, elevated pools, etc). \ This modifier offsets water vertices in world space (up or down), so lighting, reflections/refraction, foam, and other effects remain consistent. {% embed url="" %} **Parameters**: * clip water below zone – clips/lowers water inside the zone. * edge blending – smooth transition width for the height clip. *** ### **Override mesh** (experimental) Renders water inside the zone using a provided custom mesh instead of the default patch. Used to achieve special shapes. \ Limitation: when viewed through it the water is treated as infinitely deep (not an enclosed tank) {% embed url="" %} **Parameters:** * custom mesh – replaces the default surface inside the zone with your mesh. * rotation offset (x/y/z) – rotates the custom mesh relative to world axes. {% hint style="info" %} Tips * Current implementation is not minimal cost. In practice, multiple local zones render almost like additional water patches. For example, \~10 zones can take roughly the same GPU time as the base surface itself. * Be cautious with the number of zones and with overlaps. * Prefer few larger zones over many small ones. * Keep edge blending widths reasonable; large soft blends increase overdraw. * Disable unused overrides (color/wind/height/mesh) per zone to avoid extra work. * Сustom Mesh is not supported in Aquarium mode; when viewed through it the water is treated as infinitely deep (not an enclosed tank). * Plan: further optimizations are intended in future updates (to reduce per-zone cost). {% endhint %}