Overview

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Water is an essential part of almost any Age of Empires IV map. It creates streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans that divide the map, create chokepoints, and add aesthetic beauty to the environment.

This guide covers how to add water to your map, including adding ripples, flow, and other visual elements to it.

The Water Tools 

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There are three main tools that are used to add and manipulate water in Age of Empires IV:
Water Height Map, Water Flow Map, and Water Tiles.

• Water Height Map is used to edit the mesh or 'height' of water, determining where water appears.
• Water Flow Map is used to paint surface textures on the water such as flow and foam.
• Water Tiles are sets of water textures that control the type of water and its general appearance, including aspects such as colour, depth, foam type, and flow speed.

Opening the Water Tools

The water tools appear together in the top tool bar. Selecting one will populate the Properties panel and Painter tool with content for the selected tool.

Alternatively, you can also find these tools in the Scenario Tree under Terrain, labelled Water Flow Map, Water Height Map and Water Tiles

Adding Water to a Map

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Water is added to a map using an entity called a Flood Marker. When placed, this marker will spawn water at its location, the height of which can be manipulated.

Water fills the terrain from the lowest point to the highest point, so you can use the Heightfield controls to dig holes, pits, ravines, trenches, ditches, and similar terrain features for the water to fill.

Alternatively, you can use a Spline to dig a trench, stream, ditch, or river.

Once you have created an area for your water to fill, you will need to add a Flood Marker to your map to fill this depression.

Use whichever method detailed is most convenient for you.

Method 1: Place Flood Marker using Object Browser

Using the Object Browser is the main, "default" way to add water to a map, and the method you will most often use.

To use this method to spawn water, go to the Object Browser and drag a Water Flood Marker into the render view. The marker will then fill the area you placed it in with water.

Once the water marker is placed, you can use the transformation controls to move the marker.

You can also use the flood marker's Transform controls to move the Position value up or down, which controls the level of the water.

Method 2: Place Flood Marker using Scenario Tree

You can also spawn flood markers using the Scenario Tree.

To add a flood marker this way, go to the Scenario Tree, Right-Click on Water Height Map and select +Add...

A new Flood Marker will appear in the middle of the render view window on the surface of your map.

You can then move it and manipulate the marker in the same ways outlined above. 

Flood Marker Properties

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The Flood Marker entity has a set of unique properties, detailed below.

Locked: locks the individual markers selected so it can't be moved. 

Visible: hides the Flood Marker. Note this will not hide the water itself. 

Normal: tells the water which way to fill. With normal gravity, leave these values as 0/1/0.

Position: the position of the water flood marker in X, Y, and Z. The Y value (middle number) can be used to raise or lower the water level.

Water Height Properties

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The Water Height entity has a set of unique properties, detailed below.

Locked: locks all the the markers you may have on a map 

Visible: simply hides the marker, not the water itself. 

Cell Size: defaults to 1 (cannot be edited)

Height and Width: lists the size of the map.

Changing the Appearance of Water

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The appearance of water is controlled by Water Tiles.

Water Tiles are used as brushes and control all aspects of how water appears, including its colour, texture, flow speed, foam, and depth.

This section covers how to change the appearance of your water after a Flood Marker has been placed.

Create a New Water Tile

Before using a Water Tile as a brush, you must first create it.

To create a new custom Water Tile, perform the following steps:

1. In the Scenario Tree, Right Click on Water Tiles and select +Add...
   
   
   
2. A new blank Water Tile will be added in the Scenario Tree. Select it to access its Properties panel.
   It is recommended you name your new water tile so you can identify it against the others.
   
   
   
3. Using the Properties panel for your new Water Tile, you can set its various properties to adjust its appearance. These properties are covered under Water Tile Properties at the end of this guide.
   
   
   

Alternate Workflow

In addition to the above workflow, if you can use the Object wish you can also drag a Water Tile from the Object Browser onto either the water tile section in the Scenario Tree, or the Render View window. 

Painting a Water Tile

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Once you have a water tile prepared, you are ready to pain it onto a patch of water, changing the water's appearance.

You must currently have a Flood Marker on the map generating water to change the appearance of that water.

To paint a water tile onto a Flood Marker's water, perform the following steps:

1. Go to the main Toolbar and click Select Water Tiles.
   
   
   
2. The Painter tool will then be populated with all your current water options. Select the Tile you wish to paint as well as any brush settings and paint the water onto an existing patch of water.
   
   
   

Blending Different Water Types Together 

It is possible to blend two different types of water together, such as when creating a muddy river emptying into the ocean, or a swampy green marsh merging with a crystal blue lake.

To blend a second type of water into an existing water type, select the Feather Tipped Brush in the water tile Painter tool and select a different type of water. 

You can then use the feathered edge of the brush to blend the two water types together at their border until the border between them appears as you want it to. The more feathered you set the edges of the brush, the more subtle and gradual the bending effect will be.

 

 

Maximum Number of Water Tile Types

Similar to Terrain tiles, Age of Empires IV is limited to how many water tiles it can graphically support in a single area.

Each map is divided into squares called "Chunks," which can be viewed by checking Show Chunks under Settings in the water Painter tool.

The max number of water tiles you can have in a single chunk is 4.

Exceeding this limit will cause the least used water tile will get dropped from that chunk, causing the straight edges of the grid to appear.

Water Flow and Foam

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When you initially place a Flood Marker, the water it generates will have no flow and no foam.

These effects are vital to causing water to appear natural, and when used together can create visually stunning results.

Flow

Flow is a visual effect that simulates the movement of the water.

To conceptualize how Flow works, think of it as a conveyer belt along the surface texture of the water. The pixels that make up the water will then "drift" in whatever direction you painted the flow in.

After a set period of time, known as the "flow reset period," the texture will fade out and then fade back in at it's original location. This process then repeats, creating the appearance of flowing water.

Foam

Foam is a visual effect that simulates churn, bubbles, and similar effects on the surface of the water.

When placed without flow, foam rests on the surface of the water and makes it look stagnant. If placed on flowing water, foam creates the illusion of rapids and spray.

Painting Flow and Foam 

To paint water flow or foam onto your map, go to the Main Toolbar and click select Water Flow Map. 

The Painter Tool will then appear, populated by water flow options. Select Set Flow Brush and adjust the brush settings there to generate the type of flow you want.

Once your brush is set, you can use it to paint your selected water flow or foam effect onto the map using one of the brushes detailed below.

Flow Direction

When you set Strength to your flow the paintbrush will display a radial line, indicating the direction of the flow. You can see this line displayed in the GIF above.

• You can easily and quickly change this flow direction by pressing Shift and scrolling the Mouse Wheel.
• You can change the size of your brush by pressing Ctrl and scrolling the Mouse Wheel.

Set Flow Brush

The Set Flow Brush is used to pain flow onto a water's surface and possesses a number of unique settings, detailed below.

• Set Flow Brush allows you to paint flow direction by rotating the gizmo and painting right on the water's surface. Wherever you paint, the water will flow in the direction of the gizmo (the line). 
• Blend: Controls the opacity of the brush, allowing you to blend edges together.
• Feather: Adds a feathering effect to the edges to the brush.
• Size: Controls the size of the paintbrush.
• Mode: Provides options to paint in the direction of the flow or subtract flow in the opposite direction.
• Shape: Switches between a circle or a square brush.
• Direction: Sets the direction of the flow, indicated by the radial line on the template.
• Strength: Controls how strong the flow is. The maximum flow speed is set in the Water Flow Strength for that specific water tile.

Set Foam Brush

The set Foam Brush is used to manually add foam to the surface of the water.

Foam essentially allows you to paint a second water layer which is usually occupied with a foam texture, but need not be restricted to foam.

The Foam texture for a type of water is set in Foam Material, a setting found in a Water Tile's Properties. 

• Blend: Controls the opacity of the brush, allowing you to blend edges together.
• Feather: Adds a feathering effect to the edges to the brush.
• Mode: Provides options to paint in the direction of the flow or subtract flow in the opposite direction.
  • Add paints foam onto the water.
  • Subtract removes foam from the water. Works like an eraser.
  • Normal paints foam up to the level set in Foam Intensity, but not past.
• Shape: Switches between a circle or a square brush.
• Size: Controls the size of the paintbrush.
• FoamIntensity: Sets the intensity of the foam that is painted. Higher values mean more foam, lower values mean less foam.

In the example above, note that the foam appears to be travelling slower than the underlying water. You can set these speeds independently in the Properties for that painted water type. 

Gesture Flow Brush

The Gesture Flow Brush allows you to pain water flow using your mouse movements instead of a directional cursor.

This tool captures the motion and direction of your mouse curser and paints that information into the flow map, making it great for areas with a complex flow pattern.

• Blend: Controls the opacity of the brush, allowing you to blend edges together.
• Feather: Adds a feathering effect to the edges to the brush.
• Mode: Provides options to paint in the direction of the flow or subtract flow in the opposite direction.
  • Add paints flow onto the water.
  • Subtract removes flow from the water. Works like an eraser.
  • Normal paints flow up to the level set in Strength, but not past.
• Shape: Switches between a circle or a square brush.
• Size: Controls the size of the paintbrush.
• Strength sets a max strength for use with Normal mode.
• Sensitivity is a multiplier primarily used for subtle, detailed work. 

Smooth Flow Brush

The Smooth Flow Brush allows you to smooth or blur any flow you have painted. 

This is generally used as a finishing tool to make water flow appear more natural in specific areas.

• Feather: Adds a feathering effect to the edges to the brush.
• Gusto: Is a power multiplier for the brush.
• Shape: Switches between a circle or a square brush.
• Size: Controls the size of the paintbrush.
• Strength sets a max strength for use with Normal mode.

Smooth Foam Brush

The Smooth Foam Brush allows you to smooth or blur any foam you have painted. 

This is generally used as a finishing tool to make water foam appear more natural in specific areas.

• Feather: Adds a feathering effect to the edges to the brush.
• Gusto: Is a power multiplier for the brush.
• Shape: Switches between a circle or a square brush.
• Size: Controls the size of the paintbrush.
• Strength sets a max strength for use with Normal mode.

Water Tile Properties

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When creating your own custom water tiles, there are a number of unique properties, with each contributing to how the water appears overall.

To access these properties, select the desired water tile in the Scenario Tree to open its Properties panel.

It is recommended you use the Display Name field to give your custom water a unique name.

Flow

The Flow settings control the water's movement when it is placed, including the appearance of the flow, its reset period, and flow speed.

• Flow Material: This water texture only appears up if you've painted a directional flow onto your water. Note that when you initially place water it has no flow. Press the "..." button to choose from the available library of flow options.
  
  
  
• Flow Reset Time Period: the time between when the texture loops back to its original location. Using a low number (3 or less) causes it to be easier to see the texture loop, but larger numbers (4 or higher) causes it to be more difficult to spot the loop.
  
  
  

• Flow Strength: dictates the maximum speed for the flow. When painting flow you can dictate any speed from 0 to maximum.
  

• Flow UV Scale: controls the size of the flow ripple visuals. 
  
  

Foam

The Foam settings control the appearance of foam on the water. When first created, water does not contain foam and it must be either manually painted or procedurally generated.

• Foam Material: sets the material used when foam is placed. Note that while this is called "foam," this texture can be used to add anything floating on the water's surface such as oil slicks, swamp scum, floating garbage, or algae blooms.
  
• Foam Reset Time Material: the time between when the texture loops back to its original location. Using a low number (3 or less) causes it to be easier to see the texture loop, but larger numbers (4 or higher) causes it to be more difficult to spot the loop.
• Foam Strength: dictates the maximum speed for the foam. Changing this value from the default may cause visual artifacts.
• Foam UV Scale: controls the size of the foam visual texture. 
  
  

Water

The Water settings control the appearance of the water, including texture, colour, reflection, depth, and similar properties.

• Bumpiness: A multiplier that increases water reflection. Keeping this value at 1 or less will prevent visual artifacts from appearing.  
• Deep Water Colour: The colour of the water. The actual visible colour will depend on the Deep Water Depth setting.
• Deep Water Depth: The depth or distance from the surface at which the water becomes opaque
  (If the ground below the water is closer than that value, the water will not be opaque) 
  • Setting the value to 1 makes the water appear opaque like muddy water.
  • Setting the value to 10 or more will make the water appear fairly clear. 
    
• Emissive Factor: If an .emi channel is included in the water texture, this setting can cause it to glow, creating effects such as lava or luminescent algae.
• Height Blend Offset: Allows directly making the material's blending stronger.
• Height Blend Scale: Adjusts the effect of the water material height texture.
• Is Reflective: Turns water reflections on or off. Reflective elements include trees, clouds, rocks, units, etc. See Using Reflections below for additional info on reflections.
  
  

Using Reflections

Reflections of objects appear on any water surface that is calm enough to allow light to reflect off it.

If water that has too much flow or wind, reflections will not show properly on it. To smooth out choppy water that is being affected by flow or wind, paint on a layer of low or zero flow using the Flow brush.

This will override the current flow or wind and smooth the water out.

If your reflections are still not showing, such as shown in the image of the castle below with only shadows appearing on the water's surface, you can force reflections to appear by debugging them manually. 

To manually debug reflections, navigate to: Scenario > Debug > Debug Water Reflection.

Note this is only for making reflections appear in the Editor. Reflections always appear normally in-game.

This process will reload the reflections and cause them to appear properly in the editor.

 

Wind

The Wind setting is the default backup water material that appears only when there is no flow painted.

Instead of flow strength and direction, this texture is driven by wind speed and wind direction.

• Wind Factor: This feature is not available in the current version of the editor.
• Wind Material: controls the texture created by the wind. This tends to be far more calm than flow textures.
• Wind UV Scale: controls the size of the wind texture. To match scales with Flow and Foam, use a 1 to 10 ratio. For example, if your Flow or Foam scale is set to 1, your Wind scale should be set to 10 to appear at the same scale.

• Direction Water is the direction of the flow
• Strength Water is the speed
• The other Direction and Strength affect the grass and trees and bushes, etc... not the water.

Direction Water: is the flow direction of Wind Water and can be independent of actual wind direction.

Strength Water: is the flow "speed" and can be independent of actual wind speed. 

Flow Animated Water Mesh: This feature is not available in the current version of the editor.

Advanced: Map Wind Settings

To access full control over how wind functions on your map, go to the Atmosphere section in the Scenario Tree. Then select the atmosphere for your map. In most maps, this is labelled default.

The Properties panel your map's default atmosphere allows you to set all the atmospheric settings, including wind.

Note that some of these settings control the effect of wind on many things besides water

• Direction: the direction the wind blows.
• Direction Water: the direction of the wind when it interacts with water.
• Declination: the angle the wind blows at.
• Strength: the general strength of the wind.
• Influence Strength: the degree to which the wind affects objects such as trees, flags, grass, etc.
• Strength Water: the strength of the wind when in interacts with water.
  
  

Generating Flow and Foam Automatically

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If you do not want to paint flow and foam by hand, it is possible to cause the Content Editor to place water flow and foam automatically.

This can be useful to allow the game to randomly generate flow and foam in a realistic, natural pattern that slows near the shore, inspired by observing real lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans.

Automatically Place Flow 

Warning: Automatically generating flow on your map will overwrite any custom hand-painted flow you have made, even if it is in an un-attached river or lake.

To automatically generate foam or flow, perform the following steps:

1. In the Main Toolbar, select Water Flow Map. The Flow and Foam tools will then appear in the Painter panel.
   
   
   

2. At the top of the Painter interface note the Generate Water Flow Map and Generate Foam Map buttons. We will use these later.
   
   
   

3. Before generating a Water Flow Map, you first need to add Water Flow Markers into a body of water. These markers are found in the Object Browser and can be dragged onto wherever you want to place them.
   
   
   

4. When you place a Water Flow Marker, select it to access its Transformation panel. Select the Rotate tool to rotate the marker in the direction you want to water to flow. The point of the triangle indicates which direction the water flow in, so these should be pointing downstream.
   
   
   

5. Each marker will cause a flow in a specific direction, so you may need to use multiple markers to create river forks, branching, or connecting rivers, such as at the beginning of each river, at their end, and at intersections. Each marker uses system resources, so use as few as possible to get the effect you want. 

   
   
   

6. Selecting a Water Flow Marker will also open it's Properties panel, allowing you adjust a number of parameters.
   

   
   • Locked: locks the marker's position and rotation.
   • Visible: hides the icon of the marker in the render view.
   • Flow Rate: This feature is not available in the current version of the editor.
     
     

7. Once you have your markers in place and rotated in the way you want, return to the flow Painter panel and press Generate Water Flow Map.
   
   
   

8. The Generate Water Flow Map panel will open. Adjust set any settings you want and press OK.
   

   • Ocean Shore: allows flow to detect the shore of a body of water such as an ocean or lake, slowing down at the shore.
   • River Shore: allows flow to detect the shore and follow a winding body of water such as a stream or river. Enabling this setting in a lake or ocean can create unpredictable and chaotic water currents. 
   • Shore Influence: will increase the amount of drag the shore will have on flow. High values cause the water to strictly adhere to the shape of the river, while low values cause the flow to be less strict. A value of 0 will cause the water to ignore the shore and the water in your river or lake will flow only in one direction.
     
     
9. Once you press OK, the water will then appear to flow in the direction and manner you selected.
   
   
   

Automatically Place Foam

To generate foam for an entire river, complete the steps above to first generate the river's flow, then perform the following steps:

1. Once you have an active generated flow going, use the water flow Painter tool to select Generate Water Foam Map.
   
   
   
2. The Generate Water Foam Map panel will open. Adjust set any settings you want and press OK.
   
   
   • Operation: This feature is not available in the current version of the editor.
   • Maximum Foam: sets the maximum opacity of the foam that will be generated. Higher values result in thicker, more intense foam.
   • Maximum Depth: sets maximum depth of the water that will create foam. Low values result in only shallow areas generating foam such as banks and rapids, while high values result in the entire river being covered in foam.
   • Speed Range: sets the range of wind speed that will generate foam. When used with water flow, this results in the entire river being covered in foam. It is recommended you turn this off if your water used flow.
     
     
3. Once you press OK, the foam will then appear in the direction and manner you selected.
   
   
   

Foam Examples

Maximum Foam: set to 0.25. 

Maximum Foam: set to 1.00.