Developer KAIJIUUUUU showcased the upgraded water in their upcoming sandbox survival craft game titled Direland, with added ripples to enhance immersion and a realistic look.
KAIJIUUUUU created a height mask that spreads in a compute shader and generated a normal map from it, which was then used for underwater refraction and fake cloud reflections in the water surface render pass. The developer also slightly exaggerated the cloud reflections. Faking cloud reflections rather than computing them is a handy trick for stylized water rendering in Unreal Engine or Unity.
Direland is set in a vast, hostile world, where a player has the bare minimum to survive. The task is to collect materials and craft tools, weapons, and armor, and prepare for battle with a variety of monsters.
