Water Planes

Maps4FS now automatically generates ready-to-use i3d water plane files for Farming Simulator 25, eliminating the need for manual Blender workflows!

🎯 Quick Overview

When you generate a map with the following settings enabled:

• Generate Water ✅

Maps4FS will automatically create optimized i3d files that can be directly imported into Giants Editor.

📁 Generated Files

After generation, you'll find the following files in your map's assets/water/ directory:

map_directory/
├── assets/
│   └── water/
│       └── polygon_water.i3d  ← Ready to import!
└── water/
    ├── polygon_water.obj
    └── polyline_water.obj  (if applicable)

🚀 How to Use

Windows App users: If you are using the Windows App and the i3dConverter is available (it is downloaded automatically on first run), the conversion to binary i3d, ocean shader setup, collision/physics properties, normal map assignment, and in-map positioning are all done automatically. You can skip the Giants Editor configuration steps below.

Step 1: Generate Your Map

1. Enable Generate Water in the Background Settings

2. Generate your map normally

Step 2: Import into Giants Editor

1. Open your map in Giants Editor 10.0.0+

2. Go to File → Import...

3. Navigate to your_map/assets/water/

4. Select polygon_water.i3d

5. Click Import

If the water plane appears black initially - this is normal and expected behavior.

Step 3: Configure Water Properties in Giants Editor

After importing, you need to configure the water properties to make it display correctly:

Position the Water Plane

Position the water plane in the correct location within your map.

Position the water plane

Configure Material Properties

1. Open the Material Editing window and select your water plane

2. Change the Variation to simple if not already set

3. Edit the values as shown in the screenshot (these are default values, but you can adjust them):

Water plane values

1. Set Smoothness and Metalness to 1

Set Normal Map

1. Click on the button near the Normal map

Normal map

1. Click the ... button and provide the path to the water_normal.dds file Location: where-the-game-is-installed/data/maps/textures/shared/water_normal.dds

Water normal map

1. You should see the normal map in the window. Press the OK button

Normal map window

Configure User Attributes and Physics

1. Switch to the UserAttributes tab

2. Enter the name onCreate, select Script callback, and click Add

3. Set the Attribute value to Environment.onCreateWater

4. On the Attributes → Transform tab, check the Rigid body checkbox

5. Switch to the Rigid body tab and set the Preset to WATER

6. Go to the Shape tab and uncheck the Cast shadowmap checkbox (if it's checked)

The final result should look like this:

Water plane in GE

⚙️ Settings Control

You can control the automated generation through these settings:

Background Settings

• Generate Water: Enable/disable water plane generation

• Water Blurriness: Controls shoreline transition smoothing (higher = softer/wider transitions)

• Flatten Water: Smooths/stabilizes water bottoms while preserving overall elevation trends (recommended)

DEM Settings

• Water Depth: Controls how deep water channels/lakes are carved

• Water Bank Steepness (1-5): Controls shoreline profile shape (1 smoother, 5 steeper)

🎮 Game Compatibility

Game Version	Status	Method
Farming Simulator 25	✅ Fully Automated	Use this guide

📊 Performance Benefits

The automated process includes several optimizations:

• Smart Mesh Generation: Optimized polygon count for water surfaces

• Ocean Shader Ready: Pre-configured with proper ocean shader materials

• Memory Efficient: Optimized for minimal in-game impact

• Multiple Sources: Supports polygon and polyline-derived water geometry

🔧 Troubleshooting

No polygon_water.i3d file generated?

• Ensure Generate Water is enabled

• Check that your map has water areas defined in OSM data

Import fails in Giants Editor?

• Use Giants Editor 10.0.0+ for maps

• Make sure the i3d file isn't corrupted

• Try importing the .obj files manually (see legacy docs)

Water appears black after import?

• This is normal! Follow the Giants Editor configuration steps above

• Set the proper normal map and material properties

Water level too high/low?

• Adjust water position in Giants Editor

• Adjust Water Depth and Water Bank Steepness in generation settings for terrain carving shape

💡 Tips

• Multiple Water Bodies: The automated process handles multiple separate water areas

• Custom Shapes: Water follows the actual shape from your map data

• Quality Settings: Tune Water Blurriness + Water Bank Steepness together for best shoreline profile

• Performance: Generated water planes are optimized for in-game performance

🔄 Upgrading from Manual Process

If you've been using the manual Blender workflow:

1. Update your workflow: Simply enable Generate Water setting

2. No more Blender needed: The i3d files are ready to import

3. Same quality: The automated process produces equivalent results

4. Legacy docs available: Manual process docs moved to Legacy section for reference

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