Frequently Asked Questions

This section covers common questions about platform support, limitations, performance expectations, and known behaviors when using Tidal.

What platforms does Tidal support?

Windows (Desktop) is the only fully supported platform. Tidal relies heavily on compute shaders and GPU features that are most stable and predictable on Windows.

• Windows: Fully supported ✅
• macOS: May work, but largely untested ⚠️
• iOS / Android: Untested and not officially supported ⚠️
• Consoles: Untested ⚠️
• WebGL: Not supported ❌

Other platforms may function depending on hardware and drivers, but only Windows builds receive full support and testing.

Does Tidal support VR?

No. VR is not officially supported.

Tidal may function in some VR setups on Windows, but this is untested and unsupported.

Features such as planar reflections and LOD calculations are designed around a single viewer camera and may behave incorrectly in VR.

Does Tidal support HDRP?

No. Tidal is built exclusively for Universal Render Pipeline (URP).

HDRP support is planned for a future release, but there is no ETA.

Does Tidal support multiple cameras?

Tidal currently supports one primary viewer camera.

• FFT simulation itself can run with multiple cameras
• LOD calculations use the assigned viewer camera
• Planar reflections are single-camera only

Multiple cameras can render the water, but only one camera should be assigned as the viewer for correct LOD behavior.

Why is performance low by default?

Tidal ships with visually rich defaults to showcase quality. Many projects can gain significant performance by:

• Lowering FFT resolution
• Disabling planar reflections
• Reducing mesh vertex density
• Sharing a single TidalCompute

See the Performance documentation page for detailed guidance.

Why does GetWaterHeight return invalid values?

GetWaterHeight relies on GPU height readback. If GPU readback is disabled, CPU-side water queries are unavailable.

Ensure the following settings are enabled on TidalCompute:

• GPU Cache Heights
• GPU Cache Hz > 0

Why do waves appear to fold or break?

This is typically caused by wave inversion, where horizontal displacement becomes too strong.

Common causes include:

• High wind speed
• High peak sharpness (JONSWAP γ)
• Lambda values close to 1

Reducing Lambda in the Tidal Profile usually resolves the issue.

Why does the FFT preview slow down the editor?

The FFT preview in the Tidal Profile inspector runs a live GPU simulation for visualization.

This is intended for tuning and may reduce editor performance, especially if left enabled during Play Mode.

Can Tidal be used for lakes and smaller water bodies?

Yes. Tidal supports both:

• Ocean mode — infinite clipmap-based water
• Lake mode — finite, bounded water surfaces

You can create either via:

Create → Tidal → Ocean
Create → Tidal → Lake

Where can I report bugs or request support?

For bug reports, questions, or support requests, please email:

support@eugatnomstudios.com