Tidal Volumes
Tidal Volumes describe how objects and regions interact with water. They can be used for pushed water behavior, masking, and higher quality interaction with complex shapes (like boat hulls).
Two volume approaches
- Analytic Volumes — fast, simple shapes (box/sphere/capsule)
- SDF Volumes — high-accuracy shapes using signed distance fields
Analytic Volumes
Analytic volumes are best when you need something quick and lightweight. They are easy to author, easy to debug, and usually “good enough” for many gameplay interactions.
When to use
- Simple boats or placeholder hulls
- Indoor pools / small props
- Performance-first interaction
SDF Volumes
SDF volumes provide higher accuracy for complex meshes by storing a signed distance field. This is the recommended option for detailed boat hulls or irregular shapes.
When to use
- Complex boat hulls and ships
- Higher-fidelity pushed-water interaction
- When analytic shapes aren’t accurate enough
Note: Generating custom SDFs currently relies on Unity’s Visual Effect Graph SDF Baker.
(An in-house solution is planned for a future update.)
Where to edit
Component Location
- Components: TidalVolumeAnalytic or TidalVolumeSDF
- Subsystem:
TidalVolumesSubSystemis owned byTidalBody - Behavior: Volumes are evaluated during water queries and interaction logic
Note: Ensure the Tidal Body you want effected is either in Affected Bodies or share the same layer as Affected Layer Mask