Flowing Water - *wish list*

[TheTrickster 2,287]

I am pretty sure that this is impossible with the current physics and rendering, but it would be wonderful to have water that sits on the landscape instead of merely being a stationery flat layer permeating the entire map.  

 

On the other hand, lava flows, so shouldn't water be able to as well? 

 

Using lava as the "model" it would be good to have fresh water flow from a source and then over ground seeking the lowest level.  We already have water sources and can create wells and fountains over them (sidetrack: why is a well so much more involved to craft than an ornate fountain? ) so what about having a new construction, a spring-head or something, or even have it as something that can be added to well or fountain, for run-off.  Obviously it wouldn't run over sand but would disappear, but over rock, clay, tar, etc it should run downhill fine.  Fountains take time (notionally) to fill, so you have a feed rate, maybe different tile types could "absorb" water at different rates (i.e. a natural increase due to feed and a natural decrease due to absorption).  We could have streams and waterfalls  cascades; ponds and pools at elevations >0.  High craters could become lakes, unless they can drain.  We could have actual rivers.

 

I know, 'tis only a pipe dream (see what I did there?) but would it not be a richer environment?

[Tristanc 570]

I believe one of the reasons given in the past as a why not is players griefing.

 

Consider the effect of a water source spring that has gravity-fed waterflow placed high on a slope overlooking a detailed and landscaped deed or village that a player has heavily invested their time and silver in.  Griefer makes an earthen mound to damn the water flow above, then demolishes the damn to release the water all at once.

 

Nice waterfall for a moment, but you can imagine the effects on the settlement below when the rapidly-flowing water reaches it.

 

The concept of flowing water is great, fantastic in fact, but it's one of those things that would have had to've been in place for Wurm Online at the beginning and not added later.

[TheTrickster 2,287]

Yes, I can see that potential, but only if the flowing water is given a physical force or some kind of damage calculator.   We can currently walk through pretty much any container, and we can definitely walk through fountains, and can walk through shallow water easily enough.  If it won't flow over sand, and there is a flow rate limiting how fast a dam fills up, stopping a griefer is much less work than they have to invest to set it up and keep it working long enough to cause damage.  4 sands to drop in the corners of a tile, and the water disappears when it hits that tile.   Have mines do the same, on the premise that the water percolates though faults etc to the water table.

 

Still, I don't think it will happen.  Just being wistful.

 

 

 

[Etherdrifter 2,518]

It really all depends on what you use for your water flow mechanic.

 

For example, this one could be easily modified to prevent griefing:

 

[Damascus 380]

Some moders on WU should try adding water same way as dirt slope works but using valleys , must have a certain size water body from it to flow first .

Now as for rain that is something else ...