World features
This dialog allows you to customize many different aspects of your world. It is accessible from the Options Menu. Because there are so many options available in this one dialog box, they have been arranged into expandable branches which can be collapsed to take up less space when not needed.
General
Title
This sets the name of your world as it appears in the browser's title bar. Also, when a user enters your world, if there is no welcome message specified, the Immigration Officer will use this name when welcoming them. For example, if you set your world title to be "Frank's Home Away From Home", the Immigration Officer will say "Welcome to Frank's Home Away From Home" to anyone who enters your world.
Object Path
The object path specifies the root of a directory on the World Wide Web which contains the objects for your world. The default is http://objects.activeworlds.com/aw/ , which contains the art for AlphaWorld, the original Active World founded in June of 1995. Note that this means that if you do not specify any object path for your world, you will still be able to build. However, in this case you will only be able to use the avatars, [link:models]objects[/link], and sounds from AlphaWorld.
Home Page
This is the default web page that users see after entering your world. Note that only users who currently have the [link:web_browser]integrated web browser[/link] turned on will see this page, so you cannot assume that all visitors to your world will see it. If a user encounters any other web pages while visiting your world (typically through "create url" or "activate url" actions on objects) they will override the home page.
Welcome Message
This message is displayed to all users who enter your world. Note that when you change this message, everyone currently in the world sees the new message right away. This can be a useful way to quickly put out an urgent message that you want to get to every person currently in your world (e.g. "Warning: this world will be shutting down in 5 minutes.")
Search Keywords
This is simply a list of words that describe the topic or topics of your world (e.g. "games", "sci-fi", "art", "shopping", etc.) In the main Active Worlds universe, this field is periodically checked in all running worlds by a bot run by Activeworlds Inc., and used to build a search index for use in the [link:search_tab]search tab[/link]. If you want your world to come up when people search for a particular topic, put that topic here. Otherwise, simply leave this field blank.
URL http link to a control menu (a text file) that you see when right-clicking bots that are programmed to use it.
Entry Point
This is the location where users entering your world should start out by default. The syntax for the entry point is the same as for the [link:teleport_command]teleport command[/link]. If no entry point is specified, it defaults to 0N 0W. To set the entry point to the location where you are currently standing, press the Set to my location button.
Note that care should be taken to avoid setting a world entry point to a position that requires objects (such as a floor or walkway) in place to hold users at that position. If you do, first-time visitors to your world will not have downloaded these objects when they first enter and are likely to fall through to the ground.
Set to my location
The button just below the Entry Point field allows you to quickly and easily set your avatar's current location as the entry point for your world.
Object Password
In order to protect the art files in your world for unauthorized use by another party, you can scramble them using a password. This is done using the "-s" option of the pkzip utility when you are compressing the originals for placement on your object path. To protect your files, scramble all of them using the same password, and then specify that password in this field so that the browser will be able to uncompress them after download. If you are using a password, you do not need to scramble all of your files with it, only the ones you wish to protect. Note that since textures are stored on the object path as JPEG files, there is not currently a way to protect them with a password.
Object Refresh
This is how long it takes (in minutes) for a file on your Object Path to expire. After a file expires, the next time a user visits your world, their browser will check the web site to see if it the file has changed, and then download the file again if it has. As a rule, if the files in your world are changing rapidly you want to keep this value low in order to ensure that all users have the latest copies of all the files. On the other hand, if your object files are not changing, then you want to keep this value as high as possible (for example, many worlds use an object refresh of 10080, which is the number of minutes in one week). The problem with having a low object refresh period is that it increases the load on your web server, and also increases the bandwidth load on your visitors, since their browsers will be checking your web server much more often to see if the files have changed.
Restricted Radius
If your world is open to public building, the Restricted Radius allows you to reserve an area around "Ground Zero" (0N 0W) in which only people with the [link:world_rights#special_objects]Special Objects[/link] right can build. The radius is specified in meters, and specifies a square area centered around Ground Zero.
Max. Light Radius
This allows you to set the current maximum value for the radius of [link:light_command]light sources[/link] in the world. Lights with a radius set higher than this limit will be clipped to this limit.
Cell Data Limit
This allows you to specify how much data can fit within each cell (a cell is a 10x10 meter area) in your world. Exceeding the cell data limit is what causes the Building Inspector to give his familiar message "Try building somewhere else because this area is full." You can set the limit to one of three available levels:
- Normal: this is the default setting for all worlds. It is enough room for approximately 45 distinct objects (without actions or descriptions) in a single cell. We strongly recommend that this setting be used for any world that is open to building by the public.
- Large: this setting is for worlds that need an unusually high data limit. It is 70% higher than the Normal setting and is enough room for up to 75 objects in a single cell.
- Huge: this allows an absurd amount of data to fit into a single cell. The limit is almost 3 times the normal data limit. We very strongly recommend that you do not use this setting unless you know exactly what you are doing. In particular, setting the cell data limit to huge in a public building world is a recipe for disaster. The huge cell data limit can allow over 120 objects to placed within a single cell. Users will frequently build every cell up to its maximum capacity, whatever that may be. The larger you set the limit, the more objects users will build in one place, and the slower your world will be. This can cause a huge performance drag for your visitors both in terms of bandwidth and frame rate, and completely ruin the experience of your world. Don't say we didn't warn you!
World Rating
This allows you to set the current [link:world_rating]content rating[/link] for your world.
Minimum visibility
This option allows you to set the minimum [link:visibility]visible range[/link] for all visitors to your world. Users will always see at least this far in your world regardless of their browser settings. Since higher visibilities often mean lower frame rates, this value should only be raised above 40 meters in your world if absolutely necessary. If you set this value too high, visitors to your world will find it frustrating and slow, and they will not come back!
Avatar Updates per second
This can be used to control how often avatar updates are sent to the client. The maximum allowed is 15 updates per second. Setting this value above the default value of 1 can smooth avatar movement, at a significant cost to bandwidth.
Options
Disable "create url" and "create media"
This option allows you to enable or disable the use of the "create url" and the "create media" trigger/action combination on objects built in your world. Some people find this action annoying, since a "create url" will cause a web page to appear in your web browser as soon as the object it is attached to comes into visible range. Worlds open for public building usually have "create url" disabled. If your world is not open for public building, then you may want to clear this option so that you can use the "create url" command and/or the "create media" command to achieve certain effects.</a>
Disable playing multiple media at once
This option allows you to enable or disable the option to play multiple media, triggered by "create media", "bump media" or "activate media"at the same time. Some worlds, in particular public building worlds, probably want to disable playing multiple media at once.
Allow pass-thru
Disabling this option disables the use of the SHIFT key or </a> [link:configure_controls]assigned pass through key[/link] in your world for passing through solid objects, so visitors can no longer use the pass through function as a shortcut to the other side of obstacles, such as walls and floors, in your world.. World Caretakers can still use the SHIFT key or [link:configure_controls]assigned pass through key[/link] even if pass-thru is disabled.
Allow flying
Disabling this option disables the use of the +/- keys or [link:configure_controls]assigned Move Up and Move Down keys[/link] to fly in your world. Visitors will always be subject to [link:gravity]gravity[/link] and can only walk around on solid surfaces. World Caretakers can still use the +/- keys or [link:configure_controls]assigned Move Up and Move Down keys[/link] to fly even if flying is disabled.
Allow local teleports
Disabling this option prevents visitors from using the teleport function to move from place to place instantaneously within your world. Any attempt to teleport, including attempts to teleport into your world from the outside, will bring the user to 0N 0W instead. Local teleports are typically disabled in conjunction with pass-thru and flying in order to create a world that is more "realistic" and which can allow the creation of challenging puzzles, mazes, and other games which could otherwise be circumvented using those functions. Caretakers are immune to this setting. Note: "teleport" commands attached to building objects will still work normally even if local teleports are disabled.
Allow object selection
If this is disabled, users who cannot build in your world will not be allowed to right-click on objects to select them. This is useful for example if you are building puzzles or games and want to prevent users from "cheating" by examining the action fields of objects.
Allow tourist whispers
If this is disabled, tourists will not be able to send [link:whisper]whispers[/link] to other users in your world. The ability of citizens to send whispers is not affected. Note that tourists are currently allowed only in specially tourist enabled worlds.
Allow citizen whispers
If this is disabled, citizens will not be able to send [link:whisper]whispers[/link] to other users in your world. The ability of tourists to send whispers is not affected.
Hide chat
This option will prevent user's from seeing chat messages from each other. Everyone that has speaking rights may still type messages, but only bots with caretaker rights will be able to see them. This is only useful if you are using a bot to manage chat in the world. Using this option, a bot could send "chat" out to other users using console messages. This would enable the bot to filter chat, control message distribution, perform "emote" commands, and color and format text.
Always show names
This option will allow all users to see the names of others over their head. Normally, you do not see a user's name until they speak unless you have "Eject" privileges or "Caretaker" status. This option allows everyone to see all names, regardless of rights. This is intended to be used in game worlds where the owner might not want people to be anonymous, or in a world where users would not otherwise see each others' chat, such as when the "hide chat" option is selected.
Allow avatar collision
This enables avatar-to-avatar collision in your world. This may or may not be desirable depending on the other options you have set. For example, if avatar collision is enabled it is sometimes possible for two people to get "stuck" inside each other's avatars if they both try to occupy the same space at the same time. Normally, if this happens, users can use the SHIFT key to disable collision detection and become unstuck. However, if you also have "Allow pass-thru" disabled in your world, this disables the SHIFT key, or [link:configure_controls]assigned Pass Through key[/link], so they could potentially become permanently stuck. There are ways to work around this problem, if you choose to enable avatar collision and disable pass through at the same time. For example, you may choose to enable local teleports, and teach people how to teleport out of the entry point if they get stuck together. You may choose to place an elevator at the entry point, to teleport to a vacant entry portal, and have several such portals to choose from. You may even choose to use a bump warp in some creative way to sort out the avatars as they come in. Just keep in mind that if you make the decision to allow avatar collision and not allow pass through, this is something you will probably want to choose an effective way of dealing with.
Enable 3-axis object rotation
This enables the 3-axis object rotation building feature. With this feature disabled, builders will only be able to rotate objects through the X-Z plane, around the Y (vertical) axis. If you enable this feature in your world, builders will have the added ability to rotate objects through the X-Y plane or the Y-Z plane, giving them much more flexibility in the possible usages of the objects made available to them within your world.
Disable Avatar List
This feature allows you to keep citizens in your world from using their Avatar menu to change their avatar. You will probably want to leave this option turned off unless you have a bot that has been programmed specifically to choose avatars for people and wish to restrict the choice of avatars to those the bot picks. There are many ways such a bot could be implemented, and for many different reasons.
Allow Tourist Building
Selecting this option enables [link:building]building[/link], for tourists. If you wish to have your world open to citizens for public building, and want to allow tourists to enter your world but not to build in it, then you will want to clear this checkbox.
Enable Browser Referrer
If this option is set, visitors to the world will send valid (standards-compliant) referrer strings to the webserver when requesting objects. This makes Activeworlds a more standards-compliant application, but may prevent downloads from certain webservers. If visitors are unable to see the world content, try disabling this option.
Enable Send Bump Event
If this option is checked, browsers will send a bump event to the world server whenever the user collides with on object with a bump command. This event can be used by bots, to enable them to respond to these events.
Enable Global Events
If this is checked, object commands with the "global" keyword will send the event to all other users in the area. For example, all users could see the restult when one user clicks on a given object.
Physics
Gravity
This can be used adjust the intensity of the normal gravity in your world, or even reverse it's pull. For more information, there is a help page specifically about [link:gravity]Gravity[/link] which you may want to also read.
Underwater Gravity
This controls the gravity under water, and only applies to worlds with water enabled. This setting will not effect, the world's normal gravity setting.
Friction
This dictates how much speed a user loses as a result of dragging against the ground and other objects while moving. A value of 1.0 is "normal" friction. Values less than this can be used to make the world more "slippery". A value of zero would make it so that users will never coast to a stop, and will continue to move in the given direction once they start moving. Values over 1.0 can be used to make the world see more "sticky" and slow users down.
Underwater Friction
Like friction, this controls how much speed a user loses as a result of dragging against the ground and other objects while moving. This value is used when water is enabled in your world and the user moves below the water.
Slope Sliding
If this option is enabled, the "slope slide" featre will be enabled and users will be able to slide downhill.
Slope Slide min angle
This specifies the minimum angle at which the user will begin to slide downhill. Making this a low number will make it so that even the slightest incline will cause the user to slide back downhill.
Slope Slide max angle
This specifies the maximum angle at which the user will still be able to climb. Making this a low number will make it so that even the slightest incline will be un-climbable.
Sound
Use these settings to assign sounds stored in the world's object path to the specified events.
Global ambient sound
The Global ambient sound plays continuously (in a loop) in a world. No matter where an avatar is located within this world, he will hear the given sound, as long sound downloads are not disabled at the browser's settings.
Variables
- [#vol=XX] - Append immediately after the media URL to dynamically change its volume. Default is 100, accepts 0 to 100.
- noloop - Prefix before the media URL to force the media file to only play once.
- Example: noloop http://objects.activeworlds.com/aw/sounds/sbtechno4.mp3
These two variables can also work in combination with each other.
Footstep
The "Footstep" sound plays twice every time the user walks the distance of their own height or once every time the user runs the distance of their own height. For example, for a 2-meter tall avatar, the sound would play once for every meter they walk or every two meters they run. The footstep sound should generally be assigned a very gentle sound effect to sound realistic, and works very well when combined with the "autowalk" feature to produce footsteps that match pace with the avatar's movement.
Enter Water
The "Enter Water" sound plays when the when the mid-point of the user's avatar drops below water level and the avatar begins swimming.
Exit Water
The "Water Exit" sound plays when the user's avatar completely emerges from the water, and should generally be assigned a very soft and subtle sound effect.
Ground
Ground object repeats
This option was introduced in Active Worlds 3.2 and allows you to enable or disable the repeating ground. When a ground object repeats, the browser automatically repositions it every 60 meters as you move through the world, so that it remains underneath you at all times. This creates the illusion of an "infinite" ground, which is particularly useful in larger worlds. When the repeating ground is disabled, the ground object is always centered at 0N 0W regardless of where you are currently standing in the world. Note that this means that with this option disabled, it may be possible to walk all the way to the edge of the ground object and fall off, if the ground object is not designed to prevent falling off and nothing has been built to keep people from reaching the edge.
Ground Object
This is the name of a RWX or COB file to be used as the ground object in your world. As with the backdrop, you may leave this field blank if you do not want a ground object. The ground object file is downloaded from the "models" directory of your world's Object Path.
Note: if you do not specify a ground object, and terrain is disabled, your world will not have any gravity.
Enable terrain
This enables terrain.
Terrain Elevation Offset
This will move all of the terrain in your world up or down by the given number of meters.
Terrain surface ambient
This values control how much ambient lighting the terrain surface will reflect. Values range from 0.0 which reflects no ambient light, to 1.0 which reflects all ambient light. Terrain surface ambient and terrain diffuse settings are new to Active Worlds 3.4 and make it possible to match the terrain lighting properties to the objects in your world.
Terrain surface diffuse
This values control how much directional lighting the terrain surface will reflect. Values range from 0.0 which reflects none of the world's directional light, to 1.0 which reflects all of the world's directional light.
Lighting
Enable Fog
Fog is a rendering effect that causes objects to become less and less visible as they recede into the distance, until ultimately they become invisible. It is sometimes used to obscure the fact that you can't see objects beyond a certain distance, so that it doesn't look so much as if objects are appearing and disappearing in the distance.
Usually the fog effect works best if there is no backdrop image in the world , so if you want to turn fog on in your world, be sure to remove the backdrop image as well. However there may be cases where subtle combinations of both fog and a backdrop image can be used to achieve certain effects.
When enabled, fog has two parameters: the distance from the camera at which fog begins (the "minimum" distance) and the distance from the camera at which the fog effect reaches 100% (the "maximum" distance). Any objects that are beyond the maximum fog distance from the viewer are completely obscured and cannot be seen.
Enable Fog Tinting
If checked, this will tint the view in your world according to the fog color. This will make the fog seem thicker. This effect only applies if the "Fog Min" (see below) is below 50 meters. The effect starts off very slight when Fog Min is at 50m, and gets stronger until Min Fog reaches zero, where the effect will be its strongest.
This is very useful in worlds with a far value set for Fog Max. In these cases, fog just doesn't feel very thick because the effect is spread over such a huge area. In these cases, fog tinting can make the fog seem thick without limiting visibility.
Fog Color
This is the color of the fog in your world, if fog is enabled. It is important to note that fog generally works best if it closely matches the colors of the sky in your world.
Fog Min
This is the distance at which objects begin to be affected by fog.
Fog Max
This is the distance at which objects are completely obscured by the fog. Important Note: This is also the distance of the far clipping plane, beyond which point objects will vanish from your view completely, even if fog is disabled!
The max fog can be set to a value up to 1200 meters. Note that this does not change your visibility range for property-based objects, but rather allows you to extend the visibility range for world-based geometry such as ground objects and terrain. While this can be used to create striking vistas, it should be noted that this will also greatly increase the number of terrain polygons in view and lower the accuracy of the z-buffer. You may want to consider carefully whether it is more important in your world to see far into the distance, or to preserve performance and avoid the annoying z-buffer "bleeding" that some users may experience if this value is set too high.
Ambient Light
The ambient light is a light source that shines on all polygons equally from all directions. The exact degree to which the ambient light shines on a particular polygon is determined by that polygon's ambient surface property. Since the ambient light is directionless by definition, only the color of the ambient light can be adjusted. To disable the ambient light source, simply set its color to black.
Directional Light
The directional light in the world is the light source that shines in a particular direction. It is used to approximate the light coming from an extremely distant light source, such as the sun. Generally speaking, polygons facing the directional light source will appear brighter than polygons facing away from it, although this does depend on the surface properties set for a particular polygon. Both the color and the direction of the directional light source can be adjusted. To disable the directional light source, simply set its color to black.
Position X (West - East)
This controls the position of the directional light source along the X-axis. Moving the slider to the left will move the light to the west, while having the slider on the right will move the light to the east.
Position Y (Up - Down)
This controls the position of the directional light source along the Y-axis. Moving the slider to the left will move the light up. If you move the slider to the right, the light source will be moved down, and thus your world will appear to be lit from below.
Position Z (North - South)
This controls the position of the directional light source along the Z-axis. Moving the slider to the left will move the light to the north, while having the slider on the right will move the light to the south.
Light Source Texture
It is possible to add a texture to the world (directional) light source so that it will be visible within the world. For example, you can use a sun, moon, or a generic "corona" type texture. The texture will be tinted according to the color of the light source.
The use of filmstrip textures is not supported by the directional lighting source texture feature in this version of Active Worlds.
Light Source Mask
This mask - while optional - is highly recommended in order to produce an attractive light source. Note that, as with coronas, you can specify the same JPG image for both texture and mask to create a self-masking texture, which is particularly useful when creating corona effects.
Light Source Size
This number specifies the size of the light source image, in terms of percent of the viewport size. So, a value of 100 would cause the image to fill the entire screen.
Draw light source in front
If this is checked, then the world light source will act as a corona, overlapping the scenery.
Light texture glow
If this is checked, then the world light source will be blended with existing scenery to "brighten" whatever is behind it. Otherwise, it will be rendered as a normal texture.
Use light source alternate color
In some cases, you may want the light source in your world to be one color, while the light actually given off by the light source is a different color. A good example is at night, when you want the light source to shine blue, yet the light source itself (the moon) should remain white.
In these cases, the world light source will be drawn using the alternate color.
Light source alternate color
If "Use light source alternate color" (see above) is enabled. The world light source will be drawn using this color instead of the color given off by the world directional light.
Sky
These options control the look of the space your world is contained in, including the color of each area of the sky. These colors will fade to one another across the sky, allowing you to create different effects. For example, you could set the west color to orange, and the rest of the colors to blue or black to create a "sunset" effect.
Backdrop
This is the name of a JPEG file to use for the backdrop image of your world. If you do not want a backdrop in your world, leave this field blank. The backdrop file is downloaded from the "textures" directory of your world's Object Path.
Skybox
This is the name of a RWX or COB file to be used as the skybox object in your world. The skybox file is downloaded from the "models" directory of your world's Object Path.
Top
This controls the color of the sky directly overhead.
North
This controls the color of the northern part of the sky.
East
This controls the color of the eastern part of the sky.
South
This controls the color of the southern part of the sky.
West
This controls the color of the western part of the sky.
Bottom
This controls the color of the sky that is below the horizon. Usually this color is never visible, since either the terrain or ground object is in the way, but all of the colors blend into each other for a smooth gradient effect, so this color will effect the look of the world's sky near or below the horizon.
Cloud Layers
There are three layers of clouds available for use in your world. Each layer may have its own texture, an (optional) mask, and an opacity. The layers are "drawn" in numerical order, with layer three being drawn last. This means that if layer two is opaque (it has no mask and the opacity is set to full) then it will block your view of layer one. Similarly, if layer three is opaque, it will block your view of the first two.
Note that the world light source texture will be rendered after cloud layer 1, but before layers 2 & 3. This makes it possible, using a starfield texture for cloud layer one, to have stars in the sky that will not overlap the "moon" texture.
The use of filmstrip textures is not supported by the layered clouds feature in this version of Active Worlds.
For each layer you have the following options:
Texture
This controls what texture will be used to paint the clouds. Note that it does not have to be an image of clouds. For example, you could specify an image of stars to create a night sky. Leave this field blank to disable the cloud layer.
Mask
You may specify a mask to go along with the texture for a particular cloud layer. This field is optional. You may also give the same name for both texture and mask to make the texture "self-masking". This means that brighter areas will be more opaque, while darker ones will be transparent.
Speed X
This defines how fast the clouds will move. Positive values will cause the clouds to go east, while negative values will move them west. Larger numbers will cause the clouds to move faster. Set this to zero if you don't want the clouds to move.
Speed Z
This defines how fast the clouds will move. Positive values will cause the clouds to go south, while negative values will move them north. Larger numbers will cause the clouds to move faster. Set this to zero if you don't want the clouds to move.
Tile
This controls how many times the texture will tile across the sky. Setting this to 1 would cause the texture to fill the sky from edge to edge without repeating. Setting this to 4 would cause the texture to tile four times in each direction.
This is a tradeoff setting. Lower numbers will make each area of the sky more unique, but also more pixilated. Higher numbers will make the texture sharper (and thus seem more detailed) at the expense of making the sky more repetitive. One good technique is to make layer 3 less repetitive, but transparent enough to let the clouds above it show through and add to the level of detail.
Opacity
This controls how opaque this layer of clouds is. Setting the slider all the way to the right will make the clouds fully opaque, thus blocking your view of the sky and any preceding layers. Setting this to the left will make the layer more transparent.
Water
The water effect produces an infinite plane of water at a given level in your world. It is particularly useful when used in conjunction with <a href=terrain.html>terrain</a>. The water will generate waves based on its own depth (distance above the terrain) and will manipulate the surface texture to create a "liquid" look. When the user is underwater, their avatar will "float", and the viewport will be tinted according to the given water color.
Water has some limitations imposed in order to preserve framerate. The polygons are not "alpha-sorted", meaning the water may have unwanted transparency issues if the opacity is set too low. Also, masked objects (such as most trees) may not look right when viewed through the surface of the water. These problems can be avoided by making the water fully opaque.
The use of filmstrip textures is not supported by the parametric water feature in this version of Active Worlds.
Water Enabled
Select this to enable the use of water in your world.
Show water under terrain
If this option is checked, water will be solid and universal all over your world, even in places where the water would be below the terrain.
If this option is NOT checked, water will fade slightly along the shore, and be fully transparent underground. In cases where the water surface needs to be completely invisible, as in the case of the downward sloping tunnel, at least one terrain cell away from the desired location needs to be above the water. Basically that means that a three terrain cells wide path needs to be made.
Top Texture
This defines what texture will be used on the water surface, when the user is above the water looking down. Note that the texture is tinted by the water color (see below). Leaving this blank will cause the water surface to be flat color. The texture is mapped so that it will match the terrain. Thus, the texture repeats once per cell.
Top Mask
This defines what mask will be used for the top water surface. If this field is used, it must either match the name of a zipped mask file in the world texture path or it must match Top Texture (for a self-masking texture).
Bottom Texture
This defines what texture will be used on the water surface, when the user is underwater looking up. Note that the texture is tinted by the water color (see below). Leaving this blank will cause the water surface to be flat color when viewed from underwater. The texture is mapped so that it will match the terrain. Thus, the texture repeats once per cell.
Bottom Mask
This defines what mask will be used for the bottom water surface. If this field is used, it must either match the name of a zipped mask file in the world texture path or it must match Bottom Texture (for a self-masking texture).
Color
This controls the color of both the water surface and the "underwater" effect used when the viewport is submerged. The texture will be colored according to the given value, so it is possible to use a color-less texture for the water surface. In this way a single texture could be used as the surface for almost any liquid - water, lava, green slime, oil, etc.
Opacity
This controls how transparent the water will be. Setting this slider farther to the left will make the water's surface more transparent. Note that other factors such as the depth of the water will also effect the transparency of the water in certain places.
Water Level
This is the altitude of the water in the world, expressed in meters.
Wave movement
This specifies, in meters, how large the waves can be. The deeper the water, the larger the waves. Water that is "underground" - meaning beneath the terrain - will never have waves. Set this to 0 to disable water waves.
Surface movement
This specifies, in decimeters, how far the surface will move. The entire surface of the water will move up and down according to this value. When used with gradual beaches, this can create the impression that the ocean is rolling in and back out. Set to 0 to disable the effect.
Movement speed
This is used to control how fast or slow the waves move, and how fast the surface glides up and down. 1.0 is a good setting for a normal "ocean" look. Higher values can make the water look stormy or just strange, while lower numbers will make the liquid seem heavy and thick.
Underwater view distance
This is the distance at which objects are completely obscured from sight while viewed from under water.