
This README was designed using Windows Notepad and a Microsoft Sans Serif, regular style, #12 fonts with Word Wrap enabled.






                       FLIGHT SIMULATOR WATER CONFIGURATOR v3.15


PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING

THIS RELEASE INCORPORATES A FIX FOR A PROBLEM WE IDENTIFIED IN THE ORIGINAL 3.0 RELEASE. 


* YOU MAY HAVE ALREADY RUN THE PATCH PROVIDED IN THIS PACKAGE. IF SO SKIP THIS STEP AND GO ON TO THE 'WELCOME' SECTION

* IF YOU INSTALLED FSWC V3.0 TO ITS DEFAULT LOCATION WITHOUT BROWSING THE INSTALLER, YOU ARE SAFE TO UNINSTALL FSWC USING ADD AND REMOVE PROGRAMS AND DO NOT NEED THE PATCH, SIMPLY UNINSTALL FSWC V3.0 AND THEN UPGRADE TO V3.15.

* IF YOU HAVE FSWC CURRENTLY INSTALLED AND DO NOT KNOW WHICH VERSION YOU HAVE, TO IDENTIFY WHAT VERSION YOU ARE RUNNING CLICK 'ABOUT' IN THE FSWC INTERFACE. 

* IF YOU DO NOT HAVE FSWC v3.0 INSTALLED, THEN SKIP THIS STEP AND CONTINUE TO THE 'WELCOME' SECTION.

* IF YOU ARE NOT 100% SURE ABOUT THE ABOVE CONDITIONS, RUNNING THIS PATCH WILL NOT HARM ANYTHING BUT DO MAKE SURE YOU ARE UNINSTALLING FSWC VERSION 3.0 WITH IT.



1. Browse to the directory in this package named PATCH

2. Copy the uninstaller provided in that directory (Uninstaller.exe) to where you installed FSWC v3.0 and paste it in that directory allowing the new version to overwrite the original uninstaller.

3. Uninstall FSWC from add and remove programs or from the shortcut folder in the START menu. Follow the directions provided. If you wish to keep your current shader profiles, UNCHECK the box, "REMOVE PRESETS" and  allow the uninstall to complete.

4.  Install the new version of FSWC provided in this package

NOTE: If for some reason you can not locate where you installed FSWC originally, you can run the UNINSTALLER.EXE patch directly from the PATCH folder but please make that a last resort if for some reason you can not find the directory you installed FSWC into.


Profile Recovery:
This assumes you ran the provided patch and "unchecked" the REMOVE PRESETS option. Assuming you originally installed FSWC to its default location and installed the new version the same way, after installing the latest version of FSWC your custom profiles should already be available. If you originally installed FSWC to a location other than default, you will need to browse to the original install folder and copy these two directories:

Profile Images

Profiles


into the new FS Water Configurator install path, overwriting the originals. Start FSWC and your saved profiles will be available. You may delete the old install directory.



We sincerely apologize for the problem with the original uninstaller.exe file. There was a mix-up in packaging and the installer that was to be released with v3.0 was not the correct version.
          


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WELCOME



Welcome to FS Water Configurator, the world's first water shader-file editor for Microsoft Flight Simulator X.

With the release of Flight Simulator X, Microsoft have added many new graphical features to the Flight Simulator franchise. People are in awe of the fantastic effects such as light bloom, bump mapping, increased autogen levels, and wet taxiway and runway effects. However, no other addition to the engine has had a greater impact on the community than the all-new water reflections.

In past versions of Flight Simulator the water that was presented used barely-visible animations, very limited graphical effects and a reflection effect that was typically used for every reflective object in the simulation. Thus this reflection was always static and never indicative of its surroundings.

As with all games and applications, people expect improvements to be made with new releases, improvements that present newer, more advanced techniques that can improve the overall experience in one way or another. These improvements often come in a variety of forms. In the Flight Simulator world the 3rd party addon is the king of upgrades.

In Flight Simulator X the reflections and other effects are defined using Direct X shaders. By default, the water shader file that comes with the simulation yields only one level of reflection, and includes sun lighting, moon lighting and base texture saturation levels. All these values are static making the water behave and appear the same in all situations, a trait which isn't good as in the real world time, weather conditions and location play a big part in the look of water.

FS Water Configurator was created to change all that by replacing the default water shader file with its own. This file presents two levels of reflection and all other effects that are present in the default file, the values of which are all editable through a user-friendly interface. This allows anyone to change the water's appearance to take on any characteristics they wish only by adjusting a few sliders and pressing a button.

With FSWC you can make the water look however you want. You can make it look extreme or 'as real as it gets...'




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IMPORTANT NOTE:

Please see our website for more details about this freeware offering and our up and coming SDK for freeware plug-in integration

http://www.fswaterconfigurator.com


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SUPPORT:

Any feedback, comments, suggestions or support issues should be directed to:


http://www.fswaterconfigurator.com/support.htm


We may establish a forum setup in the future and you can visit several of the more popular website forums such as Simviation, AVSIM and other fine MSFS forums

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*************************** KNOWN ISSUES *******************************





1. FS Water Configurator's "Clean Install/Service Pack 1" shader version support is broken. There are some unknown issues with the RTM/SP1 shader. Some combinations of slider settings will work, others will not, and the exact reason for this is unknown. The Service Pack 2/Acceleration shader works perfectly. 



2. We are investigating an issue with ATI 38xx video cards and the SUN SPECULAR REFLECTION INTENSITY SLIDER in FSWC. If you use a ATI card and have strange graphic problems with water, please post to our SUPPORT system the model of your video card and the revision of your drivers installed. We are looking into this issue and will post a fix or a report on it as soon as we know more. In the mean time, those who see the graphic problem using an ATI card must set the SUN SPECULAR REFLECTION INTENSITY SLIDER in FSWC to ZERO or not use FSWC at all.



3. FSWC is currently not running in DX10 mode. Updates for that are to follow


4. If you try to install this software without FSX installed, the installer will hang. You must terminate the process with CTRL-ALT-DEL and "END TASK" on FS Water Configurator.exe. Make sure a legal copy of FSX is installed before installing this software.


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INSTALLATION:


Simply run the provided installer: FS Water Configurator.exe and follow the directions.

NOTE: It is usually best to allow FSWC to install the default location listed in the installer however you CAN browse to any location with this release and the FSWC installer will automatically create a "FS Water Configurator" folder where ever you point the installer. 


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USE:

See the HELP system provided in the software for more information. There is a BASIC GUIDE posted in it for your review.

Use of the product comes with animated visual reference images for each slider setting. Sliders can be set to any combination desired. Use of the product with water environment addons is not a problem and it will enhance those products as well as the default FSX water textures. You can drop to the desktop while running FSX and run FSWC to make changes.

Try the predefined profiles for missions and to get an idea of the visual results the slider combinations make.

This product is not limited and is very versitile. Your immagination and style can come through by working with different combinations of settings and water textures from the more popular environment add ons. FSWC enhances such add-ons and will work with them to create your own personal world of water and waves.

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UNINSTALL:

Uninstall issues were fixed with this release. No need to run the provided patch, simply use Add and remove programs... or use the uninstaller shortcut provided in the Start menu folder.

The software will let you know it is reverting back to the FSX default shader file if you forgot to do so before uninstalling the product. It will also allow you to SAVE your shader edit profiles if you are upgrading to a new version or just reinstalling FSWC and wish to retain them.

UNCHECK the box, "REMOVE PRESETS" and  allow the uninstall to complete if you wish to retain your profiles. Installing the same or a newer version to the same location, the saved profiles will become available as soon as the new version of FSWC is started.





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ENJOY!

From Ashton Lawson, Paul Wheeler and Nick Needham

Visit us at http://www.fswaterconfigurator.com/




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LEGAL:

The installer comes with a EULA the user agrees to when the product is installed. The stipulations of that freeware EULA govern the use and distribution of this product.

LIABILITY:
FSWC OR ITS DEVELOPERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, COVER OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR THE INABILITY TO USE EQUIPMENT OR ACCESS DATA, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR THE LIKE), ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SOFTWARE AND BASED ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY INCLUDING BREACH OF CONTRACT, BREACH OF WARRANTY, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FSWC OR ITS REPRESENTATIVES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND EVEN IF A REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. 

PERSONAL AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE LIMITATION:
THIS SOFTWARE END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT ("EULA") IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND THE DEVELOPERS/OWNERS OF FLIGHT SIMULATOR WATER CONFIGURATOR HEREIN AND HERETO KNOWN AS FSWC.  READ IT CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE SOFTWARE. IT PROVIDES A LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE AND CONTAINS WARRANTY INFORMATION AND LIABILITY DISCLAIMERS. BY SELECTING THE DOWNLOAD OR INSTALL NOW BUTTON AND USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ARE CONFIRMING YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE SOFTWARE AND AGREEING TO BECOME BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS, THEN STOP THE INSTALLATION AND/OR UNINSTALL THE SOFTWARE FROM YOUR COMPUTER.
 
NO UNAUTHORIZED DUPLICATION, MODIFICATION OR REPACKAGING IS PERMITTED WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT AND/OR THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE AUTHOR(S) WHOS WORK IS INCLUDED AND DEFINED HEREIN AND HERETO. AS FREEWARE ANY OF THE INDIVIDUAL CONTENTS OF THE FILE(S) CANNOT BE REPRODUCED, IN PART OR WHOLE, FOR ANOTHER FREEWARE PACKAGE OR USED IN ANY PACKAGE THAT REQUIRES, SUGGESTS OR PERPETUATES A PURCHASE OR SALE OR ANY FORM OF COMPENSATION OR TRADE. 

DISTRIBUTION
Only the websites and/or server systems we have given expressed written consent to distribute this software are authorized to distribute it as FREEWARE governed by the terms of this EULA. An authorized distributor falls under the same guidelines as defined herein. The end user is authorized to use this package strictly for personal use in conjunction with MSFS. Proper acquisition of expressed written consent is required before reusing this software, in part, in whole or in any other fashion in order to avoid legal issues from unauthorized reproduction and distribution.

DISCLAIMER:
Although FSWC creates custom shader code in order to upgrade the users experience, the original shader files incorporated in you MSFS installation are not altered or defaced in any way and are simply backed up and restored by the user. In that, this product makes a good faith effort to comply with the MSFS EULA. All Microsoft products and the software methodology used in the execution of modified shader files that are created with this program are the property of Microsoft Corporation through the terms of the Flight Simulator End User License Agreement and are protected by trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and or other countries. No intent to defraud or illegally use the Microsoft trademark, its software, code, name or secure any income or compensation from the production of the included shader files is expressed or implied with the creation of this application and its assets. Any other company names, names of authors or their work displayed in this package are for reference only. Unless otherwise specified, no connection to them or their products is expressed or implied.





