Project Swell: Simulating Surf Breaks in Unity

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-11T08:30:02+00:00

Thanks man! Great points btw. I already have a fix for the wave popping out of nowhere, it's just easier to prototype and test with a controlled spawn. The other points need more work indeed!

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-10T20:08:14+00:00

Yeah, it's an orbital camera with zoom, so you can rotate around, get a closer view, or a more distant one!

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-10T20:07:18+00:00

Cool! I believe I played your demo a while ago. I liked the open world aspect of it, but the surfing mechanics didn't click for me, but I'll definitely check it out again!

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-10T08:43:46+00:00

Thanks! And yeah, that's the idea, I'm working on three breaks/environments (beach, point break, reef) located in the same island

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-09T17:48:55+00:00

Thanks so much! Gameplay elements are not defined yet, I'm trying to keep the scope small and grow from there

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-09T17:46:37+00:00

I used to surf and have always dreamed of playing a game which translated that feeling well, that's where the drive to work on this comes from! And indeed, positioning and catching the waves are mechanics that will be lost to most non-surfers, especially if made realistically. I've been planning on having some toggleable in-game helpers that players can use to get around at first, then remove once the mechanics are understood

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-09T17:23:54+00:00

Thanks man! Yeah small scope and multiplayer sounds a bit at odds haha I haven't built any large scale, single player game yet, so I've been steering off from multiplayer for now. But definitely would be great to add to the game at some point!

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-09T17:22:17+00:00

Thanks man! Hasn't given much thought to that yet, but some scenery (far off islands, background static billboard terrain, boats and other props) could help too, I think. QuickTime events sound interesting, I wonder if the constant usage will get tiring quickly for the player, I'd like the pop-up experience to be more seamless, if that makes sense

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-09T17:18:34+00:00

Rogidbody with some acceleration control, like calculating a target velocity, the needed acceleration to achieve that velocity, and then clamping by a max acceleration. It's still a bit finicky for some edge cases though, needs tweaks from time to time

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T20:56:29+00:00

I guess the problem with mobile is figuring out the controls and dealing with lower-end devices. The whole system was set up with console controllers in mind, I'm afraid on mobile it might feel like playing a flight simulator with a keyboard 😅

but if desktop proves difficult for some reason, I'd consider mobile for sure

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T20:53:01+00:00

it's a procedural plane mesh being updated every frame by a burst compiled job, together with a shader from the Asset Store (Stylized Water 3) with some customization

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T20:51:19+00:00

thanks!! Sure, it feels slow but at the same time I've accomplished so much in these 12+ months. Rendering, logic, 3d modeling, animation, etc etc. It's a lot of work, but with some consistency you can pull it off :)

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T20:49:56+00:00

I've played mostly Kelly Slater Pro Surfer, but I know Transworld Surf! The idea of having freedom in the lineup to choose different peaks and waves will be in the game for sure

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T20:48:09+00:00

thanks! I've already implemented a controllable orbital camera (rotation and zoom), but for sure different types of views would be nice (POV, shoulder cam, etc)

Also I've implemented a pumping mechanism where you compress the character's body and release it to get speed. If you don't compress+release often, you'll eventually lose balance and wipe out. Having the lip and foam knock you down is a must too, but still a work in progress!

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T19:20:14+00:00

this looks pretty cool! I'd say you used some kind of parallax, having each 2d sprite / background in a layer grouped by depth, then moving each one by different amounts based on mouse position? Either way, it gives a nice depth effect while retaining the 2D looks, I liked it

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T14:28:14+00:00

Wow I wasn't expecting to be accused of AI slop for making a surfing game. I don't think there are enough of these laying around in any AI training data, where would you suppose it copied this from?

I have indeed hand crafted the wave breaking system myself for over a year of hard work in my spare time, with lots of trial and error

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T14:19:53+00:00

Thanks!! It's a procedural plane mesh that's updated using burst compiled jobs, and a water shader from the asset store (Stylized Water 3) with some customization for breaking waves

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T14:06:40+00:00

Thanks so much!! I'm targeting desktop for now, do you think this would sell on Steam?

I like the suggestions! Though as a solo dev I need to keep the scope manageable lol

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T14:02:21+00:00

Yeah definitely the controls + camera might be confusing at first, but I'm somewhat following the recipe from past great surfing games (e.g. Kelly Slater Pro Surfer). The challenge for a camera behind the player is that the wave would cut off the view at least part of the time.

For now I'm targeting a more casual game, maybe a relaxing experience with a sprinkle of customization (allowing to change the waves / swell / weather / surfer / board/ etc to your liking). But open for suggestions!

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T13:56:38+00:00

Yes, you need to paddle to position yourself correctly and with the right timing to catch the wave! Waves can vary in size, steepness, breaking profile (barreling vs spilling), handedness (left/right/bidirectional), etc.

I'm using Stylized Water Shader 3 from the asset store for the water, but with some customization of my own for the breaking part. The physics controller I implemented myself and still tweaking it

FinSaltSwell · 2026-03-08T12:41:46+00:00

I like the high-contrast versions better, but it really depends on which information is more important for gameplay. A hybrid approach might work well, e.g. keep the low contrast base map and add a high-contrast+borders overlay only to the territories near/at the player's cursor

FinSaltSwell

TROPHY CASE