Go and have a look at the ocean animation in the CJ a while ago.
Ya I saw that one. Looks similar to my first post, but it was done using only the built-in wave effect. It must have taken a long time to put together!
the noise keeps poping out at me
I guess I dont’ know what you mean by noise. You mean the stuff introduced through video compression?
would this work with the game engine?
Definitly, although it might be too slow on older computers. It may have to be greatly simplified also. But it will work. Why not give it a try?
You gotta post that somewhere or send it to me!
The download link is available in the very first message in this thread. It includes an example .blend, and the procedural ocean material.