Adding a Map

This tutorial shows how to add a map indicating the location of the nodes and allowing the user to click markers to jump to the respective nodes.

Introduction

CubicConnector offers the ability to add a graphical representation of the scene. This takes the form of a QuickTime sprite track which is added to the movie and includes a number of interactions. This map will then show wherever QuickTime movies can be played with no additional software required. You can download the sample that this tutorial builds here:

  Download the Map Movie Created in Tutorial [2.3 MB]

Step 1 - Prepare the movie in the normal way

For this tutorial, we will start where the "Chinese Gardens Walk" tutorial left off. The project contained a layout map used to orientate the nodes when they were being imported. It will now be used to add an "overlay" map to the tour.

Step 2 - Click the "Add Map" checkbox

The left of the Movie area offers a number of options. Towards the top is the "Add Map" checkbox and underneath it are two popup menus that become enabled when it is clicked.

When the checkbox is clicked on, if there is a preview movie shown it will briefly rebuild. (If there is no preview movie assembled yet, the map will be added when it is next assembled.)

Note: when a map is added to a movie, the resize control disappears from the movie area. This is because the size of the sprite graphics need to be locked in order not to distort, which they would if the movie was later resized. Consequently, you should choose the size for the movie before adding the map.

If the "Overlay" option in the map's "Where" popup is selected (this is the default), a button will appear in the bottom right of the movie. This is the button which toggles the map on and off in Overlay mode.

Step 3 - Try out the map

Click the "Map" button at the bottom right corner of the movie to have it display the overlay map.

The rainbow colored eyes are the node markers. The marker in the pavilion with its "eye open" indicates that this is the current node.

To move to another node from the overlay map, simply click one of the eyes. The overlay map will disappear and the movie will switch to the selected node.

Step 4 - Change the marker

If you don't like the "rainbow eye" default node marker, you can select another from the "Marker" popup menu. This menu contains several preset markers which can be used to indicate the node locations.

Soon after choosing an item from this popup, the movie will be updated to include the new node marker.

Alternatively, you can provide your own image by selecting the last item in this list: "Choose Marker Image..." This will present a file dialog asking you to locate a suitable image. The format of this image can be anything that QuickTime can read, eg, PICT, TIFF, JPEG, PSD, etc.

Step 5 - Change where the map is displayed

If you would like the map to be always visible, you can choose another option from the map's "Where" popup menu.

If the map is below the movie, it will extend the dimensions of the movie downwards to encompass the map.

Note: the size of a map displayed this way matches the horizontal dimension of the original movie, and is resized vertically to remain proportional.

Thus, a map positioned below a movie will occupy less space if it is wider than it is tall. (In the case of the Chinese Gardens map, we could crop out the blue water area in Photoshop to achieve this.)

Similarly, a map placed to the right or left of a movie is resized to the vertical demension of the movie. Thus, such a position would suit a map in the style of a narrow vertical strip.

Step 6 - Export the movie

The map is now part of the actual QuickTime movie. When you export the movie, it will display the map wherever you play the movie.

Click "Export Movie..." and choose a filename in the save file dialog.

Locate this saved movie, then double-click it to open in QuickTime Player. The movie should behave identically to how it did in CubicConnector.

Similarly, if you export single nodes, the map image and node markers will be added to each of the individual movies, with appropriate QuickTime wiring to allow clicking the node markers to move from one next movie to the next.

This ends the tutorial.

Watch Video of Tutorial Being Performed  [0:47]

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