Dynamic model

[Aerilius]

I tried out some new things with kml-editing. See what Google Earth is already capable of:

Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

(sketchup.google.com)

Very interesting what we could see in future.
The kml-API can do really much, but unfortunately animation is a bit unefficient. I needed to produce some hundred lines of the gx:AnimatedUpdate element. I would really like to use javascript for this.
Maybe Google ports the Google Earth plugin to O3D and makes it available on Chrome OS.

If someone is interested and needs help how to achieve animated models, don't bother to ask me.

[Gaieus]

This is awesome!

@aerilius said:

If someone is interested and needs help how to achieve animated models, don't bother to ask me.

Oh, come on, yes please. But bear with us - possibly just step by step (and I mean baby steps)!

As for javascript - the Google Team is afraid of it as it can be harmful. Try to persuade them!

[Aerilius]

Here is a tutorial:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=24043
This way, you could for example grow and shrink historic models in a town.

[Gaieus]

Thanks Aerilius - I will have a look

[Gaieus]

You mean "Face me" components?
No, they don't work in GE.

[olaydigitaldesign]

I don't know if face me components work in Google Earth or not, but you could produce the same effect with them assuming you can pull it off correctly in Sketchup.

[olaydigitaldesign]

Thanks for the correction.

I find it strange that Google Earth does not support follow me components, considering Google's uncanny obsession with low-polygon photo textured models.

[pmolsen]

Trying to do a simple trial animation just to make a box rotate. Am using the time slider rather than a tour. Obviously doing something wrong because it "swings" around an origin that is a long way from the model rather than rotating on its axis.

I read the bit above about creating it at the origin, not moving the axes, but it still does not seem to help. I am wondering if it could be to do with georeferencing. Here is what I have done, along with numerous other things:

• Started Sketchup
• Drew a box centred on the origin
• Displayed the model in GE. It appeared somewhere over Sydney, floating about 50m above the ground.
• Saved the model to KMZ
• Opened it with Winzip and extracted the KML
• Duplicated the model placemark 3 times
• Added the timespan and heading fields to each one
• Copied the KML back into the KMZ
• Deleted the old model from temporary places and opened the new one.
• Clicked the time slider to start.
  The model rotates around a point that is about 300m from the centre of the box.

I have attached the KMZ.

The next issue once I get that working is how to do the animation with an existing model, where the origin obviously is not at the midpoint of the object that needs to be animated. If one selects the whole model and moves it so that is centred on the origin then the model will no longer be correctly located in GE.

So presumably I copy each piece and paste it into a new model centred on the origin...?

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KMZ containing the timespan and heading changes