Author Topic: Simulating walks in Google Earth  (Read 523 times)

WhitstableDave

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Simulating walks in Google Earth
« on: 16:21:59, 25/03/20 »
...or perhaps it should be Stimulating walks in Google Earth.  :)

Anyway, the current topic about using Google Street View to simulate walks got me thinking. It's possible in Google Earth to create a fly-along view of a path from a height, speed and angle of view of your choosing. The path is made by clicking along your chosen route and this shows the camera where to go. When you're happy with the fly-along, it can be recorded in Google Earth as a video.

As an example, I chose to follow the Rhyd Ddu path from where it starts to get interesting all the way to the summit of Snowdon...

The Rhyd Ddu path in Google Earth

If you haven't done this kind of thing before but you're interested in passing some time playing with Google Earth, perhaps to recreate a walk you've done, it might take a fair amount of trial and error. It is an amazing tool though, and in my case it gave me something to do this afternoon!

(Just a thought: It would be quite easy for the forum to allow embedding of YouTube videos rather than having to link to them...)
Walk, Jog, Run : our YouTube video channel.

ninthace

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Re: Simulating walks in Google Earth
« Reply #1 on: 16:37:05, 25/03/20 »
Alternatively you could use the fly-through feature in the OS maps app or the view in 3D feature in ViewRanger.
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WhitstableDave

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Re: Simulating walks in Google Earth
« Reply #2 on: 17:08:57, 25/03/20 »
Alternatively you could use the fly-through feature in the OS maps app or the view in 3D feature in ViewRanger.
Quite correct and I often use the fly-though in OS Maps to get a feel for a route I've just plotted. But, unless I'm missing quite a lot, I don't seem to have the same control over the view height and camera angle as I do in Google Earth, and I can't seem to remove the wide blue track of my plotted route. (I've never used ViewRanger, but perhaps it provides more control than does OS Maps.)

Anyway, I didn't have anything better to do this afternoon...
Walk, Jog, Run : our YouTube video channel.

ninthace

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Re: Simulating walks in Google Earth
« Reply #3 on: 17:17:21, 25/03/20 »
You are right, they are a lot less versatile than GE. There is not a lot of customisation in the OS app and even less in ViewRanger.  Both are just basic fly throughs.  MemoryMap had a fairly decent fly through that could be customised to change the height of the point of view but I have not used it in years so I have no idea what is could do now.  IIRC it was limited to a map view rather than an aerial picture.
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