interactive maps?

[joy]

Anyone know if there is a Google Maps equivalent for fantasy maps?

I've been working on making maps for a fantasy campaign (using Photoshop) and I would like to be able to have a layered format that I can share with my non-Photoshop having friends that lets them toggle different views and see points of interest without being overly cluttered.

Also having it be open to letting other players add "photos" to pin points would be cool.

I feel like I could get the idea across in a printed format however adding photo pin points would make it look like a crime map or a crazy persons map depending on how I indicate that a picture corresponds to a specific location. (which is not what i'm going for)

[Hai-Etlik]

There are three parts to such web maps. A map service, A feature service (This bit is optional), and a client library.

The map service provides the map images and may be in a special service specific protocol, like in Google Maps, Bing Maps, or the main services provided by OpenStreetMap, but there are also standard protocols, particularly TMS and WMS which can be provided by various software like GeoServer. Some client libraries even let you just load one big image as is, though this doesn't work so well for very large maps or if you want a wide range of scales. TMS can also be handled by an ordinary web server is the map is static

The feature service provides the points, and other shapes overlaid on the map. Again there are special servers, or you can drop everything in a file and point the client at that file. GML, KML, and GeoJSON are common formats for feature data.

The client library is what ties everything together and makes the map interactive in the web browser. Google and Bing have their own special ones, and there are generic ones like OpenLayers and Leaflet.

The absolute simplest thing that would get you going would be to get OpenLayers or Leaflet, and try pointing it at a straight image of the map. You could improve on this by chopping the map into tiles to make a TMS, and by writing up your point features, etc in KML or GeoJSON files..

[joy]

Wow, I feel like I have a lot to learn (maybe some programming languages )

Looking at OpenLayers and Leaflet I see more of what I saw on Google Maps... Maps of the real world... Some how I feel like my fantasy maps would not go over well on these venues

What sort of programs let you make KML files?

[Hai-Etlik]

Wow, I feel like I have a lot to learn (maybe some programming languages )

Looking at OpenLayers and Leaflet I see more of what I saw on Google Maps... Maps of the real world... Some how I feel like my fantasy maps would not go over well on these venues

What sort of programs let you make KML files?

Yes, you are pretty much going to have to learn some basic Javascript at the very least to make this work. OpenLayers is just a tool for displaying maps, it doesn't care if they are real or not. You can make KML or GeoJSON either directly by editing it in a text editor, or using GIS software like uDig, QuantumGIS, or OpenJUMP.

[Thennn]

I wanted to import a map into flash, so when you hover the cursor over a country it would slightly elevate, and a window would open with some information on those that inhabit that area. One thing at a time though!

[vorropohaiah]

I wanted to import a map into flash, so when you hover the cursor over a country it would slightly elevate, and a window would open with some information on those that inhabit that area. One thing at a time though!

that would be great, something i've wanted to do for a long time. a tutorial for us computer 'idiots' would be a godsend. the only flash i know how to work with is the PS version. im sure there far better ways available!

[farvardin]

Creating fantasy / interactive maps is quite easy with leaflet and some other (free) tools.
Have a look at this:

Pedro's Tech Mumblings: Zoomable image with Leaflet (see maptiler for creating the zoomable map, it's easy to use)

You can use whatever image you want, and then you can add some markers using this syntax:

var marker1 = L.marker([-70.0,-70.0]).addTo(map);
marker1.bindPopup("<b>My Mark</b><br>blablabla.");

I managed to do it, I just had to make some tests for adding the markers at the right place. It even works on mobile devices such as phones, tablets...