Who can do this?
Owners and co-authors with rights create maps, edit them, move them to the trash, restore them and make a map the master map. Connecting maps through rotation has its own permission.
Maps and pins
Under “Maps” you create map images with a scale and see location pins and your characters’ markers on them.
What is it for?
A map gives your world distances. You upload a map image and set a scale: you decide how many pixels of the image correspond to a certain distance. From that, Illumentis can calculate how far apart two locations are on the map and how long a journey takes.
Maps can be nested: world map, continent map, city plan. The first map of a project becomes the master map. Later you can make another map the master map without losing old pins. You place locations as pins on the map, on the location’s detail page.
In the map view you see the pins and the markers of your characters. You connect two maps through anchors: a location that is pinned on both maps connects them. That lets the Illuminatio Engine calculate across several maps as well.
How it works
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In the project, choose the “Maps” section and then “New map”.
What you see afterwards: The dialog shows “Step 1 of 2”.
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Enter a name and upload the “Map image”. Go to step 2.
What you see afterwards: The dialog shows the fields for the scale.
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Enter “Scale pixels”, “Scale value” and “Unit”. Optionally choose a “Parent map” and the location named under “Depicts this location”.
What you see afterwards: A line shows “… pixels correspond to … of the chosen unit.”
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Place pins on the detail page of the locations, under “Map pins”.
What you see afterwards: The pins appear in the “Map view” of the map.
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On another map, choose “Make master map” when your world grows.
What you see afterwards: The map now carries the “Master map” marker.
Your data
Maps, images, pins and markers belong to the project and are backed up with it. The map shows where characters are at a given point in time. A map in the trash is kept for 30 days, along with its pins.
Limits
By default, a project can hold at most 3 maps unless the project owner has a studio subscription. The operators can change these values; Illumentis tells you the value currently in effect in the app once you reach the limit. There is exactly one master map. It can only be deleted once another map is the master map. A rotation lies between −360 and 360 degrees and applies only with exactly one shared anchor.
Frequently asked questions
Why can’t I delete my map?
It is the master map. Illumentis reports “Before deleting this map, choose another map as the new main map.” First choose “Make master map” on another map.
What does “Approximated position” mean?
The location has no pin of its own on this map. Illumentis then shows the position of the parent location with a notice. This is only a display.
When do I need the rotation between maps?
If two maps have exactly one shared anchor, you can enter the rotation between them by hand. With two or more anchors, Illumentis detects it itself and ignores the value.