Show animated running man using Google Earth Plugin?

Question

How can I animate a running man using the Google Earth plugin? Basically it looks like it might be possible to take the Monster Milktruck sample,

http://earth-api-samples.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/demos/milktruck/index.html

and instead of just rotating the object replace the object with another object (next phase of running for a running man, using e.g. 15 objects for a cycle, or more to get it fluid) using the frameend event. I have not seen any such examples, though. Are there any such samples available? I'll need the 3D objects as well, but the technical part is the first hurdle.

Answer 1

I have not tried this but I think you could achieve this using time based elements and kmz models.

A quick search on these terms turns this up which looks like a great starting point, it suggest a key frame method of swapping between models as well as method using gx:AnimatedUpdate

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/sketchup/thread?tid=66bbaf4e91776ead&hl=en

Answer 2

I've made a test of a walking animation in the Google Earth plugin, which you can see here: http://chrisdiamanti.com/walk/index.php

There are 16 different dae model files in the complete walk loop sequence, and I'm switching them once per tick. The main problem I've encountered is that all the models and textures are not loaded before the animation begins, so that there is a flashing effect due to missing models and or textures. There is also the problem that the animation runs too quickly when the tick rate increases because of better bandwidth and or lighter processing load.

I understand that Google Earth is not a gaming environment, but I keep wondering if there is some technical hurdle that prevents Google Earth from rendering 3d as beautifully as in games.