Time-aware basemaps

A world rarely looks the same across centuries. With time-aware basemaps you can hold several basemap images on one map and let the time slider pick the right one for the moment you’re viewing — an antique parchment for the early ages, a richer illuminated map for later.

Set it up

1. Open the map and click Basemap Settings in the toolbar.
2. Upload each basemap version you want (e.g. an early and a late map).
3. For each version, set Active from year to the year it should take over. Leave it blank for a version that should always be eligible.
4. Close the panel and drag the time slider across the boundary — the basemap cross-fades to the matching version.

The year you type uses the world’s primary calendar, so you enter 1247, not a raw minute count.

How the choice is made

At any slider position the map shows the version with the largest “Active from year” that is still ≤ the current year. If the slider is parked, or no version has a year set, the map uses your normally-pinned active basemap — so existing maps behave exactly as before.

Note

The swap is display-only. It never changes which basemap is pinned as the map’s default, and scrubbing never saves anything — your pinned basemap is what loads when someone opens the map fresh.

Animated (video) versions

A basemap version can be an animated video as well as a still image. In Basemap Settings, use Upload animated (video) and pick a short looping mp4 or webm — swirling clouds over the continent, a shimmering ocean. It’s saved as a new version (with a film badge in the list) and plays as the map, panning and zooming with it. A video version works with the time slider just like an image one: give it an Active from year and it takes over at that point in history.

Tip

Keep video maps short and gently looping. Players with reduced motion turned on see a still frame from the clip instead of the moving version.

Related

• The world-map time slider
• Region faction control