Display the globe (Modes Panel UI)

Learn how to set a basemap and display the globe by using the Modes Panel UI.

In this tutorial, you will create a global scene using a Web Map from ArcGIS Online as a basemap. The surface of the scene is defined with an elevation layer, and the camera is positioned to display an area of New York City.

Prerequisites

Steps

Create a new level and open the Modes Panel UI

1. Click on File on the Menu Bar and select New Level.

2. Select Empty Level in the popup window.

   

3. Click Window in the menu bar and select World Settings.

   

4. Open Advanced under World and check the Enable Large Worlds.

   

5. Click the the Select Mode drop-down in the Unreal UI toolbar and select ArcGIS Maps SDK.

   

6. The Modes Panel UI on the left side.

   

Create and set up a map

1. In the Modes Panel UI, click the Map tab and click on the Create button. This will add the necessary Actors into the level. You can find them in the Outliner panel.

   

2. You can enable or disable the Editor Mode, set the Map Type, and Origin Location in the Map tab. Select Global for the Map Type.

3. In the Origin Location section you can set up the the center of your GIS scene with its coordinates and a spatial reference well-known ID (WKID). For the tutorial, set the parameters to these values:

   • Longitude = -74;
   • Latitude = 41;
   • Altitude = 0;
   • Spatial Reference WKID: 4326

   For the information regarding the spatial reference, see the spatial references page.

This is the result of the Map tab.

Set up the camera

1. Click on the Camera tab.

2. The Camera Position defines the initial point of view of the camera. For the tutorial, set the parameters to these values:

   • Longitude = -74.054921;
   • Latitude = 40.691242;
   • Altitude = 3000;
   • Spatial Reference WKID: 4326

3. The Camera Rotation defines the angle of the camera.

   • Heading = 65;
   • Pitch = 68;
   • Roll = 0;

This is the result of the Camera tab.

Select a basemap, set terrain elevation and the API key

1. On the Basemap page, you can select the basemap that best suits your project. For the tutorial select World Imagery in the list.

   Preset basemaps

   By default, the basemap is set to World Imagery. You can select a different basemap from the list. All the preset basemaps are in WGS 84 / Pseudo-Mercator (WKID: 3857).

   • World Imagery
   • Streets
   • Topographic
   • National Geographic
   • Oceans
   • Light Gray Canvas
   • Dark Gray Canvas

2. Click on the Elevation tab and make sure that the Enable Elevation is checked to create relief in your 3D scene.

   The Modes Panel UI uses Terrain 3D as the elevation source.

3. An API Key enables access to ArcGIS Online services and resources. Go to your developer dashboard to get your API key.

4. Click on the Auth tab and set the API key in the API Key section.

Set up the sky and the light

1. From the quick add menu on the toolbar, select Lights > Directional Light and drag it into the level to create a Directional Light. For more information about Directional Lights, see Lights.

   

2. Select the Directional Light in the Outliner, and open the Transform section in the Details window.

3. Reset the Location and Set the Rotation to:

   • X: 0
   • Y: -28
   • Z: -28

4. Set the Mobility to Movable.

   

5. In the Light section, change the Intensity Value to 3.1416.

6. In the Cascaded Shadow Maps section, change the Dynamic Shadow Distance MovableLight from 20000 to 2000000.

7. In the Atmosphere and Cloud section, enable Atmosphere Sun Light.

8. In the Actor > Spawn Collision Handling Method section, select Always Spawn, Ignore Collisions.

   

9. From the quick add menu on the toolbar, select Lights > Sky Light and drag it into the level to create a Sky Light. For more information about Sky Light, see Lights.

10. In the Transform section, reset the Location and set the Mobility to Movable.

11. In the Light section, enable Real Time Capture.

    

12. From the quick add menu on the toolbar, select Visual Effects > Sky Atmosphere and drag it into the level to create a Sky. For more information about Sky Atmosphere, see Fog Effects.

13. In the Planet section, change the Ground Radius to 6378.137207.

When the light starts loading in the Viewport, you can see the render result in the editor Viewport. Double click on the ArcGIS Pawn in the Outliner panel to snap the editor camera to the camera position.

You have successfully configured configured a global scene with the Modes Panel UI.

Use the WASD keys while holding the right mouse button mouse to move around, or hold the left mouse button to look around during the editor mode.

Click the Play icon on the Tool bar, and Use the WASD keys to move around, hold the right mouse button mouse to look around or hold the left mouse button to pan.

What's next?

To explore more features and learn how to use additional services, try these tutorials:

• Add layers (Modes Panel UI)
• Configure OAuth 2.0 (Modes Panel UI)