News about Route Generator

2 Februari 2015: Version 1.7 released

It took some time, but finally released a new version of Route Generator. This new version doesn't contain a lot of new features, but hopefully some people will find them useful:

You can now select a delay in seconds to add before the beginning or after the end of the generated movie.
It's now possible to select FFmpeg as movie generator on Windows, instead of bmp2avi (on Linux FFmpeg was already the default). However, to use it, you will have to download and install it manually (see instructions in the Tutorial)
Route Generator now supports the new interface of Google Maps.

These new features will be explained in more detail from the Help > Tutorial menu, under the topic New in version 1.7.

3 January 2014: Version 1.7 under development

Started developments for version 1.7 of Route Generator, see new Code rss feed page to monitor the progress.

10 November 2012: Version 1.6 tutorial added

The Route Generator v1.6 installer, didn't contain the tutorial. I've added a patch installer that will add the tutorial to the currently installed Route Generator.
It is still a litlebit outdated, but overall the process is still the same.

The tutorial patch can be downloaded from the Download section.

28 April 2012: Version 1.6 released!

Version 1.6 of Route Generator has been released, with the following new features:
(Thanks to the co-efforts of Fabien Valthier)

Route will be editable (selected points can be moved or deleted after drawing) (Thanks Fabien)
Redo
Increased maximum duration of route
New vehicle setting: Don't rotate with route direction
Other improvements in vehicle settings
Adding custom vehicles made easier
Automatic deleting files when selected output folder not empty
Several bugs fixed

The new version can be downloaded from the Download section.

4 April 2012: New version almost ready.

A new version will now soon be released, with the following new features:
(Thanks to the co-efforts of Fabien Valthier)

Route will be editable (selected points can be moved or deleted after drawing) (Thanks Fabien)
Redo
Increased maximum duration of route
New vehicle setting: Don't rotate with route direction
Other improvements in vehicle settings
Adding custom vehicles made easier
Automatic deleting files when selected output folder not empty
Several bugs fixed

Now still improving some final issues, so have a littlebit more patience please.
See development log for technical details of current status.

For the rest I would like to get rid of bmp2avi on Windows (for movie generation), because some people are running into problems with it. Would like to find out if I can use FFmpeg on Windows as well (like on Linux), but I don't think I will make it to get it into the next version.

18 September 2011: Support children in need.

Due to a work holiday of 3 months in Nepal, I didn't have time to finalize the new version for Route Generator. I will return in November, so I will try to make time for it then. One of the biggest improvements will be that routes will be editable! More details will follow later...

And now for something completely different:

Nepal is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. It may seem a developed country when you are visiting as a tourist, but once you get away from the beaten (tourist) track, you will see it still needs a lot of development, especially related to women's and children's rights. Currently I am helping an organisation here in Nepal (VIN) to set-up a website for raising money to build an orphanage house. In October I will join a charity trekking to the Mount Everest base camp to raise money for the oprhanage house as well.

If you also think it's important that unfortunate children are getting good education and a proper home, please have a look at the following sites and consider making a donation for children in need:

Thanks in advance,
Michiel

PS. I will keep you updated about the new version of Route Generator, which I will try to put online before the end of this year.

9 June 2011: New website layout

Improved the website by adding a side menu to make it easier to navigate.
A few new features are in development for Route Generator, but need to be tested. One of the biggest improvements will be that routes will now be editable! More details will follow later...

16 January 2011: Released version 1.5 of Route Generator.

Mainly thanks to the contributions of Fabien Valthier (a new developer for Route Generator from France), the following features have been added or improved:

Route generation improvements (smooth route)
ffmpeg support for Linux (instead of bmp2avi)
Start new route button on toolbar
Vehicle orientation improved
Dialog to set vehicle settings (icon size and orientation)
Generate iconless begin/end frames checkbox moved to preferences dialog
Google maps importer fix (map now scrollable and zoomable)

28 November 2010: Released version 1.4 of Route Generator.

This version contains the possibility to import a map from Google Maps to use as background map for your route (see Help->Tutorial for further explanation).

28 March 2010: Released version 1.3.1 of Route Generator.

In this minor update a few issues have been resolved:

Automatic curve generation (in interpolation mode) did't work as expected and caused problems with sharp angles in the route (e.g. when going back on the same route). This problem has not been fixed, yet, but this feature has been disabled for now. Optionally this feature can be re-enabled through a new "Advanced" tab in the Route Generator Preferences.
The "Advanced" tab also contains settings to control the update rate of the vehicle orientation.
Draw mode will automatically be disabled when clicking on "Playback" or "Generate", to make sure that the route is interpolated first (in interpolation mode).
First click on the map (after activating "Draw mode"), is now painted on the map as well.
Route Generator installation now happens through an installer file, instead of manually extracting a zip-file.

23 August 2009: Released version 1.3 of Route Generator

This version contains the following new features:

Variable route speed and automatic interpolation
Bmp2Avi preferences (e.g. selecting different codec or frame rate of generated avi)
Undo while drawing route (redo not implemented, let me know if you think it's useful)
Select different line styles for your route
Extended tutorial with new features (see Help->Tutorial)

29 July 2008: Released version 1.2 of Route Generator

Added rotating vehicle with direction of route (RGVehicle)
Added animated vehicles (using animated gifs) (RGVehicle)
When loading large maps, scrollbars appear (QScrollArea)
Added spinbox for angle correction
Added stop button for playback

16 May 2008: Start-up of www.routegenerator.net!

Today www.routegenerator.net came available for my use, so I moved all the stuff from my homepage to this location.

05 May 2008: Released version 1.1 of Route Generator!

First release of Route Generator published on sourceforge.net and routegenerator.net

In this version you can add custom vehicle icons, by adding image files (e.g. *.png) to the vehicles folder in the route generator installation folder.
Also you can select a different color for the generated route.

29 April 2008: Released version 1.0 of Route Generator!

See background section for more details.