Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions • Hacker News Board

Re: Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions

#11

Post by Orbify_Karsten » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 2:03 PM UTC

angiolillo wrote: post #7

Neat! It might be useful to be able to configure the map viewing angle at the top and bottom of the frame, perhaps even the degree of curvature between them. I say this because I wonder if a shallower gradient (slightly more top-down at the bottom and slightly more angled at the top) would be more understandable and familiar while providing almost as much information. Not as cool-looking, but potentially more useful…

thanks. Im still tweaking the map and camera settings, its far from perfect yet. Maybe next demo update I'll include some of the sliders to play around with

Re: Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions

#12

Post by IdiotSavage » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 2:05 PM UTC

Conscat wrote: post #5

I don't remember a map from the movie so I didn't know what to expect. Instantly I love this. I actually wish I could have this rather than street view in Google Maps.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjAxMzY3NjcxNF5BMl5B...

Re: Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions

#13

Post by Orbify_Karsten » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 2:05 PM UTC

cronin101 wrote: post #10

Orbify_Karsten wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The traffic right now is insane, 200 people trying the demo at the same time :\

is 200 a lot of concurrent people? What is required from the server in order to render the demo, can't most of the work be pushed to the edge devices?

yeah I probably shouldnt have included a 100mb gaussian splat file to load each time.. I had no idea so many people would try it :)

Re: Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions

#14

Post by SkepticalWhale » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 2:07 PM UTC

Very cool. This would actually save me from those terrible times when the navigation tells me to turn, but not which lane is best for the next turn after that. Now I could visualize it clearly.

That being said, it is a little dizzying to watch.

Re: Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions

#15

Post by justusthane » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 2:07 PM UTC

vessenes wrote: post #4

This is cool. May I suggest that you make the standard deformation much less spherical? I do not get nauseous that easily and it made me a little nauseous, feeling like I was falling. I would not want to watch that while driving in a car. But 1/3 of the way from ‘flat’ to that would be super useful.

Same. I don't get motion sick, and this made me feel uneasy. It would make my wife motion sick instantly. It's an interesting concept though, and I can see the utility of it.

Re: Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions

#16

Post by Orbify_Karsten » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 2:08 PM UTC

vessenes wrote: post #4

This is cool. May I suggest that you make the standard deformation much less spherical? I do not get nauseous that easily and it made me a little nauseous, feeling like I was falling. I would not want to watch that while driving in a car. But 1/3 of the way from ‘flat’ to that would be super useful.

thanks. Yes, youre not the first one saying that. Next demo update will have more options

Re: Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions

#17

Post by edf13 » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 2:08 PM UTC

Orbify_Karsten wrote: post #13

cronin101 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

is 200 a lot of concurrent people? What is required from the server in order to render the demo, can't most of the work be pushed to the edge devices?

yeah I probably shouldnt have included a 100mb gaussian splat file to load each time.. I had no idea so many people would try it :)

Any video demo available - love to see it in action

Re: Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions

#18

Post by maqp » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 2:08 PM UTC

looks cool.

But estimating distances is hard, as is estimating road size. You can only plan one straight line ahead, and there's no "glance how many blocks before I make a left turn". Now it's "scan and process the entire straight terrain section with eyes recognizing crossings to get the count" Alternatively, I'll have to task switch all the time to it to not miss on the turn. Some hybrid map visual overlay that makes reading it at a glance easier would go a long way here.

Re: Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions

#19

Post by niek_pas » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 2:09 PM UTC

vessenes wrote: post #4

This is cool. May I suggest that you make the standard deformation much less spherical? I do not get nauseous that easily and it made me a little nauseous, feeling like I was falling. I would not want to watch that while driving in a car. But 1/3 of the way from ‘flat’ to that would be super useful.

I'm with you on this. I think this could actually be really useful but the effect is way too extreme. Additionally, the animation is quite stuttery on turns --- might just be my machine though.

Re: Inception-style curved map for turn-by-turn directions

#20

Post by goosejuice » Fri, Aug 28, 2026, 2:09 PM UTC

vessenes wrote: post #4

This is cool. May I suggest that you make the standard deformation much less spherical? I do not get nauseous that easily and it made me a little nauseous, feeling like I was falling. I would not want to watch that while driving in a car. But 1/3 of the way from ‘flat’ to that would be super useful.

Agreed. I have no problem with a tilt a whirl but this triggers something.