User defined scenarios in a three dimensional geo-spatial system

An apparatus for storing user defined scenarios in a three-dimensional system in a computer system comprising:

• (a) a computer having a memory;
• (b) an application executing on the computer, wherein the application is configured to:
• (i) display, using a three-dimensional (3D) geospatial environment provided by a 3D graphics application, a 3D view of a 3D model of a real world scene on a display device, wherein the 3D model comprises one or more objects that correspond to one or more real world objects in the real world scene;
• (ii) install two or more plug-ins into the 3D graphics application, wherein each of the plug-ins is used to define a user defined environmental simulated visual rendering of one or more of the objects that have been selected, in the 3D view of the real world scene, wherein the user defined environment simulated visual rendering simulates a trend, phenomena, state, or event resulting from an application of a visualization trait for each plug-in and one or more settings defined by input from a user to the 3D model of the real world scene;
• (iii) receive input from a user selecting a subset comprising two or more of the two or more plug-ins;
• (iv) receive input from a user defining one or more settings for the subset of plug-ins;
• (v) receive input from the user defining a visualization trait for each plug-in in the subset of plug-ins, wherein each visualization trait determines whether a visualization for the respective plug-in is to be displayed;
• (vi) receive input from the user associating an identification of the selected subset of plug-ins, the one or more settings, and the visualization traits for the selected subset of plug-ins with a scenario bookmark;
• (vii) receive input from the user saving the scenario bookmark;
• (viii) select the saved scenario bookmark;
• and
• (ix) display a scenario visualization of a scenario based on the selected set of plug-ins, one or more settings, and the visualization traits for each plug-in in the subset.

An article of manufacture comprising a non-transient program storage device readable by a computer, tangibly embodying at least one program of instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps of storing user defined scenarios in a three-dimensional system, the method steps comprising the steps of:

• displaying, using a three-dimensional (3D) geospatial environment provided by a 3D graphics application, a 3D view of a 3D model of a real world scene on a display device, wherein the 3D model comprises one or more objects that correspond to one or more real world objects in the real world scene;
• installing two or more plug-ins into the 3D graphics application, wherein each of the plug-ins is used to define a user defined environmental simulated visual rendering of one or more of the objects that have been selected, in the 3D view of the real world scene, wherein the user defined environment simulated visual rendering simulates a trend, phenomena, state, or event resulting from an application of a visualization trait for each plug-in and one or more settings defined by input from a user to the 3D model of the real world scene;
• receiving input from a user selecting a subset comprising two or more of the two or more plug-ins;
• receiving input from a user defining one or more settings for the subset of plug-ins;
• receiving input from the user defining a visualization trait for each plug-in in the subset of plug-ins, wherein each visualization trait determines whether a visualization for the respective plug-in is to be displayed;
• receiving input from the user associating an identification of the selected subset of plug-ins, the one or more settings, and the visualization traits for the selected subset of plug-ins with a scenario bookmark;
• receiving input from the user saving the scenario bookmark;
• selecting the saved scenario bookmark;
• and
• displaying a scenario visualization of a scenario based on the selected set of plug-ins, one or more settings, and the visualization traits for each plug-in in the subset.