Terregen Terrain size in Relation to Source DEM File Size

[cbshort]

Does the initial Terragen terrain size that is generated by DEM data have any relevance to final resolution of the terrain? To clarify with an example: Lets say I have a GeoTiff file as my initial source elevation data and its pixel dimensions are 3000 x 3000. I could bring that file into a program like Global Mapper and export a .ter file at its highest dimensions of 16385 x 16385 and have a nice big .ter file. Would the resolution of my terrain be any different if I generated the next smallest number for the .ter file, which is 8193 x 8193?

Is the dimensions of the terrain just for scale or is it for quality of terrain (based on the limitations of the original GeoTiff file), and based on the pixel size of the GeoTiff, what ideally should I be setting the Terrain's Dimensions to be when creating the .ter file?

Any insight would be helpful!

[Oshyan]

You cannot get any extra resolution by outputting to a higher pixel dimension TER file. Ideally, especially for Terragen 2, you would output the TER (or, perhaps better, 32 bit GeoTIFF) with the original resolution, 3000x3000. The old "standard" terrain sizes for TER that GlobalMapper may still respect were only really desirable for Terragen Classic, and even that overcame the limitation eventually, allowing arbitrary-sized terrains. Terragen 2 really doesn't care of terrains are Power-of-2 size. So, again, output your terrain at the original resolution if possible, this will give you the greatest accuracy and fidelity to the original data. Scale and coverage area are handled separately with Georeference or "point spacing" data that GlobalMapper should handle properly, so even if you had a terrain of 10x10 pixels, it could still cover 100km square.

- Oshyan

[cbshort]

Thanks for the explanation Oshyan, that helps me understand so I can plan my workflow without making arbitrary steps.