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Terrain Grid and Cell Sizes
Terrain grid and cell sizes explained by Snake Man, PMC.
If you do not know how large your terrain is, or someone is reporting on the forums that he made this and that sized terrain, here is the table to once and for all explain to you how big (or small) is a terrain of certain specification.
Grid size is the important factor as OFP/ArmA (and so far that we've heard ArmA 2 also) engines only handle power of two grid sizes.
| Grid size | Cell size | km x km | Square km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4096 | 50 | 204.8 | 41943.04 |
| 4096 | 40 | 163.8 | 26843.55 |
| 4096 | 30 | 122.8 | 15099.49 |
| 4096 | 20 | 81.9 | 6710.886 |
| 4096 | 10 | 40.9 | 1677.722 |
| 4096 | 8 | 32.7 | 1073.742 |
| 4096 | 6 | 24.5 | 603.9798 |
| 4096 | 4 | 16.3 | 268.4355 |
| Grid size | Cell size | km x km | Square km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2048 | 50 | 102.4 | 10485.76 |
| 2048 | 40 | 81.9 | 6710.8864 |
| 2048 | 30 | 61.4 | 3774.8736 |
| 2048 | 20 | 40.9 | 1677.7216 |
| 2048 | 10 | 20.4 | 419.4304 |
| 2048 | 8 | 16.3 | 268.435456 |
| 2048 | 6 | 12.2 | 150.994944 |
| 2048 | 4 | 8.1 | 67.108864 |
| Grid size | Cell size | km x km | Square km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1024 | 50 | 51.2 | 2621.44 |
| 1024 | 40 | 40.9 | 1677.7216 |
| 1024 | 30 | 30.7 | 943.7184 |
| 1024 | 20 | 20.4 | 419.4304 |
| 1024 | 10 | 10.2 | 104.8576 |
| 1024 | 8 | 8.1 | 67.108864 |
| 1024 | 6 | 6.1 | 37.748736 |
| 1024 | 4 | 4 | 16.777216 |
| Grid size | Cell size | km x km | Square km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 512 | 50 | 25.6 | 655.36 |
| 512 | 40 | 20.4 | 419.4304 |
| 512 | 30 | 15.3 | 235.9296 |
| 512 | 20 | 10.2 | 104.8576 |
| 512 | 10 | 5.1 | 26.2144 |
| 512 | 8 | 4 | 16.777216 |
| 512 | 6 | 3 | 9.437184 |
| 512 | 4 | 2 | 4.194304 |
| Grid size | Cell size | km x km | Square km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 256 | 50 | 12.8 | 163.84 |
| 256 | 40 | 10.2 | 104.8576 |
| 256 | 30 | 7.6 | 58.9824 |
| 256 | 20 | 5.1 | 26.2144 |
| 256 | 10 | 2.5 | 6.5536 |
| 256 | 8 | 2 | 4.194304 |
| 256 | 6 | 1.5 | 2.359296 |
| 256 | 4 | 1 | 1.048576 |
And so far I've never seen anybody do smaller than 256 grid size terrains, but maybe at this point you can already calculate yourself how small those terrains would be.
All BIS made terrains were as follows:
| Name | Grid size | Cell size | km x km | Square km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OFP islands | 256 | 50 | 12.8 | 163.84 |
ArmA and ArmA 2 terrain information has been disabled now as the info we get from WRP doesn't compare with what we have ingame. For example ingame Chernarus is 15.3km x 15.3km in size, however the WRP says grid 2048 and cell 30m… Stay tuned :)
