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Multiple Choice

Contour fidelity in grid-based generation improves with higher what?

Contour fidelity in grid-based generation is driven by how densely the terrain is sampled. Each grid cell holds elevation data, and contours are created by tracing where elevation crosses a set level and interpolating between adjacent samples. When the grid has large cells (low resolution), there are only a few samples across a feature, so the contours can only approximate the terrain in wide, blocky steps, missing small ridges, valleys, and gentle curves. By using a higher resolution grid, you have more samples to inform the interpolation, allowing contours to follow the true shape of the terrain more closely, producing smoother, more accurate lines. Elevation value alone doesn’t improve fidelity; it’s the finer sampling that captures more detail. Higher resolution does come with more data and compute, but it yields the best contour accuracy.

Contour fidelity in grid-based generation is driven by how densely the terrain is sampled. Each grid cell holds elevation data, and contours are created by tracing where elevation crosses a set level and interpolating between adjacent samples. When the grid has large cells (low resolution), there are only a few samples across a feature, so the contours can only approximate the terrain in wide, blocky steps, missing small ridges, valleys, and gentle curves. By using a higher resolution grid, you have more samples to inform the interpolation, allowing contours to follow the true shape of the terrain more closely, producing smoother, more accurate lines. Elevation value alone doesn’t improve fidelity; it’s the finer sampling that captures more detail. Higher resolution does come with more data and compute, but it yields the best contour accuracy.