ok so i should make the terrain in the editor. as far as i can see, im limited to making a 1024x1024 terrain in the editor, so a whole continent would be much bigger than 1024x1024. also the grid moves with the camera and i would like it to be stay in place but be over the whole terrain for alignment purposes. So im not really sure what i need but 3dws may not be it. i may just see if i can work with a height map. thanks for the input.