ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Polyhedral terrain

Hello there! So do you know what a polyhedron is? It’s like a 3D shape made up of flat faces. Think of a dice, it has six sides which are all squares. Now, we can take many dice and stack them together to make a bigger shape. This shape is also a polyhedron because it has flat faces.

Terrain means the land that we see around us, like hills and valleys. So, polyhedral terrain means land that is made up of many polyhedra or 3D shapes with flat faces put together.

Imagine a big mountain with many triangular faces, flat sides and sharp edges. We can make this mountain using a lot of small triangles put together. Similarly, we can make hills, valleys, and other landscapes using many small polyhedra.

Scientists and game designers use polyhedral terrain to create realistic 3D environments. This is because, unlike flat terrains or simple hills, these terrains create interesting shapes and textures that mimic real-life terrain. These shapes and textures add a lot of detail to the environment and make it look more natural.

So, in summary, polyhedral terrain is 3D land made of many flat-faced shapes that make a bumpy and interesting surface to walk, hike or play on.