[throwaway7679]

> and to a lesser extent the ground of warcraft3 which I think is a clever use of marching squares

Ground textures, cliffs, and ramps are tiles.[1] A heightmap modifies tile corners.[2] Everything else is an individually-placed object.

[1] https://www.hiveworkshop.com/attachments/wc3search-tutorial0...

[2] https://www.hiveworkshop.com/attachments/15-jpg.7734/