using 3dsmax 4 for terrain,

I once heard something about that we can make terrain in 3dsmax, is this true? the Advantage to this would be that the terrain coudl be much larger and use different textures on it (have one part desert, the other part grassy). I don't know if the latter can be done in torque as it is now but the making the maps larger is a pain in the ass since you have to go throught the map and patch up ALL of the invisible holes... If you can create the terrain in 3dsmax 4, how would it be done?

also how do you start a NEW map in Torque?