Just some ideas I have.....

So have it so that everybody uses the vartiable "Detail" to be able to
remove parts, or the detail of the parts of their scene,
Ie, have say detail = 1 to be the highest, and so one down.
so for my current scene I could say something like
#if(Detail <3)
    do the fence
#else
   do some boxes that approximate the fence
#end
So if the Detail level is 2 or more then the fence will be created in all of
it's glory, or just four boxes that will go where the fence is.
Now if all the plots use the same method for the detail, then you could have
the Detail level defined at the top and have the value trickle down through
the plots.
Another way of doing the detail, so that everybody stays with in the same
boundies, would to make the detail level a distance, so if this part of the
plot is only move into the higher detail level if the camera is within  X
units of the object.
To do this, have the camera position defined as a vector = CameraPos
Then inside each plot use the vlength(thisobjectpos-CameraPos) to provide a
dist from the object inside the plot to the camera, so with the above
example I could change that to,
#if(vlength(FencePos-CameraPos)<5) // 5 units
    lets show the whole fence
#else
    just use the less detailed version
#end
Anyway this is just an idea.......
Now for something slightly different.....
For a river... Would this work...
Create a heightfield, flip it upside down. This would now define the river
bed.
Intersect it with a blue box that has been textured etc, and this would give
the water flowing through the river. I think ??? Not sure . Haven't tried...

Now for the axis bit.  I use the left-handed system, as I have always used a
text editor, and never bothered with a modeler. For me I have always thought
of Y as height, Don't know why, just have so for me I find it easier that
way.

And for the diminsions - I use 1 unit = 1 meter, so to make it work within
the system of 1 unit = 25 meters, I have defined a var called ScaleValue = 1
/25, and at the bottom of my file put

#declare FransPlot =
union {
    object {bit1}
    object {bit2}
    .......
    scale ScaleValue
    translate PlotPos
}

Now when I'm testing my plot I define a var called Testing and use in my
plot file
#ifdef(Testing)
    #declare ScaleValue = 1
#else
    #declare ScaleValue = 1/25
#end

etc.

BTW the usable unit range I have found in POVRay is ~ 1,000,000

Objects that are further than 1,000,000 units away from the camera
disappear, no matter how large they are. Most of the time for a small object
when it is 1,000,000 units away you wouldn't be able to see it anyway, but
if there is a large object like (eg a sun/planet) then suddenly is goes
away. I don't know yet what the smallest part of a unit that is useable, but
I don't think 25 meters to 1 unit is unrealistic. This should mean that you
could model down to around the 1cm region, or (.00004 of a unit), and that
is alot more resolution than I will probably need.

Also if you wanted to do a more detailed part of your own plot on your own
page, then change the above ScaleValue to 1 and render and wot ever you
modeled at.

Just my thoughts on the subject

Till next time.... Fran.

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