From BlenderWiki
If you want to document Blender 2.5 features please edit pages under Doc:2.5/Manual.
If a "2.5" page doesn't exist please copy the text from 2.4x Manual and edit the new page (i.e. you should paste the wikitext from this 2.4x page to this new 2.5x page and then update the latter with 2.5 features)
Metaballs use a different modelling workflow from more traditional techniques. You guide their shape rather then editing their vertices. Use the Editing context to guide their shape.
The MetaBall panel controls how they look in your 3D view, and how smooth they are when rendered. Choose a smaller Rendersize to make them smoother when rendering. For real-time updates while you are working with them inside Blender, choose a larger Wiresize. The Threshold sets how close they can get to each other before merging. The Update: selections choose your display update frequency. Use Fast to save CPU time and increase Blender’s responsiveness to you. Use Never if you really want to get confused between your display and what is rendered.
The MetaBall tools panel controls their shape. Select Ball for a sphere, Tube, Plane, etc. Each choice is like the mesh equivalent with lots of subsurfacing.
![[]](/skins/blender/open.png)
