Metaballs can't be used in other programs because they are part of Bryce's render engine. Metaballs are spheres that when place close together and are rendered they "melt" into each other, if they have 2 different textures then when they meet the textures "melt" together as well. Cost is around $299 USD I beleive, the website is www.corel.com. Upgrade from 4 is $149 USD