Is ther a way to animate metaballs to take advantage of the positive and negative attractions?

Im thinking itd kind of be like a lavalamp...

Im using Cararra 3..

Ive added the metaballs to my scene but they dont seem to do their 'thing' unless in the metaball room...

 

thanks...

I don't have C3 on my box anymore but I don't think you could animate metaballs with that version. You can for sure with C5. :-/ If you can animate in C3, you will need to do it while in the Metaball room using the timeline and keyframes. Upon leaving the metaball room, all theMBs behave as a single object in the Assembly room. At least that's how I do it in C5.

Ok..thanks..i couldnt figure it out..i need to upgrade...

thanks..:)

I'm also sure you can do it with C4.  I seem to remember doing it in RayDream 5.5, actually.

My work approach is to build the metaball.  Go back to the assembly room.  Move to a later point in the timeline.  Double click the metaball to open the modeler again, and move the elements in the modeler.  Go back to the assembly room and you'll see a new keyframe in the Metaball. 

It works quite well, actually, for simulating liquid-ish shapes like the pseudopod in the Abyss.

Even better than that in C5 metaballs can be used directly in the particle system, which would make a lava lamp very easy to animate. There is a preset that creates a water flow, which would be a great start for a lava lamp. Upgrade to C5 and you'll never look back. Scott