Setting Up Preferences

When you first launch Amorphium 3 you have to create and save a project.


One reason for this is because when you load 2D texture maps created outside the program, Amorphium saves a copy of the texture map in the same location where the project was saved. The next time the project is opened Amorphium calls upon the texture maps from the location where it saved them.

Once a project is saved Amorphium finishes launching to the factory default setting. To make full use of the program and some of your computers hardware you will need to edit these default factory setting. For this go to the Program Menu Bar Edit/Preferences.


The first tab of the Preference menu is the Start Up tab, this determines how Amorphium will launch. There is a feature in Amorphium that over rides these option on the Start Up tab. This feature is set by default and can not be changed. The feature is, when Amorphium is shut down with a project still open, it automatically opens that project the next time it's launched. So in order for the setting on the Start Up tab to take effect. You have to close the current project ( File/Close ) before shutting down Amorphium.

The Start Up options are:


Do Nothing: Amorphium launches without asking to open or save a project.
New Project: Amorphium Launches with a save dialog, then creates the selected items when a project is named and saved.
Open Project: Amorphium Launches with an open dialog, to locate a project.
Default Workspace: This option lets you set Composer or Tools to be the current workspace when a project is opened or created. Since all objects ( besides imports ) are created in Composer, it is the default setting.


The Environment tab lets you customize the background appearance as well as the way the workspace tools appear.


Wallpaper: This option has four preset wallpapers to choose from, or a color option that let you select a color to use. When the Gradient option is checked, the wall paper will be a gradient of the color from dark ( top ) to light ( bottom ).
Tools: Has a drop down menu with four selections to set the appearance of the various work spaces tool sets.

Tools Small

Tools Medium

Tools Large

Tools Text

Tool Tips: When this option is enabled, a text description appears when the pointer is paused over a tool.

Tool Tips only work for workspace's primary tool sets, they do not work for tool properties options like brush settings or color selectors ect...

The Color tab.


Initial Color: Sets the color for created or imported mesh, wax, biosphere or tin object when first created or imported into Amorphium. { note: any imported object who's file type supports painted vertices will retain it's color information when imported into Amorphium. These file types include Amorphium 1 or 2, FACT, and some LWO. }
Modeling Background: This is the color of the various workspace modeling windows.
Camera Background: This is the color of the Composer workspace 3D windows.

Display tab.


Modeling: Interactive Decimation temporally optimizes the appearance ( polygon count ) an object has when any of the view tools are being used on a modeling window. It works in all display modes and helps keep the real time fast especially when high polygon objects are being manipulated. This option does not effect or optimize movement made by the Potter's Wheel.
Brush Preview: This option show a preview of the brushes as a circle, displaying the radius and the behavior of the various brushes.


Snap Radius: this is a imaginary radius around the snap, when a brush hits the boundaries of the radius the function of the brush is applied to the area the snap is set at. This option is only for object snaps, not grid snapping.
Composer: Interactive Decimation works the same in Composer as it does in the modeling workspaces. The Update Only Frontmost Window option is used when more than one 3D window is being displayed in Composer. With this option enable only the selected or current window is updated in real time. The rest of the windows are updated after the movement or function is complete. This option is primarily used with Composer's XForm Tools.
3D Engine: This is where you have the option of setting weather your computers graphic card open GL accelerator or Amorphium's Soft Draw accelerator ( drawing engines ) are used to draw the real time on the screen. The power of your graphics card should be taken into consideration when using open GL.
Texture Quality: This option defines the quality of background images ( guide images ) used in the modeling windows.

Factory Setting: This button restores all the tabs settings back to the default setting.
Cancel: This button exits the menu without saving any changes.
OK: This button exits the menu saving any changes made.
Changes made on the Preferences Menu are set for the Program. They are not options set or saved with a Project File, and will take effect immediately after exiting the menu.



This interface tutorial is written and provided by : Stephen Ray