x: 0 (allways followed by a return to get to the next row)
y: 0
z: 0
dx: 1
dy: 1
dz: 1 (when you press return here the sphere will be created)
Then you select the box creation tool and use the same parameters to create a box.
For this you can set the cursor in the last icon (dz) and press return.
Now you should select the box.
For this you have to activate the selection tool. You can click with the mouse on
the box but visually there is no difference if you have selected the shpere or the box as they have both the same size. So you have to use the list box to check which one you have selected. To select to right one just click in the list box on the box.
When the box is selected you should open the main menu and go to the menu "special" and select the menu "poly to line". This turns the outlines of the box into a series of cylinders.
The box will be splitted in lines which you can see in the list box.
Select all lines in the List box and press "Ctrl" + "G" to group the lines.
The lines will be grouped in the group "Group0". To rename the group press "Ctrl" + "N".
A little window will be opened where you can change the name of the group. Change the name to "Frame" and press return.
Now we need to modify the thickness of the cylinders of the frame.
For this select the group "Frame" and open the main menu and go to the menu "Special/Set line thickness".
Set the line thickness to 0.06 . Press return when you have typed in the correct size and you will see the change in size.
Select the group "Frame" and open the material manager.
Click on the demo picture which opens the material window.
Click on the surface colour area and the surface window will open.
Here we want to change the diffuse colour and the ambient colour.
Click on the diffuse colour display and the colour picker will open.
Here you can click on the standard colour orange and close the window by clicking on OK.
Click on the ambient colour and select also the orange colour. But this time we need to lower the saturation of the colour so you have to chnge the mode of the colour picker to HSV. Set the "value" value to 45%. Click on OK to set the colour.
Transparency should be zero.
Refraction should be 1.2.
Reflection should be 30%.
Close the surface window by clicking on OK and do the same with the material window.
In the material manager window we have to decide between the buttons "Update", "Set" and "New". This is due to the system how MerlinEd archives its material definitions:
On start a scene has only one standard material definition. All objects would look like the same. So if you want that one object looks different you must create a new material definition. This you do when you press "New" after you have choosen how the new definition should look like.
The "Update" button should be used if you want to change the actual definition of a material.
The "Set" button is for the purpose that you want to give some objects the same colour. They will be set to the material definition of the last object selected.
So here we will use the "New" button.
Now we select the sphere and open the material manager once again. Go to the surface window. The diffuse colour should be still white otherwise you have selected the wrong object.
Transparency should be zero.
Refraction should be 1.2.
Reflection should be 30%.
Click on OK on the surface window and the material window. In the material manager you should click this time "Update".
Now we want to make a ring out of the caged ball. So select both objects, the sphere and the frame.
Click on the multicopy tool and select the circular option.
There you should set the parameters.
We want to have 16 ball in all so we need 15 copies.
A radius of 3 is needed so that the frames will touch each other (this was found out experimentially).
To get a regular figure we need an angle of 360°/16 = 22.5° .
And activate the option "Change angle" so that the sphere and frame is rotated accordingly on each copy.
A shift of the object is not needed so dx, dy and dz are zero.
Now click on Ok and see what happens.
What we have to do now is real work. We have to paint the balls so that they get a spectrum which starts and end with the same colour.
For this you open once again the list box and select the first sphere.
Open the material manager and go to the surface window. There you open the colour picker and set the mode to HSV. This will display the spectrum colours.
For the diffuse colour the saturation and the "value" value should be always 100%. You can type them in and activate them when you press TAB or the up and down arrows. For the ambient colour we will take the same colour as for the diffuse colour but with a "value" value of 50% (darker).
We will change the hue value for each sphere in steps of 360° / 16 = 22.5° .
So we will get the values: 0, 22, 45, 67, 90, 112, 135, 157, 180, 202, 225, 247, 270, 292, 315, 337.
When you have set the diffuse colour and the ambient colour correctly click on OK in the surface and the material window.
Click "New" on the material manager window.
Then select the next sphere and use the next "value" value for the colour definition. This you continue until you have created a new material for each sphere. If you want to see the colours you have defined in your construction you must place a light in the scene first.
Change the view type to right and select the point light source. Click with the mouse on the left higher than the ball ring to create a light there. Now you can switch to the gouraud display mode by pressing F11. This would look the best in 16 or 24 bit colour display mode.
Now select all objects in the scene and group them by pressing Ctrl + "G".
Press Ctrl + "N" to rename the group to "Ring1".
Now we want to make a copy of the ring. That we will do with the multicopy tool once again.
So select the ring and click on the multicopy tool. Select the linear copy option.
We need one copy at a distance of dx = 3. Click on OK if you have entered the value.
Rename the second ring to "Ring2".
Next we will turn the rings around the x axe, one plus 45° and one plus 135°.
Select one ring and open the main menu and go to the menu "Selected / Transform / x rotate".
Type in 45 and press return.
Select the other ring and do the same but with 135.
Finally we have to create a plane unter the rings. So select the plane icon and click somewhere under the rings to create the plane (maybe one centimeter below).
Select the plane and open the material manager. Go to the surface window and change the diffuse colour to light grey (RGB = 86% each) and the ambient colour to dark grey (RGB = 33% each). Reflection should be 30%.
When you have set the colours and come back to the material window click on the first texture button and open the texture window by clicking on the example picture of the texture.
In the texture window select bitmap as texture type and "Acorn" as bitmap.
Set the scalings of X,Y and Z to 20 each and click on OK.
When you come back to the material manager window click on "New".
If you have not yet created a light in the scene do it now. Create one in the upper left of the ring.
