XenoDream program:

Creating shapes

The XenoDream Main window

The Main window is where you create objects. It has a menu and toolbars for the general controls, and windows for holon layout and previewing the object.

The Holon window is for displaying, selecting and dragging the holons.

The preview provides fast feedback as you make changes to the shape, coloring and camera view.

The Preview window

The preview has options suitable for each context:

Gray for fastest shape editing, showing the active holon in yellow.
Full color.
Flat or shaded.
Transparent for previewing low opacity renders.
Show the background or rendered picture behind the object, to help with alignment.

Examples of gray shaded preview and transparent color preview for the same object

The Shape page

In addition to the Holon window and toolbar, the Shape page gives more control of holons. The controls are in groups:

Options to control how the Holon window works, and to arrange holons.
Holon parameters to adjust the size, position and orientation of holons.
Controls to limit holon iteration, and to extend holons to use extra metamorphs.
Metamorph controls to change the shape of a holon in a huge variety of ways.
Shape memory spots to temporarily store useful shapes.

XenoDream's numeric controls let you change the numbers by dragging them.

Metamorphs

Metamorphs change the shape of holons. There are over 170 styles organized in categories. The Constructor styles make specific shapes such as spheres, cubes and gearwheels. Each style has variations, allowing hundreds of shapes.

The other categories modify existing shapes. They can change the shape of a constructor, or affect whatever shape the holon inherits.

Each holon can have two metamorphs, and each metamorph has Amount, Scale and Special controls to give plenty of variation. Each style has popup help to describe what the controls do. The possibilities are endless!

These examples show 8 variations of constructors and 12 constructors modified by other metamorphs.