ok I've got a few questions after reading through the metamagic section of MiTS. it seemed to me that a few of the metamagic skills actually had skill levels associated with them. For Centering, do you automatically get it at the level of your associated action skill? or do you get it at one then use karma to raise it up to the action skill? And for masking, it seems like you get it at skill level one then you can use karma to increase it like a normal skill so you can mask yourelf more effectively? or do you need to initiate again to move a masking 1 to a masking 2?
i'm just confused and want a little clarification.

The meta magic itself doesn't have a skill level. The skill level is the level of the skill in which you use the the Metamagic. Centering it self doesn't have a skill level, but Dancing you perform for your Centering does. That is where skill levels come in.

Masking is your magic level or Initiate grades, I'll have to look it up later. EDIT: Magic vs. Magic modified by grade.

also, can anyone tell me the page number the rule saying vision and cover modifiers apply to casting spells?

I don't have the exact page number, but look in the magic section, then spell casting, then spell targeting. It refers to pg.231 for perception modifiers.

EDIT: My BBB fell apart well I ripped it apart

Vision and other penalties: SR3 p. 182 lower right corner. Indicates modifers apply for cover, visibility, injury, and sustaining a spell. Also apply any movement (p. 108) modifier for the caster. Our team also applies the "Target Running" modifer for single-target spells but not for area affect spells.

Centering involves TWO skills (MitS p. 72), one is a creative skill such as singing, dancing, or preaching. This can be an Active or Knowledge skill. Most of our min-maxers take a Knowledge Skill at 6 during character creation which they intend to eventually use with Centering. The second skill is the skill Centering, which is an Active Magical Skill linked to Willpower. In our campaign we do not allow a character to take Centering during character creation, and the character may not start putting Karma into this skill until he/she has acquired the Centering metamagic technique. The Centering skill can never be raised higher than the rating of the creative skill. To use Centering, therefore, the character needs the metamagic technique and two skills. He rolls the dice of his Centering skill as he is visibly, audibly, or silently performing his creative activity. Centering costs a lot, but the benefits are worth so much that it is commonly taken.

Remember that learning a metamagic technique is not automatic upon gaining a new initiatory grade. It requires a test (MitS p. 69-70). If you fail the test, you can't try again till the next time you initiate. When you initiate, you can make the test for a new technique as well as all those you selected at earlier grades but failed to acquire. Of course you may have to hire teachers or free spirits for the duration when making the test again.

EDIT: I just re-read centering, So Centering is a new skill. I have never used it so now I know how it works.

Centering also states that the skill you use to represent centering may be a skill you already have. So I don't see the problem some one buying the skill they'll use for centering at creation.

yeah i knew it could be linked to a skill you already had. eventually my troll physad will join a group and initiate and since he's part of the salish-shide tribe and speaks salish he'll chant in salish for centering. and it's perfectly understandable to not allow centering to be bought at character creation, how would you use a skill you didn't know existed or knew how to use until someone showed you the magical path to it?

I'd have to agree. It's not exactly min-maxing, or at the very least it's not munchknious, to have a character with, say, a "Dirty Limericks" knowledge skill at 6 from chargen. If the character is contantly firing off dirty limericks from day one, or otherwise demonstrates that the artistic skill is an integral part of the character, I wouln't consider it min/maxing as much as a character discovering that a favored pasttime can help his or her mental focus.

Vision penalties, YES! Such as cover, smoke rain and so on.

Movement penalties, BIG NO NO, unless you are talking about elemental manipulation spells which are treated as a ranged combat attack, other spells are not treated as such and therefore are not subject to movement penalties, since these are mentioned specifically on the table that deals with modifiers for ranged combat. Common sense should be applied though.

These penalties are described, as I indicated, in SR3 on p. 108

MOVEMENT
When walking, if the character is combining the movement with an action that requires some form of Success Test, the character takes a +1 target modifier. Over rough terrain or through obstacles, it's +2.

When running, it's +4. Over difficult ground, running is +6.