Cell Stage

The first stage in Spore is the Cell Stage, also known as the Tidal Pool Stage.

Anatomy
In this stage, the player guides a cell of their new species through a 2D primordial ooze consisting of other organisms,plants, bubbles, debris, and leftover bits of killed microbes. The player's microbe can eat smaller microbes (if the cell is carnivorous or omnivorous) or leftover bits of food in order to evolve to a being of higher understanding. The player's organism can be attacked and eaten by organisms of larger or similar size (even smaller ones can damage and kill you). The main goal of this stage is to develop a brain and become large and strong enough to move onto land and begin the Creature Stage.

The Cell stage also serves as a sort of tutorial for the later stages, introducing the basic tools of the fixed camera mode where game play mainly consists of eating and evolving by adding parts to the cell. The view becomes largely compressed if the cell does not have any sight. In other words, the outer area of your screen becomes black and fades away as it gets closer to the middle. This also affects you in the creature stage.

Gameplay
The game begins with a cinematic of a comet falling towards a planet, shattering in the atmosphere, and falling into the ocean as fragments. The camera follows one fragment as it falls through the ocean. This fragment shatters and your basic cell swims out.

Before the stage starts, players can decide if their microbe will be a Carnivore or an Herbivore, although the choice is not permanent. Herbivore microbes eat little pieces of plankton and then seaweed in later stages. Even carnivorous microbes do not have to kill other microbes to eat; they can eat leftovers from cells killed by other predators. Omnivores can eat both types of food available in the game.

Microbes grow larger by attaining 'levels' of development. There are roughly 10 levels of development, but only five of these are actually denoted (by a vertical divider on the progress bar). These levels do not affect the cell's health, but it does affect how much damage other cells do to you.

As you progress and get both bigger and less transparent, even larger creatures from the background will enter the playing field and try to eat you. There is a bar at the bottom of the screen that represents the microbe's development. When the bar is full, you have the choice to evolve your microbe into a land-going form, using a hybrid of the cell and creature editors (ostensibly called the "Early Creature Editor").

The Cell stage ends with a short cut scene of a flock of your creatures emerging from the sea onto the land and scattering. This marks the beginning of the Creature Stage. Your creature's starting appearance is based on what you created in the Early Creature Creator, although it may be changed during the Creature Stage.

Levels
Cell stage has 5 levels, each with a half-level at which your cell experiences a growth spurt.


 * Level 1 begins with your cell swiming out of the comet fragment. Your first objective is to eat 5 meat or plant food particles, depending on whether you started out as a carnivore or an herbivore, respectively. There is also a small herbivorous cell called Minno that can be attacked by carnivores, as well as a carnivorous cell called Goldy that may attempt to attack you. These are cowardly, so they will run once you hurt them. Soon after entering level 1.5, a Pokey cell will be killed by a Chomper, making your first collectible part appear: the Spike. Swim over it to collect it. This does not happen on Hard difficulty though. This also won't happen if you kill the Pokey yourself and collect its spike part.



This level is probably the most annoying, since the Spiked Shysters only appear at normal size in it. They are extremely aggressive cells that will chase the player around until one of the two is dead, but since they have spikes all around their head, they are more likely to kill the player.
 * Level 2 is your first chance to encounter members of your own species. They can't hurt you and you can't hurt them, so ignore them (unless you want to mate with them to add new parts). You also encounter large green plants for the first time.  Kill a Booster during this level to get the Jet part. At the middle of this level, you can challenge a Squirty for the Poison part or search for a meteor fragment. A tip is to put a spike right beside your mouth, then when you are facing another carnivore head-on, and are bouncing off each other, swim at an angle at the other cell, so that your spike hits it first. If you did it right, you will damage the other cell. You can even kill the huge cells like Snorf. This tactic will not work against a proboscis, another spike, or if you are chasing a cell with poison.



This level is quite a relief from the level 2 Spiked Shysters, since they're small enough to be eaten in one bite. They will still chase the player, however.
 * Level 3 is when the Cilia part becomes available. Kill a Pinky or Punky cell to unlock one. Kill a Nosey for the Proboscis, the omnivore mouth.




 * Level 4 is when the last body part becomes available: the Electric part. Kill a Buzzy cell for it.




 * Level 5 brings you close to the beach (a sandy background provides look), where some Maa cells are laying eggs. They're a good food source if you manage to eat them before they hatch. Also, more meteor bits appear than with other levels. In this stage there will no longer be any bigger cells in the background, as you are a massive cell now, though there still are Epic Cells.

Reproduction
Reproduction is possible after collecting any cell part. However you may use the backspace shortcut to call a mate earlier than the tutorial tells you (which first happens at around 15 DNA). The player's creature may call for a mate. After a short cutscene upon meeting the mate, the other cell will then lay an egg, whereupon the player is taken to the Cell Editor. This is the most fundamental portion of this stage, which is used to evolve your microbe. In real life aquireing new features (genetic properties, e.g. resistance against anti-biotics and toxins) requires cells (bacteria) to conjugate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacterial_conjugation) and divide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_division).

Missions
Missions are optional and appear throughout Cell stage. You'll find your instructions in the top-left corner of your screen.

The eat mission is simple. Just eat five pieces of food as soon as you exit the meteor. The collect mission is a little harder, and will take you a while longer. Collect all of the unlockable parts. Doing this will get you the Completist achievement.

Damage and Health
All cells have 6 Health Points. Various cells inflict different amounts of damage, however. The following charts show the damage that the different cells and parts can do. An Epic Cell is one that is huge and has a secret weakness that you must exploit to beat it. Predator cells are also bigger than you, but don't take up the whole screen by themselves. Peer cells are those that are close to the same size as you, and prey cells are much smaller. These are written on a Carnivorous Cell's Perspective, or bite size.

The 4 different sizes of cells are:


 * Prey Cells which are much smaller than your cell. They can be eaten in one bite. They generally pose no threat, but ones armed with weapons can sometimes nip you. Sadly, if they are sucked with a proboscis they give you no DNA, however they can still heal you


 * Peer Cells at about the same size as your cell, which can be attacked for meat. They may pose a slight threat, but you can easily defend your cell against them, so long as you have sufficient defenses.


 * Predator Cells that are much larger than your cell. They can be killed with spikes, electricity, and occasionally the proboscis, but they can easily kill you if you aren't careful. Most of these seem to drift while other cells accidently swim into their mouths. Squiggly and Maa are the only herbivores ever in this group. The 2 cells with probosis and the 2 with poison are in this group for some time.


 * Epic Cells that are much, much, bigger than your cell. They are nearly impossible to kill, and this feat can only be achieved by exploiting their secret weakness. Try to get behind them for easy kills. They can kill you in one hit and so are very dangerous. Weaknesses are attack points that damage the epic cell alot or affect it in a bad way, one example is Ducky, you can poke them in the eyes with a spike to deal a tiny bit of damage and blinding them making them swim in random directions. You can also see them in the background. They also seem to drift while cells accidently swim into their mouths. All Epic cells, smallest to biggest: Stabber,Ducky,Jawhead,Puffish,Megamouth and Snorf.

Your cell inflicts different amounts of damage, which act in proportion to your damage ability and your target's size. Keep in mind that Poison and Electric parts do nothing to other cells with the same part. Epic cells aren't listed because they each have different weaknesses.

Interactive Objects

 * Small Green Plant Matter is encountered from level 1 on. The Filter Mouth or Proboscis can eat it to obtain DNA points and restore small amounts of health.


 * Large Green Plant Flakes are first found in level 2.5, and disappear at 4. These plant flakes contain multiple small green plant matter attached to a larger centrepiece, allowing for fast amounts of food. They're ideal feeding areas for cells of all mouth types because packs of herbivores take advantage of it, so carnivores can then ambush their prey. It's a good idea for herbivores and omnivores to stay nearby if they're about to grow in size, since after growth the large green plants are edible as small green plant matter. It's a good source of quick food.


 * Seaweed is first found in level 4, but shrinks considerably by level 5. They're similar to Plant Flakes, but they have obstacles, so carnivores will have trouble attacking other cells. It's also a great source of food, but they become smaller at level 5. However, they're still ideal for food.


 * Meat Chunks are only edible with jaws, since the proboscis can't eat dead meat. They can be found from the first level and onwards. When a cell is defeated by your cell or another predator, it explodes into 1 to 4 meat chunks. The size of the meat chunks increases as you increase in level, with most you encounter being small enough to eat. However, sometimes you'll come across meat that's too big and needs to be cut down to size using your spikes or jaws. Meat chunks become progressively less common over the levels.  Note: Cells killed by poison, electricity, or the proboscis do not explode instead they skid to a halt and need to be spiked or bitten to make them explode.


 * Large and Small Eggs are first encountered at level 5 and hatch into "junior" cells. Any mouth part can eat small eggs. Large eggs can't be eaten, but eggshells can be eaten by the proboscis. "Maa" cells leave eggs behind if defeated.


 * Crystals, Debris, and Shells are unbreakable floating barriers. You can swim around or knock them out of the way. They can also be used to block predators from hurting or eating your cell.


 * Air Bubbles float around in various sizes and can be popped. Larger bubbles need help from a spike, while larger still bubbles cannot be popped.


 * Flow Fields are marked by ripples in the water current. They're hard to see and randomly scattered. Going with the flow speeds you up, while going against them slows you down. Mastering them increases your swimming ability by far, and can help in outrunning enemy cells.


 * Poison Clouds are seen near cells with the Poison part. They will keep making your cell take damage until you steer out the the poisonous water. If you have the part, however, you become immune.


 * Sparks are seen surrounding cells with the Electric part, shaped as a wide curve. They will daze your cell, which results in you taking damage. Again, you will be immune once you have the part.


 * Meteor Shards contain Cell Body Parts. You can break them open by swimming over them, which results in claiming the part. It doesn't require any spikes or weapons to do so.[[Image:Spore 2009-01-26 17-38-19.png|thumb|272px|A user's cell comes across a meteor fragment which contains a useful cell part.]]

The cells in order from smallest to largest are: Minno, Goldy, Pokey, Chomper, Shyster, Spiked Shyster, Booster, Grubby, Squirty, Pinky, Punky, Nosey, Stabber, Stabbella, Ducky,Buzzy,Small Junior,Jawhead, Squiggly, Needle Buzzy, Puffish, Large Junior, Jetster, Maa, Paa, Megamouth, Bloato and Snorf. Your cell gradually increases in size as you progress through Cell Stage.

Parts/Abilities
Microbes sometimes find yellow meteor fragments which contain more microbe parts, and consequently more abilities when you swim over them. These can be added and adjusted in the Cell Editor. Parts cost DNA. Your cell gets about one DNA point for every unit of food it consumes, to a maximum of 65. (In the first level, you get about 1.75 DNA points per food, 1.25 in the second, 1 in the third, .75 in the fourth, etc.) The maximum total DNA points a player can earn, including starting DNA and DNA earned during the stage, is 105 (you start with different amounts depending on what difficulty you chose). The Jaw, Filter Mouth, and Flagella parts are available immediately after you start, and some herbivores have two sets of eyes, making for an extra 5 DNA. Other abilities are unlocked through finding rare meteor shards, or killing enemies with the desired parts (a golden shield appears next to its name if they have a part you don't). The Cell stage is the only stage in which parts are stackable.

Mouths:


 * Jaw gives the microbe the ability to eat meat. Also does damage when used against living microbes. It can also eat eggs. Costs 15 DNA. Available at the beginning of the game.


 * Filter Mouth gives the microbe the ability to be herbivorous (eats green plants and eggs). Costs 15 DNA. Available at the beginning of the game.


 * Proboscis gives the microbe the ability to be omnivorous (eats green plants, eggs and other cells). Can be used to impale enemies and eat them alive, but can't be used to eat meat chunks or dead cells even if you break it with a spike. It will still break into meat chunks, but if you have the Jaw part it can be a useful addition to earn more DNA points. Costs 25 DNA and is first located during the third level. Available in level 3. Harvest from Nosey or Bloato.

Sight:

Eyes expand your cell's field of vision. Without eyes, your vision is reduced to a small area around you (which prevents you from noticing predators), so eyes are recommended. Each eye part costs 5 DNA points. Available at the beginning of the game.

The types of eyes are Beady Eye, Stalk Eye and Button Eye

It can be noted that on one starting cell, which has an extra eye, you can keep it from this stage and earn 5 DNA points in the Creature Stage.

Movement:


 * Flagella Flagella cost 15 DNA points. These are cheap options compared to Jets. Jets are twice as fast as Flagella, but the Flagella part offers smooth movement. Available at the beginning of the game.


 * Jet Jets cost 25 DNA points. These are twice as fast as Flagella or Cilia. It propels the cell forward in short bursts, as opposed to steady movement. Unlockable at level 2. Harvest from Booster, Nosey, Jetster, Paa, or Snorf.


 * Cilia Cilia cost 15 DNA points. They move at about the same speed as Flagella, but with these, you can turn quickly. It is recommended that you sell all of the Flagella and replace them with these. Unlocked at level 3. Harvest from Punky, Pinky, Stabbella and Bloato. Cilia also work in short bursts.

Weapons:


 * Spike gives the microbe the ability to directly attack by ramming. They are also useful for repelling attacks. When opposing spikes collide, neither inflicts damage. When spikes collide with jaws, the spike deals damage, and the jaw deals none.  A good idea is to attach 2 in the front for ramming, and others on the sides and rear to prevent attack. Costs 10 DNA and is first located in the middle of level 1. Harvest from Pokey, Spiked Shyster, Stabber, Stabbella, Jawhead, Needle Buzzy, Squiggly, Puffish, and Megamouth.


 * Poison allows microbes to leave poisonous trails as they move, devastating enemies caught inside it. The more poison sacs you have, the longer the trail becomes. Cells equipped with Poison can't be harmed by other cells also equipped with it. Costs 15 DNA and is first located in the middle of level 2. Harvest from Squirty and Puffish.


 * Electric periodically electrocutes all nearby enemies. There is a 5-10 second recharge rate, depending on how many Electric parts you have on your cell. Grants immunity to other electrical attacks. Costs 25 DNA and isn't encountered until the fourth level. Harvest from Buzzy or Needle Buzzy. Instead of keeping itself as a weapon, the electric power becomes a charm part in the creature stage

Hidden Parts
As you play through the cell stage, you may notice that some creatures have parts that cannot be collected. The only way to get them is to edit Spore's properties to make it launch the Advanced Cell Editor as soon as the game starts. 

Consequence Abilities
After completing the cell stage you are awarded one of three sets of consequence abilities for the future stages. Which set you are awarded depends on how you played the stage. The three are herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore.

General Strategies
These tactics are suitable for the lower difficulties. Tactics for Hard difficulty can be found in the next section.

Carnivore
To get the carnivore card you must be able to kill other organisms. To this end, your first cell part should in fact be the spike. Placing the spikes on either side of the mouth, so that they form a V, has two benefits: firstly, the spikes can be used to ram prey cells for consumption; and second, the spikes funnel meat chunks into your mouth so that you do not have to try as hard to grab every last bite. Purchasing a poison gland and electric part for immunity as well as attack methods is recommended. Where mobility is concerned, one Jet and one Cilia will usually suffice. This setup will allow you to make ramming attacks (the Jet's propulsion), while also having the turning ability provided by the Cilia so that you can better target creatures. Alternatively, you could use the proboscis strategy below, just be careful to avoid plants while attacking herbivores. Unless you want to go with an aggresive trait card in creature stage, it may be a good idea to add a proboscis or filter mouth before entering creature stage, and keep it. That way, you do not need to kill to eat.

Herbivore
As explained above, to gain the herbivore card you need to consume a signifigant amount of plant matter. Because plant matter does not fight back, nor does it move on its own (it only moves with the current), you do not require any weapons. A useful tactic is to add flagella until you reach a movement speed of 5. At this point you are as fast as you can go and thus can evade most predators and catch up with any moving plant matter. Extra points can be spent on a single poison gland and electric part to provide immunity to these weapons - alternatively you can simply avoid creatures that use these parts. Spikes for close defense are recommended but not necessary.

Omnivore
The easiest way to attain the Omnivore trait is probably to follow the Herbivore method above until the DNA bar reaches halfway. Then you can switch to the Carnivore method for the second half. This will earn you the Omnivore card without too much consideration. As for using the proboscis, it would be best to add as may jets as you can, and just one cilla. That way, you can charge and outrace prey, and get to plants faster.


 * Another way is to have both mouths on at the same time, but eating can be difficult. If you enlarge the head spinal bone to the largest size you can fit both mouthparts more easily.
 * Note that if you eat a lot of meat, but a small amount of plant matter, or vice versa, you may still get the Carnivore or Herbivore card.

Strategies for Hard Difficulty

 * Always start out as a herbivore with two sets of eyes. You can then sell the extra eye for 5 DNA, saving you several pieces of food you have to hunt for DNA points. You can always change to a carnivore mouth if you wish to stay as a carnivore.


 * When using a proboscis, you cannot eat the meat chunk pieces, but you can suck the life out of most creatures, and swallow seaweed chunks. Also the proboscis bypasses spike and jaw pieces because of it's animation, if you have trouble just make the proboscis bigger, and to counter a proboscis just buy a really long spike and the omnivore might run


 * When eating moving plants, try swimming to where the plant is going to go (especially when in a current).


 * Once you have the Proboscis (omnivore mouth), place it in the front and use some jets in the rear as the Nosey does. Once you choose a direction there will be no stopping you.


 * Attach Spikes on the front of your cell for ramming, and others on the side or rear to prevent attack.


 * A Spike going straight forward with mouths to either side of the Spikes can make it easier to stab other cells without making it much harder to eat. You can also have two spikes on each side of the mouth like a Pokey does to funnel food into it.


 * The size of your Spikes matter. Use the mouse scroll wheel to make them small so you can place them as close to where you want them as you do, then scroll them to the largest size possible. If a Spike is made the largest it can be on your tail will make it almost impossible for anything chasing you to get a bite in.


 * When being followed by a larger cell, try swimming between objects or around other peaceful cells. They may provide distractions.


 * If you're followed by a much larger creature that won't leave you alone, allow yourself to get bitten. It'll propel you forward so you can get away. However, an epic cell will kill you in one bite.


 * If you're desperate for escape, try using the mating call. Once you arrive in the editor, you're safe and will arrive in a different location.


 * Getting the Poison feature from the cell can be made easier if your cell has large Spikes. Of course, you could just search for a meteor bit, but it may be hard to find.


 * Poison and Electric abilities are more of a nuisance than anything - just use a lot of Spikes. Put only one set of poison to give you immunity (and shrink it if necessary to save space). When you're ready to evolve, put the Poison and Electric parts on so you'll be able to unlock more parts in that category later.


 * Remember: When you are about to evolve to the Creature Stage, it does not matter what mouth you choose in the Early Creature Editor, because you will not be that creature forever. Instead it depends on what card you will get.


 * You can stack parts on top of each other. If you want to be an omnivore you can simply place the carnivore and herbivore mouth on the front of the cell. Being an omnivore will increase the rate at which you evolve because you eat twice as much food as you would as a carnivore or herbivore.


 * Carnivores begin with a mouth that does damage. This gives them a weapon at the beginning of the stage. If you wish to be a herbivore, keep it and trade it in as soon as possible.


 * Electricity and Poison are good at killing Juniors at the end of the stage, which is useful for carnivores.


 * If you're aiming for a specific card, don't forget to check your timeline frequently (T is the hot-key).


 * Two mouths, each on opposite sides while still facing front can widen the eating range of food, requiring less precision to grab food chunks.


 * Mild specialization is recommended at the end of the stage (speed cell, defensive cell, offensive cell, etc.). Keep in mind that the complete abscence of offense or defensive parts will likely result in many deaths.


 * By the end of cell stage, you should be well defended enough that when small predators run into you, they will be killed by your array of weapons. After a while these predators will flee at the sight of your cell. This is good news if you are a herbivore, as you now have one less threat to your existance. If you are a carnivore, however, one of your food sources will be harder to catch.

Easy
In easy difficulty:
 * Omnivores are peaceful.
 * Carnivore attacks happen very rarely.
 * Predatory cells are rare.
 * Cells swim slower than usual.
 * Pokey is automatically killed by a Chomper, unlocking the Spike part.
 * Eggs in level 5 hatch slowly. Food heals 1/3 of health if damaged

Medium
In medium difficulty:
 * Omnivores are rowdy (attack if you attack and dont run away)
 * Carnivore attacks happen at a normal pace.
 * Predatory cells are just as common as other cells.
 * Cells swim normally.
 * Pokey automatically is killed by a Chomper, unlocking the Spike part.
 * Eggs in level 5 hatch normally, and this will be the first time you see epic cells.
 * Food heals around 2 health (3 pieces needed to heal from 1 health)

Hard
In hard difficulty:
 * Omnivores are aggressive.
 * Carnivore attacks happen constantly.
 * Predatory cells are more aggressive and are more common.
 * Cells swim normally. Pokey isn't automatically killed by a Chomper.
 * Goldies are found at the beginning of level 1.
 * Eggs in level 5 hatch more easily.
 * It is the second time you see epic cells.
 * Food doesn't heal as much damage, and the player's cell inflicts less damage.

Trivia

 * The fact that your cell comes from a meteor may be a reference to "The Blob."


 * The meteor shards throughout the stage may be a reference to the game, Spiderman, Friend or Foe.


 * It is possible to place the spike part in the mouth,though is very hard to do.It can be an advantage if put on an herbivore mouth,as it will give them a feel of using a carnivore cell.The only known mouths capable of doing are the herbivore, carnivore, and hidden mouths(carnivore being the easiest).


 * It is impossible to encounter other player-created cells during the Cell Stage without a mod.


 * The Cell stage is similar to one of Will Wright's favourite games, Pac-Man (In an analogue, fluid sort of way.)


 * This stage is similar to another game called flow And the I-pod game, Tasty Planet.


 * It can be compared to the Precambrian/Archean time on the real Earth.


 * There are two cells called Maa and Paa. The Maa cell releases eggs, which hatch into Junior cells. These cells resemble a "fusion" between Maa and Paa. This happens because Paa is the father and Maa is the mother.


 * If both carnivore and omnivore mouth parts are equipped, the cell has the widest choice of food. (Omnivores with a proboscis, but no jaw, cannot actually eat a cell. They just feed in a parasitic way off them. Omnivores with a jaw, but no proboscis, cannot feed parasitically off other cells. Omnivores with both can feed in a parasitic way off other cells, then eat the cells themselves for maximum food.)


 * Although the Cell Stage is the shortest stage, this stage takes up to billions of years to complete in game time, as it would in reality.


 * Strangely, herbivores can eat the eggs of other cells.


 * If you bump into a fellow Herbivore, it will mumble and glare at you.


 * There are several pre-made Herbivore cells that have an extra eye that you can sell for more DNA Points.


 * The colour of the water ranges from dark blue to light blue. However this does not make sense if the homeplanet actually has red or green water (As chosen when you pick a planet at the start of the game). In some versions of the game the water colors may vary around the end of the cell stage depending on your graphics settings.


 * This stage is clearly not on a cellular level, as the meat and plant chunks eaten by the cell would have to be formed of tissues made up by multiple cells.


 * If you start from this stage it is possible to have an omnivore with carnivore or herbivore mouthparts in the creature stage and beyond. When you get to the final creature design window before going onto the land, just keep the proboscis (or the opposite type of mouth) on your creature and never delete it again. You can hide it away inside the main mouth or make unique structures with it. For example, the filter feeder looks good as hair!

Developmental Commentaries

 * According to a 15 minute developer demo, "It basically trains you that the game is about creativity, about making your own stuff and getting used to the controls."


 * According to a GamingSteve thread, the cellular world is connected to the macroscopic world "in terms of changing your starting point when you enter the macroscopic evolution game".