Cell Stage



The first stage in Spore is the Cell or Tide Pool stage. In this stage, the player guides a cell of their new species through a 2D primordial ooze consisting of other organisms, 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 become large enough 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, and fragments land in the ocean. A fragment of the comet breaks open, and a small cell emerges into the ocean.

Before the stage starts, players can decide if their microbe will be a Carnivore or a Herbivore, though the choice is not final. Herbivore microbes eat little green plankton and then seaweed in later stages. Even carnivorous microbes don't have to kill other microbes to eat; they can eat little red meat leftovers from larger predator feasts. Microbes become bigger in the process of consuming food. Omnivores can eat both types of food available in the game.

As you progress and get bigger and less transparent, 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 crawling out of the meteorite. Your job here 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.


 * 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. Soon after entering this stage, except on hard, a Pokey will be killed by a, making your first collectible part appear: the Spike. Swim over it to collect it. 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.


 * Level 3 is when the Cilia part becomes available. Kill a Pinky or Punky to unlock one. Kill a Nosey for the Proboscis.




 * 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 or epic cells, as you are the massive cell now.



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 and 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.

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 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.


 * 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.


 * 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. They can kill you in one hit and so are very dangerous.

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 centerpiece, 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 simple mealmaking.


 * 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 always explode right away; sometimes they skid to a halt and need to be examined.


 * 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 claming 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.]]

Parts/Abilities
Microbes sometimes find yellow shields which give the player more microbe parts, and consequently more abilities. 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 35). 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.


 * NOTICE- Sometimes if you have the proboscis mouth and you eat nothing but plants, the only kind of mouth you get in the creature stage is a herbivore mouth (and vice-versa), so try to balance it out!

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. Speed is not as smooth as the Flagella, however. 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 recommenced that you sell all of the Flagella and replace them with these. Unlocked at level 3. Harvest from Punky, Pinky, and Bloato.

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, Stabella, 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 Sacs you have. 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 become 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 unlocked, however, it is possible to unlock four more pages of extra parts to use! Unlike the Flora editor, it is possible to use these creatures in your game without it crashing or freezing. One example is that you can see fish-like cells with extra parts like the fin. This fish appears in the water as fish or hanging in the fishing spear shed in the tribal stage. These cells are only to be seen when is zoomed in.

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.

Strategies for Hard Difficulty

 * Always start out as an 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.


 * Although it costs more DNA, having a carnivore and herbivore mouth is less clumsy than a proboscis, and gives a wider meal selection.


 * 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. A max-sized Spike 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.

Cell Behavior in Difficulty Levels
Easy: 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.

Medium: Omnivores are rowdy. 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.

Hard: Omnivores are aggressive. Carnivore attacks happen very quickly. 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.

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".

Trivia

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


 * This stage is similar to another game called flow.


 * It can be compared to the Precambrian/Archean time in 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.


 * Herbivores, strangely can eat the eggs of other cells.


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


 * There is one pre-made Herbivore cell that has an extra eye that you can sell for more DNA Points.