Overview

In this stage, the player guides a cell of their new species through a top-down primordial ooze consisting of other cells, plants, bubbles, debris, various food particles, leftover bits of killed cells, and crystalline structures. The primary objective in this stage is to gradually grow their cell's size through consuming food sources surrounding it (that includes meat, plants, or even prey) and meeting a requirement to develop a brain and evolve to move onto land and begin the following stage, Creature Stage. It is the shortest stage in the game (averaging ~5-15 minutes depending on difficulty). It introduces central mechanics like evolution, eating, and interacting with other lifeforms.

Before starting into this stage, players have to decide if their cell's diet will be carnivorous or herbivorous, although the choice is not permanent and is mainly comes down to preference. Herbivorous cells (naturally possessing the Filter Mouth) eat little pieces of plant matter and then seaweed in later stages, while carnivorous cells have Jaws and will feast on meat particles and other cells. Being an omnivore is also possible when possessing both types of mouth or Proboscis mouth halfway through the stage. How many plants the player cell eats compared to how much meat it consumes determines the trait card at the end of the stage and in turn, what additional mouths are unlocked in the Creature Stage. Any consumption of food will affect the meter that vertically moves towards to that trait.

The player can encounter and interact with various types of cells with unique attributes and varying sizes in specific levels and appearances to react to anything enclose to them; some appear passive, skittish, and docile and some appear hostile and willing to assault those cells when in contact, influenced on the difficulty settings and cell's traits. As a carnivore, killing a cell by either biting it or using spikes will make that cell dissolve their body into 3 meat chunks to chomp on for DNA points that gives opportunity to spend on parts to give new abilities. Depending on what cell is killed, it may drop a unique part card that unlocks that new part. As the player's cell eats more, it will grow throughout the stage, making cells that were previously way larger than the player's the same size, before eventually shrinking to below the player's size and disappearing.

Plot

The game begins with a cinematic of a comet falling into a solar system, then 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 the player's cell swims out. As the player progress, they get both bigger and less transparent. After growing and zoom out, peer-size cells are now prey size. At the same time, larger cells from the background will enter the playing field.

Upon filling the progress bar, a cut scene will play detailing the player's cell developing a small brain; at this point, the player will be allowed to progress to the creature stage, where they are rewarded a Trait card for their efforts, which will then determine the creature's diet for the rest of the game, the player can then progress onto the Early Creature Creator. The Creature stage then begins with a short cut scene of a flock of the player's creatures emerging from the sea onto the land and scattering. The player's creature's starting appearance is based on what the player created in the Early Creature Creator, although it may be changed during the Creature Stage.

Progression

There are roughly 10 levels of development in the Cell Stage, but only five of these are actually denoted (by a vertical divider on the progress bar at the bottom of the screen) at which the player's cell experiences a growth spurt.

• Level 1
• Level 2
• Level 3
• Level 4
• Level 5

Level 1 begins with the player's cell swimming out of the comet fragment. The first objective is to eat 5 meat or plant food particles, depending on whether starting out as a carnivore or herbivore. The level introduces 2 cells such as a herbivorous cell called Minno, as well as a carnivorous cell called Goldy in hard difficulty that may attempt to attack. Soon after entering level 1.5, a Pokey cell will be killed by a Chomper, making the first collectible part appear: the spike that can be collected--this does not happen on hard difficulty though. This also won't happen when killing the Pokey and collecting the spike.

• Level 1/1 Cells: Minno, Goldy (hard difficulty only)
• Level 1/2 Cells: Minno, Goldy, Pokey, Chomper

Level 2 In this level, large green plants will start appearing for the first time. This level introduces new cells like Booster, that possesses Jet part, as well as at the middle of this level, Squirty appear with the poison part.

• Level 2/1 Cells: Chomper, Shyster, Spiked Shyster, Booster
• Level 2/2 Cells: Booster, Grubby, Squirty, Epic Stabber

Level 3 introduces new cells like Pinky or Punky that begin to appear with new unique part, Cilia, including Nosey which possesses Proboscis, the omnivore mouth. This level may also spawn meteors containing the Poison part.

• Level 3/1 Cells: Booster, Grubby, Squirty, Pinky, Punky, Nosey, Stabber, Epic Ducky
• Level 3/2 Cells: Pinky, Punky, Nosey, Stabber, Stabbella, Ducky, Epic Jawhead

Level 4 introduces Buzzy and Needle Buzzy that possesses the last unique part, Electric. This is the point where the player's cell becomes opaque.

• Level 4/1 Cells: Nosey, Stabbella, Ducky, Buzzy, Jawhead, Squiggly, Epic Puffish
• Level 4/2 Cells: Ducky, Buzzy, Jawhead, Squiggly, Needle Buzzy, Puffish, Epic Megamouth

Level 5 brings the player close to the Creature Stage, where it introduces peer-sized Paa and Maa cells that is the only cell to have ability laying eggs, providing as an alternative food source, but quickly hatch into Juniors. Couple of meteor bits appear than with other levels. There will no longer be any bigger cells in the background, with largest being predator-sized. In the first half of the level, Maas can eat plant rings whole, and Jetsters can zoom in and eat all the small chunks of plants before you can get to them.

• Level 5/1 Cells:Jawhead, Squiggly, Puffish, Junior, Jetster, Maa, Paa, Megamouth, Epic Snorf
• Level 5/2 Cells: Junior (two sizes), Jetster, Maa, Paa, Megamouth, Bloato, Snorf

Juniors in level 5/2 come in two sizes. The eggs that Juniors hatch from also come in two sizes. The smaller size only comes from inside dead Maas, explaining their rarity. In level 5/1, all Juniors are the same size, and dead predator-sized cells do not ever explode.

Missions

Missions are optional and appear throughout the Cell Stage. They can be found in the instructions in the top-left corner of the screen.

The first mission is simple; the player has to consume five pieces of food as soon as the cell emerges from the meteor. The second mission requires to collect all of the unlockable parts and doing those specified will award with the Completist achievement.

Damage and Health

All cells normally 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 inflict. An epic cell is nearly impossible to defeat without an Electric or Poison part, predator cells are also bigger than the player, but don't take up the whole screen by themselves. Peer cells are those that are close to the same size as them, 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 are the tiniest type of cells in the stage and are extremely fragile. They can be killed in one hit, so Junior swarms go from dangerous to nearly harmless when possessing the Poison part. They generally pose no threat.
• Peer cells are roughly the same size as the player's cell and can be attacked for 3 pieces of meat. They may pose a slight threat, but can be easily defended against, so long as it has sufficient defenses.
• Predator cells are larger than to some other cells around them. They are only invulnerable to harmful mouths, but they can be harmed and killed through spikes, electricity, poison, and very little with the proboscis. They can instantly devour any cells smaller than them except for the player cell. Most of these seem to drift while other cells accidentally swim into their mouths. Squiggly and Maa are the only herbivores that can be found in this group.
• Epic cells are the largest, hardiest, and rarest cells through the stage. They are nearly impossible to kill with one exceptional weakness that is electricity from Electric part, and, similarly to predator cells, are able to trap and chomp with mouths on any cell, including the player's cell. Some epic cells have their own quirks like Ducky's eyes can be poked and injured with Spike part in contact; blinding it if it's done to both eyes as a result and can be found in the background floating. All of the Epic cells, smallest to biggest are: Stabber, Ducky, Jawhead, Puffish, Megamouth and Snorf.

The player's inflicts different amounts of damage, which act in proportion to their damage ability and their target's size. Note that Poison and Electric parts do nothing to other cells with the same part.

Objects

• Small Green Plant Matter is encountered in every stage. 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 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 another cell, it explodes into 1 to 4 meat chunks. The size of the meat chunks increases as the player increases in level. 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 flip over. They need to be spiked or bitten to make them explode.
• 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.
• Bubbles float around in various sizes and can be popped. Larger bubbles need help from a spike.
• Currents 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. If you have the part, however, you become immune.
• Meteor Shards contain new cell 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. Even a blind and very weak herbivore can break them open.

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, Snorf, and Bloato. Your cell gradually increases in size as you progress through Cell Stage.

Parts/Abilities

Cells sometimes find meteor fragments which contain more cell 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. The Jaw, Filter Mouth, Flagella, and all eyes 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. This means that adding more of a certain part increases its effectiveness. This does not work for eyes or the turning ability from Cilia, and it does not exactly work for mouths and spikes, since their effect does not directly upgrade the more of them you have, but having more mouths helps you eat more food since you eat in a larger area, and having more spikes allows you to stab objects in more locations.

Mouths

• Jaw gives the cell the ability to eat meat. Does damage when used against living cells.
• Filter Mouth gives the cell the ability to be herbivorous (eats green plants). Strangely, herbivores can also eat Junior eggs.
• Proboscis gives the cell 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 they will not be edible.

Sight

Eyes expand your cell's field of vision. Without eyes, your vision is reduced to a small area around you (which makes it difficult to notice predators), so eyes are recommended. However, it is easier to notice meteors without eyes, since they are fully visible in the blackness. 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 certain starting herbivorous cells have an extra eye, which you can keep from this stage and earn 5 DNA points in the Creature Stage.

Movement

• Flagella Flagellas 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. It is a more cost-efficient way to build up your speed stat than stacking Flagella, since it provides 2 speed points for 25 DNA instead of 30, but Flagellas may still be preferable due to the smoother movement.
• Cilia Cilia cost 15 DNA points. They move at the same speed as Flagella, but with these, you can turn quickly. Unlocked at level 3. You can collect them from Punky, Pinky, Stabbella and Bloato. Cilia also work in short bursts. Since the turning ability does not stack, only one is necessary to get the maximum benefit.

Weapons

• Spike gives the cell 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. Collect from Pokey, Spiked Shyster, Stabber, Stabbella, Jawhead, Needle Buzzy, Squiggly, Puffish, and Megamouth.
• Poison allows cells to leave poisonous trails as they move, damaging others 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. If you spin your cell and you have poison, you will make a poison cloud around you. 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. This is the only Cell Stage weapon to be repurposed for socialization in Creature Stage, giving level 1 Charm.

Hidden Parts

As the cell stage unfolds, players may notice that some creatures have parts that cannot be collected; these are parts that were originally designed to be upgrades to the parts available, similar to parts in the Creature stage, but were cut from the final game for unknown reasons.

These parts cannot be obtained in game without modifying the game through third party software, however, one way to access them out of game is to edit Spore's properties to make it launch an "Advanced Cell Editor" as soon as the game starts. [1]

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. As their names suggest, they depend mostly on what you eat. For example, even if you kill many cells, you may still be a herbivore as long as you do not eat them.

The card received for playing the cell stage as a herbivore.

The card received for playing the cell stage as an omnivore.

The card received for playing the cell stage as a carnivore.

Strategies

Cell Behavior

Easy

In easy difficulty:

• Omnivores are peaceful.
• Carnivore attacks happen rarely.
• Predator 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.
• Maa does not lay eggs.
• Food heals 33% of health
• Your cell deals 3 damage per hit
• Epics are not present

Medium

In medium difficulty:

• Omnivores are neutral (attack only when attacked)
• Carnivore attacks happen at a normal pace.
• Predator cells are slightly more common.
• Cells swim normally.
• Pokey is automatically killed by a Chomper, unlocking the Spike part.
• Eggs in level 5 hatch normally
• Maa lays eggs.
• Food heals 1 HP
• Your cell deals 3 damage per hit
• Epics make their debut in this stage instead of Creature Stage

Hard

In hard difficulty:

• Omnivores are aggressive.
• Carnivore attacks happen constantly.
• Predator cells are more aggressive and more common than in normal difficulty.
• Cells swim normally.
• Pokey is not killed automatically.
• Goldies are found at the beginning of level 1 as predator size, which makes death at the very start of the stage possible.
• Eggs in level 5 hatch more quickly.
• Maa lays eggs more frequently.
• Food heals 1 HP
• Your cell deals 2 damage per hit
• Epics are present, more common, and more aggressive.

Trivia

• If you manage to kill a predator cell that has a new part, the part card will appear larger than normal.
• If you aim your mouse at another cell, you will see its name and health bar, like many other creations. If you check a pre-made cell of your species before naming it, its name will be displayed as the original pre-made cell's name. For example, if your cell was Ildeeni, its name will be displayed as "Ildeeni".
• The cell comes from a meteor references the popular theory of panspermia, or the belief that life on Earth originated from microorganisms that were deposited on Earth via meteor/comet impacts.
• 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.
  • It is possible to surround a mouth with two Spikes that face directly forward. This can be done by placing the Spike over the mouth as if you are going to replace it with the spike, then slowly dragging it out. There will be a sweet spot where the Spikes will face straight forward instead of out from body. This can make it more difficult to eat, but it makes for a very efficient weapon.
• 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 also similar to flow and Tasty Planet.
• This stage can be compared to the Precambrian to early Paleozoic era 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 mixture 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.)
• Ironically, despite being the shortest stage of the game in real time, this stage takes up to billions of years to complete in game time, as it would in reality. (2~3 Billion years if completed in 15-20 minutes or roughly 2.5 Millions in-game years a second)
  • This theme carries over to every stage afterward, with time flying by more slowly with each Stage (Creature Stage spanning tens to hundreds of millions of years, Tribal Stage spanning tens to hundreds of thousands of years with evolution being locked out on this stage and onward, Civilization Stage spanning centuries-millennia, and finally, Space Stage spanning hundreds of years).
• Strangely, herbivores can eat the eggs of other cells.
• If you bump into a fellow herbivore, it will mumble and glare at you.
• When predatory cells decide to attack you, they will emit the growling visual effect (orange lightning bolts), and music will play indicating their aggression, similarly to drums playing when your creature is being targeted in the Creature Stage.
• There are some pre-made Herbivore cells that have an extra eye that you can sell for 5 extra DNA Points.
• The color of the water is always blue, which does not make sense if the Homeworld has water that is not blue (As chosen when you pick a planet at the start of the game). In some versions of the game the water color may vary around the end of the cell stage depending on your graphics settings.
• Due to the complexity of the cells' eyes, the cell stage may feature multicellular organisms rather than single-celled ones. The cells may be similar to zooplankton, as all of them eat other organisms (such as plants, meat or other cells) to survive.
  • At some point, cells are no longer translucent, implying that they may become multicellular. By the end of the stage, the cell has developed a complex brain, indicating it is definitely multicellular.
• 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 proboscis can be used as horns if you get the herbivore or carnivore card but still want to eat the other type of food.
• At the final level of the cell stage the water color turns a murky orange, resembling a beach which is where you go when you finish the stage.

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".

See also

• Cell stage achievements
• List of all creatures encountered in Cell stage
• Cell stage images
• Flow - a game which is similar to the Cell stage.
• Cell Editor

External links

• Spore.com The official Spore site by EA.