Microbe Stage

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Stage Details
Gameplay Type	2D
Previous Stage	None
Next Stage	Multicellular Stage
Editors	Microbe Editor
Internal Name	microbe_stage

Previous stage: No earlier stages.

Next stage: Multicellular Stage

The Microbe Stage is the first stage of the game. The stage begins with the first species to exist in the world, fresh from the primordial origins of life exploring the nutrient-rich Pangonian Vents. It is here that the player assumes the role of a tiny prokaryotic blob of cytoplasm, one of a few individuals of their species. At this point, the player must rely entirely on finding loose glucose to survive as they do not yet possess ways to process other nutrients and seek out phosphates and ammonia to grow bigger in preparation for reproduction. Once the player has reached a sufficient size they will be capable of reproducing, which will bring the player to the microbe editor should they choose to do so. As the game continues, the player will steadily adapt their cell to better survive in a world that grows gradually harsher each generation, and compete with new species that have arisen from the player's own.

Gameplay

The player at the start of a new game.

The Microbe Stage takes place in a 3D environment viewed from a 2D perspective, as if being viewed from a microscope. Here, the player must steer their cell into brightly colored compound clouds to sustain and grow their cell until they can reproduce. At the beginning of the game there will be no predators, the only dangers being starvation and the occasional toxin. However, as the player reproduces, new competing species will branch away from the player's species and steadily become an increasingly dangerous obstacle for the player to overcome. While at first the player is a tiny cell only capable of consuming glucose ammonia and phosphates, the player will be able to adapt their cell in any way they choose after every reproduction, granting the player new abilities and options as time goes on. This comes at a cost however, as the player cell becomes larger and more complex, it will require more food to sustain. The player must take care to ensure that their cell is always sustainable or they will quickly starve. Additionally, species that arise from your own will inherit your adaptations, so the player must be cautious of how soon they develop things such as weaponry.

Controls

Movement

The Microbe Stage is played using the keyboard and mouse. The cell always faces the mouse cursor's position, while the WASD keys will propel the cell in a direction relative to the cursor's position. For example, pressing the W key will make the cell travel forward towards the mouse cursor. Whereas pressing the S key will make the cell travel backwards away from the mouse cursor. These controls allow the player to strategically move their cell to dodge toxin projectiles or position themselves to catch as many prey cells as they can. The mouse is also used to interact with the various UI elements on the screen.

Misc.

Pressing the G key will enable Engulfment Mode. In this mode, the cell will begin flashing with a blue overlay and damage any cells smaller than them they come into contact with. All cells have this ability, regardless of adaptations so it would be wise to avoid approaching larger cells if the player does not have any defenses.

Pressing the E key will expel a toxin projectile from your cell, should your cell possess toxin generating parts.

Using the mouse wheel, the player can adjust their field of view. This is very useful for navigating the environment around them or taking a close look at their cell.

Pressing X will enable auto-move, causing the player to move forward automatically. This frees the player from continuously holding down the movement keys when they do not have a need for fine control. The player can still steer using the mouse while in this state, and can cancel auto-move at any time by pressing any movement key.

Environment

Physical Conditions

These are unique parameters that relate to the climate of the current patch and act as a passive effect on the cells.

• Temperature: The measure of heat in the current environment. Temperature currently has no direct effect on cells, but is needed to generate energy using thermoplasts.

• Pressure: The amount of crushing force in the environment due to depth. Pressure currently has no effect in the game.

• Lux: The amount of light reaching the environment. Lux is vital for photosynthesis to function, so photosynthesizers should make sure that the environment they inhabit has enough light to support them. 50% lux and above makes for a perfectly suitable home for photosynthesizers.

Atmospheric Gasses

These are gasses that are present within a patch and do not have a physical presence in the game world. These elements act as a passive effect on various processes of the cell and can be required for certain proteins and organelles to function.

• Oxygen: An important gas for aerobic respiration, oxygen is used by parts such as metabolosomes to perform their purposes. The more oxygen that is present in a patch, the better these parts will perform. Currently, oxygen has no other effect on cells and is at a constant 21% concentration in all patches.

• Nitrogen: A gas used by cells for nitrogen fixation in the synthesis of ammonia. Nitrogen currently has no other effect on cells and is at a constant 70% concentration in all patches.

• Carbon Dioxide: An important gas for chemosynthesis and photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is currently at a constant 9% concentration in all patches.

Compounds

There are several compounds present in the Microbe Stage. Below is a list of all compounds and their uses.

• Glucose: Primary ATP storage for cells, and initial source of food for the player. Glucose is consumed by several organelles and proteins to produce ATP, the most notable being the metabolosomes and mitochondria as they are specifically used for glucose. When the player dies they will respawn with a reserve of glucose within their cell, allowing them to readily resume gameplay without fear of starvation. The player must take care should they rely on the readily available glucose found in the environment, as every generation the global glucose amounts decrease by 80%. Glucose clouds are white in color.

• Ammonia: Vital compounds required for reproduction. Ammonia is used to grow and copy the proteins and organelles within the cell and can be found readily throughout the environment. Parts such as the nitrogenase and nitroplast can produce ammonia from ATP and nitrogen, saving the player from having to actively seek it out in the environment to reproduce. Ammonia clouds are orange in color.

• Phosphate: Identical in purpose to ammonia, phosphate is a requirement for reproduction. Unlike ammonia, however, there are no methods of synthesizing phosphate so it can only be found in the environment or from predation. Phosphate clouds are purple in color.

• Hydrogen Sulfide: An alternative source of glucose for cells, that can be found in high quantities in a select few patches. Should a player intend to use hydrogen sulfide for energy, they must take care to ensure that the patch they inhabit contains the compound. Hydrogen sulfide is only usable if the player possesses chemosynthesizing proteins, otherwise the player cannot take in the compound, and any already stored within the cell will be quickly expelled.
• Iron: Another alternative source of ATP, iron is a relatively uncommon resource found in almost, but not all, patches in the world. Unlike any other compound, iron can not only be found in clouds but also as variably sized chunks that trail iron clouds as they drift. Iron can only be used by a cell if it possesses rustycyanin. Iron clouds appear brown in color. The chunks themselves can be engulfed for a significant source of iron.

Editor

The player cell upon first entering the editor.

The editor is the strategic side of the microbial stage and is accessed whenever the player reproduces. It is in this editor that the player is allowed to evolve their species by placing parts from a list of available proteins or organelles onto their cell. Each generation, the player is given 100 Mutation points or MP that is used as a currency to buy these parts. The editor is currently divided into three different windows; The report page, the patch map, and finally the editor itself.

Report

The report menu is the first page the player will see upon entering the editor. This page describes all environmental changes that had taken place before entering the editor such as changes in species population, compound concentration, and etc. The information provided in the report can be helpful, but is not a necessity for performing well in the game, so players need not concern themselves with analyzing its contents.

Patch Map

The second page a player will visit is the patch map. This menu displays what is essentially the world map, with patches representing biomes the player can visit interconnected by lines that represent traversable paths. The player can select each visible patch to display the environmental statistics of that biome, such as compound concentration, species present, and so on. Should the selected patch be connected to the player's occupied patch via a path, the player will be able to choose to play in the selected patch upon leaving the editor. Players who intend to move to new environments should take care and inspect a patch before moving to it to ensure they are prepared for what is to come.

Patches

Below is a complete list of the various patch varieties currently in the game.

• Abyssopelagic
• Bathypelagic
• Mesopelagic
• Epipelagic
• Sea Floor
• Tidepool
• Estuary
• vents
• Coast
• Ice Shelf
• Caves

Biomes

Main Article: Microbe Biomes

Each patch represents a certain biome. The biome defines the physical properties of that patch, such as the temperature, pressure, and light levels.

Cell editor

The editor page is where the player will be able to customize their cell part by part. The majority of the editor is taken up by a hex field where the cell parts are placed, with the center being occupied by the player's current cell. To the left of this large space is the part list where the player will select parts to place on their cell, or otherwise change its qualities such as color or membrane type. The top right space is occupied by the organism statistics describing what the cell is capable of, as well as including the ATP balance bar which informs the player on the amount of ATP they produce versus how much they consume. The player should always make sure that the red bar is shorter than the green bar, or else they will meet an untimely demise of their own creation. In the bottom right, players will find the autoevo prediction screen which details how well their species is expected to perform with the changes they make according to the autoevo algorithm. Finally, the top left of the editor contains the tabs used to navigate between the previous pages, as well as the MP bar that displays the player's current bank of MP.

The player is able to place new parts or hexes adjacent to any preexisting occupied hex, or atop a cytoplasm hex to replace it with a new part. Should the player desire to, they can delete parts of their cell by right-clicking placed parts at a cost of 10 MP per deletion. Alternatively, the player can use the arrow buttons located at the bottom of the editor screen to undo or redo previous actions, however this functionality will only work on changes made in the current editor section. The button in the middle of the arrow buttons is the symmetry key, which when clicked will change the player's current symmetry mode. All parts can be deleted except for three exceptions, the nucleus, binding agents, and the last hex of the cell. These parts can still be moved however, so don't stress if you don't like it's current position!

The cell editor contains three different tabs, each with a unique function.

Structure

The structure tab contains all of the parts the player can choose from such as proteins, organelles, and extracellular structures like the pili. The player must click on their desired part icon to select it, and then click where they want to place it within the hex field to add the part to their organism. The structure tab is divided into three categories; prokaryotic structures, external organelles, and internal organelles. Internal organelles in particular cannot be used by the player until they have evolved the nucleus. The player can also freely modify, delete, or otherwise relocate placed parts while in the structure tab.

Membrane

The membrane tab contains options for customizing the cell's membrane. Here, the player is presented with a list of buttons representing various membrane and cell wall varieties, each with unique stats and abilities. In order to select a membrane type, the player need only ensure they have enough MP and click the desired type. The player is also granted a slider that adjusts fluidity and rigidity at the cost of 2 MP per change. The more fluid a cell is the faster and fragile it is, while rigid cells are durable but slow. At the bottom of the membrane tab is the color wheel, which allows the player to choose which color their cell will be. This feature is entirely cosmetic and does not cost any MP to change.

Behavior

The behavior tab presents the player with a list of behavioral scales and sliders to adjust them with. Adjusting these sliders allows the player to control how their species AI responds to the world around them, but currently does not effect the player themselves. Each slider represents two extremes of a personality scale, the position of which determining how far a species leans in either attitude.

The current personality scales are;

• Peaceful/Aggressive: Determining how hostile or ambivalent a species is towards other species.
• Cautious/Opportunistic: Determining how willing a species is to endanger themselves for potential gain.
• Brave/Fearful: Determining how willing a species is to flee from perceived threats, and how threatening they need to be.
• Sessile/Active: Determining how willing a species is to move, if at all, without stimulus.
• Responsive/Focused: Determining how quickly a species gives up pursuing a goal, if ever.

GDD

There is a separate game design document for the microbe stage that goes into more details: Microbe Stage GDD

Appendices

There are some tables and other things collected in the Microbe Stage Appendices