# Beginning Concepts on The Multicellular Stage
**URL:** https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/beginning-concepts-on-the-multicellular-stage/1171
**Category:** Gameplay
**Created:** [June 10, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/beginning-concepts-on-the-multicellular-stage/1171 "2025-06-10T19:40:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@Rathalos](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Rathalos)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2026, 8:23am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/beginning-concepts-on-the-multicellular-stage/1171/42 "2026-02-18T08:23:06Z")
Great! I hope it will do a lot to start making the stage feel distinct.
> [@hhyyrylainen](#):
>
> - Update the microbe editor for multicellular mode to show a new specialization stat
I’ve said it before, but just in case this would make it easier: I think it would not be bad if this applied to the Microbe Stage as well. It could be a mild incentive to specialise your species, before you unlock the ability to “cheat the system” in multicellular.
> [@hhyyrylainen](#):
>
> - a count of the most common organelle
> - Create a calculation code for getting the specialization factor from a given list of organelles
If I understand you correctly, just looking at the count of the most common organelle _is_ a version I considered, but I _suspect_ it will lead to strange break-point issues when the scale tips towards another organelle being slightly more common. Which is why I eventually [settled](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/cell-specialisation-concept-and-bonus-list/1227) on a version where a specialisation value is calculated and applied for _every_ organelle type simultaneously.
You’re certainly welcome to try though! It’s absolutely more clear to just show one number in the editor.
(One additional variant could be to do a type of reverse-variety calculation to determine a single modifier bonus, and then apply it to _all_ processes in the cell. That still encourages specialisation (lowering variety) and shows a single number in the editor. But of course, you lose the link between abundance of a specific organelle and its own bonus.)
> [@hhyyrylainen](#):
>
> If I understood right, the specialization is wanted to just be a multiplier on the overall bioprocess speed.
Yes, for process parts that’s exactly what it should do.
I would certainly also like a specialisation system to apply to other cell parts like flagella and cilia. But processes are a good start and will be a good influence even if the non-process parts can never be included.
> [@hhyyrylainen](#):
>
> - Hook up the process system to use that and the multicellular cell spawning to correctly read and apply the bonus from the species for a spawned cell
Out of curiosity: why does the (multicellular) species hold the information of the bonus to be applied to a specific cell type? From what I understand of the code structure, I would expect that to be internal to the cell type, and only need to move from that level to the multicelllar, not the other way around?
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### Author:  [@hhyyrylainen](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/hhyyrylainen)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2026, 8:35am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/beginning-concepts-on-the-multicellular-stage/1171/43 "2026-02-18T08:35:26Z")
> [@Rathalos](#):
>
> I’ve said it before, but just in case this would make it easier: I think it would not be bad if this applied to the Microbe Stage as well. It could be a mild incentive to specialise your species, before you unlock the ability to “cheat the system” in multicellular.
I suppose it could also be left enabled for the microbe stage.
> [@Rathalos](#):
>
> If I understand you correctly, just looking at the count of the most common organelle _is_ a version I considered, but I _suspect_ it will lead to strange break-point issues when the scale tips towards another organelle being slightly more common. Which is why I eventually [settled](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/cell-specialisation-concept-and-bonus-list/1227) on a version where a specialisation value is calculated and applied for _every_ organelle type simultaneously.
>
> You’re certainly welcome to try though! It’s absolutely more clear to just show one number in the editor.
How?
If there is a separate efficiency value for each organelle type that is going to be a much more nightmare scenario for the efficiency as it’s going to be multiple times less efficient and more complex to code to track efficiency separately for each organelle type.
> [@Rathalos](#):
>
> (One additional variant could be to do a type of reverse-variety calculation to determine a single modifier bonus, and then apply it to _all_ processes in the cell. That still encourages specialisation (lowering variety) and shows a single number in the editor. But of course, you lose the link between abundance of a specific organelle and its own bonus.)
This is exactly what I planned, just a flat percentage bonus that there is one of per cell type. That way it is super simple to store in the game data and to apply.
> [@Rathalos](#):
>
> Out of curiosity: why does the (multicellular) species hold the information of the bonus to be applied to a specific cell type? From what I understand of the code structure, I would expect that to be internal to the cell type, and only need to move from that level to the multicelllar, not the other way around?
I suppose if it also wants to apply to the microbe stage, then storing the info on the cell type would make sense. I originally specified it to be on the species because derived statistics can be calculated in `Species.OnUpdated` callback, but cell types do not have that separately. So we need slightly more convoluted logic to make every species class remember to update its cell types’ derived statistics if I add the specialization factor into there.
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### Author:  [@hhyyrylainen](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/hhyyrylainen)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2026, 9:27am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/beginning-concepts-on-the-multicellular-stage/1171/44 "2026-02-18T09:27:27Z")
Slight thought update: if instead of having this calculated as a bonus, it is calculated as a free “phantom” organelles, then it would be relatively simple to inject the bonus per organelle type in the active process calculation place. And then actually just the GUI would need updating to show the bonuses in actuality.
Though, I’d need to investigate this approach to make sure there’s no unintended place where like an organelle count or active process list with partial organelles would be calculated.
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### Author:  [@Rathalos](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/Rathalos)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2026, 9:38am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/beginning-concepts-on-the-multicellular-stage/1171/45 "2026-02-18T09:38:57Z")
> [@hhyyrylainen](#):
>
> How?
>
> If there is a separate efficiency value for each organelle type that is going to be a much more nightmare scenario for the efficiency as it’s going to be multiple times less efficient and more complex to code to track efficiency separately for each organelle type.
Alright, that’s another good reason to go with just one value.
> [@hhyyrylainen](#):
>
> This is exactly what I planned, just a flat percentage bonus that there is one of per cell type. That way it is super simple to store in the game data and to apply.
If I understand you correctly then this is slightly different from the initial concept I think, but I have no problem with this functionality.
> [@hhyyrylainen](#):
>
> Slight thought update: if instead of having this calculated as a bonus, it is calculated as a free “phantom” organelles, then it would be relatively simple to inject the bonus per organelle type in the active process calculation place. And then actually just the GUI would need updating to show the bonuses in actuality.
>
> Though, I’d need to investigate this approach to make sure there’s no unintended place where like an organelle count or active process list with partial organelles would be calculated.
And then this would preserve having different magnitude bonuses per organelle type instead of just one uniform bonus? Could be worth to try, if you feel that investigation won’t cost an inordinate amount of time.
* * *
Another thought occurs: one of our concepts for cell adjacency is “Based on their own cell specialisation factor, cells boost the specialisation factor effect in adjacent similarly specialised cells.”
So if that’s an option we want to keep open, it’s worth considering what architecture of spell specialisation effect is easiest to connect to that.
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### Author:  [@hhyyrylainen](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/u/hhyyrylainen)
#### Post date: [February 18, 2026, 9:44am UTC](https://forum.revolutionarygamesstudio.com/t/beginning-concepts-on-the-multicellular-stage/1171/46 "2026-02-18T09:44:26Z")
> [@Rathalos](#):
>
> And then this would preserve having different magnitude bonuses per organelle type instead of just one uniform bonus?
Yes, each organelle type could have its own “speed bonus” (it would really be a phantom organelle like you’d have 2 fermentation processes but due to efficiency we would calculate as if it was 2.3 for example).
> [@Rathalos](#):
>
> Another thought occurs: one of our concepts for cell adjacency is “Based on their own cell specialisation factor, cells boost the specialisation factor effect in adjacent similarly specialised cells.”
This is a very good point. And would basically totally destroy the process-adjusting method.
And I think that was actually even may be a bigger point about the specialization system?
So that would certainly hint towards needing the first one flat bonus multiplier per cell type approach.
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