Ah, I see I misunderstood the first image, I thought was already the first round of cells being added.
The main point I was trying to bring across is that the mutation strategies you proposed so far only add cells to the organism in different patterns (and differentiate to create new cell types to place). I do think it would be good to also have a chance to replace some already existing cells with a different type, or delete existing cells.
I wouldn’t count on the Stage transition requirement being a 5 cell colony staying long-term. I think there’s enough thoughts going around that it’s a bit odd that you can immediately transition the generation that you place binding agents.So I don’t think we should feel “shackled” by that number when deciding what “starting blobs” should look like.
I like the idea of starting off with different blob shapes. In the concept thread I suggested having shapes based on the cell membrane type, but something more random could also work. I think this would not just differentiate between worlds, but also between independent multicellular lineages on the same world.
I would also have the million years between editor cycles decrease with each stage accordingly just for the extra bit of accuracy.
Yes, I think this should just go hand in hand with editor frequency changes.