Working through upgrades, I have found external parts to be the easiest to navigate through. Internal parts are a bit difficult to work with because they represent processes, but more scientific research about variations in metabolic strategy can offer interesting alternatives. I think ultimately, editing metabolic processes would represent different niches, while external part upgrades will largely represent different abilities and powers for the player to use. I think we should consider a larger discussion about the controls players will have over metabolism before we dive very deeply into various parts.
Here are some external part upgrade proposals. Note that I didn’t come up with the majority of these, I just compiled previous discussions and added a few bits of commentary or a few new proposals.
Also note: (V) indicates a variant, while (M) indicates a modification.
Oxy-Toxy
Structural
- Increased Production (M) – Increases the rate of oxy-toxy generation, but increases the ATP costs attached.
- Potency v. Rate of Fire (M) – Choose between a slow-firing and expensive but destructive burst of toxicity or a rapid-firing and cheap but less damaging toxin projectile.
Toxicity
This will be a drop-down menu with choices.
- Damage – The default toxin, inflicts max damage.
- Damage Per Second – Inflicts less damage over a large amount of time.
- Disable Movement Parts – Disables Cilia and Flagella for a duration of time.
- Obscure Vision – Darkens the vision of cells. For AI cells, slows them down slightly and reduces the propensity to flee or attack.
Flagella
Structural
- Fast-Twitch (M) – Increases max speed, but increases ATP consumption.
- Thickness as Max-Speed v. Current Resistance (M) – Less thick flagella are more quick, but are weaker against currents. Thicker flagella are less quick, but are resilient to currents.
- Length as Short, Rapid Sprint v. Long, Paced Sprint (M) – Longer flagella makes sprint speed faster, but lasts much shorter. Shorter flagella makes sprint speed slower, but stamina much longer.
Pilus
Structural
- Length as Damage Range v. Damage (M) – Shorter pilus inflict more damage but at a shorter range. Longer pilus inflict less damage but at a longer range.
- Thickness as Damage v . Mass (M) – Thinner pilus inflict less damage but slow down cells much less, while thicker pilus inflicts more damage but slow down the cell more.
- Straw Pilus (V) – Less damage, but hostile resource transfer occurs. Goes through most armor.
- Toxic Pilus (V) – Less damage, but toxin transfer occurs. Goes through most armor.
Slime
Structural
- Increased Production (M) – Increases the rate of slime generation, but increases the cost on glucose.
- Force v. Amount Expelled (M) – Increases the speed gain from expelling slime, but requires much more slimeto be expelled at a time.
- Mucocyst (V) – A shield ability. When toggled, instead of expelling gel, the cell casts a hardened casing which completely negates engulfment and damage. However. Players are immobilized, and processes are paused. Has a minute cooldown.
Chemoreceptor
Structural
- Cell-Tracing (V) – Can trace cells, but not compounds.
- Max Range v. Minimum Amount (M) – A greater detection range allows players to trace compounds across greater distances, but requires a greater concentration of compounds to be detected. A smaller detection range doesn’t give players the same vision over distance, but allows the detection of more minimal amounts of compounds.