Spore Creature Phase Walkthrough Guide

This a walkthrough guide to the Creature phase of Spore.

First steps

The objective of the creature phase is for your species to gain enough DNA to evolve a sentient brain. To achieve this, much like the cell phase, you will have to pick a playing style; do you wish to extinct all other species in order to advance, or befriend them? Perhaps a mix of both? This stage is more complicated than the one preceding it, and is also much larger. You have the entire continent to explore, with many other player-created species to encounter, and lots of new parts to be found. As you progress through the stage, you will also gain the ability to have a pack of creatures follow you around, aiding you in your adventures. Remember, the path you select now will once again affect your species through the ages, so choose wisely!

Feeding

Feeding is still an important part of this phase, though for different reasons. Rather than for gaining DNA, you now eat simply to replenish your creatures hunger bar (bottom right hand corner) in order to avoid starving to death. Food is also used to replenish your creature’s health after being involved in fights, although retreating to a friendly nest also works. Your diet will have been chosen by the path your creature took in the last phase. If you took the herbivore route, you will be given access to herbivore mouth types, and be able to eat fruit. Fruit is orange, and found either on the floor, or growing on plants or trees (see right).


Alternatively, if you chose to follow the carnivore path, you will have to eat the carcasses of dead creatures that you (or others) have killed (see right). Omnivores will be able to do both, although they will need comparatively more food than the others in order to achieve the same effect. You will now also only be able to select mouths relating to your chosen path, so omnivores will only be able to find omnivore mouths, predators will only be able to found predator mouths, etc. This is a prime example of how your choices in previous stages will affect you later on, so be wary.


Alignment and DNA

The paths open for your creature in this stage are achieved in different ways than when you were a cell, and have different names, but the basic idea remains the same. To follow the green path, you must be Social, to follow the red path you must be a Predator, and to follow the blue path you need to be Adaptable (and do a mix of both). However, in this stage your characters alignment will not start in the centre, but from whatever path you followed in the last stage. This means that you will have to work harder to achieve the opposite alignment.

To view your alignment, simply press the blue history button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, just like the last stage.

DNA is gained in this stage in a very different way to the last. In this stage, you must either wipe out other species or impress them enough so that they ally with you to gain DNA, which will help you to evolve a better brain. You can also gain more DNA for other things, such as migrating to a new nest once the time comes, or impressing/killing Rouge creatures that can be found wandering around (more information about them can be found in another section.)

Social
In order to be a social creature and gain DNA, you must impress (befriend) other species so that they ally with you. This is a slightly complicated process to begin with, but is easy to get the hang of fairly quickly.

Impressing other creatures

To impress, your creature will need to be able to perform 4 separate moves; Sing, Dance, Charm and Pose. These abilities can be gained from parts available at the beginning of the stage. There are also different levels for these parts, like there are for others. They are rated on a level from 1-5, with 5 being the most effective, and 1 being the least effective. As the stage progresses you will want to periodically upgrade these parts, in order to impress all the creatures you will come across. This is because some will be harder to impress than others, but will give a larger amount of DNA as a result.

To impress other creatures, you must watch what moves they perform, and copy them as quickly as possible. This will cause the bar at the top of the screen to fill up from your side. The more effective your parts are, the more of your side (the left) will fill up for each move, and the more effective theirs are, the more of their side (the right) will fill up. If you perform the wrong move, your bar will fill up considerably less than if you had copied correctly. If your bar fills up to meet theirs halfway or more, you will have succeeded in impressing them, but if you fill it up less you will have failed.

Here is a short step-by-step guide to impressing:

1. Switch your stance (the two buttons in the bottom-middle of your screen) to Social, and click on a member of the species you want to impress. Once you creature has walked up to them, a bar will appear at the top of the screen. This will show how you are progressing in your attempt to impress them.
2. Wait for them to perform a move. Once they have, you must respond by pressing the move (or corresponding number) that matches theirs. These buttons can be found just underneath the Social stance button.
3. Repeat until your bar fills up to meet theirs halfway or more.

If you find it is impossible to impress a certain species, even if you perform perfectly, then it simply means you need to find higher level parts for one (or more) of the impressing skills.

You will also find it is easier to impress Baby creatures and harder to impress Alpha creatures (however, you will gain an extra part if you manage this). Also, it gets easier to impress other creatures as your pack increases in size, as they will copy your moves (even if they are wrong!). However, later in the game other creatures will also gain a pack, making it more difficult to impress them.

Predator
Becoming a predator is much simpler than becoming a social creature. To gain DNA points as a predator, you must simply hunt and kill a certain number of creatures from a chosen species. Attacking other creatures uses four abilities; Bite, Strike, Charge and Spit. You can gain these abilities through different parts you will find scattered around. These are once again rated from levels 1-5, with 5 inflicting the most damage and 1 the least. All of these abilities damage an enemy’s health bar, but in slightly different ways from each other. Bite and Strike are very similar to each other, whereas Charge moves you quickly towards the enemy, providing there is certain distance between you and it, inflicting a small amount of damage to them in the process. Spit does less damage than Bite or Strike, but does it from a distance, meaning that you can hit your enemy without them being able to hit you back. To use these abilities, simply switch to Combat stance and you will have a bar appear underneath with your options displayed.

It is best to use all of these abilities together, rather than focussing on just one, as each move takes a small amount of time to recharge. This means that using each attack after each other means you will constantly be inflicting damage on your enemy, without having to wait. Remember also that health plays a significant part in attacking; having good health upgrades will give your creature a better chance of surviving any fights you might get it into.

Something worth pointing out is that while in Combat stance, it is possible to break any eggs you may find in the nests of creatures you are attacking. Destroying these will give you 25 DNA extra to whatever you get for eradicating the species, making it well worth doing if you can find any.

Adaptable

To become an Adaptable creature in Spore, the goal is simply to toe the middle line. This means using both a mix of impressing and attacking. Make sure to frequently check your history and current alignment (the blue button at the left hand corner of your screen) to confirm that you aren't slipping too far one way or another. It is probably hardest to try an become Adaptable, as it means you really have to think about the actions you take, and means you have to be good at both impressing and attacking, rather than just one or the other. Still, it shouldn't be much of a difficulty as long as you take care.

Evolving a better brain

As you progress through the Creature phase, your creature will collect DNA. Collecting DNA will allow you to buy more parts, and will also move you along the path to sentience. Each time you gain a certain amount of DNA, your creature will evolve a bigger brain, allowing you to have another pack member follow you around. Gaining a pack member is very useful, as they will help you in both your attempts to impress other creatures, and attack them. Each time your creatures brain increases a level, you will gain a greater maximum health. Eventually, when your creature reaches the last brain level, it will become Sentient, and start a tribe, leading you onto the Tribal stage. You can view how your creature is progressing through the blue bar found at the bottom of the screen.

Parts and Creature creator

Parts in the Creature phase are found in a slightly different way to the Cell phase. In this stage, parts are contained within glowing skeletons on the ground (see right), which are fairly easy to locate. They can also be gained through impressing/killing an Alpha male of any species.

To bring up the creature creator, simply press the “call a mate” version and walk over to the creature with hearts surrounding it.

There are many more functions for parts in this stage, and multiple parts might provide the same affect. Here is a list of all the different abilities your creature can gain from parts, with the keys that activate them (it is also possible to use the buttons on screen.

Sprint- Allows your creature to run faster than normal for a short amount of time. Use by pressing Shift.
Jump- Enables your creature to jump. Use by pressing Space.
Glide- Allows your creature to glide once in the air. Press Space frequently (once in the air) to flap your wings.
Health- Increases your creature’s maximum health.
Bite- Gives your creature a moderate close-range attack. Use by pressing 1 in Combat stance.
Strike- Gives your creature a higher damage close-range attack. Use by pressing 2 in Combat stance.
Charge- Gives your creature the ability to charge at an enemy from a distance, reaching them quickly and inflicting a small amount of damage. Use by pressing 3 in Combat stance while fairly far away from an enemy.
Spit- Gives your creature the ability to do average damage to an enemy from a distance. Use by pressing 4 in Combat stance.
Sing- Used in Impressing. Press 1 to activate in Social stance.
Dance- Used in Impressing. Press 2 to activate in Social stance.
Charm- Used in Impressing. Press3 to activate in Social stance.
Pose- Used in Impressing. Press 4 to activate in Social stance.

Special Creatures and Dangers
There are a few things to be wary of during the Creature phase, excluding other species. For starters, don’t spend too long out in the water. If you spend a certain amount of time out too deep a giant creature will jump out of the water and eat you (see right). This also applies to any flying creatures- if you spend too long above water, the same thing will happen. Be careful!

You will also come across special, powerful creature types during this stage. These are Rogue creatures and Epic creatures.

Rogue creatures

These creatures are found all by themselves during your travels around the continent. They have 250 health- a good deal more than your creature whatever brain level you are at- and are fairly powerful. You will gain 100 DNA if you can kill them, or impress them. Impressing them, depending on the levels of your creatures parts, can be easier, and will also let you add the befriended creature to your pack. If you are determined to kill them though, watch out- they will put up a good fight.

Epic creatures

Epic creatures are the most powerful creatures you can come across in this phase. They are far, far bigger than your species (or any other on the island) could ever hope to be, and possess 1000 health. They are able to fit you into their mouth effortlessly, and are more than likely to crush you under their feet if you get too close. They are impossible to Impress, and will fight anything and everything it comes across. While it is not recommended, it is possible to kill these creatures (albeit with great difficulty), and gain an achievement for doing so. If you absolutely have to kill an Epic creature, it is advised that your creature has reached the last brain level, has max levels for all health and attack parts, and has a full pack made up of the most powerful creatures available. Even then it is very unlikely that you will be able to succeed, but best of luck!

Going Tribal
Eventually, once you have gathered enough DNA, your creature will increase its brain size one final time. Your species will now gain sentience and discover fire, in order to start a tribe. To go to the next age, press the blue history button to be shown your alignment result for this phase, and enter the creature creator one last time. This will be your last chance to edit your creature’s parts and appearance in the game, so make sure it’s as you want it to be.

Remember, there is no rush to go to the next stage, and you can carry on finding parts and gaining DNA for as long as you want, so if you want to make your creature as powerful as possible it’s well worth it.

Spore Cell Phase Walkthrough Guide

Planet selection

Welcome to Spore! At the start of your game, you will be shown the galaxy map.

From here, it is possible to start a new game, or continue with one already in progress. To start a game off, select a planet of your choice (it really makes no difference besides the colouring). From here, you will be presented the option of which stage to start at. If this is your first time playing Spore, you will only have one option- the cell phase- but as you progress through the ages it is possible to start a new game somewhere else at an age of your choosing, providing you have played through it once on your original game.

Diet Selection and Feeding
At this screen, you are asked to select your diet.
This will prove very important, as this will decide the path your creature will take, and could well influence the outlook of you species and empire in the other four stages.

Carnivore

Choosing carnivore- and sticking to that path- will ultimately lead your race to become aggressive and warlike. This will unlock abilities for each era which will focus on fighting, war, and destruction. Carnivores can eat meat chunks which can be seen floating around the area around you in the Cell phase. It is also possible to consume other creatures by swimming mouth first into them. This will break them down into meat chunks which you can then eat.

Herbivore

If you choose herbivore, your race will ultimately become friendly and peaceful, if you keep to the path. This will unlock abilities that will help with the befriending of other species in the creature and tribal phase, and eventually the converting of other cities and empires in the Civilisation and Space stages. Herbivores eat green plant circles, which can be seen floating about in the Cell phase. Later on they can also be found attached around the edges of bigger plants.

Omnivore

It is also possible to find the proboscis part during the Cell phase, which will allow your creature to become an Omnivore, and so take a middle path, if you are careful. This will lead your species towards becoming a mixture of the other two paths, and eventually industrious with a focus on the economy in the late stages. The abilities unlocked by this path focus on increasing the wealth of your species, and in the Civilisation and Space stages make it easier to purchase the cities/planets of other races. Omnivores feed by either eating green plants, like herbivores, or by swimming into other creatures. This will make them suck DNA and food from the creature, which can be done at least twice before the creature dies. However, Omnivores are not able to feed on meat chunks like Carnivores.


Never fear, though, as it is more than possible to change the direction your creature takes in the Creature or Tribal phase, or even switch mouths during the Cell phase, if you desire!
DNA and Growing

In the Cell phase, DNA is used to purchase new parts for your creature, through the cell creator screen.
This can be accessed by pressing the “call mate” button and swimming towards your mate. DNA is gained from eating your required type of food. Parts can also be sold for the amount of DNA you bought them for. As your creature collects DNA it will grow bigger and gain health, and once a certain amount is gained it will go to the “next level” of size. Eventually, once enough DNA is collected, it will be able to grow legs and go to land.

Parts

New parts in the cell phase are shown by a token, which shows the image of the part it unlocks, as shown here.
These new parts can be acquired by two means. They can either be found by hunting other creatures which possess parts you do not yet have. When the creature dies, a token will come from them in the same way meat chunks do. It is also possible, if you are a herbivore, to simply wait for another creature to kill them, and then pick the part up afterwards. Another way to collect these parts is by finding meteor rocks. These appear as glowing rocks, which once swam into release a part in the same way killing a creature does. This image provides a picture of a meteor rock, and it is in the centre, towards the top.
These parts can be added to your creature through the Cell editor page, as shown under DNA and Growing. These parts have different effects on your creature, which will be displayed if you hold your mouse over the desired part. Note that placement is important for some parts but not for others. Parts like the Cilia will increase your cells speed and turn rate regardless of where it is, but the Electric part will project a field in front of where it is placed. Generally experimentation mixed with common sense will help you decide the best place to put all your parts.



History and Alignment
As you progress through Spore, the choices you make will determine the social path your species will follow. In the Cell phase, this means the type of way in which they feed. It is possible to check which path your species is following by pressing the blue button in the bottom right hand side of your screen, which will then bring up an image showing your creatures past actions and what effect they have had.
Checking this fairly frequently will help to make sure your creature follows the path you want it to.



Land
Eventually, once you have gained enough DNA, your cell will be able to evolve legs and go to land. When you wish to, you may press the bottom blue right hand button to bring up the history graph once more. This will show you the social path your cell has followed for this stage, and what ability it will gain for the creature phase.
This will also determine what type of mouth it will able to use in the next stages- for instance, if you are a Predator, you will only have access to Predator mouths and not Omnivore or Herbivore ones.

After this, you will enter the cell creator for the last time this stage. Your cell will no longer be 2D, but 3D, and will contain the option to add legs.
You may still add/change parts if you wish, as they now perform different functions, but almost immediately you will be able to access parts with better functions once you reach land. Please note that once on land you will no longer be able to use any other mouth type than the one your species alignment path dictates. This means that it may be advisable to take the Omnivore mouth through with you to the next stage, as it means that you will be able to eat fruit and other animals on land, rather than just one or the other, while still retaining the ability and social path you chose to follow.

Your online guide to Spore

Will Wright's Spore allows you to define your own game in a way that few other games let you. It can also be deeply confusing to first time players. The collection of guides from this site are designed to ask the many questions that first time players might find helpful: "How do I do * in the cell phase?" "What price should I accept for my spice in the Space phase?".

Do post your comments and questions and we will answer the frequently asked questions (FAQs) on Spore as the questions mount.