I was not sure where to put this idea, as there is a lot of threads dealing with organelle upgrades, but here we go. The idea I have about the organelle upgrades goes something like this.
Prokaryotic
As a prokaryotic, you would have access to the following organelles -
Proteins (Is that what they’re called?)
Metabolosomes
Chromatophores
Chemosynthisizing protiens
Rusticyanin
Nitrogenase
and Others
Vacuole
Cilia
Now to their upgrades:
Let’s start with something easy.
Vacuoles - Upgrading the efficiency of vacuoles would slightly increase their capacity. Having a vacuole also unlocks toxin vacuoles. One way this might be done is turning one of your vacuoles into a toxin vacuole. Toxin vacuoles can also be modified further, but we’ll get to that when speaking about the eukaryotes.
Cilia - Cilia can have their length, thickness and density (by that I mean how densely is the microbe covered in them), which would affect their efficiency and they can be turned into flagella. Turning them into flagella could be done in two ways, tell me which one is better. The first option we have is just simply unlocking a flagellum by upgrading the cilia and simply getting the option to place down a flagellum. The other way, which I am a fan of, but would be harder to code in, is simply just upgrading the length of one cilium until it’s classified as a flagellum. But I understand that would be A LOT of work and the payoff is not that great.
Flagella - similarly to cilia, flagella could have their length and shape altered in order to prioritize either maneuverability or speed. They could also be turned into a basic pilus.
Eukaryotic
Being eukaryotic would unlock some more upgrades and further flexibility.
Proteins - This is where it gets complicated. One approach we can try is simply upgrading chemosynthisizing protiens into chemoplast and so on. The other approach is replacing these organelles with endosymbiotic microbes, just as we have mitochondria (basically a bacterium full of metabolosomes) and chloroplasts (let’s say it’s a bacterium full of chromatophores) now. This brings up another question that has been brought up before - how should we tackle endosymbiosis? I don’t know. But it is planned, so I think this system might work. Or a mix of those two, where you can upgrade proteins into their “higher tier” version, but can also do endosymbiosis. One reason why I think the endosymbiosis is a great approach is because you could have even more alienesque organelles. What if your “mitochondrium” is not full of metabolosomes, but rusticyanin? What if it has two proteins? You get the point. This would require every organelle that’s accessible as an eukaryote now to have its “lower tier” version, just as (again) chemosynthisizing protiens into chemoplast .
Toxin vacuoles - Being eukaryotic would also allow you to tweak the toxins you produce even more (not sure if you should be able to tweak them as a prokaryotic). You would be able to chose their effect and perhaps even the way they propagate - does the vacuole simply open and the toxin just spills out, or does the vacuole contract shooting the toxin much further, but in a much more narrow line? Again, this would bring neat tweaks, interesting strategies and a uniqueness to every organism.
Basic pilus - Upgrading the pilus you get from upgrading the flagellum would be pretty similar to upgrading the toxin vacuole. You would be able to chose the “specialization” of your pilus - there was dozens of pilus variants being thrown around. Also, you would be able to alter its size/length.
TL;DR
Things that have the Eukaryote Trademark (e) are available only once you are eukaryotic.
Cilia --> Flagellum --> Pilus --> Cooler pili (e)
Vacuole --> Toxin vacuole --> Cooler toxin vacuoles (e)
Proteins --> Plastids OR Endosymbiosis (e)
Also, every organelle could be enhanced/changed slightly, such as the length and width of a flagellum.
As always, I’m gonna be really happy to hear any feedback and your opinions. Thanks for reading! Also, if I made any mistakes in the names of the organelles, let me know, I will edit it asap.