Aight so ive finally came back from the dead and am feeling interested the idea of playing a simplified version of thrive on the forums:
This is Luca. while not the literal Last universal common ancestor of Thecypso. its descendants will one day evolve to rule Thecypso
Now then. lets talk about how we play this game:
How to play
every round you are given 10 evolution points (EP) these evolution points can be used to evolve your cell by giving it certain traits/organelles which buff your species stats and gives it passive boosts
The more/less successful your creature is correlates to how many evolution points your species has. if your creature is doing well, it means there is less evolutionary pressure being put on it, meaning that instead of 10 evolution points it gets 9, whereas a species that is not doing great will be given +1 evolution points! it caps at 6 evolution points and 14 evolution points. these additions of points are known as evolutionary pressure points
these evolution points stack! however only half of your saved evolution points are stacked through each round. meaning that if i have 10 Evolution points, spend 6. the next round i will get 10+2 EP. with the addition or subtraction of evoutionary pressure points
If this sounds complicated and vague, don’t worry ill do all the math and tell you how many evolution points you have left to spend! all you need to do is simple subtraction to find out what organelles you can buy
Your basic goal is to create a species that will THRIVE
Your species has 4 major stats in the cell stage:
Size
attack
Defense
Speed
Size determines how big/small you are. every cell starts off at Size level 1, but with the addition of certain organelles this can be increased. your cell can then absorb other cells that is 1 size levels below it, for eg a level 3 cell can eat a level 2 cell or a level 1 cell, however it cannot eat other size level 3 cells or higher. Size acts as a sort of vague attack/defense stat
Speaking of attack stats. the attack stat does exist. it allows you to ignore size levels, meaning that a size level 1 cell could take down another level 1 cell if its attack stat was high enough, maybe even a size level 3 if it is high enough.
defence stats act as protection to attack and size. every defence stat is like a level up in size level, however this only works one way as it does not allow the cell to eat cells larger than it light attack stats, it only protects the cell.
speed stats are for mobility and manueverability. the higher your species speed, the higher chance it will find food and survive, and the higher chance it will excape predation. however unlike defence which guarantees protection, speed does not.
Dont worry if this is sounding complicated. once you start playing you will get into the mood and start understanding.
As of now, we are at the cellular stage, certain organelles are locked off until your species fufills certain criteria:
now then here is the list of current organelles.
feel free to suggest certain theoretical organelles.
organelles
Bacterial cytoplasm:
cost: 2 EP
size: 1 square
Info:
Cytoplasm increases your species size. every 5 cytoplasms is a step up in your size rank.
Bacterial flaggellum:
cost: 4 EP
size: 2-3 squares
info:
Similarly to the eukaryotic flaggellum, the flaggellum acts as a form of locomotion, giving the cell more control over where it moves. this increases your species speed by 1. This has to be placed on one of the 4 sides of the outside of your cell.
Capsule:
Cost: 6 EP
size: aesthetic change
info:
The capsule is a thin film that covers your cell. it gives your cell +1 defense.
cell wall:
Cost: 4 EP
size: aesthetic change
info:
The cell wall is a strong wall that covers your cells cell membrane +3 defence -4 speed
Generic pili:
Cost: 3 EP
size: aesthetic
Flimsy protrusions that do nothing without the aid of other organelles/traits.
No buffs
plasmid:
cost: 3EP
size: aesthetic
info:
floating pieces of genetic material that do nothing without generic Pili
No buffs
When certain organelles are together, they can sometimes behave diffrently. . . only hint im going to give you for 1 such combination is Plasmid + pili = +1 EP every turn 
well thats not all the organelles ive thought of, its just simple ones for the first round.
now if you’d like to play. feel free to ask me and ill gladly let you play, each player is able to have 1 species to evolve, but as we go through big stage changes like the change from prokaryotic cells to eukaryotic cells, you will be allowed to make another species!
well. . . the starting stats are as follows:
species name: lucas
Size: 1
Attack: 0
Defence: 0
speed: 0
