Space Phase
Welcome to your toy galaxy. The space phase is completely different to all other phases of gameplay, in that it actually spans them all. It operates on two axes: a horizontal axis which is travelling from planet to planet, and a vertical axis which is revisiting the previous phases. Your goals are ever changing from now on. You are presented with missions from your own and other races.
There is a final goal in the actual "game" of Spore and that is to reach the quasar in the centre of the galaxy. The center is blocked by an empire of Grobb, a robotic species which are introduced as the main enemy. It is currently unknown as to what exactly happens once you reach the quasar, but either way Spore never really ends as you can now colonise your entire galaxy.
You can visit other star systems and terraform planets using your UFO. A range of tools are available on your UFO and more can be purchased using Spice, the most powerful being the Genesis Device which transforms a dead planet into one capable of sustaining life almost instantaneously. Other tools include a device for pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to increase the amount of greenhouse gases, the ability to throw different types of comets at the planet including an ice one which creates water, powerful weapons some even capable of exploding an entire planet, tools for creating volcanoes and many many more. Some screenshots of the UFO UI show slots for a huge number of different devices. You can drop entire cities on inhospitable planets, which creates a bubble around them, and also underwater which has the same effect. Your main aim is to explore and colonise as many planets as possible. You can test a planet's atmosphere by dropping an abducted creature onto it. During the GDC 2005 conference where Spore was first shown, the creature exploded when dropped on a planet with no atmosphere.
The fun doesn't stop there! No, you can discover new items on different planets, adding capabilities to your UFO, place monoliths to develop intelligent life and probably one of the coolest things, interbreed creatures. No videos or screenshots have been shown of this but it's safe to say it will be awesome to see Spore's engine cross breed completely unique creations.
The galaxy itself is modelled perfectly true to real life. There's nebulae, which create new star systems, supernovae when stars die, black holes which present danger if you get too close, and the entire galaxy slowly rotates around its centre. All of this is beautifully rendered using the latest graphics technology in full 3D and some of the sights are so awesome you will often stop to stare and gape at what you are seeing. The Interstellar Drive only becomes available when you have colonised other planets in your home system. From there you can visit other systems and any of the 4 billion planets in the galaxy. You can scan for intelligent life by running your mouse over systems and then try to establish contact by impressing them with firework displays, attack them, attempt communication by playing a musical mini game and even beam down a holographic image of your own creature to interact directly. The other creatures will be downloaded automatically from the Spore server where all players' creations are uploaded. Their behaviour reflects the play style of their creator.
The missions include exploration, annhilation, protection and more. Conquering the universe can be done either by war or diplomatic means, similar to previous phases. Finally, the space phase gives you access to the Sporepedia, which has been given its own section here.
And thats it! The entire galaxy is now available for you to do as you wish. Create new species, develop your own one...the possibilites are endless. Zoom into a section of the galaxy, then to a system, to a planet, to a city, to a building, to a creature, to its head, to its eye and modify it's colour. You can't get more micromanagement than that!
(Shamelessly stolen from: Planet Spore)