The Populous Vault

Choose a help topic below.

Download Help Matchmaker Help/Tutorial Playing IP Games Contact

When you click a normal download link, you will be redirected to a File Planet server, here you will be asked to log in with your Gamespy ID. IF you do not have a Gamespy ID you have two options, you can use the alternative link that is posted along with the file, or the recommended option, you can register a Gamespy ID for free. The Gamespy server tends to be much faster and is more stable as opposed to the secondary link. Registering for a Gamespy ID is free, although you will have to wait inline to get your file. You can also pay for a registration to get your own private download location and avoiud the lines all together.

After you have the Gamespy ID registered, then you simply login, then depending on what kind of a user you are, choose which server to download from. Free registered users must use the public servers with the lines, while the payed registered users get instant access to the files through the server. After you clicked the link, you will be taken either directly to the line, or to the file, sometimes you may get lucky and the public servers will be empty do this can happen sometimes.

For more information about the Gamespy ID you can visit http://www.strategyplanet.com/

Populous: Reincarnated Matchmaker Help and Tutoiral

Getting Started - Downloading and Installing the Matchmaker

The first thing you need to do is download the matchmaker. You can get it by going to the following website- http://strategyplanet.com/populous/home.shtml. Once here look at the very left hand column. Scroll down until you see the button labeled, "Lobby". Click the button.
You should then at the top see, " The latest version of the Populous Reincarnated Matchmaker is availible for download HERE (filename does not change)." On tthat page or in the quoted text, click "here".
After clicking the link a dialogue box should appear confirming that you are downloading a file. You can click Save if you plan on saving the file to your hard drive for future use, or open to just have the file immediately open itself after the download is complete. Please note that by clicking "open" you are not saving a copy of the setup file, so if you uninstall you will have to re-download the files.
Depending on your internet connection speed will determine how much time it will take for the file to be downloaded.
Once the file is finished one of two things will happen.
A. If you clicked open the file will open automatically.
B. If you clicked Save you will either have to click open in the download complete dialogue or browse for the file yourself. If you browsed for the file, double=click it when you find it.
After the file is opened the installation dialogue box should appear. Basically click next until you reach the End-User License Agreement. Make sure to read throug it so you under stand all of the lobby's rules and regulations and so you understand what you are downloading. Then press, "I agree" or "Next" depending on the version of the software. Please note that by installing and running the matchmaker you automatically agree to the End-User License Agreement and are subject to anything in it.
After you have read through the preceding you should see an installer directory prompt. The default recommended location has been chosen, although you can change it if you wish. After you have chosen the directory click, "Next".
You should now see a confirmation dialogue that basically sums up your selections throughout the installer. If you are happy with the settings press, "Next". you should then see a progress indicator breeze by. (The speed being determined by the speed of your computer.) Once the installation is complete you will see a dialogue telling you about the program's installation status. If everything went properly it will say that it was installed successfully, if an error occurred then you should re-download the file and redo these steps, but occasions like that are extremely rare.

Getting Started - Downloading and Installing New Map Packs (Manually)

As it stands now, this is the only way to install map packs, but hopefully in the future and auto update service will be implemented.

First off, for you new comers, map packs are a set of new individual multiplayer levels for the game. These aren't required to use the matchmaker, however you will find trouble getting a game going without them as many people enjoy using the new levels. I recommend that if you download the map packs that you download all of them, otherwise you will be going back in forth getting them as you need them. Depending on your internet connection, this could take awhile, or it could take five minutes. Below are some simple steps that you can follow to get your mappacks.

Go to http://strategyplanet.com/populous/downloads.shtml#maps.
Now click the link of the map pack you wish to download.
Like before a download dialogue box will appear confirming that you are downloading something. Download the file like you did before.
Locate and/or run the file like you did before.
Once again, like before, you should see an installation dialogue box. Keep clicking next until you see the directory dialogue. It should automatically fill out the directory of the program no matter where it is installed. If this is correct, click "Next".
Proceed through the installation dialogue box like you did before.
For other map packs repeat steps 1-6.

Getting Started - Running the Matchmaker

You can start the matchmaker by either double-clicking the icon on the desktop titled "Play Online" or by navigation to Start\Programs\Populous Reincarnated\ and then clicking "Play Online".

Once the matchmaker starts you should see a login screen. Type in your User Name and Password from the Populous Reincarnated Forums. If you do not have an account you can create one free of charge. Do that by clicking the link in the matchmaker that says, "New User? Click here to Register". If you are creating an account, you will be directed to a website where you can register your account. To register the account, simply follow the instructions on the website. Please note that after you have created your account it must be activated by an administrator before you can start using it. This can take anywhere from the time you register it to a few hours at most. If a delay occurs then that means that none of the administrators were online to activate it, but do not worry, we will get to it. Please note that you can get banned if you create more than one account, so make sure you either change the user name of your existing account or delete your account before creating another one.

Once you have your account, type in your user name and password in the login prompt back at the matchmaker and press login. You should then see a list of lobbies to join. The currently used one is by default selected, so press "connect". Remember that it can take about two to three minutes to connect. If you repeated errors joining that lobby it may be TEMPORARILY down. If this is the case then you can try joining one of the other lobbies by selecting it and pressing "Connect." You can disconnect from a lobby at anytime by pressing "Disconnect". in the Main menu.

Lobby Interface

Lobby Functions (Match the Numbers above with the Numbers below.)

Players List- This tells you who is waiting in the lobby, and who is is playing in-game. You can block the messages of players that you find offensive or whatever by right-clicking their name and choosing "Block". Remember that it is bad etiquette to block someone for no reason. You can send private messages to people (messages that can only be viewed by you and the person your sending it to) by double-clicking their naem and then sending a message like normal. Remember to clear the private message code to send messages to everyone again.
Available games (huts as they are commonly referred to as). The huts with names in them have filled slots, the huts that say "empty" are empty and can be joined.
The hosting position- Double-click this spot if you want to host a game. As the host you can kick unwanted people out of the hut you are hosting in by Left-Clicking their name, then right-clicking and then clicking "Kick". Remember that it is bad etiquette to kick someone for no reason.
Client Position- Double-Click and one of the three available positions to be a client. (join someone else's game.)
This represents one complete hut.
Exit Hut Button- Click this to leave the host/client slot that you joined. Please note that you can also double click another spot to leave your current slot and move to the new slot, but be aware, if you do this really fast and often enough you may freeze and have to reconnect to the lobby.
Launch Button- You only need to worry about this if you are hosting. When you have the appropriate number of clients in your game (it can be 1-3 clients) press launch. In some occasions people may not appear in your game. If this happens you can minimize your game by pressing ALT + Tab and then rehost the hut. When the people who didn't show up rejoin in the client position, press "Launch" again. If you are the client, you must wait for the host to launch. If you freeze you must close the game with CTRL + ALT + DEL.
Chat History- You can scroll through here to view past messages posted by various players.

Chat Box- Type the message in here that you wish to post in the lobby. You can also type in lobby command in here for various options. )Lobby commands will not be posted to the general public, but can be viewed by lobby administrators.

Key Command	Effect
!afk	Go AFK (AFK) will appear next to your name.
!brb	Will BRB (BRB) will appear next to your name
!away	Go away (Away) will appear next to your name
!back	Comes back, undoes the preceding three commands
!reloadskin	loads a new skin for the lobby, the new skin must be in the Matchmaker directory with the name skin.zip (make sure to back up your default skin if you want to switch back to it after awhile.)

Send Button- Sends messages you typed in the Chat Box. Pressing ENTER on the keyboard will also perform this function.
Main- This takes you back to the login screen.
Lobby- This takes you to the lobby screen. (The lobby screen is always avaliable whether you are connected to a lobby or not.)
Options- Takes you to the options screen.
MODS- Takes you to the MODS screen. This is where you choose what map packs to use when playing online. If you are the client all you need to do is ensure that you have the map pack installed. See " Getting Started - Downloading and Installing New Map Packs" for information on downloading and installing map packs. If you installed any map packs while the match maker is running you must press the Refresh button for it to detect the new/updated map pack. If you are the host you must select the map pack you want to use (regular levels are at default until another map pack is installed) and then press "Install". To play regular levels again select the map pack "The Beginning" and press "Install". When you launch the game the clients map packs will automatically run itself. (Providing the client installed the map pack.) If a client does not install the map pack then the game will launch.
When a map pack is installed other than the regular levels, its name will be displayed here.
This shows your user name and the lobby you are connected to.

Options Screen Interface

Options functions. (Match the numbers above in the picture with the numbers below.)

Black List- Keeps a record of all the players you have blocked. To unblock a player you can click their name and then press DELETE on the keyboard.
Black List Input- Type the name of a player you wish to block here and press ENTER.
Open Message Log- Opens a log of saved messages from previous lobby chat. (Only works if Save Log of Messages is enabled.)
Save Log of Messages- If checked the matchmaker saves log of previously sent and revived chat messages in the lobby.
Save Password- If checked the matchmaker allows you to save you password so you do not need to type it in each time you log on to the matchmaker. (If you have multiple people suing the matchmaker on your computer this option is recommended to be left unchecked.)
Notify Player Enter and Exit- If checked the lobby will inform you of players that enter and exit the lobby.
Disable Chat While Playing - If checked, you will not receive any chat messages whatsoever while you are in-game. To prevent lag in-game it is recommended that you leave this checked.
Report Block to Others- If checked, when ever you block someone, everyone in the lobby will be notified.
Block Flooding- If checked, messages with random characters or excess spaces will be blocked.
Block Messages with more than 300 Characters- If checked, messages sent by others that exceed 300 characters (letters, spaces, numbers, and symbols altogether) will be blocked.
Flash in Task Bar when Private Message Received- If checked, when ever you receive a private message and the match maker is either an inactive window or is minimized, you will hear a bell sound and it will flash in the task bar.

A Final Note

Now that you have read through how to use the matchmaker, you can go and play games without trouble. Before you go online make sure you have patched your game to prevent more problems when playing. If you follow this guide, you should be playing online in no time.

Uninstalling the Matchmaker

If for some reason you need to uninstall the matchmaker (For updates, or to correct a problem) you can do so by going into your control panel. From your control panel go to Add/Remove Programs. Then look for "Populous MatchMaker" followed by a version number. Then click Change/Remove (Windows XP/2000) or Add/Remove (Windows 9x/ME)

Playing an IP Game

IP games are another form of online hosting for Populous, instead of actually logging into a lobby, you host the game with your machine and you give out an IP address to the people you wish to have play with you, this is the best alternative way to play online when the lobby client is down. Before hosting an IP game you should be aware of the risks to doing so. Remember that your IP address is what is used to make a connection to your computer, so that means if a hacker gets a hold of this number, then he or she could gain access to all unprotected files. So make sure you trust the person you give this number to. In short, use this at you own risk.

How to play an IP Game

Run Populous like you normally would in single player.
When the main menu appears, click, "multiplayer."
You will then see a list of possible methods of multiplayer games, one including the online matchmaker service. Click, "Winstock TCP/IP connection for direct play. "
Next choose an appropriate nickname for yourself, II would use the one you go by in the lobby.
Now you notice that your computer is searching the local subnet for games, ignore this unless yuo are playing over a LAN (Local Area Network.)

Hosting Information

Ok now that you have completed steps 1 -5 on how to host an IP Game, you notice that on the same screen that you were on in step five there is a button that says, "Create Game." Click this.
Now you'll see a screen that says, "game name" and a screen that says, "Port." For the game name choose anything you want, for the port, choose any open port in your firewall that you wish to use, if you do not have a firewall, leave it at 7575.
After you have done this and have clicked, "OK" you will see the familiar game screen. The only difference is that you see an IP address in the upper left area of the screen. This is the number that you need to give to the people so they can join your game. Remember the dangers of giving out your IP address to some people, so do this responsibly. Please note that if you have multiple IP addresses (a net work router) then you will need to retrieve the proper IP address to host.
Once you get the desired number of people in your game you can set it up like normal.

Joining Games Information

We left off at steps 1-5 in playing IP games. After you have received the IP address from the host, click address book, then input the IP address in column titled IP Address, then press ENTER. Then click back.
Now it will search for the IP address you typed in. If it finds the game click, "Join." If it doesn't find it make sure the host has started the game, or he or she is properly configured, or most importantly, you typed the IP address in properly.
After you have joined then the rest is like normal multiplayer.

Once again be careful with who you give out your IP address to, as if you give it to the wrong person they could cause damage to you valuable files and data. So use this form of hosting at your own risk!

Contact Information

If you have any questions about information that was either not specified clearly, or wasn't posted at all you can email me at Khickman@strategyplanet.com and see if you can get the information you need.

When contacting me, please do not ask for any hex codes, as I am not ever going to give them out, this email is strictly related to comments about the website or getting help with anything that is on the website, but not anything in terms of writing maps levels or any MODS for the game.