Populous™ II
Trials of the
Olympian Gods
Instruction Manual
NOTICE FROM: The West End Sanatorium
DATELINE: 11.20.91
TO: Headquarters2
The lunatics took over the asylum two weeks ago. Nine have escaped. We believe they are masquerading as the software development group Bullfrog Productions, Ltd. in Guildford, England. They are dangerously good at pretending they are excellent software developers, having released PowerMonger™ and Populous™ just before they were committed.
Find them quickly. Who knows what hits they’ll release next. Read the following descriptions of each of the escapees to make your search a little easier.
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PETER MOLYNEUX
Born in: Accra, Ghana, Africa Age: 33 years
Ambitions: to persevere in his struggle to be “normal” despite acute megalomania
Favourite Toy: Japanese push-button pencil case (with fuel injection)
Favourite Music to Eat Apple sauce to: Sombre symphonies by Gustav Mahler
LES EDGAR
Place of Birth: Unknown
Age: Possibly 30’s
Ambitions: Bodily harming the person who keeps dropping fast food wrappers in his garden
Favourite Weapon: Aston Martin Volante
Best Attribute: Ability to sign cheques like he means it
ALEX TROWERS
Born in: A caravan by the M-3 motorway, England
Age: 18
Favourite TV Monster: King Kong
Favourite Possessions: Jacket, Uzi BB Gun, and intimidating shades
Favourite Thing to Say to Total Strangers: “I’ll be back.”
GARY CARR
Born in: Castleford, West Yorkshire, England
Age: 25
Ambitions: Money in the bank at the end of the month
Favourite TV monster: Margaret Thatcher
Favourite Possession: An old hairbrush for scratching between his toes
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN
Born in: Waterford, Ireland
Age: 27
Favourite Thing to Say to Total Strangers: “I may be drunk madame, but you are ugly and I shall be sober in the morning.”
Secret Dreams: To be gum in Jabba the Hut’s mouth
Favourite Music to Take Medication by: Handel
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BRYON HAPGOOD
Born in: Harlow, Essex, England
Age: 22
Favourite Music: Mozart
Favourite Thing to Scream at Strangers: “You never get enough of what you don’t need!”
Secret Desire: To be gum in a piranha’s mouth
GLENN CORPES
Born in: Guildford, England
Age: 28
Life Goal: Tetris — Level 16, depth 5.
Favourite Toy: Sound Burger, an un-portable record player
Favourite Possession Overall: A silver ankh
SEAN COOPER
Born in: Wegberg, Dusseldorf, Germany
Age: 17
Favourite TV Show: None
Secret Desire: None
Favourite Possession: Packet of ciggys
KEVIN DONKIN
Born in: Aldershot, England
Age: 27
Favourite Vehicle: A go-kart
Goals in life: None
Favourite Thing to Say to Total Strangers: “Just the fax ma’am”
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BUT I ALSO K THE OLYM |
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CONTENTS |
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WELCOME TO POPULOUS II ................................................ |
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IN THE BEGINNING ......................................................... |
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GAME MENU .......................................................................... |
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CONQUERING WORLDS ........................................................ |
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COLOSSEUM .................................................................... |
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CLOSE-UP MAP ................................................................ |
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WORLD MAP..................................................................... |
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RAISING AND LOWERING LAND ..................................... |
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SETTLEMENTS AND SPROGGING................................... |
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MANA ................................................................................ |
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MANA GAUGE ................................................................... |
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PAPAL MAGNETS ............................................................. |
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INFLUENCING BEHAVIOUR ............................................ |
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WORSHIPPERS AND WALKERS ...................................... |
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SOUNDS ........................................................................... |
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QUITTING A WORLD........................................................ |
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COMMANDS ........................................................................... |
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BASIC COMMANDS .......................................................... |
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DIVINE INTERVENTION COMMANDS ............................. |
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WINNING................................................................................ |
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EXPERIENCE POINTS ..................................................... |
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GAME SUMMARY SCREEN ............................................... |
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SAVING A GAME ............................................................... |
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STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES ......................................... |
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KEYBOARD EQUIVALENTS................................................... |
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PLAYING BY SERIAL LINK .................................................... |
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LOG PASSWORDS AND WORLD NAMES............................... |
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WELCOME TO POPULOUS II
OVERVIEW
As one of the many sons of Zeus the All-Father, you demand your rightful place among the gods on Mount Olympus. But Zeus isn’t about to give you your inheritance just for the asking. You must prove your worthiness by defeating the 32 divine opponents who rule the 1000 worlds of Populous II.
START WITH THE COMMAND SUMMARY CARD
The Command Summary Card included in your package contains complete instructions on how to load Populous II.
CREATE YOUR DEITY
Your first task is to create the kind of deity that you want to be. You choose the eyes, mouth and headpiece that indicate whether you’re benevolent and wise, fierce and war-like, brutish and cruel, or some bizarre combination of these characteristics.
Your god’s personality affects how opponents react to you. For example, if your deity looks aggressive, your opponent wages war harder. If your deity looks like a scholar, the combat is more subtle and clever.
CONQUEST GAMES ARE PART OF A SERIES
There are two ways to play Populous II: Conquest Games and Custom Games. In Conquest mode, you must conquer a series of worlds. Each world gets progressively harder as you face tougher terrains, stronger gods, and more potent divine powers (known as Divine Intervention Effects).
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EACH CONQUEST EARNS YOU EXPERIENCE
If you played a Conquest Game well, you’re awarded experience. After each conquest, you can exchange your experience for greater power in the six forces of nature. You can decide to concentrate on a particular element — becoming, say, a fire god — or you can spread your experience over all the forces.
Elements
Earned 
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THE ULTIMATE GOAL — DEFEAT ZEUS
The final battle in the Conquest series is against your father and supreme master, Zeus. Defeat Zeus and you can take your seat among the gods.
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CUSTOM GAMES LET YOU CALL THE SHOTS
In Custom mode, play a random land with all the effects you have earned in your Conquest games. For example, if you have played three Conquest games and seen a variety of different effects, in Custom mode you’ll be able to play a game with all those effects combined.
CONQUEST PROGRESS AFFECTS CUSTOM GAMES
In a Custom Game, the Divine Intervention Effects you can do are limited by your progress in the Conquest series — you can’t do effects you haven’t already used in a Conquest Game. This is the only limitation to the kind of Custom Game you can make.
IN THE BEGINNING...
This section will help you get started by showing you the techniques and concepts you’ll need to conquer the first world in the Conquest series.
CREATE A GOD
From the Game Menu, left-click on Create Your Deity. The Create Deity screen appears:
Click Proceed to return to the Game Menu.
You’ll start the game with five lightning bolts of experience. Apply them to one of the six element icons by left-clicking on any of the elements. You can spread your experience around by clicking
once on five different icons, or you can build up your strength in one by clicking five times on one element.
After the end of each battle, you can earn more lightning bolts of experience to build up your experience in the other elements even further.
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CHOOSE A CONQUEST GAME
Left-click on Conquest Game at the game menu. The Next Conquest screen appears:
Raise And Lower Land |
Place Papal Magnet Ordain Perseus |
Column Of Fire
Armageddon
The Next Conquest screen shows you which Divine Intervention Effects and special rules apply to the world you’re about to conquer. In this first world you can only do five Effects: Raise And Lower Land, Place Papal Magnet, Ordain Perseus, Armageddon, and Column Of Fire. A tick ( ) indicates that a special rule applies to you in this world — for example, the tick next to “Water Is Fatal” indicates that people always drown if they fall in water.
There are 1000 worlds in the Conquest series. Each world has a number and a name. The number for the first world in the series is 0; its name is DOEGAC. Each time you conquer a world, Zeus will give you the name of the next world he wants you to do battle on. Always write down the name of any world Zeus gives you. If you quit Populous II, you’ll need this name to continue the Conquest series where you left off.
Click proceed to begin the game.
PAUSING THE GAME
Once the battle starts, you’ll want to pause the game from time to time so you can follow the tutorial. To pause the game, press the F10 key. To resume the game, press F10 again.
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THE BATTLE BEGINS
When the game begins, you’re looking down at your worshippers.
The World Map is a view of the entire world you’re currently on. Good and Bad populations inhabit the world usually on opposite sides of the map.
The Close-Up Map is a magnified view of a point on the World Map. All divine activities are carried out here.
World Map |
Close-Up Map |
Colosseum |
Your
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Divine ntervention ffects
Mana Gauge |
Basic Commands |
Walkers represent a number of people wandering the land as a tribe seeking to establish well-populated settlements. Walkers need shelter against the climate and they’ll settle on any piece of flat land that can support them. When they settle, they create dwellings.
Divine Intervention Effects are an arsenal of awesome powers and potent disasters. There are six categories or elements, each with five individual Effects. The Effects you can do depend on the world you’re fighting on.
The Mana Gauge measures your Mana. Mana is a reservoir of power you can use to do Effects. Mana comes from the pious worship of your followers — the more worshippers you have, the greater your Mana. The red line at the base of the Mana Gauge indicates your total Mana. The pointer indicates which Effects you can currently do.
Right now you only have enough Mana to raise and lower land. Occasionally you'll use up your mana and won't be able to raise or lower land, but don't worry. As you help your people multiply, your Mana will increase.
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The Basic Commands let you influence the general behaviour of your followers, get information on populations and settlements, and bring up the Game Requester.
The Colosseum is a population indicator for both Good and Bad worshippers. As populations change, the Colosseum fills and empties to reflect the fluctuating numbers of dwellers. Good populations appear in blue — Bad populations appear in red. The Colosseum can also be used to track walkers and settlements and get information on their strength and inventions.
CHANGING YOUR VIEW
Changing your view is fundamental to playing Populous. There are several ways to change your view. The easiest is to scroll with the cursor keys or the numeric keypad.
The World Map can also be used to change your view. The area you’re currently viewing is marked with a black diamond:
Point to the World Map and click a mouse button. A right-click jumps your view to the spot you’re pointing to. A left-click moves your view one increment in that direction.
You can also scroll your view by clicking on the directional arrows around the World Map. The longer you hold down the mouse button, the more the map scrolls.
Directional Arrows
Current Close-Up
View
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FLATTEN LAND
Your followers need flat lands to farm and settle on, so the first thing you should do is flatten the landscape around their settlements. The lay of the land is on a grid of squares, so you’ll raise and lower land square by square. Note: on some worlds you won't be able to raise and/or lower on your or your enemies land.
To raise a square of land, move the diamond cursor to the centre of the square and left-click.
To lower a square of land, move the diamond cursor to the centre of the square and right-click.
CREATE LARGE SETTLEMENTS
Creating new settlements is fundamental to winning a world. Settlements grow according to the amount of farmland around them — the more farmland, the bigger the settlement.
The biggest settlements are castles. Castles increase your population the fastest, so initially they’re the most valuable. Castles are also the most technologically advanced, and better weapons means your people will be more effective fighters. To create a castle, flatten the land widely around any dwelling.
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SPROG EARLY, SPROG OFTEN
As a settlement fills with people, its flag rises. When its flag reaches the top, the settlement is full. At this point, a walker will automatically leave and go in search of a new place to settle.
In the early parts of a battle, you don’t want to wait for your settlements to fill up before releasing walkers. The more large settlements you have, the faster your population will rise. This is where the technique of sprogging comes in. Sprogging is the most important means of spreading your population. When you sprog, you’re commanding a settlement to send a portion of its population out into the world in search of a new home.
To sprog a walker from a dwelling, point to the centre of a dwelling and click the right mouse button. The diamond cursor must be on the exact centre of the dwelling:
Place the diamond on the centre and right-click
COMPARE POPULATIONS
As you play, use the Colosseum to compare your population with the enemy’s. The Good population appears as blue dots — Bad appears as red.
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USE DIVINE INTERVENTION EFFECTS
Once you’ve increased your Mana, you can use some of the five Effects available on DOEGAC. To switch between People Effects and Fire Effects, click on the appropriate icon.
People Effects
Fire Effects
FIRE EFFECTS
The one Fire Effect available on DOEGAC is Fire Column, which starts a huge column of fire that moves across the land. To do a Fire Column, left-click on the Fire Column icon.
Fire Column
A small column on the pointer indicates that the column is now ready to be set down.
Move the cursor up the Close-Up Map and left-click to set the column down — it will appear in a somewhat random location. As dwellings burn, enemy worshippers perish. Any land that the column moves across will turn orange, indicating that it’s scorched and ruined. The enemy will have to raise or lower the ruined land in order to make it arable farmland again.
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PEOPLE EFFECTS
There are five People Effects available on DOEGAC.
•Raise and Lower Land: You know this one already. This lets you flatten landscape into farmland by raising and lowering land.
•Place Papal Magnet: This lets you place your papal magnet anywhere on the Close-Up Map. Left-click on this button, and then move your cursor to the Close-Up Map and left-click again. You cannot place your papal magnet unless you have a leader.
•Ordain Perseus: This changes your current leader into the hero Perseus, who marches through your opponent’s land and destroys any settlements or people he encounters. Simply left-click on this icon to call the hero.
•Armageddon: This forces Good and Bad to fight until only one population survives. Only use this Effect when your population is significantly greater than the enemy’s.
PAPAL MAGNETS
The papal magnets are icons of worship for Good and Bad. You can move your magnet to Bad territory, then influence your worshippers to go to it and invade Bad settlements. The first of your walkers to encounter your magnet becomes your leader. Convert strong leaders into special walkers called Heroes with your papal magnet. You cannot place your papal magnet unless you have a leader.
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USE INFLUENCE BEHAVIOUR COMMANDS TO MOVE PEOPLE
Use the Influence Behaviour Commands to influence the behaviour of your followers. The Influence Behaviour commands are available on every world and can be used without cost to Mana.
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•Go to Papal Magnet: Influence your people to find their ordained leader and follow him to the Papal Magnet. You can always find the leader by right-clicking on this option. Use this option to draw your leader and worshippers together, then turn your leader into a hero. If you like.
•Settle: Influence your walkers to build new dwellings and your people to reproduce. To encourage faster settling, sprog worshippers from their dwellings by right-clicking on any house.
•Fight: Encourage your walkers to attack Bad settlements and worshippers. Fight also encourages your people to settle and produce more walkers for battle.
•Gather Together: Encourage your walkers to walk toward each other and combine into one stronger walker. Note that each walker represents a group of people, so when your walkers are gathering together, tribes are actually combining to make a larger troop. Use this behaviour when you want to build and strengthen walkers. This option also influences your people to settle as they come together.
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GAME MENU
Left-click an option in the Game Menu
CREATE YOUR DEITY
Lets you create and name your deity and assign any experience you’ve earned to one of the six elements.
Left-click on Proceed to return to the Game Menu
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NAMING YOUR DEITY
To name your deity:
1.Left-click on the name bar. A flashing dot appears.
2.Type the name of your deity and press Return.
CREATING YOUR DEITY
Create your deity’s looks carefully because they’ll effect the way your opponent god battles you. Choose a scholar’s hat and wise eyes for clever combat, or a warriors helmet and angry eyes for a ruthless battle experience.
To create your deity:
1.Left-click on a selection arrow next to the feature you want to change. Keep clicking to cycle through the various features.
2.If you need to back up, click the selection arrow opposite the one you’re using.
Choose your eyes, headpiece, and face carefully — your appearance actually affects your opponent’s reactions.
ASSIGNING EXPERIENCE
To assign any experience you’ve earned:
1.Point to one of the six elements and left-click once for each lightning bolt you want to assign.
The right half of the element icon turns gold one increment for each lightning bolt you assign. When the right half is full, the left half turns gold one increment and the right half goes dark again.
2.Write down your password. You can re-enter this password in the same slot next time you want to restart this game.
CONQUEST GAME
Choose Conquest Game to play all the worlds in progression of difficulty. As you progress and gain experience, opponents get stronger and more crafty, landscapes get more harsh, options are restricted, and available Effects change.
There are 1000 worlds in Populous II, but you don’t have to complete each one in order to face Zeus in the final combat. If you demonstrate sufficient skill, you can skip worlds — for example, you could go from world 0 to world 18, and from there go to world 26, and so on.
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NEXT CONQUEST SCREEN
When you choose Conquest Game, the Next Conquest screen appears:
Divine Intervention Effects available on this world
Special parameters
The Next Conquest screen shows you which Divine Intervention Effects and special parameters apply to the world you’re about to conquer. A tick ( ) indicates that a special rule applies to both you and your opponent in this world — for example, the tick next to “Water Is Fatal” indicates that people will always drown if they fall in water. An X indicates that a rule does not apply.
The following rules may be in effect on certain worlds:
RAISE/LOWER ANYWHERE ON MAP
You can raise and lower land regardless of whether a settlement is in view on the Close-Up Map.
You can only raise and lower land when a settlement is in view on the Close-Up Map.
RAISE/LOWER ANYWHERE AT SEA LEVEL
You can only raise and lower land at sea level.
You can not raise and lower land at sea level view on the Close-Up Map.
CAN’T RAISE/LOWER OPPONENT’S LAND
You cannot raise or lower your opponent’s land.You can raise and lower your opponent’s land.
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CAN’T RAISE LAND
You cannot raise land.You can raise land.
CAN’T LOWER LAND
You cannot lower land.You can lower land.
WATER IS FATAL
Your people automatically drown in water.
Your people can be saved if they’re dropped in water.
OPPONENT’S DOTS NOT SHOWN ON MAP
You can see opponents on the World Map.
You cannot see opponents on the World Map.
NO SPROG WITH RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON
Right-clicking lowers land no matter where the cursor is on the map.
Right-clicking on the centre of a dwelling sprogs a walker.
DISASTER DOTS NOT SHOWN ON MAP
You cannot see disaster effects on the World Map.You can see disaster effects on the World Map.
SWAMPS ARE SHALLOW
When a person from this side falls in a swamp, the swamp is “filled” and disappears.
No matter how many people from this side fall in a swamp, it will never be filled.
SHOW OPPONENT DEITY:
Left-click on the green button to read a description of your current opponent.
PROCEED
Left-click on Proceed to begin the conquest.
CANCEL
Left-click on Cancel to return to the Game Menu.
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NAMES
Each time you start a world, you receive the name of the next world you are to conquer. Always write down this name. If you quit Populous II, this is the only way you can resume the Conquest series where you left off.
To resume the Conquest series where you left off:
1.Select Conquest Game from the Game Menu. The Next Conquest game appears.
2.Click on the Battle At bar. A flashing dot appears.
3.Type the name of next world for you to conquer and press Return.
CUSTOM GAME
Through playing a few conquest games, you experience different combinations of Divine Intervention Effects and earn new ones. Choose Custom Game to play a random landscape using all the Effects you’ve earned so far in your Conquest games. CUSTOM GAMES WON’T ADVANCE YOU TOWARD FINAL VICTORY AGAINST ZEUS.
ADJUSTING GAMEPLAY
Custom Games start out very hard, so to adjust it to your level:
1.Left-click on the Game Requester icon to bring up the Game Requester.
2.Left-click on Game Options to bring up the Game Options Requester.
3.Left-click on any of the options to change any of the special parameters for Good (you).
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