Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!uunet!mcsun!ukc!edcastle!dcl-cs!gdt!exspes
From: exspes@gdr.bath.ac.uk (P E Smee)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games
Subject: Re: Populous Data Disk
Message-ID: <1990Aug21.092334.4636@gdr.bath.ac.uk>
Date: 21 Aug 90 09:23:34 GMT
References: <1990Aug19.075611.8526@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG>
Reply-To: P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk (Paul Smee)
Organization: University of Bristol c/o University of Bath
Lines: 36

In article <1990Aug19.075611.8526@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG> xanthian@zorch.SF-Bay.ORG (Kent Paul Dolan) writes:
>
>Hard to tell; the new terrain types are eye-catching and fun, but
>(at least the copy I got) was a prime example of poor software
>quality control.  Text strings showed up in the wrong boxes, so
>other text was absent, and the game seemed to crash every third
>level.  

There are apparent problems with the way the data overlaying is
handled.  My experience was that it was only annoying, in that it
demonstrated a careless attitude.  I didn't find any of the glitches to
interfere with the game.  (They were mostly noticeable when loading a
level, and during the 'congratulations' screen between games.)

>My _impression_ was that you were still playing the same 500 levels,
>just with spiffy new graphics, but I didn't fight with it long enough
>to know that for sure.

No, some of the parameters changed as well.  The two changes which I am
aware of are:

(1) in 'silly-land' a couple of the building sizes are 'unstable'.  If
left alone they die out.  You have to make sure either to grow your
buildings beyond the critical sizes, or to inhibit them so they don't
get there.  (Sorry, I don't remember offhand which they were.  Easy to
determine experimentally.  According to Bullfrog, this WAS intentional,
and is not a bug as many people seem to think.)

(2) in 'lego-land' you LOSE power if one of your walkers kills an enemy
walker in combat.  For best effect, you have to arrange for the enemy
to die of natural causes.

There may be others.
-- 
Paul Smee, Computing Service, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UD, UK
 P.Smee@bristol.ac.uk - ..!uunet!ukc!bsmail!p.smee - Tel +44 272 303132