Lobby Info

Getting Started

Note: if you have Norton Antivirus it may block the download, you can fix it disabling "Internet Worm Protection" and "Spyware Protection", and after download and install just enable it again. (click here to see Norton config)

Note: You need to get the latest patch before you can play on the matchmaker. You can get the Collective Patch (1.03) Here. Download and run the patch before using the matchmaker.

First off go to our forum and register a name,. If you haven't played the game, the first spell you get is "blast".

Next download the matchmaker. Since that is the installer, it is not necessary to save the file to disk, only run it.

Once the file is downloaded, open it and run through the installation. Open the matchmaker from the start menu, you should see something like this:

The [Main] Window

1. The lobby that you will join, they're all linked but if one doesn't work then try another.
2. Your grade in the lobby.
3. The name you registered with in the forum.
4. [Connect] connects you to the lobby, [Disconnect] disconnects you.
5. Your password.
6. Login/Logout to the server or Logout.

Enter your login information that you registered here for Nickname and Password, then click Login. You may be asked to run the auto-updater, if you are, press "Yes" and let the auto-updater run. When it is done, launch the matchmaker end Login again.

When the [Logout] button appears, pick a room (all the freequest rooms go to the same place) and press [Connect]. You should be connected at this point and there will be people in the lobby who can help you with anything else.If you have problems, check the Forums for more information.

Changing Names

The policy for changing names is you first test to see if you can change your name with the form below. Then submit a request to the administrators. You will lose 10% + 5 of your total points.

Example: "Dude" has 100 Allied points therefore 100 Total Points. He changes his name to "SuperDude". Now SuperDude has 100 Allied points and 85 Total points.

You can test if you can change your name with this form (nothing will be changed):

New Name:

Exceptions: There are a few cases that you won't lose points. If you want to change the punctuation or numbers in your name, that can be done for free. If you want to change a clan tag, that can be done at the Clans Page (although a clan leader must make the tag available to you first).

Reporting Problems

We know that sometimes you will have problems with people in the lobby and an admin won't be around, so we have a report page that you can report a player with.

Features

General

Auto-updater and Signed files

All the files included in the matchmaker have been signed in a file called "signatures.dat". If there are any files corrupted or missing, the matchmaker will not run, and will instead prompt you to run the auto-update program. The auto-update program also will run when there is a new version of the matchmaker released. The matchmaker must be closed for this to run through completely.

Saved Data

For your convenience, the matchmaker will store all settings, and has an option to save your login information. The data is stored encrypted and will only work on the computer it was saved on. It is required that you save your login info to update special versions of the matchmaker.

Grades

As you get points from winning games, you will be given a rank for the matchmaker (one of the followers in the game) based on how many points you earn. You start off as a wildman, the highest rank is the Blue Shaman. There are also some special ranks for Administrators (Gold Shaman), Moderators (Red Shaman), and Mappack Checkers (Green Shaman). When you login, you will be given your rank, but you can pick a lower one if you check the "Custom Grade" box on the options page.

Rooms (Servers and Channels)

When you start the matchmaker for the first time, there will probably be no rooms available. When you login, the latest rooms are downloaded and cached for later. A room is simply a channel on an IRC server. If you want to connect to a non Populous Reincarnated server, you need the file "popmm_custom.dat" with the server information in the following format:

<lobby>
   <network name="network1">
      <server name="Server1" server="irc.server1.net" port="9999" 
      			channel="#chan" password="pwd" ssl />
      <server name="Server2" server="irc.server1.net" port="7000" 
      			channel="#chan" password="pwd" />
   </network>
</lobby>
		

If you're running you own room, I suggest you set /mode #chan +b #popmm x?????_*!*@* so that only people logged in can connect to the channel.

Skins

Not everyone likes the default look of the matchmaker, but fortunately it is possible to 'skin' it (change the appearance). There are a number of skins with previews available on the Skins Page. These are mostly installers which will automatically put the skin in place, but if you happen to get one without an installer, just put the file "skin.zip" in the matchmaker directory, replacing the one that is in there. To refresh the current skin of the matchmaker while it is running, type "!reloadskin" into the chat box and hit send.

Skin Manager

Since the above process is a little more complicated than most people would like, there's also a skin manager included to download and manage skins for you. On the options page, click on the [Change] button next to the skin. There you can see a preview of a skin and if you like the look of it, press the install button and it will download and install it for you.

Lobby

Chatting

Most players in the Populous Community like to talk, so the matchmaker makes it easy to chat with other players. A couple things to note, your name will show up as a different color than the other players, as will any admin or mod.

Action Commands

Sometimes people want to express themselves in actions instead of normal sentences. You can do that by starting your text with '/me' and following it with you action as in '/me does something'. Usually you want to follow '/me' with a verb to have it make sense.

Language Filter

The matchmaker comes with a language filter that is by default turned on. If you like seeing those naughty words, you can turn it off on the options page. If there's more filth that you don't want to see, you can edit the filter to include more words by clicking the edit button next to the checkbox on the options page.

Blocking Players

Getting annoyed at a player or just don't want to read their ramblings about how many huts they destroyed that game 3 years ago? You can right click on a player's name on the right hand side list and click block to stop hearing from them. To unblock them, right click on the name and select unblock. There is also a list of players blocked on the options page. You can add more players to your block list by typing their name in the field at the bottom and pressing the [Enter] key. To remove players from the list, select the name and press the [Del] key.

Matchmaker Version of Players

As it is sometimes possible for players to have different matchmaker versions, you can check the version of other players to see what version they have by right clicking on their name on the right side list and clicking [Version]. This will also tell you if they have a special (Admin or Mappack Admin) version of the matchmaker.

Tab Complete

Easy way to finish the name of a player in the lobby. Start typing the player's name and press tab. If there are multiple choices for names, press tab again to cycle through them.

User Sorting

On the options page there are a couple different ways to sort the users on the list lobby page. If you choose sort by name, the users will be sorted alphabetically. If you choose sort by rank, users will be sorted from highest rank to lowest and alphabetically within ranks. The ignore clan tag box will make the alphabetical sorting start after the clan tag.

Private Messages

Sometimes you want to tell someone something that you don't want everyone to know. For that we have private messages. Double click on a name on the right, or on a name in the chat window and you the chat field will get the private message header to let you send someone a message. You can have the matchmaker ring a bell and flash in the task bar when you get a private message by setting it in the options.

Away Messages

Sometimes you can't be at the computer while you're logged into the matchmaker and it's nice to let people know that you're not just ignoring them. To set an away message, type "!away Your away message" and that message will appear next to your name on the right side list to everyone. There are also some convenient quick messages you can use: !afk, !asleep, !atwork, !away, !brb, !busy, !dead, !eating, !sleeping, and !zzz.

Auto Away

If you forget to set your away message, there is fortunately an auto-away feature that will automatically set you away after 20 minutes of not using the matchmaker or moving the mouse (you can choose which on the options page). This will not ovewrite other away messages and will turn off when you come back again.

Nick Alerts

Nick alerts work by ringing a bell and flashing the matchmaker when someone says a word you specify and you are not using the matchmaker. You can put as many words as you would like to be alerted by in the box under the nick alerts checkbox.

Huts

On the left of the window are 20 "huts" each with space for four players. To join a hut, double click on an unoccupied space. To leave a hut, press the "Exit Hut" button at the bottom left. If you get stuck in a hut, it is because you have been switching huts and have been frozen for 30 seconds.

Hut Passwords

If you want to setup a hut with a password, when you're in the hosting position, right click on your name and click 'Set Password'. Anyone who wants to join your hut will need to type in the password before they can join a position in your hut.

Hosting

To host a game, join the top position of a hut. As a host you are able to pick the mappack for the game and are responsible for launching the game when other players have joined. To launch the game, press the "Launch" button at the bottom left. Hosts also have the ability to kick players from their hut. To do this, select a player, then right click on their name and press "Kick".

Setting a Different IP for Hosting

The login server should automatically set your public IP so you can host games, but if for whatever reason it doesn't, you can set it manually by typing "!setip xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx".

Maps, Mods, and Mappacks

Mappacks

Mappacks are packs of maps stored in zip files with a text file that contains names and other information about the maps. Mappacks can also contain textures and skies for the maps in some of the Mods. All mappacks must be signed by an administrator or mappack administrator of PopRe before they will show up on the Mods page in the matchmaker. Included in the mappacks are the standard levels (The Beginning) and the maps from Undiscovered Worlds.

Viewing Mappacks and Maps

You can preview the contents of a mappack before installing and playing it on the mods page. The mappacks you have installed will be on the list on the left of the window. Double click on a mappack to bring up a list of the maps and general information about the pack. Double click on a map to view a 2D preview of it which you can scroll around by clicking and dragging your mouse on it. Some map information including the number of players will also appear. If you are hosting a game and want to play the mappack, press the install button.

Random Mappacks

Random mappacks will bring up an extra box on the mods page with fields for the number of players and a seed. The seed is the identifying number for the maps. Everytime a script is run with the same seed, the map will be the same. Seeds can be any number from 1 to around 2 million, but to make things simpler, they are between 1 and 10,000 when randomly generated. When you install a random mappack, the levels are generated and it works like any other mappack. When you launch a random mappack, you will notice that the number of players and the seed are sent along with the normal launch message so the other players will have the same maps generated. Because they must be generated each time, random maps take a little bit longer to view and install.

Downloading Mappacks

All the mappacks are available for download on this website on the Maps Page, but you can also download the mappacks from within the matchmaker. To do this, click the "Download Mappacks" button on the mods page. If the list is blank or there was an error, press the update button and wait for the list to populate. The list will show all the packs that can be downloaded with an icon next to them and the packs already installed with no icon. To download a mappack, click on the name and press the download button. That mappack will be downloaded and appear on the list to the left.

Downloading Mappacks on Launch

Normally when the host launches a game with a mappack, the pack will be automatically installed and the game will start. If you don't have the pack and it is available on the PopRe server, you will get an option to download it. If you press yes, the pack will be downloaded and installed and the game should launch. If you press no, the game will not launch and you will have to get the mappack some other way.

Map Hash Comparisons

When a game is launched the host will automatically send a short hash of all the multiplayer levels to all the players. If any of the other players' map files are not exactly the same as the host's, the game will not start, and a list of the bad files will show up as error text on the chat area of the player who had the files not matching the host.

Populous Options

Version Changelogs

1.5.4.1

Hosting mode options

Game reporting improvements

1.5.3.8

More specific ranks

Rank ordering according to league table

Performance Improvements

1.5.3.7

Status icons and legend

Error numbers

Auto Hut: Automatic matchmaking

Best Teams notification on launch

1.5.2.6

End population reported

Improved report reliability

Advanced network settings hidden

1.5.2.4

Fix for long usernames not reporting games

1.5.2.3

Added Restore Levels function

Improved Error Messages

Scrolling and link bug fixes

1.5.1.0

Improved PM and Hut Password Security

Back-end command changes

Networking/SSL libraries upgraded

Ident Server built into Matchmaker

Added Hosting Ability Checks on Start

Added UPnP and NATPMP Automatic Port Forwarding

Added Clickable Links in chat

Chat area scrolling/selection improvements

Players no longer show up in wrong places on startup

Host can't kick people already in hut

Custom grades no longer allowed

Login Screen Changes

Added Tribe Starting Points on Map Preview

MM stored data directory changes

Improvements to mappack install system

Advanced game reporting

1.4.7.1

Minor Bug Fixes

Network Test

1.4.6.8

Security Fixes

Player list sync issues fix

Speed increases

1.4.6.6

Fixed hut freezing bug

Added "The Beginning" Mappack

1.4.5.2

Added Skin Manager

1.4.4.3

Fixed "excess flood" and auto-update bugs

1.4.4.1

Versioning modified + small fixes

1.4.1.4

Fixed problems with MM lagging and disconnecting players

1.4.1.3

Added Hut Passwords

Minor stability fixes

1.4.1.2

Added Custom Away Messages

1.4.1.1

Added Mappack Downloader

Added Mappack Download/Install on Launch

1.4.1.0

Added Auto-away

Added Nick Alerts

Added /me command

Added Nick Complete

Added Map Hash Comparisons

Added Random Map Generator

Added Ident Server for faster connections