A Populous (Amiga) clone developed in Python using Pygame. This project aims to recreate the core mechanics of the original game: terrain manipulation, colony building, and divine management of "Peeps".
🚀 Current Features
- Isometric engine: Faithful rendering to the Amiga aesthetic.
- Terrain manipulation: Raise or lower the ground to create buildable areas.
- Construction logic: Peeps automatically build huts, houses, or castles based on terrain flatness.
- Peep behaviour: Wandering, building, and fusion behaviors to increase their strength.
- Divine Commands Go assemble Merge your Peeps to create stronger units Go Build Encourage colonization Go Papal Go to papal Go Fight look for fight against foes not implemented yet
- Divine Powers Mountain not implemented yet Quake not implemented yet Swamps not implemented yet Flood not implemented yet War not implemented yet Knight not implemented yet
🛠️ Installation
- install Python 3.10+
- Install dependencies:
pip install -r requirements.txt
🎮 How to Play
Launch the game:
bash python populous.py
- Left Click: Raise terrain.
- Right Click: Lower terrain.
- UI Buttons: Use the icons on the right to switch modes (Build, Fusion, etc.).
- F1 remove peeps in the map
- F2 remove buildings in the map
- F3 generate new random map
- F4 level all terrain to height 1
- F12 scanline display
- § DEBUG messages and display
- TAB zoom x1 x2 x3 x4
🧰 Diagnostic Tools
The tools/ folder contains several utility scripts:
map_viewer.py: Map visualizer at different scales.sprite_diagnostic.py: Spritesheet analyzer.house_diagnostic.py: Terrain detection algorithm tester for houses.
📝 Architecture
The project follows a strict separation between game logic and rendering:
game_map.py: Grid and altitude management.peep.py: AI and unit lifecycle.house.py: Territory logic and building evolution.populous.py: Main loop and input handling.