Combined Forces
From Populous Wiki
| Combined Forces |
 |
| Mode : Singleplayer |
| Players : 2 |
| Stone Heads : 0 |
| Vault of Knowledges : 2 |
| Alliances : N/A |
| Difficulty : Beginner |
This is the forth level in Populous The Beginning and the first level where the enemy attacks with an army and Shaman. Three parts of this level are shown in the Rolling Demo. Also, a modified version is present in the demo called Eye of the Storm which has two Vaults of Knowledge: one Lightning, one Tornado and a Stone Head with Firestorm.
This map might have been primarily designed as a 2 vs 1 map, as that the name suggests this and if the Player places the mouse cursor near the middle of the hill to the left of the starting point, it may say "Chumara Reincarnation site" under the cursor (The Player cannot build there either). The map might have had the Player allying with the Chumara tribe as they do in Unlikely Allies. The player only encounters multiple tribes from Building Bridges onwards.
Starting Speech
"We face a great threat. The Matak are massing against us. I need the power of Lightning to defeat them, but Preachers are guarding their Vault of Knowledge."
<html5media height="720" width="1280">https://ts.popre.net/files/mp3s/Level%204%20-%20Introduction.mp3</html5media>
Setting
This is the fourth level in Populous, where the Matak tribe is faced for the second time in Single Player. The player starts on a large island shared with the Matak tribe. There is an attached circle of land which has a Vault of Knowledge on it and further away, a Stone Head giving the player some uses of the Convert spell.
Through the hills is a Vault of Knowledge guarded by several warriors. Beyond it are two passages to the Matak settlement.
Enemy tribes: Matak
Worship Objects:
| Item | Shots | Spell/Effect | Follower Count |
| Stone Head | 4 | Convert | 1 |
| Vault of Knowledge | Guard Tower | ||
| Vault of Knowledge | Lightning |
Strategy
Send the Shaman to the Vault of Knowledge to claim the Guard Tower building plan as well as a brave to worship the nearby Stone Head. Once the Guard Tower is available, build it in the middle of the land north of the Reincarnation Site followed by some huts around it. The enemy Shaman will come with small groups of followers to strike the player's settlement with Lightning.
The Warriors guarding the Vault of Knowledge can be converted with Preachers to make it easier to worship it with the Shaman. Once the spell is available, send an army to destroy the Matak settlement.
Rushing
It is possible to rush by gathering all starting followers to rush the enemy. Try to stop them from building training huts for winning to be easier.