User:TedTycoon

Scratch Start

TedTycoon have been playing Populous since 1999. After finishing Populous and playing multiplayer on a local area network connection, TedTycoon found the official online matchmaker where TedTycoon started playing with the name 'Mohicans'. TedTycoon was not that good at that time but had fun anyway.

Later On

TedTycoon had reached the rank of Spy when EA stopped hosting the matchmaker. During the last days of the official matchmaker people were interested in playing new levels, so TedTycoon wrote his first utility program in 'Visual Basic' which made it possible to play the single player levels in multiplayer.

Since this time TedTycoon have always have called hisself TedTycoon (as TedTycoon was also a fan of Transport and Rollercoaster Tycoon). Using an online fan launcher TedTycoon always kept Spy as his rank which was how it came to be his favourite follower. After that TedTycoon made a fan site to host the Level Changer download and various tips.

The Unofficial Crew

On the 8th of January 2004, EA shut down the matchmaker. TedTycoon then carried on playing on the unofficial matchmaker hosted by Populous Reincarnated. Having discovered how to edit map files using a hex editor, TedTycoon then started work on his second utility, the Spell Editor, which modifies header files. This allows you to edit the spells, buildings, landscape, fog and god mode available to a level.

TedTycoon have been adding utilities and making improvements to them ever since. Alacn (programmer of the matchmaker) was always a great help if TedTycoon wanted to know where to find something in the Populous files. After joining Populous Reincarnated as a secondary admin, TedTycoon was asked to write something to change the Populous colours, and wrote the Palette Editor.

Later on, TedTycoon realised it was hard to make your own Populous multiplayer levels fair, and copying objects in levels was frustrating. TedTycoon wanted a program which would quickly copy land and objects, changing the colours of the tribes as it did so. As soon as his Symmetry Tool was released, it became very popular, and thousands of players have downloaded it to make their own maps. TedTycoon made a mappack with one of his best Populous mates, Khickman, which was called Red Worlds. TedTycoon also made another mappack called Symmetry worlds where each world was a mirrored version of existing levels using his new utility.

When Warg started up a group called Wildman Productions, TedTycoon agreed to help them and become one of their staff. Because Wildman Productions and Populous Reincarnated creators were enemies, TedTycoon got kicked off the Populous Reincarnated Staff, so TedTycoon continued helping Wildman Productions make a level tester and a new and better matchmaker. TedTycoon have updated the Symmetry Tool several times to add new features, and it still downloaded by someone virtually every day.

The Present

TedTycoon is now programming a 2D user friendly map editor with Khickman. For more information on this go here.

Contributions

TedTycoon has made several contributions to the Populous community; here are the high points:

• Map-Packs
  • Red Worlds
  • Symmetry Worlds
• Programs
  • Populous Level Changer
  • Populous Spell Editor
  • Populous Palette Editor
  • Populous Symmetry Tool

Website

For more information about TedTycoon's work, see his website, Populous: Return of the Spies