Play Populous: The Promised Lands (Japan edition · Japanese) Online

The player influences a population indirectly by changing the land it inhabits. Flat, usable ground supports settlement, while awkward terrain limits how the followers can grow. As the population strengthens, divine powers provide further ways to disrupt a rival and push the contest toward its conclusion. The Promised Lands content brings distinctive landscapes to the Populous structure, changing the appearance of the world without removing the importance of terrain management. A useful opening focuses on giving nearby followers enough continuous ground to establish themselves. Later, compare the cost of a power with what it will actually change for the population. Watching the map as a living whole is more useful than treating each small settlement in isolation.