I really want to play Populous - The Beginning, but I have a Windows 10 laptop and GOG says it only runs on Windows Vista and 7. Will it work on my laptop?

It's called "The Beginning". Win 10 is The End.

SCNR...

Sorry, I'm not using Win10 - if it really doesn't work and you have some HDD space to spare - install some Linux and run in through Wine. I'm sure there are hundreds of people here who can help you with that.

i have Win 10.

Give me a few minutes to download/install and I'll see if it runs.

And NO IT DOESN'T.

There is a very good chance that the game won't work out of the box on Windows 10. If that happens, you'll have to use some method on your own like dgVoodoo 2 (see link below) to make it run. Since GOG can't guarantee that the game will work on Windows 10, they also won't be offering any support/refunds, so it's up to you if you want to risk 5-6 bucks.

https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Populous:_The_Beginning#Game_crashes_on_startup_.28AMD.2FATI_GPUs.29

It can work quite well, but heck if it isn't simpler to set up Wine in a virtual desktop and forget all the headache.

What I said... I'm still ... some one year plus away from either downgrading to Windows 10 or following my conscience when W7 support runs out. And I really think the only way to runs Win10 is locked into a VM without access to anything else but itself.

Try renaming Atiumdag.dll in the installation folder to something else (like Atiumdag.dll.bak) and try running it again. For me it won't run on any version of Windows with that file.

I accidentally erased my Windows 10 install and aside from a few missing wallpapers, I've no regrets!

I just tried it myself and can confirm that it doesn't run out of the box but works just fine when using dgVoodoo2 as Grargar suggested. I have only played through the tutorial so far but if that works the campaign should run as well.

I'm playing Populous the Beginning with no problem at all on Windows 10, by using dgvoodoo2 (see link under step 1 below).

I got the suggestion to use dgvoodoo2 from https://www.gog.com/forum/populous_series/enjoy_populous_the_beginning_in_glorious_d3d_a_guide

But for me the two steps I needed to follow were much easier than those explained by kevroman. This is what I did to let the game rune fluently:

1. download dgvoodoo 2 http://dege.freeweb.hu/dgVoodoo2/dgVoodoo2.html and place the contents of the ME folder (3 dlls) in the main game folder (the link you need to click for download is dgVoodoo v2.55.3)
2. Do not use Launch Populous (which refers to GOGLauncher.exe) to start the game, but popTB.exe - I read the tip to use D3DpopTB.exe, but for me that resulted in incomplete graphics (the shaman from the tutorial was a white shadow, instead of a colored figure)

This actually worked, forget the goglauncher or goginstaller:

The game didnt start for me, the GoG Launcher didnt work (instantly closed again) and the installer everyone talks about is missing.
D3DPop didnt do anything just went back to windows after a short blackscreen and i had several larger issues with the games shortcuts or .exe data.
The software .exe (without D3D) ran "fine", but had a choppy mouse and stuttered graphically aswell so it was unplayable.

Here in detail on how i fixed both issues (D3D not running and stuttering):
- I downloaded the Voodoo Launcher (IMPORTANT: Its NOT limited to AMD Users, i have an NVIDIA Card, the PC Gaming Wiki implies that its only an AMD/ATI GPU solution, it is not).

- I placed all .dll of the launcher into the gamefile Populous and unzipped the Voodoo Files all to a separate Folder.

- I then started the Voodoo Launcher, added the folder of Populous to it, made some settings
- closed it and went to the Populous Folder, right click on the D3DPopTB.exe go to compatibility and select XP Service Pack 2.

- i then copied the .exe (D3D) and pasted it on the desktop as a shortcut (IMPORTANT for Windows 10, not just copy paste, right click and paste as shortcut).

- then right click the shortcut and select properties

- go into the line where the target folder is named (it ends with a ")

- place a bracket after the " and then write /frameratemouse and apply. If it isnt correct it keeps telling you that its the wrong target name, so look close until you have it applied. (My target folder name as an example:
"D:\GOG\Populous - The Beginning\D3DPopTB.exe" /frameratemouse )

The last part gets rid of any choppyness in the game with the mouse and stuttering under Win10 as it seems its not possible to add parametres to an executable under windows 10 for whatever reason. It has to be a shortcut that you edit.
The D3D should now run perfectly fine.
You can mess around a bit in the Voodoo Launcher under the DirectX Settings. The Voodoo Launcher Guide also speaks of it being possible to use ReShade and other such software with it to apply anti aliasing and other stuff.
I havent tried that yet but maybe this allows for more experimentation.

I played the tutorial and it ran absolutely fine, no choppyness, no screentearing (although i have gsync so it might happen without that), no missing or weird colours, no crashes (even alt-tabbing works flawless).
I cant tell whether i utilized the 1200 resolution, i set Voodoo to use it and the game worked in 16:9 so i assume it applied without a problem. It doesnt enhance your graphics though (which i thought), the resolution ingame will only go up to 800x600.
But at last, we are talking about running an old game on Win10 and not a remake.
Although there is a remake mod for the Multiplayer i think. I leave this as a hint out here.


This recaptures my todays experience for you and whoever stumbles over this thread because he/she has similar issues with the game, try this and i hope it helps. If so im happy i could help and screw GoG that they didnt manage to even get the GoGlauncher.exe to work nor include the goginstaller.exe everyone seems to talk about.