Woot! so, it works.
turns out I
did have to compile my own server. which wasn't too bad as long as I followed the guide
and I remembered that we are dealing in a 32 bit world that doesn't like spaces. (had 64-bit mysql installed in program files directory).
Once that was done it compiled no problems. I was able to use the pre-packaged database that I downloaded previously (I compiled revision 1410 so I wouldn't run into issues) and everything worked! logged in and created/spawned my first bot.
Thanks all for your help. now, to figure out how to use them

.