Amazon.com Review
DarkBASIC Professional
Introducing DarkBasic Pro a powerful yet easy to learn programming language for creating games. PC Plus calls DarkBasic Pro "Specifically suited to both new programmers and veterans alike." DarkBasic Pro lets you create ANY type of game with almost any kind of 2D/3D effect and even lets you make games using Quake3 levels. It’s that powerful flexible and easy to use. Binary Space Partitioning for fast screen draws Pixel&Vertex shaders for more realistic look Bone based animation support for smooth character movement 2 environment mapping techniques for realistic reflections Multitexturing for more varied and exciting game scenes Light mapping for creating atmospheric shadows Professional Editor (IDE) with Windows XP style controls for quicker programming Particle system that lets you create sparks explosions water or snow Multiple player support for LAN and internet game creation And much much more!System Requirements: IBM PC or 100% compatible computer Intel Pentium II300 or higher processor Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP 64 MB RAM 450 MB hard disk space 4x CD-ROM drive or higher Direct3D compatible graphics card (with 8 MB or above) DirectX compatible sound card Keyboard DirectX 7.0aFormat: WIN 9598ME2000XP Genre: PRODUCTIVITY UPC: 708828188886 Manufacturer No: 18888
Amazon.com Review
DarkBASIC Professional
DARKBASIC PRO
Amazon.com Review
DarkBASIC Professional
DARKBASIC PRO (WIN 9598ME2000XP)
Amazon.com Review
DarkBASIC Professional
DARKBASIC PRO (WIN 95 98 ME 2000 XP)
Amazon.co.uk Review
DarkBasic Professional
An extensive command set, which automatically operates key functions means that the inputting of lines and lines of code is eradicated meaning completion of a game can be simple and quick. Put simply DarkBASIC PRO has been devised to make a coders life a lot easier. It is a guaranteed ticket to freedom to express ideas allowing you to enjoy the fun elements of programming whilst DarkBASIC Pro manages the boring part. Core 3D technologies such as Binary Space Partitioning (BSP) Rendering, Bump Mapping, Particles and Multi-texturing are all a walk in the park with DarkBASIC Pro. All code is compiled into 100% code, which guarantees that the visual delivery is of outstanding quality! This is possible, because DarkBASIC Pro supports the most up-to-date DirectX features from the latest graphics hardware. Those familiar with DarkBASIC, will love DarkBASIC Professional. The developers have taken a really proactive approach by inviting and encouraging suggestion and comment from users of DarkBASIC resulting in many improvements and additions being incorporated to make this a really spectacular package. A few commands are all that?s needed to create cool pixel and vertex shader effects or to project an MPEG movie onto the surface of a 3D object - at last you?re free to get your ideas moving fast. Improvements include a fully featured Windows editor and joy of all joys, a powerful debugger. For the hardcore coder DarkBASIC Pro truly delivers ? as you can even expand it by adding your own DLLs into the plug-ins directory. DarkBASIC Pro is suitable for programmers of all levels. Key Features Windows Editor Compiler Integrated Debugger Designed for DirectX 8.1 Lightening Fast 2D sprites Fast collision Multiplayer Fully XP compliant Compiled exe files 100% Machine code Encrypts and compresses Icon control of exes 3D Engine:
Binary Space Partitioning, Constructive Solid Geometry, Nodetree optimisations , Bump Mapping, Light mapping, Cubic Mapping, Multitexturing, Bone and Limb Animations, Pixel and Vertex shaders, Lights, Terrain & Matrices, Vector and Matrix manipulation, Real Time Shadows, True reflections, Multiple Cameras and Particles. Formats supported:
3D: X, 3DS, MD2, MD3, MDL, BSP
2D: BMP, DDs, JPEG, TGA, PNG, DIB
Sound: WAV, AIFF, AU, SND
Music: MP3, MIDI, SGT
Video: DVD, AVI, MPEG, Indeo, Cinepak, QuickTime, V2, MJPG Data Types:
Boolean, Integer, Float, Byte, Word, DWord,
Double Integer, Double Float, Constants, Strings Types, Functions
Unified Arrays (link lists, queues, stacks)
Numeric bases - Decimal, binary, hexadecimal, octal
Amazon.com Review
DarkBASIC Professional
Introducing DarkBasic Pro, a powerful yet easy to learn programming language for creating games. PC Plus calls DarkBasic Pro "Specifically suited to both new programmers and veterans alike." DarkBasic Pro lets you create ANY type of game, with almost any kind of 2D/3D effect and even lets you make games using Quake3 levels. It’s that powerful, flexible and easy to use.
Binary Space Partitioning for fast screen draws Pixel & Vertex shaders for more realistic look Bone based animation support for smooth character movement 2 environment mapping techniques for realistic reflections Multitexturing for more varied and exciting game scenes Light mapping for creating atmospheric shadows Professional Editor (IDE) with Windows XP style controls for quicker programming Particle system that lets you create sparks, explosions, water or snow Multiple player support for LAN and internet game creation And much, much more!
System Requirements:
IBM PC or 100% compatible computer Intel Pentium II 300 or higher processor Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP 64 MB RAM 450 MB hard disk space 4x CD-ROM drive or higher Direct3D compatible graphics card (with 8 MB or above) DirectX compatible sound card Keyboard DirectX 7.0a
Format: WIN 95,98,ME,2000,XP
Genre: PRODUCTIVITY
UPC: 708828188886
Manufacturer No: 18888
Amazon.com Review
DarkBASIC Professional
Introducing DarkBasic Pro a powerful yet easy to learn programming language for creating games. PC Plus calls DarkBasic Pro "Specifically suited to both new programmers and veterans alike." DarkBasic Pro lets you create ANY type of game with almost any kind of 2D/3D effect and even lets you make games using Quake3 levels. It’s that powerful flexible and easy to use. Binary Space Partitioning for fast screen draws Pixel & Vertex shaders for more realistic look Bone based animation support for smooth character movement 2 environment mapping techniques for realistic reflections Multitexturing for more varied and exciting game scenes Light mapping for creating atmospheric shadows Professional Editor (IDE) with Windows XP style controls for quicker programming Particle system that lets you create sparks explosions water or snow Multiple player support for LAN and internet game creation And much much more!System Requirements: IBM PC or 100% compatible computer Intel Pentium II 300 or higher processor Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP 64 MB RAM 450 MB hard disk space 4x CD-ROM drive or higher Direct3D compatible graphics card (with 8 MB or above) DirectX compatible sound card Keyboard DirectX 7.0aFormat: WIN 9598ME2000XP Genre: PRODUCTIVITY UPC: 708828188886 Manufacturer No: 18888
Amazon.com Review
DarkBASIC Professional
DARKBASIC PRO (WIN 95,98,ME,2000,XP)
Amazon.co.uk Review
DarkBasic Professional
After two years in development, DarkBasic Professional is set to change the world of "bedroom coding" with its overhauled Graphical User Interface (GUI), expanded command sets and enhanced options. Anyone with the slightest interest in games creation will have heard of DarkBasic. With its huge online community, it has become the defacto application for home-grown games creators. This latest incarnation, DarkBasic Professional has been built from scratch and isn’t just an update. It improves on an already top product with a whole new set of commands, an overhauled GUI and more features than you can shake a joystick at. If you’ve used the original DarkBasic, then you’ll already be familiar with the Command Line Interface and Debug windows, which makes it very easy to test your code as you build and run it. New users may be a bit daunted with having to enter in loads of lines of text in order to create a game. But that’s the nature of this beast and worthy of the time you invest in it. Tutorials are included with the software, and this is the best place to start if you’re new to programming. There is a really in-depth tutorial on creating an FPS game from scratch, and the tutorial takes you through the process in easy to digest chunks. Examples of all the command sets are included so you can instantly see how a piece of code works. DarkBasic Professional features over 1000 commands, and also includes support for multiplayer LAN and Internet games. Creating your own game from scratch requires more than just this piece of software, it needs above all planning. Add to that graphics, sounds, and sundry bits of code--all of which is included on the CD, and you’re on your way. The thought of actually using basic command lines to create a game may be too much for some people, but its well worth sticking with, and there is a whole online community out there ready and willing to help if you get stuck. If you’re interested in creating your own computer games, and you don’t fancy spending the next few years learning C++, then DarkBasic Professional is the "must have" application. Its tutorials are very easy to work with and the reference manual is a god-send. Spend long enough with it and you’ll be able to create some pretty amazing work. --Martin Snelling
Amazon.com Review
DarkBASIC Professional
Introducing DarkBasic Pro, a powerful yet easy to learn programming language for creating games. PC Plus calls DarkBasic Pro Specifically suited to both new programmers and veterans alike. DarkBasic Pro lets you create ANY type of game, with almost any kind of 2D/3D effect and even lets you make games using Quake3 levels. It’s that powerful, flexible and easy to use.
 Member Comments
Amazon.com Customer Comments
DarkBASIC Professional
 Excellent Path to Game Creation
14 Oct 2009 @ amazon.com
It looks like its been a while since anyone wrote a review, so I thought I’d add one that’s current.
Microsoft IMHO, is leading programmers down the wrong path. Since Bill Gates left the company, I’m not sure who is steering the ship, but the .NET world is the wrong direction for anyone serious about game development. Dark Basic Professional is based upon the procedural BASIC language (like QuickBASIC) of years past. DBPro is NOT based upon OOP (object oriented programming) methodology. And I am certainly glad about that. OOP is slow, overly complex and an enormous drain on even moderate PC hardware. So if you are looking for the next great OOP compiler, you’ll need to look elsewhere. But, if you want a language that specifically targets the game industry, providing you with hundreds of commands to unlock powerful game design capability, then DBPro is the perfect choice. I have been a Visual Basic programming since 1991. But since Microsoft trashed that technology in favor of their bloatware called Visual Studio.NET, I have been forced to learn a new language. Since my goals are game design, then DBPro is the one for me! As a result, I am developing the next great ATC simulation complete with 3d models, camera control, weather systems, audio. All of which is accomplished in a very short period of time. GET’ers and SET’ers are not needed, nor desired. If you want to write a professional game, and do it quickly, DBPro is the way to go! But granted, some level of programming expertise is expected. I wouldn’t recommend it to a person who wishes to LEARN how to program. Take a class for that. DBPro provides you with the tools to design and build a working game. It will not teach you the difference between a variable and a constant. I absolutely love the product. I’m banking my next career move on it.
Incredibly Easy and Powerful
11 Aug 2009 @ amazon.com
Let me first say that the user forums of The Game Creators for Dark Basic Professional are a tremendous resource. Any question you have about how to program using the language has already been answered there, or can be answered, and the people are friendly and willing to collaborate and help. Everyone who buys this should go there, and benefit, you will get one hundred times the value out of it.
When I found out there was a powerful variant of the simple BASIC programming language I had learned as a child, I jumped at it, always having been annoyed by the complexities behind simple tasks in C++ and other languages.
And I found what I was looking for. Graphics, sound, video, a few commands, and there it was.
For a time, the editor was rather clunky, but a fine replacement for it is finally available for download online, in fact there is now more than one option. The Game Creators are very diligent about bug crushing as well, very professional. They stay very up to date with the latest DirectX.
The language is not perfect, there’re limitations here and there as with every language, but the user base has coded a vast amount of public domain libraries code and extensions to remove a great many of them.
I’ve written many programs using this language and have been very happy with it.
If after a long day you don’t want to have to wrap your mind around C++, and spend an age coding a simple program, you will be pleasantly surprised by Dark Basic Pro. I think anyone with even an ounce of programming talent can write decent programs with it. All you need is content and ideas, the programming power is there for you.
 Words cannot describe how awful this software is.
27 May 2008 @ amazon.com
Slow.
Innefficient.
Weak.
Lame.
Just a few of the words I can use to describe the completely evil, horrible software people call darkBASIC Professional.
I am going to describe how awful this stuff is. The main problem is really the incredibly slow, innefficient code that is encumbered by the BASIC language. The included tutorials are so cryptic that it would take someone who already knows how to program (me) to understand it. Not only does it delude people into thinking that they know how to program graphics when they really can’t, but it also skips over the "hard parts" of programming, thus making it impossible to use pointers.
It also makes implementing graphics considerably harder. With Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Express Edition(free), you can import you’re graphics fairly easily using the included directX tools, or simply code it out yourself.
This software makes it impossible to do the latter. Its irritating, frustrating debugger doesn’t catch any of the bugs for you, like a good c++ compiler (CodeBlocks...Free) will.
I hate this software, get a free compiler, and man up to learn C++
Junk
28 Oct 2006 @ amazon.com
I bought this, installed it, patched it, and then started going through the rather incomplete and disorganized documentation. The examples I played around with all worked fine. I started writing my own program, a simple math game with basic sprites and speech. I wrote a simple speech and graphics routine, which mostly worked. I wanted to try to figure out why one of my functions was going into an infinite loop and so I started the Debug mode, so I could watch what the variables were doing (very simple, basic, and common programming practice). Blat - debug mode crashes. Debug mode works on much simpler programs and for the few examples I tried out, but on my 200 line routine it generates exceptions. After the crash, I opened my project and found that everything I had written in my source had been reverted to an old version. I know for a fact that it was saved many times since then, but for some reason it decided to recall an old version for loading, as if all my Saves after an arbitrary point never happened. If I can’t run debug mode on my programs or save my sources, then what’s the point of this software? Complete and total buggy garbage.
 You need other resources
05 Aug 2006 @ amazon.com
DarkBasic Professional has a nicely written manual and is pretty powerful. If you’re looking to make a Quake-like game, you may be dissappointed to find that it does not have a graphics editor or a map editor. Those you are going to have to purchase (or download) separately. It would be nice if there was an OpenSource graphics suite available.
Awesome
16 May 2006 @ amazon.com
I only have the basic and its good but i’ve seen this and it has to be the #&@*ing koolest thing you can have right now. I highly recommened it for begginers to experts!
Powerful, easy to use game development
11 Mar 2006 @ amazon.com
If you’re looking to create the next Doom 3 or Half-Life 2, then I can’t really recommend this program. If you want to make an advanced FPS game, or a simple pong game, then I can recommend Dark Basic. In fact, Dark Basic Professional is probably capable of creating any kind of game that you can come up with. The catch? You have to program it yourself, all from scratch. Dark Basic makes manipulating 3D data extremely easy, but it’s not a game creation package which lets you click and create. If you are determined enough, it’s easy to learn all of Dark Basic’s commands, as half of programming a game is in the logic. Dark Basic will hardly limit you, and will give you capabilities that were probably impossibly hard for you to use in C++. The end result of creating a game from scratch results in a tremendous sense of satisfaction, especially when you share it with friends and family. Although previous versions of Dark Basic Professional had some hardly crippling bugs, most of them have been eliminated, and with the release of upgrade 6.0, DBPro is a very stable development engine. Overall, I totally recommend this to anyone who wants to create a game, but is determined enough to learn how.
Just recieved my copy of DarkBasic pro AND....
18 Jan 2006 @ amazon.com
I give the DB Pro 5 stars, but I am totally disappointed in Amazon.com and The Gamecreaters, heres why
The first thing I noticed is my box is different than that shown here... http://darkbasicpro.thegamecreators.com
I didnt recieve any of the free software stated in the link above
I cant find the
Over 45 Demo’s
Over 25 Tutorials
Over 600 Textures
Over 120 Sound Effects
900 3D Models
That is stated here...
http://darkbasic.thegamecreators.com/
I applied the .59 upgrade patch and now my program wont start. It says its missing MSVCR71.dll file.
The original version was 1.05
I cant believe the darkbasic.com is advertising this product, yet Amazon.com is shipping some ancient version. Hopefully I will be able to resolve this issue...
Great expectations leads to disappointment
13 Apr 2005 @ amazon.com
I’m an Artist / Animator not a programmer.
I tried learning C++, Java, Unreal Script. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t learn it. When I heard there was a 3D game engine around which uses a derivitave of BASIC as the core language, I can’t tell you how psyched I was.
So I went to the DarkBasic website and they have DarkBasic, which is cheap, and DarkBasic Professional, which is a bit more, so I figured I’d check out the basic package and start simple.
First thing you find is that there is no real How To Use This Product. There is a help feature of sorts, but code examples are of the cribnote variety: they are not actual working code examples but syntactical representations of code. A college professor with knowledge of basic computer science could decipher it. But if no one has taken the time to explain to you what an X and Y coordinate is, for instance, how are you going to know that X and Y means insert numbers here?
Fortunately I did know a bit about BASIC from my old Commodore 64 days, but even so, couldn’t make anything happen till going to the homepage for tutorials. There are a couple on the main page. If you follow the first tutorial, you can toss together a few basic elements into a rudimentary first person shooter game. However I didn’t want to make yet another of way too many first person shooter games. I have other game ideas.
So I go in search of more tutorials and there is a mere smattering of unfinished references around. Fortunately, a friend of mine loans me the 750 page book: Beginner’s Guide to DarkBasic Programming. Unfortunately, if you took away all the author’s attempts to impress you with his knowledge of computer science, it boils down to maybe 20 pages of actual content. (On page 48 they’re still explaining how to install the software.)
After getting my hands on what useless tidbit’s I could find about as far as documentation, I was starting to get the understanding of how it worked, but still needed fuel for the fire. I marched down to the library and checked out every book on Liberty Basic, GWBasic, Microsoft Basic, etc, and starting translating the beginner’s examples into DB. Now I was finally able to make some headway! Before long I was manipulating 3D game content around like I’d been doing it all my life.
I started finding a few bugs here and there, then come to find out, they are no longer doing any updates to DarkBasic 1. It’s obsolete. So I got the DarkBasic Professional Demo.
First of all there are some problems with the Editor. It’s incomplete. Apparently the guy who was working on that part left the company due to "personal differences" and left them without the source code, so any problems there cannot be fixed.
[...]
I would give this 6 stars on concept alone.
However the the implementaion leaves much to be desired.
For documentation, they get a big fat ZERO
I think this product has a tremendous amount of potential if they would just finish what they started before moving on to another project. They could easily have one of the premiere game authoring platforms if they would just get back on track with their core BASIC engine and stop trying to follow in the footsteps of HalfLife and Unreal Tournament
Amazon.co.uk Customer Comments
DarkBasic Professional
 good language, easy to use
30 Dec 2008 @ amazon.co.uk
I’ve been using DarkBasic for many years, Its a good language for people who have never programmed before as it makes it as simple as possible, there are also many add-ons you can get for additional commands, and ability to use MSDN Commands from windows DLL’s once you know what your doing.
I would have no problem recommending this to anyone, but just make sure you download the latest update.
If you do get this then also check the online forum as there is always quick help available from other more experienced users of this language.
 No progress on bugs.
27 Nov 2008 @ amazon.co.uk
I spent 2-3 years developing a flexible and reusable program that allowed me to create my own FPS. It is a good system and has some advantages. However the one annoying bug for me...invisible walls in BSP levels. I explained on the forums till I was blue in the face. I even sent them a file to look at.
Then suddenly I found out their main programmer had moved on to do FPS creator and was not ironing out the bug. It was never resolved!Don’t buy it! I gave it two cause it was useful for some mathematical work.
A big let down
21 Aug 2007 @ amazon.co.uk
TGC rely on the community to fix their problems for them through third party libs and applications etc...
This product has many problems with the most basic of product requirements (a decent IDE & working debugger) making it a steep curve for new people wanting to learn. There is nothing more annoying than not being able to trace a problem in your code, or an IDE that simply refuses to properly save what you have spent all day working on. I won’t mention all the other bugs that still exist in this product (sure you can look on their website for those).
If you have the patience of a saint then this might be for you. If you dislike companies that release half finished products and never deliver what was promised then avoid this.
Gave it 2 stars because it has a big community base to help you out, kudos to them.
AMAZING
05 Apr 2007 @ amazon.co.uk
This program is easy to understand. If you don’t understand a command (I saw in a review someone said they couldn’t understand a command), highlight the command and go to command help (F1). This is the best game making software built!
No internet connection?
24 Apr 2006 @ amazon.co.uk
I have Dark Basic Pro and it is a great language both for beginners and experienced programmers. It gives you the power of Directx technology without all the hassle of C++ and Windows APIs. Of course the quality and scope of the programs created by a beginner and an experienced programmer will differ and this only testifies the success of the programming language. Most newcomers find it hard to understand that the programming languages are only tools and the quality of the programs created with them depend on the programmers experience, creativity, problem solving ability and last but not the least some dedication and hard work.
I’d like to ask ’some software user’ how on earth he could post a review here if he didn’t have an internet connection to register and activate the product?
The only part I agree in negative comments is the one about the manual but the tutorials on the game creators site and in the monthly newsletters (free) make up for this lack of information. There are many very active forums out there and people in this community are really willing to help newcomers. So don’t be afraid to make this investment in the easiest and one of the most eleborate ways into programming world. MUSTY
Don’t waste your money
01 Apr 2006 @ amazon.co.uk
When I first ordered Darkbasic Pro, I was excited. Their forum Code Snippets sections excited me, but when I started actually trying to make a game, I discovered that most of the snippets didn’t work. The tutorial offered by the company itself is nothing more that a line of code with a brief explaination. The FPS (first person shooter) that I tried was horrible! Darkbasic Pro might be ok for and experienced programmer, but it is definitely not for beginners. In fact, an experience programmer would probably use some other program. The program used terms like BSP without bothering to explain it. Don’t waste your money. DarkBasic Pro is not for beginners. They have horrible tutorials. They want you to buy their book.
Good people
29 Mar 2006 @ amazon.co.uk
I too bought this without realising an internet connection would be needed to activate it. However I contacted them and they were really helpful. I also own First Person Shooter Creator by the same company, which is absolutely wonderful, so easy to use and great for beginners.
Fantastic
02 Oct 2005 @ amazon.co.uk
i am a 14yr old and i have been creating simple 2d games and sd models on the computer and when i saw this i thought at last i can make my own 3d games and it didn’t disapoint. i have had it for 4 days and i and still learning all the functions. It is hard at the begining but if you spend time to learn the comands and then you can make some fantasic 3d games that you can sell rolalty free. I whould reconmend going to their website at www.thegamecreators.com because if you are no good at programing there are other programs that are simpler but are also 3d. I would reconmend this program if you time to learn because you can’t create a game in 10 mins because you have to type all the comands.
Avoid disappointment
02 Jan 2005 @ amazon.co.uk
To anyone thinking of purchasing this item -MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION BEFORE BUYING IT. It looks, and I am sure it is, superb, but I bought it as a present for someone who does not have an Internet connection. From initial excitement, therefore, came great disappointment. There is a form of discrimination going on here - not everyone interested in writing games can afford the Internet (and some people actually resent the intrusion that can be brought by having the Internet).
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