Is DarkBASIC pro great

AllAmericanJBert · 05-23-2009, 06:21 AM

I am planning on buying the Dark Game Studio, which bundles DarkBASIC Classic and Pro with some other Game Building Stuff. I was wondering if DarkBASIC Pro, is great. I think the price is a tad steep, but I would be willing to buy it if its great.

-All American JBert

unforgiven · 05-23-2009, 12:52 PM

If you ask me , Yes it's good ( it's cheap , almost free =D ) , However you can use the similar products like FreeBasic ( www.freebasic.net ) for free

IceColdDuke · 05-23-2009, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllAmericanJBert

I am planning on buying the Dark Game Studio, which bundles DarkBASIC Classic and Pro with some other Game Building Stuff. I was wondering if DarkBASIC Pro, is great. I think the price is a tad steep, but I would be willing to buy it if its great.

-All American JBert

I dont get why people would buy that crap to begin with...if your going to make games there are FREE ways to do that :|. For example if you want to make a cheap 3d game use quake 1/doom 1/2 engines. And you learn ALOT more.

peoplessi · 05-24-2009, 04:25 PM

Or just go Quake 3 to begin with.

Bad Sector · 05-24-2009, 06:37 PM

Quake3 is way too complicated for someone who doesn't know about programming. Quake 1 *might* cut it though. Its not easy of course, but its easier to mess around with the code, modify stuff and see what happens. Also its very "compact" and someone can have the whole structure in his head.

Of course any "engine" requires some good knowledge about programming. I recommend to read a bit about programming, graphics and OpenGL in general and try to write a crude engine (with crude i mean something that you can make a Wolf3D-like maze - its very easy with OpenGL) and make some experiments with it (like displaying some static models, etc). Once you have good enough understanding of programming, OpenGL and graphics you can check Quake 1's source code to see what a full game engine looks like. At this point is where you might want to modify stuff.

As for DarkBasic, well around here* there is a running joke that basically goes like someone saying "this game/program is shit" and someone else replying with "it was made with DarkBasic of course". DB used to be shit at the past, but today it might not be (as shitty as it used to be). However you can judge by yourself by checking out what has already been made with DarkBasic. A nice example is FPS Creator, a program and engine written in DarkBasic by the same people who made DarkBasic (so they know their tool and how to take advantage of it). Run some FPS Creator-made games and see by yourself what the tool is capable of. Personally i find it horrible.

Btw, FPS Creator isn't a bad tool actually. If you ignore the default assets and make your own stuff, don't mind the extremely long loading times (this might be fixed) and bad movement, you can use it to test out ideas for levels for other engines. Or make free FPS games that you bundle with toolbars and spyware to make some cash**.

I recommend you to actually focus on learning programming and algorithms. The language doesn't really matter (i know C/C++, FreePascal/ObjectPascal, Java, a bit of C#, some Basic variants, a bunch of scripting languages, some less-known languages, etc and use most of them about the same way). What matters is to know writing algorithms - these can be implemented in most languages.

Although its a good idea to skip languages that offer premade stuff (such as DarkBasic) because they usually suck at anything the designer hasn't thought about.

(*=a programming community i know)
(**=i've actually seen it - please don't do it)

peoplessi · 05-24-2009, 07:04 PM

Good advices there. I agree on the second paragraph especially.

IceColdDuke · 05-24-2009, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bad Sector

Although its a good idea to skip languages that offer premade stuff (such as DarkBasic) because they usually suck at anything the designer hasn't thought about.

(*=a programming community i know)
(**=i've actually seen it - please don't do it)

I recommended Quake 1 because of QC, which in my opinion is ALOT better than trying to f**k around with dark basic, and you learn real world application of programming, learn a C like syntax, its free, AND you can get something bad ass to work with little effort.

Oh yeah and don't use Quake 3 as a starting point, it lacks proper single player AI which i just spent like a week implmenting myself and it was a bitch :|.

8IronBob · 05-25-2009, 06:17 AM

Well, I thought that DB Pro would've been worth it, but I found Blitz 3D to be even easier.

AllAmericanJBert · 05-25-2009, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bad Sector

(i know C/C++, ...)

Would you by chance know of any good tutorials and/or books about C/C++ (I would really prefer c though)

Haravikk · 05-25-2009, 04:46 PM

I'm currently having a go at iPhone programming; Objective-C is a very bewildering language, but actually really good to code in once you get your head around the crazy insanity of it all.

AllAmericanJBert · 05-25-2009, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unforgiven

...However you can use the similar products like FreeBasic ( www.freebasic.net ) for free

Does this FreeBASIC compile to exe?

IceColdDuke · 05-26-2009, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllAmericanJBert

Does this FreeBASIC compile to exe?

Use Quake/QC :|.

unforgiven · 05-26-2009, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllAmericanJBert

Does this FreeBASIC compile to exe?

Yes , it compiles your project to Executable file ( .exe ) for Windows and even Linux ..
for ease of use you must get Editor like FBIDE ( http://fbide.freebasic.net/ )

freebasic is nice language , you can embed your low level code directly into your project , check their forum ( http://www.freebasic.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=8 ) and you will find a lot of examples , games and ... written in FreeBasic =D

Many companies like Sierra used FreeBasic to make commercial games ( Example : Hoyle Board Games )

you're a beginner and this is good start , this prepare you for semi-advanced languages like C#

IceColdDuke · 05-26-2009, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unforgiven

Yes , it compiles your project to Executable file ( .exe ) for Windows and even Linux ..
for ease of use you must get Editor like FBIDE ( http://fbide.freebasic.net/ )

freebasic is nice language , you can embed your low level code directly into your project , check their forum ( http://www.freebasic.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=8 ) and you will find a lot of examples , games and ... written in FreeBasic =D

Many companies like Sierra used FreeBasic to make commercial games ( Example : Hoyle Board Games )

you're a beginner and this is good start , this prepare you for semi-advanced languages like C#

Starting programming is very tedious and its easy for people to get discouraged which is why I recommend Quake 1/qc because you can see some very advanced changes to the game with little effort.

If I tought a programming class I would use Quake/QC.

AllAmericanJBert · 05-26-2009, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IceColdDuke

Use Quake/QC :|.

Do you know where I could download this Quake/QC?

I am quite anxious to try it out!

IceColdDuke · 05-26-2009, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllAmericanJBert

Do you know where I could download this Quake/QC?

I am quite anxious to try it out!

Use google pendejo :P

Bad Sector · 05-27-2009, 01:23 AM

Ah, when you said about Quake 1/etc i thought you proposed him to use the engine's source code and modify that, not QuakeC.

Yes QuakeC is probably a nice start to grasp the idea behind writing code, although i haven't personally used it. Also i think (but i might be wrong) that John Carmack said at some point that he wasn't really proud that some people learned programming with QuakeC, so i assume its not the best designed language around.

IceColdDuke · 05-27-2009, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bad Sector

Ah, when you said about Quake 1/etc i thought you proposed him to use the engine's source code and modify that, not QuakeC.

Yes QuakeC is probably a nice start to grasp the idea behind writing code, although i haven't personally used it. Also i think (but i might be wrong) that John Carmack said at some point that he wasn't really proud that some people learned programming with QuakeC, so i assume its not the best designed language around.

That is correct, the QuakeC code is full of mistakes, and is kind of a way showing "what you should NOT do". But the point is again, you can get something that looks fantastic working in a day if you don't know what your doing, and if you do know what your doing it would only take you a few hours

.

Jiminator · 05-27-2009, 11:31 AM

lots of people have an idea that they can become good at something with the right tool. this is mostly false. a good tool might make you better or faster, but with a proper foundation in the basic skills any tool will work. so don't spend any money because really you are just throwing it away. take the excellent advice here instead.

05-23-2009, 06:21 AM	#1
AllAmericanJBert	Is DarkBASIC pro great I am planning on buying the Dark Game Studio, which bundles DarkBASIC Classic and Pro with some other Game Building Stuff. I was wondering if DarkBASIC Pro, is great. I think the price is a tad steep, but I would be willing to buy it if its great. -All American JBert __________________ I taught myself C, C++, C#, VB, HTML, and Javascript. At the moment, I am teaching myself Java, Perl, Objective C, and x86 assembly. I'm nuts!

05-23-2009, 12:52 PM	#2
unforgiven	Re: Is DarkBASIC pro great If you ask me , Yes it's good ( it's cheap , almost free =D ) , However you can use the similar products like FreeBasic ( www.freebasic.net ) for free Last edited by unforgiven; 05-23-2009 at 12:56 PM.

05-24-2009, 04:25 PM	#4
peoplessi	Re: Is DarkBASIC pro great Or just go Quake 3 to begin with. __________________ Duke Nukem Forever Who am I to judge?

05-24-2009, 06:37 PM	#5
Bad Sector	Re: Is DarkBASIC pro great Quake3 is way too complicated for someone who doesn't know about programming. Quake 1 might cut it though. Its not easy of course, but its easier to mess around with the code, modify stuff and see what happens. Also its very "compact" and someone can have the whole structure in his head. Of course any "engine" requires some good knowledge about programming. I recommend to read a bit about programming, graphics and OpenGL in general and try to write a crude engine (with crude i mean something that you can make a Wolf3D-like maze - its very easy with OpenGL) and make some experiments with it (like displaying some static models, etc). Once you have good enough understanding of programming, OpenGL and graphics you can check Quake 1's source code to see what a full game engine looks like. At this point is where you might want to modify stuff. As for DarkBasic, well around here* there is a running joke that basically goes like someone saying "this game/program is shit" and someone else replying with "it was made with DarkBasic of course". DB used to be shit at the past, but today it might not be (as shitty as it used to be). However you can judge by yourself by checking out what has already been made with DarkBasic. A nice example is FPS Creator, a program and engine written in DarkBasic by the same people who made DarkBasic (so they know their tool and how to take advantage of it). Run some FPS Creator-made games and see by yourself what the tool is capable of. Personally i find it horrible. Btw, FPS Creator isn't a bad tool actually. If you ignore the default assets and make your own stuff, don't mind the extremely long loading times (this might be fixed) and bad movement, you can use it to test out ideas for levels for other engines. Or make free FPS games that you bundle with toolbars and spyware to make some cash*. I recommend you to actually focus on learning programming and algorithms. The language doesn't really matter (i know C/C++, FreePascal/ObjectPascal, Java, a bit of C#, some Basic variants, a bunch of scripting languages, some less-known languages, etc and use most of them about the same way). What matters is to know writing algorithms - these can be implemented in most languages. Although its a good idea to skip languages that offer premade stuff (such as DarkBasic) because they usually suck at anything the designer hasn't thought about. (=a programming community i know) (**=i've actually seen it - please don't do it)

05-24-2009, 07:04 PM	#6
peoplessi	Re: Is DarkBASIC pro great Good advices there. I agree on the second paragraph especially. __________________ Duke Nukem Forever Who am I to judge?

05-25-2009, 06:17 AM	#8
8IronBob	Re: Is DarkBASIC pro great Well, I thought that DB Pro would've been worth it, but I found Blitz 3D to be even easier. __________________ PC Specs (a.k.a. "Galacticus Prime"): http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7Vk7FT

05-25-2009, 04:46 PM	#10
Haravikk	Re: Is DarkBASIC pro great I'm currently having a go at iPhone programming; Objective-C is a very bewildering language, but actually really good to code in once you get your head around the crazy insanity of it all.

05-27-2009, 01:23 AM	#17
Bad Sector	Re: Is DarkBASIC pro great Ah, when you said about Quake 1/etc i thought you proposed him to use the engine's source code and modify that, not QuakeC. Yes QuakeC is probably a nice start to grasp the idea behind writing code, although i haven't personally used it. Also i think (but i might be wrong) that John Carmack said at some point that he wasn't really proud that some people learned programming with QuakeC, so i assume its not the best designed language around.

05-27-2009, 11:31 AM	#19
Jiminator	Re: Is DarkBASIC pro great lots of people have an idea that they can become good at something with the right tool. this is mostly false. a good tool might make you better or faster, but with a proper foundation in the basic skills any tool will work. so don't spend any money because really you are just throwing it away. take the excellent advice here instead. __________________ big badass nasty weapons here....