DarkBASIC 3D Games Creator

Other products by Enteractive

Product Features

• Learn how the DirectX tools available in this easy programming language can make 3D objects come to life immediately!
• Create full-display screen with full MP2 and MP3 support by using the power of DirectX and Direct3D
• The simple, uncluttered workspace is user-friendly and features an integrated help system
• Extensive examples and tutorials will have you programming your own games in minutes!

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005V57T
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 2, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #921 in Software (See Bestsellers in Software)

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  #10 in	Software > Programming > Programming Languages
  #27 in	Software > Graphics > Professional Design

Product Description

Amazon.com Review
Easier to comprehend than some other game-programming packages out there, DarkBASIC offers both a fun tutorial and a powerful code editor. You can start programming right away in this offshoot of the BASIC language. First you will learn about the principles of programming, then advance onto media and 3-D topics with further study. The program makes it easy, and with a handful of impressive examples you can learn by doing on several short, fast programs.

The main editor area of the program is attractive, although it does remind us a bit of the role-playing games of the late 1980s. Our favorite perk was the Command Line Interface (CLI) button in the page header: this feature allows you to test single or small groups of commands without constructing an entire program. The online help system is multifaceted: it offers a "fast track" option for those with programming experience (or who are just impatient) as well as a more structured lesson plan.

The user manual is particularly friendly and witty in tone, and we appreciated the Further Tutorials pamphlet that accompanied the package. The initial tutorials cover basic program form, creating line objects, using color, and terraforming. The advanced tutorials examine everything from determining camera perspective to the use of fogs and backdrops, from explosions to bullets and monsters.

We first took DarkBASIC out for a spin with a simple text program, and then moved on to creating a simple 3-D game (unfortunately without conclusion). The package comes with a number of textures for floor, wall, and ceiling, as well as other objects like monsters, weapons, and the like. You're not limited to using only these: DarkBASIC covers how to import your own images and assets for use in your program. This package handles five types of media files: images (as bitmap files), sound (as WAV files), music (as MIDI files), animation (as AVI files), and object models. For each of these, you may specify the correct editor, ensuring a strong connection and compatibility between DarkBASIC and your selected applications.

We were very impressed with the media browser and accompanying contents: in this gallery-style view, you can check out the goblins, samurais, game sounds, streaming music, textures, and game screens (like the "game over" screen). Our only issue with DarkBASIC was that there wasn't a minimize option readily available, making it difficult to multitask with other projects we're working on (yet easy to get engrossed in our dreams of 3-D game generation).

Overall, DarkBASIC ran very smoothly after install and left plenty of resources free for other applications to continue running. In the end, we recommend DarkBASIC to future (and present) game-programming gurus for ease of use, quality, and the overall fun factor. --Emilie Herbst

Product Description
DarkBASIC 3D Games Creator is a complete set of tutorials that will show you how you can create your own games!

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great intro into game developing..., July 21, 2003

By	"roppongislegend" (Roppongi, Japan) - See all my reviews

A very good start for anyone wanting to get into game developing. I've had great success with this version of DarkBASIC, the pro version still seems extremely buggy at least for me, so I went back to this version. The DarkBASIC forum is very helpful but like other forums you're better off reading through some of the threads before you post a question or risk getting flamed... Unlike general purpose languages like C/C++, DarkBASIC is specifically designed for game developing, meaning that a lot of the house work required to initially set up before actually displaying graphics is done for you... You can very easily display graphics/models/etc in a few lines and begin your game developing adventure right away.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just clearing something up., February 5, 2006

A Kid's Review

First of all, this is great! I would reccomend it for anyone who wants to learn who to make 'real' games(not using generators). If you are wanting to go pro though, save your money for DarkBasic Pro version.

Anyways, I wanted to clear up about the thing someboby said that you have to mold levels in DarkBasic 'Classic'(not Professional) tile by tile. That is true if you do it strictly through programming, but if you download one of the matrix editors made with DarkBasic you can make levels much easier. Just go to the DarkBasic site(http://www.thegamecreators.com/), find the DarkBasic area, click on Showcase, on the left hand side of the screen, then click on Applications. Now, mixed with a few other things, you will see 5 or 6 level editors for you too download and use free of charge.

I will again say, DarkBasic is great! This is by far the easiest and cheapest(even DarkBasic Professional) 'real' game making language. Even if you have no idea how to program, the useful tutorials and online forum/codebase will explain everything to you, and in a few days you will have a good, but basic, game too enjoy!

Oh, and one more thing. If you are new to programming get the regular, or classic, version of DarkBasic before you get the Pro version, it has alot better tutorials and such for the beginner. See for yourself and download the 30 day trial versions at http://www.thegamecreators.com/

Enjoy!

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dude that uses DrakBASIC, February 3, 2002

By A Customer

DarkBASIC is a great product. I use it as my primary language for the game I am creating. I find it to be an increadably easy to use language. The code is simple, it comes with a manual that explains everything, and some tutorials that explain it further. I find these things really helpful. It has a great interface and uses DirectX to its full extent. It includes sample games that show you how to do certain things, models and art for game creation, and its own editor/compiler. On thier website, they tell news, downlads for other games, support, additional artowrk and examples, links, and other things. A great recommendation, if you use DarkBASIC, is downloading a windows editor that is if not as much, easier to use than the one supplied by Enteractive. Also, due to DarkBASIC being written in C++, it can go as fast, or sometimes even faster, than C++. If you want to make a game, but don't want to spend a lot of time learning C++ and the money for a comiler, DarkBASIC should definently be your choice.