Sorry your browser is not supported!

You are using an outdated browser that does not support modern web technologies, in order to use this site please update to a new browser.

Browsers supported include Chrome, FireFox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer 10+ or Microsoft Edge.

DarkBASIC Professional Discussion / Current and Future status of DarkBASIC in general...

Author
Message
Crimsus
16
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 25th Jan 2010
Location:
Posted: 10th May 2012 00:04
Link
I've decided to return to my roots and tinker with Basic again.

DarkBASIC has always intrigued me but I never got into it due to time constraints at home. Those constraints are now gone.

I was doing some reading on DarkBASIC via Wiki--cringe, I hate Wiki--and saw that while DarkBASIC was not going to see future updates, DarkBASIC Pro will continue to be supported and developed.

So my question, as you may have guessed, is this:
Is DarkBASIC Pro going to receive support and future development?

Part of the reason why I am asking is because I bought TextureMaker 3.1 from TGC back in the day and ever since Windows 7 64-bit I haven't been able to use it (the program just opens and crashes back to desktop) and the original authors website, while operational still, is basically void of any updates. I moved over to Genetica after that debacle.

I just want to make an informed decision here before investing. If a moderator or developer could reply I'd appreciate it!

Thanks!

-Crimsus
Back to top
Profile PM
Neuro Fuzzy
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 11th Jun 2007
Location:
Posted: 10th May 2012 06:51
Link
I'm not sure how much development DBPro will get in the future (probably not much), but surely $0 isn't much of an investment!

Back to top
Profile PM Email
Van B
Moderator
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Oct 2002
Location: Sunnyvale
Posted: 10th May 2012 12:20
Link
Does it matter though. I mean, say DBPro only gets minor bug fixes, or even no updates at all, ever. It's still DBPro - the community is still here, there are still all those plugins.

DBPro is getting a bit long in the tooth, TGC need to move with the times and adapt to suit the needs of indi and hobbyist developers, hence AppGameKit is now top dog here. Their time is better used in adding to AppGameKit, and one day AppGameKit will get 3D support, and effectively take DBPro's place. Developers these days are more interested in console and mobile platforms, PC support is not the primary requirement... I think we all just want to make games, and have people play them wherever and however is most convenient to them. The bottom line, is that most people can't produce a game that is comparable to other indi games on the market, I say most - because theres Evochron available on Steam for example... and that is something that took a lot of work, years of development and determination.

So really, you should consider AppGameKit if you want to make casual style games, 2D games etc, and consider DBPro if you want to make 3D games. Thing to remember is that 3D games need 3D media - if your not in a position to get that media, then maybe sticking with 2D is the best bet.

For me, DBPro will always be in my arsenal of dev languages, I'm concentrating on iOS projects really, but DBPro is ideal for writing level editors and that sort of thing, as well as being a solid platform for 3D game development. It depends on what games you want to make at the end of the day, there are several options, more options than indi and hobbyist devs have ever had. I would suggest trying out some DBPro demos, games etc, see if that's the sort of things you want to make. Otherwise, look to AppGameKit for the future of game development on this site (so far as I can see at least).

Health, Ammo, and bacon and eggs!
Back to top
Profile PM Email
GreenDixy
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 24th Jul 2008
Location: Toronto
Posted: 10th May 2012 12:41
Link
i love pro so i hope the bugs that are there and the expansion packs get fixed AppGameKit looks good and all But i think 3D is a bit ways away as there still working on the core system the phone support players etc. I tried to use the trial but just did not happen when it says trial you should be able to atleast run some code. I kept getting "You must compile your app" So i did well i tried "You do not have correct permissions" bah i will stick with pro Would love to see them actually goto x10 for pro its there it just needs a bit of work. sorry if i dont use , . etc almost 6am to lazy lol

======================================
My software never has bugs. It just develops random features.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Fallout
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 10th May 2012 13:55
Link
GDK 2.0 may be the way forward for people who want to make good quality 3D games. I'm sold on GDK 1 now, and will be forever converted. The simple fact is, wherever there is a flaw in it, it can be worked around due to being C++ and having more low level access via pointers. If 2.0 is as much faster as is claimed, then the performance overhead that has always plagued DBP/GDK will be significantly reduced.

Having said all that, I'll still use DBPro for prototyping. It's the quickest language to develop in by far.

Back to top
Profile PM
Van B
Moderator
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Oct 2002
Location: Sunnyvale
Posted: 10th May 2012 14:07
Link
Yeah, I think I'll be making a switch to GDK soon, it allows for more fancy stuff, bespoke mesh formats and funky stuff like that. Plus C++ enforces better coding practices, I'm sure we all know how messy DBPro projects can get.

Health, Ammo, and bacon and eggs!
Back to top
Profile PM Email
GreenDixy
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 24th Jul 2008
Location: Toronto
Posted: 10th May 2012 14:16
Link
Yah gdk looks like the way to go, But i know nothing when it comes to c++. Also i would have to pay for a "Commercial License" if i want to put my game out there to sell. I wish the pack i bought came with it.

======================================
My software never has bugs. It just develops random features.
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Fallout
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 10th May 2012 15:17
Link
Quote: "Plus C++ enforces better coding practices, I'm sure we all know how messy DBPro projects can get."


Definitely. Well, 'encourages' at least. It takes longer to put anything together, due to the hoops you have to jump through with your classes, header files etc. but when it starts to get big and complicated, you're very grateful for that. In DBP I always found myself making lots of separate source files, each acting as a class with their own global variables and function calls like Make() Destroy() Process() etc. It's so much nicer to do OO for real, rather than trying to hack it into a procedural language.

Back to top
Profile PM
Pincho Paxton
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Dec 2002
Location:
Posted: 10th May 2012 16:07
Link
DBPro hasn't been pushed too hard yet. Moving to C++ from DBPro is like replacing the PS3 with the PS4. The PS3 was never pushed anywhere near its limits. The one game that pushes DBPro is the 2.5D Fighting Game (Now fully 3D). I will keep working with DBPro, because the games that I am making will all work fine without the need for another language. If AppGameKit turns 3D I might move onto that, but I have plenty of projects to keep me busy at the moment.

Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Fallout
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Sep 2002
Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 10th May 2012 16:19
Link
Quote: "DBPro hasn't been pushed too hard yet."


I see people struggling with 20FPS or lower all the time. A lot of that may be down to poor optimisation, but it seems like it's being pushed pretty hard to me.

Back to top
Profile PM
Pincho Paxton
23
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Dec 2002
Location:
Posted: 10th May 2012 16:55
Link
We can all slow our computers down, it's the same with the PS3. But it is the game that doesn't slow DBPro down that looks better than the game at 20fps that is pushing DBPro.

Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Crimsus
16
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 25th Jan 2010
Location:
Posted: 10th May 2012 17:59
Link
Ok, all that C++ is fine and dandy--and is what I do now--but it seems the thread went off topic a bit.

Is DarkBASIC Pro going to receive support and future development--not just little bug fixes?

-Crimsus
Back to top
Profile PM
cyril
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 6th Aug 2007
Location: 7 miles away from big ben
Posted: 10th May 2012 18:56
Link
I could support Pincho's case that frame rate only matters depending on type of game you are after, in other words if the object are going to fly across the screen with speed; or fast reflexes are required, a frame rate in the 40's is desired (with 30 as a minimum)

But for a passive game or where you don't directly control the player or units, i.e: Turn based rpgs, and rts with a high camera angle and distance, it's possible to go as low as 20fps and get away with it.

A great example was Shadow of the colossus on the PS2, even I never noticed, while I played it that all the Colossi battles occur at 20fps. Here's a link of the video that showed this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_GLmE7ZBPE
Back to top
Profile PM
basjak
16
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 16th Apr 2010
Location: feel like signing up for mars
Posted: 10th May 2012 23:55
Link
Quote: "DarkBASIC was not going to see future updates, DarkBASIC Pro will continue to be supported and developed."


-Dark basic pro is almost complete language and win 8 will definitely be supported naturally.
-if you know C++ then you can keep it up to date forever.
-I understand your worry because I was thinking the same way and guess what? AppGameKit is no difference than DBpro. so, if you know DBpro then you will find AppGameKit very easy.
-it took me one month to learn AppGameKit (in my spare time).

remember everybody that windows platform is the most stable platform over the years. all newly created platform are far behind to be like windows.
this year, we are going to see ultrabooks, tablets, mobiles all sypported by windows so don't worry
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Back to top

Login to post a reply

Server time is: 2026-07-08 03:48:07
Your offset time is: 2026-07-08 03:48:07