Sorry your browser is not supported!

Sorry to ask such a newbie question But Im just looking at which to buy. DB has come such a long way since I first researched it. I am interested in buying the whole package deal that comes with dark basic (And all the other goodies like dark matter and such) But I was also peeking over at the DB pro. What Im a little confused over is the major differences between the Dark Basic and Dark Basic Pro. I am guessing it has a lot more features but what exactly. could anyone please be specific on what the major differences are or at least redirect me to a page that explains a breakdown of the differences between the two. Also does the dark basic pro come with a package deal like the dark basic that includes the editors and darkmatter too or should I buy the first combo pack of darkbasic then just upgrade. The Price is unbelievable!! Even the unlimited use liscense is soo cheap compared to an7ything else Ive ever researched. Ive been using an open source game engine to build with so far but I think I can graduate to writing my own using dark basic. I thank anyone for reading this and replying with the ansers. I am looking forward to using darkbasic just want to know the major diferences between it and the pro version so I know which one to buy. Thanks again...Zax

There have been loads of similar threads, have a search around, people aren't inclined to answer the same questions again

From my perspective :
There are loads of differences DBPro is a completyely re-written engine. YES you can use Pro without having to own or know DB1

The best reasons to use pro are: IMHO
Much faster
More stable in XP
Split screen possible
Many new Shadowing and lighting effects
Proper file accessing and editing
DLL support & Online Multiplayer (You CAN do this in DB1 but need to buy Dark Matter expansion)
BSP Support (eventually )
Basically much more proffessional results are possible

The reasons NOT to use it and stick with DB1 would be ummm
1. Its cheaper and
2. There are less bugs (but DBP is getting patches all the time to fix this )

To answer your more specific question, the bundle with DB1, um well personally I don't think you need Dark Matter for use with DBPro, cos the models are not that versatile, I would recommend buying a copy of Milkshape3d, it only costs $20 and a demo is downloadable for free

I like the Cartography Shop, but many people recommend Quark or various other level editors, which are all FREE so you could save yourself some cash.

Infinity textures is quite cool, but in my opinion overpriced. VanB made a really cool similar application for creating seamless textures which is FREE Also I would recommend a copy of Panit Shop Pro (Shareware, around £70, or £5 for an older version )

I haven't looked at the bundles but they used to include the3dGameMaker in some of them. PLEASE Don't touch this with a BARGEPOLE. Its awful. No - really. lol

Personally I'd buy DarkBasicPro - just remmember to download and install the latest Patch before you use it - otherwise you'll get a nasty shock Also don't bother downloading and trying the demo - its a very early bugged version - the one you'll get when you buy it is far, far superior The only thing you really need to pay for on top of that IMHO is Milkshape

Hope this helps

Thanks Kangaroo. Yes that did anser a lot of questions. Ive been playing with both demos. Which does explain why the pro version crashes so meuch heehee. I was trying some of the basic math functions in both pro and basic versions. I had no trouble with the basic but when i went to execute the same math program in pro it crashed. I assume thats fixed in the payed version. I dont mind paying the extra cash for the basic version bundle its got some exytra stuff that i just gotta play with. Plus I figgure I can learn the language with the basic and then graduate to the pro version for actual game making. I like the language Ive been playing with it now for a bit and it seems so much simpler than programming in C++ ! Once I buy the basic bundle package Can i use the upgrade portion of the pro download to upgrade from basic to pro version (Im assuming thats what thats for yes?) Thanks for your opinions on the features that helped a lot! Aprreciate the reply I think Ill actualy try both! The price is VERY reasonable compared to other game making packages!

You're right I think they're both very reasonable!

Unfortunately tho the Upgrade doesn't actually physically upgrade DB1 its just the same as PRO but at a reduced price cause you own the older version. I say unfortunately because there's something you need to know...

DARK BASIC PRO won't run the majority of programs and games you make in DARK BASIC 1! I'm sorry to report this

I was making games in DB1 for years and then upgraded and was majorly dissapointed that I couldn't open my old DB1 games in DBPro and improve them Although the language is basically the same, the software runs on a completely different engine, and most complex programs don't work in Pro, you have to start them again.

If you look closely at the Pro small print you'll see the disclaimer "Due to the vast improvements and completely re-written engine some code may require modification" - I didn't take this too seriously till I loaded up Pro and found not a single one of my 20+ projects would run accurately in Pro

However, I started brand new projects in Pro, using the knowledge I had gained from DB1 and now I'm getting amazing results from it

Just thought I'd warn you of this potential problem