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Forgive me if this has been brought up already, but I couldn't find anything with the search function.

Can one use FPSC to create a level and then use this level in his/her Darkbasic Pro project?
If you can is it worth getting next to DBP?

What about the source code being released with the latest 5.9 DBP upgrade? Does this give DBP users basically the framework of the FPSC editor?

It might be an idea to put this info in a sticky, cause I can imagine many people are wondering.
The readme which comes with the source code isn't clear about this.

Yes. In the newsletter there's actually a cut down level loader tutorial, like just loading a level and running around it.

The source code is actually to the game engine - all the mechanics that govern AI, effects, scripts, occlusion, collision, everything can be tweaked and changed to suit yourself - as long as your familiar with DBPro code the world is indeed your lobster.

Note that the code is not for green horns - people should'nt just get DBPro and jump in with the engine source, learn a lot of DBPro and even then don't expect to understand most of it. I think the engine source being uploaded is damn generous of TGC, but bare in mind that super-charged versions of the game engine will surface so everything you'd want to add, like saving and loading might already be taken care of. For instance Riker9's feature set sounds very promising.


Van-B

Indeed Riker9 looks like it might be a gem indeed.
And I agree that it's damn generous to give the sourcecode to DBP users of one of their commerial products!

But are you saying that it's probably better to get a copy of FPSC (and maybe expand it with those 'supercharged' versions) and build levels with that instead of trying to get the sourcecode into your project directly in DBP?

I'd say the handy part of getting FPSC is that you'll have many textures and models to play with (and use them in DBP as well)?

It depends on your project really. I mean if your just needing a few extra features, systems like Riker9 will take care of the loose ends that the next update doesn't - but if you have lots of exacting ideas then using the FPSC engine as a starting point is recomended.

One thing that might require a lot of work on the engine would be a more RPG style game, with usable items and melee weapons - that would take a lot of hacking, and it might be so specific that no replacement engine would cover all the factors so a special version for your own project might be needed. People should see FPSC as an expandable system and one they could learn a great deal from - every coder here started somewhere, it might be that the FPSC engine has the same effect as Josh's Halo demo. Back in the day, Josh (the creator of Cartograpy Shop etc) made a FPS demo in DBClassic that got a lot of people into coding who probably give their left one for something like FPSC at the time.


Van-B

Well mind you, I don't own a copy of FPSC yet, but I was wondering if it might be a good addition to the programming environment as a whole when using Darkbasic pro.
See FPSC as your 'MatEdit' for your project which you are going to code in Darkbasic Professional.

And Riker9 will surely need you to have an original installation of FPSC on your pc I presume?

Anyway here's the catch I was considering: The new nextgen CShop coming out is a bit more expensive than FPSC (expecially the Builders edition) and comes with less textures and objects as far as I can tell.
So if I could get a level editor for using in DBP and get a database with more textures and models to play around with for a lower price than getting the new next gen CShop, I'd say that's a good deal, wouldn't it?

But as I understand you cannot make a level only and import that in to DBP, in essence using FPSC only as a mapeditor tool for your project? Besides I tend to translate your explanation into something like: "If you know how to code well in DBP then there's really no need to get FPSC, because you could as well make your own engine then.", is that fair enough?

Again this depends on the project.

I mean FPSC is really quick a laying out levels, it's quite a nice editor, and the physics is pretty good. But, your still working within the constraints of FPSC, mainly that your stuck on a grid in a FPS game. This grid style of editing is more pleasant that traditional BSP style editing, because you can literally throw levels together in no time - making it less of a nightmare for solo developers. 3DWS will be more for people that know level design and have experience in it - if your confident with Carto Shop and DBPro then maybe looking into making your own engine from scratch is a better idea.

I think that FPSC is aimed at younger and less experienced people who might go onto more complex projects, I doubt it'd be possible to aim FPSC at anyone else, DBPro coders are fickle beasts - they like to do things their own way.

Thing is though, there's a destinct lack of finished DBPro FPS games, I think they're far more complex than people give them credit for - some people think that making an FPS is a case of gluing a gun to the screen and using NGC or Newton on a modelled level. The AI coding alone is a massive undertaking, so the more realistic and less artistically gifted DBPro coders might get more outta FPSC in the long run.


Van-B