DarkBasic Professional by FastTrak

Description

After two years in development, DarkBasic Professional is set to change the world of “bedroom coding” with its overhauled Graphical User Interface (GUI), expanded command sets and enhanced options.

Anyone with the slightest interest in games creation will have heard of DarkBasic. With its huge online community, it has become the defacto application for home-grown games creators. This latest incarnation, DarkBasic Professional has been built from scratch and isn't just an update. It improves on an already top product with a whole new set of commands, an overhauled GUI and more features than you can shake a joystick at.

If you've used the original DarkBasic, then you'll already be familiar with the Command Line Interface and Debug windows, which makes it very easy to test your code as you build and run it. New users may be a bit daunted with having to enter in loads of lines of text in order to create a game. But that's the nature of this beast and worthy of the time you invest in it. Tutorials are included with the software, and this is the best place to start if you're new to programming. There is a really in-depth tutorial on creating an FPS game from scratch, and the tutorial takes you through the process in easy to digest chunks. Examples of all the command sets are included so you can instantly see how a piece of code works. DarkBasic Professional features over 1000 commands, and also includes support for multiplayer LAN and Internet games.

Creating your own game from scratch requires more than just this piece of software, it needs above all planning. Add to that graphics, sounds, and sundry bits of code–all of which is included on the CD, and you're on your way. The thought of actually using basic command lines to create a game may be too much for some people, but its well worth sticking with, and there is a whole online community out there ready and willing to help if you get stuck.

If you're interested in creating your own computer games, and you don't fancy spending the next few years learning C++, then DarkBasic Professional is the “must have” application. Its tutorials are very easy to work with and the reference manual is a god-send. Spend long enough with it and you'll be able to create some pretty amazing work. —Martin Snelling

Platforms

Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP