DarkEDIT: The Official External Editor

DarkEDIT: The "Official" External Editor

You might be saying to yourself, "What a neat integrated environment, but it lacks a few of the Windows features I need, such as the mouse wheel. Can I develop DarkBASIC programs outside of the DarkBASIC environment?" The answer to that question is yes! There is a program called DarkEDIT that allows you to develop DarkBASIC programs outside of the environment. For those of you who are more familiar with Visual C++, Delphi, and Visual Basic, where the IDE runs in a window, DarkEDIT is the tool for you.

DarkEDIT tracks labels, functions, and other essentials, just like the DarkBASIC environment. It has the same keyboard layout as DarkBASIC but is more of a Windows-style program. If you are not looking for total immersion in the BASIC environment but you would still like to write DarkBASIC games , DarkEDIT is the right tool (see Figure 1.40).

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Figure 1.40: DarkEDIT is a text editor that runs outside of DarkBASIC and includes many features that are common in other source code editors.

As a matter of fact, DarkEDIT was adapted , revised, rewritten, and generally recycled for use in DarkBASIC Professional! The new editor in DarkBASIC Pro is more feature-rich than DarkEDIT, but the same DarkEDIT author worked on the editor for DarkBASIC Pro—Guy Savoie of Real Game Tools.

DarkMATTER and the DarkBASIC Update

DarkMATTER is an add-on product for DarkBASIC that includes hundreds of high-quality , professional 3D models, textures, and sound effects that you can use royalty-free in your own programs. In addition, DarkMATTER includes the DarkBASIC Enhancement Pack, which updates the DarkBASIC language with new commands and features such as those used for creating multiplayer games .

DarkMATTER Features

I highly recommend that you purchase DarkMATTER if you intend to do any serious work with DarkBASIC, because it is invaluable. Some of the sample programs in this book use DarkMATTER 3D models and textures ( courtesy of Dark Basic Software). Figure 1.41 shows the logo for DarkMATTER.

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Figure 1.41: The DarkMATTER add-on logo

DarkBASIC Update

DarkMATTER not only gives you a ton of 3D models, it also includes a complete updated version of DarkBASIC (version 1.13), which provides numerous new enhancements. One such enhancement is multiplayer commands that allow you to support multiple players in your DarkBASIC games!

Introduction to DarkBASIC Professional

DarkBASIC Professional is a totally new program with a new language, compiler, editor, and debugger. This version has been written from scratch using DirectX 8.1 and supports the latest features of DirectX. For this reason, DarkBASIC Professional operates differently than standard DarkBASIC. Figure 1.42 shows the new IDE for DarkBASIC Professional.

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Figure 1.42: DarkBASIC Professional features a completely new IDE.

As Figure 1.42 shows, DarkBASIC Professional has a new feature called the DarkBASIC Pro Assistant. This is a new integrated help system that provides a quick reference for commands. There is another display mode in DarkBASIC Pro that looks more like a traditional programming language, with a project window showing project files, resources, and so on. Figure 1.43 shows the project view mode in DarkBASIC Pro.

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Figure 1.43: The project window in DarkBASIC Professional displays information about the current program.

New Features in DarkBASIC Professional

DarkBASIC Pro is a completely new product; it is not based on the source code from DarkBASIC. It features a completely rewritten graphics core engine based on DirectX 8.1. In contrast, DarkBASIC 1.0 was based on DirectX 7.0. Take a look at Figure 1.44 to see FaceDemo , one of the sample programs that comes with DarkBASIC Pro.

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Figure 1.44: DarkBASIC Pro features a new graphics engine based on DirectX 8.1, demonstrated by the FaceDemo program.

Although it's premature (in the extreme!) at this point to talk about the details, I will at least give you a glimpse of what to expect in later chapters. DarkBASIC Pro is packed with a lot of functionality that is based entirely on the good will and charitable nature of the authors. For instance, DarkBASIC Pro can load and render Half Life maps, Quake III Arena maps, and generic binary space partition (BSP) maps, as well as 3D characters stored in .MD2 and .MD3 files. Of course, DarkBASIC Pro also supports 3D Studio MAX (.3DS) files, as well as Direct3D .X files, as the LTypeDemo program shows in Figure 1.45.

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Figure 1.45: 2D scrolling shooter games are even more exciting when they are rendered in 3D using DarkBASIC Pro!

Which Version Should You Focus On?

DarkBASIC programs will still run in the DarkBASIC Professional environment, but they require a few small changes, which I will point out when necessary. If you are an experienced DarkBASIC programmer who has invested time in standard DarkBASIC, you will learn all of the tricks and techniques that you might have missed before in the following chapters. At the same time, you will gain the knowledge and experience you need to delve into DarkBASIC Professional. In effect, this book gives you the option to choose which version you would like to use. If you already own DarkBASIC, you can install the DarkBASIC Professional Premier Trial Edition located on the CD-ROM to take advantage of the new features in DarkBASIC Pro. During the trial period, you can decide whether the new version is compelling enough to warrant an upgrade. Rest assured, by the time you have read this book you will definitely want to buy the full version, because it is awesome !

The last thing I want you to be concerned with is which version of DarkBASIC you need while reading this book. The book supports both versions. Although DarkBASIC Professional is a powerful new programming language that is mostly compatible with standard DarkBASIC projects, I'm going to focus primarily on standard DarkBASIC. The code and topics of discussion in this book are geared primarily for standard DarkBASIC, but in most cases I have included a DarkBASIC Professional version of the sample programs on the CD-ROM.