Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:  
Summary: what???
Comment: This was not at all what i expected. The game does not allow you to "jump right into it", you have to either know code, or go thourgh hours of tutorials and learning to get it right, and then you even get syntex errors because the booklet that came with it was wrong! It somehow reminds me of dos with a black screen and you sitting there putting in characters, which is probably what real game programing is. But if you just want something to play around with and have fun with, either look somewhere else or just get game maker from [...]
Customer Rating:
Summary: Disambiguity
Comment: The four stars are for what the product is. The one missing is for what the product isn't.
DarkBASIC is a BASIC dialect designed to facilitate video game making. The language is very English-like, which makes it easy to understand. From my experience, DarkBASIC is fast, powerful, and easy.
However, it is VERY important to note that, in this product, you are paying for an editor, not a compiler. This means that the programs you will write will be saved in .DBA format and will be useless outside the editor. You cannot save to executable files.
Also, current buyers might want to note that this program uses DirectX 8.1, a thoroughly outdated version of Microsoft's DirectX line. Thus, the graphics and sound quality you produce will not be as pristine as those from, say, DirectX 9.0 or 10.0.
One particular that nearly tricked me was the name that Amazon has given this product. For those of you who don't know, The Game Makers (the company which makes DarkBASIC) manufacture another software product called The 3D Gamemaker. This is a drag-and-drop game creation environment that requires little to no programming. However, this product is not The 3D Gamemaker and will make you write code.
Fundamentally, this is an educational tool. If you want a simple and fun way to learn to program, this product is an excellent choice. However, if you are interested in creating standalone games, you need to either pay a bit more for a compiler or find a different language.
Customer Rating:
Summary: May never know...
Comment: We may never know if we like this product as the Amazon box was empty when it arrived. We have had no help from amazon, compusa, nor the maker of this software after numerous emails and phone calls. This was my son's Christmas present and he's still waiting... at this rate we'll end up with the opinion that we shouldn't order software online...
Customer Rating:
Summary: Just clearing something up.
Comment: First of all, this is great! I would reccomend it for anyone who wants to learn who to make 'real' games(not using generators). If you are wanting to go pro though, save your money for DarkBasic Pro version.
Anyways, I wanted to clear up about the thing someboby said that you have to mold levels in DarkBasic 'Classic'(not Professional) tile by tile. That is true if you do it strictly through programming, but if you download one of the matrix editors made with DarkBasic you can make levels much easier. Just go to the DarkBasic site(http://www.thegamecreators.com/), find the DarkBasic area, click on Showcase, on the left hand side of the screen, then click on Applications. Now, mixed with a few other things, you will see 5 or 6 level editors for you too download and use free of charge.
I will again say, DarkBasic is great! This is by far the easiest and cheapest(even DarkBasic Professional) 'real' game making language. Even if you have no idea how to program, the useful tutorials and online forum/codebase will explain everything to you, and in a few days you will have a good, but basic, game too enjoy!
Oh, and one more thing. If you are new to programming get the regular, or classic, version of DarkBasic before you get the Pro version, it has alot better tutorials and such for the beginner. See for yourself and download the 30 day trial versions at http://www.thegamecreators.com/
Enjoy!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sweet software. Easy to use.
Comment: With this software you can create a 2-D or 3-D game.
Follow the tutorial you can download from www.thegamecreators.com (producers of the software) and you will create a real game in about 2 weeks of nights.
[...]
This box is the FULL package [...] The software is not as fully supported as the professional version, but for a hobbiest, it is perfect.
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