5 comments about DarkBASIC Professional.

1. I give the DB Pro 5 stars, but I am totally disappointed in Amazon.com and The Gamecreaters, heres why
   
   The first thing I noticed is my box is different than that shown here... http://darkbasicpro.thegamecreators.com
   
   I didnt recieve any of the free software stated in the link above
   
   I cant find the
   Over 45 Demo's
   Over 25 Tutorials
   Over 600 Textures
   Over 120 Sound Effects
   900 3D Models
   That is stated here...
   http://darkbasic.thegamecreators.com/
   
   I applied the .59 upgrade patch and now my program wont start. It says its missing MSVCR71.dll file.
   
   The original version was 1.05
   
   I cant believe the darkbasic.com is advertising this product, yet Amazon.com is shipping some ancient version. Hopefully I will be able to resolve this issue...



2. If you're looking to create the next Doom 3 or Half-Life 2, then I can't really recommend this program. If you want to make an advanced FPS game, or a simple pong game, then I can recommend Dark Basic. In fact, Dark Basic Professional is probably capable of creating any kind of game that you can come up with. The catch? You have to program it yourself, all from scratch. Dark Basic makes manipulating 3D data extremely easy, but it's not a game creation package which lets you click and create. If you are determined enough, it's easy to learn all of Dark Basic's commands, as half of programming a game is in the logic. Dark Basic will hardly limit you, and will give you capabilities that were probably impossibly hard for you to use in C++. The end result of creating a game from scratch results in a tremendous sense of satisfaction, especially when you share it with friends and family. Although previous versions of Dark Basic Professional had some hardly crippling bugs, most of them have been eliminated, and with the release of upgrade 6.0, DBPro is a very stable development engine. Overall, I totally recommend this to anyone who wants to create a game, but is determined enough to learn how.



3. DarkBasic Professional has a nicely written manual and is pretty powerful. If you're looking to make a Quake-like game, you may be dissappointed to find that it does not have a graphics editor or a map editor. Those you are going to have to purchase (or download) separately. It would be nice if there was an OpenSource graphics suite available.



4. I bought this, installed it, patched it, and then started going through the rather incomplete and disorganized documentation. The examples I played around with all worked fine. I started writing my own program, a simple math game with basic sprites and speech. I wrote a simple speech and graphics routine, which mostly worked. I wanted to try to figure out why one of my functions was going into an infinite loop and so I started the Debug mode, so I could watch what the variables were doing (very simple, basic, and common programming practice). Blat - debug mode crashes. Debug mode works on much simpler programs and for the few examples I tried out, but on my 200 line routine it generates exceptions. After the crash, I opened my project and found that everything I had written in my source had been reverted to an old version. I know for a fact that it was saved many times since then, but for some reason it decided to recall an old version for loading, as if all my Saves after an arbitrary point never happened. If I can't run debug mode on my programs or save my sources, then what's the point of this software? Complete and total buggy garbage.



5. Slow.
   Innefficient.
   Weak.
   Lame.
   
   Just a few of the words I can use to describe the completely evil, horrible software people call darkBASIC Professional.
   
   I am going to describe how awful this stuff is. The main problem is really the incredibly slow, innefficient code that is encumbered by the BASIC language. The included tutorials are so cryptic that it would take someone who already knows how to program (me) to understand it. Not only does it delude people into thinking that they know how to program graphics when they really can't, but it also skips over the "hard parts" of programming, thus making it impossible to use pointers.
   
   It also makes implementing graphics considerably harder. With Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Express Edition(free), you can import you're graphics fairly easily using the included directX tools, or simply code it out yourself.
   
   This software makes it impossible to do the latter. Its irritating, frustrating debugger doesn't catch any of the bugs for you, like a good c++ compiler (CodeBlocks...Free) will.
   
   I hate this software, get a free compiler, and man up to learn C++

No comments about Microsoft Visual FoxPro 9.0 Professional Edition.

5 comments about Microsoft Visual Studio Standard 2005 [OLD VERSION].

1. When I loaded Visual Studio the SQL Server component did not load correctly - only the Configuration manager loaded - on reading the reports on the procedure I was informed that my computer was below the minimum hardware requirements, this despite me running a 2 GHz machine with 512 RAM and plenty of disc space.
   
   A little bit more granularity might help me locate the problem.



2. This product was good, but not great. It's a bit sluggish at times, even running with plenty of available resources (e.g. when it's the only thing running on a box with a gig of ram and a decent processor). It also has a fairly steep learning curve. Once you know how to do things it's great, but when you don't you stumble a lot. A lot of the features, while powerful, aren't very intuitive. My primary IDE before this was Eclipse, so I was already accustomed to another IDE that handles things differently a lot of the time. Some things MVS did better; some things Eclipse did better. In the end, as I've said before, it's a good product, but not great. A little rough around the edges. When it boils down to it if your development environment is MS, this is probably the product for you.



3. Awesome IDE. I appreciate using it daily. Beats using Xemacs in my real job, hands down.



4. Any serious or amature developer should be required to use and know Microsoft Visual Studio Standard 2005. I know there are a lot of super-geeks out there who love to hate on Microsoft and prefer to stick to "real" or open source code that isn't dominated by the MS Juggernaught.
   
   Those feelings aside- the reality of the world is that most companies use Microsoft software and server implementations in real world business, and Microsoft does provide the tools to get that work done. If you are at all interested in .NET, J#, C++, or ASP; this tool is the way to go. I was also happily surprised to learn that Visual Studio also can help code other documents like XHTML, XML, HTML, and CSS, which is really nice when you have to pay this much for the product.
   
   Seriously though, if you are buying this for yourself, buy the Standard edition, let whoever you work for buy you the professional edition.



5. Used this version for a 150,000 line code base of desktop applications. Very very happy with it. Of course, there are many "wish it did X" items, but it is overall I am very pleased. After SP1, almost never have IDE crashes or other non-user code problems.
   
   Still wondering why anyone would buy the Pro edition vise this (Std) edition for $350 more..

1 comments about Microsoft Visual SourceSafe 2005.

1. Fast delivery as promised, product for as great price. Will use again.

5 comments about Microsoft Visual Basic Professional 6.0 with Plus Pack.

1. VB is probably the best language Microsoft has spit up so far. This latest edition adds some nice features for doing tasks with minimal thought. It's really worthless for trying to do anything beyond simple programs(Meaning not much code) created using pre-done libraries and controls(*.OCX). But that's what's so nice about it. Let's say you developed foo program for bar OS (Foo and Bar are standard variables used commonly in programming groups), and wanted to bring it over to windows, making all of foo's features excessible through GUI. Simple enough, just copy the source not associated with bar's GUI and compile it into a DLL or OCX then use VB to associate methods and with the Windows GUI. Very handy especially when doing cross platform development. The main reason it lost points with me is due to the price...truly insane! I could see even $100 being tolerable but $500 is ludicrous, but I guess this price just reminds us that Micro$oft is behind this, otherwise decent, tool.

   Note: Any kiddies out their wanting to learn a language, DON'T start with this(Try Perl instead). It teaches terrible habits that are hard to grow out of, making it difficult to learn other languages, and will get you reamed by your college professors. The major things are:

   1)Everything is shown while typeing. So typing in "foobar." shows everything associated with foobar.

   2)Case errors are automatically corrected.

   3)Variable types are too easy to work with. There are very few real languages that let you call a 'variant' type (Although Perl handles most of it's types of variables in a similar manner).

   Hope this helped anyone considering spending the $500.




2. This is a great tool! I have use it with numberous MS office apps, created games, software from Db and Dna 2k utilization. Going from Quick Basic to VB3 to VB5. VB6 has the better libray and the ultilization of COM+ and DirectX the horizon is virtually endless.



3. Easy to learn, providing lightning fast application development, worldwide supported, intuitive. It sounds like a Microsoft commercial, but it's my honest opinions about Visual Basic 6.
   
   Underrated in performance when it comes to execution speed. If somebody tells you that speed is a con with VB6 that is not true. This is also the fastest Visual Basic version (including VB.NET).
   
   Visual Basic 6 has never failed me. It simply is the best development tool.



4. My programming experience: Fortran -> Basic -> QuickBasic -> Assembly Language linked to QuickBasic -> finally Visual Basic 6. I've written thousands of pages of code for VB6. To the reviewer who wrote that Visual Basic is for "toy applications", I hope he's grown-up since 2000. Apparently he doesn't understand the power of this program. The complexity that VB6 allows is limited only by a programmer's intelligence and imagination.
   
   I am very disappointed in the direction that Microsoft took by dropping VB6 and going in the direction of VB.Net. There is room in the world for both VB6 and Net. I sense that the intellectual incest of certain system oriented "C" purests went into making that decision. Unfortunately, everthing in life eventually becomes political, especially company politics, and great ideas can become trivialized. I may one day learn "Net", but I can't scrap my existing code. I need VB6 and Net to work together.
   
   I've survived using VB Learning Edition for years, which is amazing. I found VB Professional Edition on this site before it goes into extinction, simply because I need one control, "Internet Transfer Control" - otherwise Learning Edition has satisfied all my needs writing very complex programs.



5. I ordered Microsoft Visual Basic Professional 6.0 with Plus Pack,as advertized. I received VB 4.0, so be very careful when dealing on here. I am finished with this venue to purchase items that are integral to my work. Every piece of advertisement stated VB6.0...... but the seller (msblissbooklist)
   was dishonest. USE CARE when dealing with this seller. She has refused to answer 5 e-mails.

5 comments about Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Standard 2003.

1. This program installed easily and works good. Saved me from setting in a computer lab at school for hours at a time.



2. Good book. Good software that came with the book.
   dtpEndDate.MaxDate = Today



3. The product installs and runs easily. When attempting to register the product, the page was not found. Presumably they are readying for the 2005 verson. The MSDN Library "help" files are exhaustive, but that makes it difficult to find information specific to Microsoft Visual Basic .NET Standard 2003. At times it is quicker to use an on-line search.



4. We were unable to locate or open the example programs.



5. Visual Basic is very easy to learn and use.
   It's one of the most popular programming language.
   
   I learned it from zero using a second hand book from a local store and I manage to program a simple paycheck calculator for my friend's small business.

No comments about Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional with MSDN Professional Renewal.

1 comments about Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 Professional Full Version.

1. I can't even rate this product. it took forever to get to me and it just came in cd case nothing else. not happy

No comments about Microsoft Access 2000.

5 comments about DarkBASIC 3D Games Creator.

1. 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.



2. 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!



3. 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...



4. 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.



5. 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 [...]