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Hey Everyone,

I just purchased Dark Basic Pro. I am going through the tutorials that came in the book, one by one. So far so good!

I've noticed in the book that there are not really many code snippits or tutorials to really teach you much. My question is, where did you guys learn how to program in Dark Basic/Dark Basic Pro? Was it by book, tutorials, trial and error? Just wanted to get some opinions on where to go next. Thanks!

- Philippe

Hi Philippe,

I learned DBP from the manual for the most part. Just had to mess around and test different commands and see what they do. It's a good way to learn, but may not be the most efficient.

Anyway, I've created a bunch of tutorials to help out beginners like yourself at my site. Feel free to take a look at any of the tutorials, or post if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

http://www.curvedbasic.com/Forum2/viewforum.php?f=8

I learned mostly from the help files/manual.

I started programming about 4 years ago with C++ (mostly an attempt to show that I knew more about computers than this guy in my English class. Oh the good ol' noob days .) Then I picked up a book about DirectX. Years later DBCe caught my eye moments before I bought Unreal Championship. Since then, I've worked slightly with DB but use C++ much more often, to the point where I find DB harder than C++.

I learned most of what I know by looking at simple but well remarked code by other people. I started learning basic well before the days of the internet, so I had to rely on books, magazines, and manuals. You kids nowadays - you've got it easy! Online tutorials, user forums, code libraries ......

I learned from just teaching myself the language. I'd start a game (and if my old PC was still hooked up id post them, its funny to see how far ive come ), read what it taught me in the manuals in the program (I started with DBC, but now use, and have been using for the past 14 months or so, DBP). Somehow i learned how to implement these things into my own games. I remember how excited I was when i first got a box to move across a screen using left and right arrow keys, lol.

An example: So i would start my game I knew some basics, like do...loop from the manuals and tutorials and stuff. So I'd then figure out how to make a box by just looking for commands. Then I'd try making the player move the box. So i looked around and finally found an example that came with the program that got you to move a circle on the screen. It also showed how to make it change colors, and displayed the keystate of what you were pressing. Then I disected the simple code, figuring out what the commands were, until it worked. Once itd work id move on to the next thing, making a sky. So then i figured out how to change color of things just by looking around, and i simply made a blue box that covered about 3/4 the screen, and a green box (grass) for the 1/4. Now i had a moving box across the screen, on what appeared to be grass. Then I decided to add a sun, so i just made boxes to make a simple sun, and colored it yellow. Then getting farther into the game I made a tree. Just changing the colors and using 2 boxes I made a tree. After that I decided to make a "second version" where i implemented a nighttime, where the sky would turn dark navy, and i think i may have even made it where the "person", so to speak, became darker. I decided to add a head to the person and did that easily, so i also divided my person into head and legs. I just figured out what i needed to put into my do...loop my guess and check and just logic. I think this was about as far as i got until i developed a karate game, (which is quite entertaining for about 5 minutes, hehe), a car game (never finished), and started a Lord of the Rings game. Then i found a code snippet on here, which contained 3D, a swimming effect, a walking up stairs and falling effect, and a running into an instoppable barrier effect. This opened my eyes to what you could do even in just DBC in 3D(before i thought you could only make simple shapes). I started developing a 3D game (based on the books Bobby Pendragon) Which i developed quite a bit on, until i got DBP. I saw "Pirates of the Caribbean" about the same time i got DBP, and liked it so much that i started a game based on it.
Its funny how intensly i disected the film, pausing every second, looking at the background, where everything was, drawing maps, objects, scetches of scenes. I spent all my free time in school and a lot of it outside, designing everything. I still disect the movie sometimes today (as well as sit it school being bored and designing(dont worry i still make A's and B's ))I'd be looking for textures, or clothes, or little details like that, when developing. Im still working on this project today, and you can check progress at http://expage.com/piratesmainpage. So thats how i started, i know what i just wrote was really long, but hopefully ull take the time to read it .

Everyone, thanks for replying back. That does give me some insight on where to get my reference from. I am thinking of maybe getting that Learning To Program in Dark Basic book that is in stores. Maybe that'll help? I dunno.

Gil, I read your whole message , and it has helped me get some direction. Guess its just gonna be a slow process. But much faster than if I were to learn C++. Heheh. Your Pirate game looks awesome. Looking forward to see/play the demo.

- Philippe

I started with the dbClassic manual, which was pretty good. Then i decided id had enough of that and tried to write a 3rd person shooter, and failed !...so i tried again, got a little further and failed, tried again got pretty far got DBP couldnt convert it over..then the computer crashed and i lost it all!
So yep back to the begining and i would just try little ideas i had, I made code to run around on matrices and realised i needed a physics engine, so i started writing one!..crazy but i eventualy got quite far, this was before i joined the forums but i just used them to find answers, mainly about math questions (vectors !). I got a little physics engine sort of working and got distracted into other things like particle, pathfinding etc and wrote little engines for those, and now im finaly working on a major project again !
(somewhere in there was a try at an rts and some other little bits !)

My advice, pick something that interests you and if you have problems scour the forums with the search button, its amzing how much stuff is on here. Failing that a question pretty much always is answered.
As far as starting projects i cant fault just trying what your interested in, like my 3rd person shooter, it kept failing as it got too messy, but each time i got better. (as a sidenote i have never made pong, pacman or spaceinvaders)
Give it a go just be prepared for problems !
Good Luck man and welecome to the community !


<edit>
as everyone is stating previous experience ill put mine too..ah im a sheep.
Ok started on the C64 writing small text adventure games, then worked on an atari se for a while and then on a acorn pc ...and now only on pc's !

I started programming a long time ago in QBASIC and MSX BASIC. I learned all the BASIC terms from books. When i started in DB i already knew the BASIC way of programming, but all the additional things with db i learned from the tuts and the code of other people. I really learned alot from that!

Thanks


Its pretty slow, but worth it it the end

Good luck, just post on the forums for any questions you have, i and many others will be gald to answer

When I started, there were no books or tutorials on DB. So I taught myself.

I picked up DB pretty easy because I had previously learned a different BASIC language. Anyway, seeing as there are tutorials, take advantage of the fact they are there and follow them. Also a good place to start is the start of the manual..it teaches you a few basic things.


Stop showing off

manual+forums+self teaching+a want to be a good programmer+ optional book Beginners Guide to Dark Basic Game Programming=successful learning of Dark Basic

I started with DBC on my dad's (rubbish) computer, but since I got my own lappy, I got DBPro a few month later and took what I learned in Classic and (cough) B***z. Anything I don't know, I put what I'm working to one side and try the commands in a separate project (Helped me get the hang - sort of - of the DVD commands and Sprite Rotation), and if it works and has a use, then I'll try it in my project.

Awkward, Yes. But that's how I learn.

Guess I should've mentioned that I've had previous coding experience. Toyed around with QBasic before learning pascal and c++ in highschool. Then in college, more c++, java, beginner sql stuff. I'm most proficient with java. Picked up DBC around my last year or so of HS.
Also, writing tutorials on subjects for other people helped me to learn as well. Mostly the memblock stuff and particle engine junk I wrote. The RTS I began writing before I made the tutorial.