This page is an archived page from a discontinued product, the information is provided for informational purposes only. There is no guarantee of accuracy.
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<div align="center"><img src="%%IMAGEPATH%%logo_net.jpg" border="0" width="700" height="166" alt="DarkGDK .NET"></div>
<div class="header_notop">The ease of DarkBASIC Pro with the power of Visual Basic.NET and C#.NET</div>
<p>Take advantage of the game engine that powers DarkBASIC Professional from within any of the Visual Studio .NET Express or Visual Studio .NET Professional environments, with the DarkGDK.NET.</p>
<p><a href="http://files.thegamecreators.com/darkgdk/Dark_GDK_NET_290509.zip">DOWNLOAD Dark GDK.NET HERE for FREE!</a></p>
<p>A whole new world of possibilities can be opened up by combining the features that both Visual Basic.NET and C# offers, and the power of the DarkGDK.NET. The GDK brings the flexibility of the DarkBASIC Professional engine to the world of .NET development while still retaining the ease of use that DarkBASIC Professional offers.</p>
<p>The DarkGDK.NET provides virtually* all of the command sets found within DarkBASIC Professional into an easy to use library format that is compatible with the following development environments:</p>
<ul>
<li><div class="LI_item">Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2008 </div></li>
<li><div class="LI_item">Microsoft Visual Basic.NET Express Editions</div></li>
<li><div class="LI_item">Microsoft Visual C#.NET Express Editions</div></li>
<li><div class="LI_item">Microsoft .NET framework 2.0 and above</div></li>
</ul>
<p>Developing games with the DarkGDK offers many benefits:</p>
<ul>
<li><div class="LI_item">Royalty Free License available</div></li>
<li><div class="LI_item">Near native execution speeds comparable with C++.</div></li>
<li><div class="LI_item">Amazingly small executables. EXE file sizes start from 3 to 5k, a typical starting size for .NET based executables.</div></li>
<li><div class="LI_item">Significantly faster compile times and easier debugging (dependant on compiler used)</div></li>
<li><div class="LI_item">Use virtually all of the commands and functions found in DarkBASIC Professional</div></li>
<li><div class="LI_item">Combine all of this with the features that .NET development offers such as the chance to use object oriented code, an industry standard syntax, well developed compilers and IDEs.</div></li>
<li><div class="LI_item">All game commands are covered: joystick handling, keyboard input, music, sound and animation as well as the 3D game engine.</div></li>
<li><div class="LI_item">All the benefits of a .NET compiler and language structure / syntax found with Visual Basic.NET and C#. All with the functions and features of DarkBASIC Professional</div></li>
<li><div class="LI_item">A great way to get into .NET development. And take advantage of using .NET GUI components such as WinForms.</div></li>
</ul>
<div class="header_notop">Use industry standard .NET compilers</div>
<p>Once installed it only takes a few simple steps to be able to use the GDK within your compiler and you can then start developing a .NET application that utilises the features of the GDK. Full documentation and tutorials are available for getting you started up straight away.</p>
Here's an example in Visual Basic.NET to show just how easy the GDK is to use:
<pre style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 10px; line-height: 14px; border: 0px; font-family: Courier;">
Public Shared Sub GameLoop()
Dim colonel As DarkGDK.Basic3D.Object3D
DarkGDK.Core.Print("Please wait, Loading model...")
DarkGDK.Core.Sync()
DarkGDK.Core.Sync()
DarkGDK.IO.File.SetCurrentDirectory("......Media")
colonel = New DarkGDK.Basic3D.Object3D("Colonel-X.X")
DarkGDK.Camera.DefaultCamera.PositionCurrent(0, 50, -80)
colonel.LoopAnimation()
colonel.AnimationSpeed = 40
While DarkGDK.Engine.LoopGDK
DarkGDK.Core.Sync()
End While
End Sub
</pre>
<p>This example loads a 3D model, positions the camera and starts the animation for the model, looping round until the escape key is pressed using a standard Visual Basic.NET While loop. Many of you will recognise the commands as they are named in a very similar manner to those in DarkBASIC Professional. You'll notice they are all categorised under their own function groups, with no spacing. Using the Intellisense feature of your preferred development environment, it is far easier to find a function just by typing in the first few characters of the function name. Your desired function will be highlighted in seconds. The commands themselves work in exactly the same way as the DarkBASIC Professional equivalents.</p>
<div class="header_notop">Examples and Help Files</div>
<p>A selection of example programs are provided with the DarkGDK.NET demonstrating how to take advantage of its many features. Several demos have been created and others converted from the original DarkBASIC Professional to demonstrate the benefits when using the DarkGDK.NET.</p>
<p>Also included with the DarkGDK.NET is a comprehensive help file detailing all of the functions available, easy to follow tutorials to get you up and running straight away, and a useful index & search facility.</p>
<p>* Some DarkBASIC Professional commands have been excluded, or have no GDK equivalent.</p>