Dark World project now centered around DLL's!

The communication, commands, and structure of the Dark World 0.30 is entirely from DLL's. I am creating the communication DLL first to link Visual Basic .Net 2005 to Dark Basic Professional. My next project is to work on the users run-time which is a big parsing program for streaming information to the DLL that will trigger a command. The structure of the Dark Word program is a dll that will have it's own parser that will recieve the information and send the information though the commmand "Run Command". Then it will run a command or group of commands based on input from the "Run Command" command. The commands Dll will have around 200 to 300 commands for each genre of games. They are currently in Dark Basic Pro function form and will be converted to a C++ dll. I will also have windows API functions in the commands dll also.

Version 0.200 coming out and Version 0.300 on it's way!

I have been working on the bugs for the Dark World Engine to release the next beta version 0.200 and all of it's demos that go with it. I have a few demos of the programs that will go with the Dark World Engine including:

• Dark Particles
• Dark Newton Physics
• Dark Lights
• Dark Collisions
• Dark World User-Runtime

I also have presentations and at least 10 more screenshots for version 0.200!

For version 0.300 I am using drag and drop resource loading and trying to make the concepts close to RPG maker and Game Maker.

New Name - New Vision

I have renamed it Dark World Toolkit because it is more of a toolkit then an actual gaming engine. You have to buy Dark Basic Professional to use my toolkit which is the gaming engine. My program will use the gaming engine and create files that are brought together in the main program Dark World.

I have changed most of the engines scripting to make it easy to mod. I am using Lua scripting to make the scripts. The Toolkit requires the Unity plugin for $20 and the Dark Basic Professional will cost around $90.

If you don't want the file to be editable then you can compile it, so it is unreadable.

Dark World Updates

What I have done:

• Texturing Complete
• Fog on and off and depth complete
• Presentation three quarters of the way though

What I have to finish:

• Dark Lights - Importing into Dark World and fixing the engine
• Fog color doesn't work for some reason
• Dark Physics demos
• Dark World Example/interactive demo

New Concepts

Grouping:
Have several arrays that will store up to 100 objects in a group. The group of objects can be moved around as if one object. Great for moving a bunch of walls.

Snapping:
The snapping system handles the movement. Snapping will have automatic positioning and constraint system. When an object is close to being aligned with an object it will snap against the objects surface. It also handles speeds of how fast objects move across in the world. If snapping is turned on it will move once and wait for the key to be released before moving again.

Dark World Has New insight

-I have the loading done in the Dark Basic Professional application. You can now save and load objects.
-I have the snapping system on an axis finished

Working on:

• Texturing
• Lights
• Animation
• Particles
• Physics

What I plan on creating in the future:

• Dark Shader
• Dark Motion
• Dark Physics
• Dark AI
• Control Manager
• Dark Particles
• Dark Lights
• Dark Collisions
• Dark actions
• Dark Api
• Dark Gui
• Dark XNA
• Dark World IDE
• Dark World Commands
• Dark API commands
• extendable into other open source engines
• Plugin creator

Dark World Updates

• Saving and loading in Visual Basic .net application complete
• Saving and loading in Dark Basic Pro application started
• Starting object grouping
• Working on moving, rotating, sizing on an individual axis
• Working on positioning an object from its current position plus its size

Updates

Dark Lights:
-light mapping
-Shadow mapping
Export:-> light ->File ->Code-> light mapping properites-> shadow mapping properites

Dark World Shader:
-work with default shaders
-minipulate properies of default shaders-load shaders and minipulate properites(Research everything)
New file formats:
Objects:positions
rotations
size
color or texture (parse to find out which)
shading file or default shading (parse to find out which)shading properties
Collisions

Later:
-vector data
-create vector minipulation program
File structure:Can make individual files for the certain programFinal export has all the properites loaded for that element.

Work on making a more understandable enviroment for Dark World Lights
Need to have 3D lines to tell the lights range, direction, point, spot and othervisual light related data.

Dark World Update:
-A properties window at the bottom
-Items toolbar on side - already have
-Items have several selections:
-Objects
-Lights
-Particles
-images
-Zones ~ include zones with event triggers in function form in the engine.
-Info Dialog for displaying selected elements information.-Toolbar with tools:
-Zoom - Don't like not as efficient as my movement. -Rightclick dialog pops up that you can edit for that button. use a content menu for that and have it under edit properties.
-rotation buttons, position buttons, and selecting buttons.
-Change of cursors with is helpful. -Noticed texture flag under textures side panel
-Add and delete buttons for each element is nice.
-rightclick on element under list view to open content menu for my program.
-Autocam button - when object moves camera follows = my follow object on menu.
-Cloning - Nice feature for making object very fast-Grouping
- can group elements and move as one unit. (Set limbs to the object to first selected as a part of the group)

Useful functions found:
-Converting objects into one object
- use in dark world engine-Matrix to world coord. convertions
- use in terrain engine

ENGINE STRUCTURE:
-Make basic setup and release restricted part of it as another beta-Create a bunch of media related things for promoting the engine-Create future fake screenshots to post-Make basics for each program and get into depth later-find out how to shell to the compiler to come up with precompiler program.How to use precompiler:-put file by DB Pro. compiler. Use execute file and put the path of the .dbprofile that you are using and want to send to the compiler. The precomiler will find the file that has to be converted. It will read the data and convert the syntex to normal syntex then it will save a .dbpro file with the new path of the .dba that is converted then it will create a .dbpro file and send it to thecompiler. The compiler will convert the file to a .exe and delete the source dump.
Make a program that makes precompilers, so any user can create there own commands.-Don't give away where the files are. Just have functions that they want to convertto commands an it will do the rest.

Requirments:
-Sparkies DLL
-Newton Physic Wrapper
-D3D Plugin
-Dark Basic Professional and Updated-Maybe...The .net Framework runtime
-Advanced Terrain

Have to credit everyone who contributed to the creation of your game:
When your game starts:
-Dark World Gaming Engine Logo with web address under it at the start of the game.
-Picture combining a representation of all the plugins with names in it of all of them.

Credits:
-Dark World Gaming Engine: www.darkworldengine.co.nr
-Newton Physic Wrapper-
D3D Plugin-Dark Basic Professional
-.net Framework runtime
-Advanced Terrain

Giving you and other third parties credit:
-Game Made By:
-Sounds by:
-World builder:
-Programmer:
-Game Tester:

Dark Particles Near completion!

I am almost done with the Dark Particles program!

What is done now:

• Can send data to the Dark Basic Pro Program back and forth.
• Can create a new particle and load an image to apply to that new particle.
• Can change the particles properites.
• Can move around the camera using Dark World Controls.
• Can adjust speeds for the camera.
• Can save the particle file
• Can load the particle file
• Can export the Dark Basic Pro Code in a .dba file.

What I am working on:

• Attractors/Deflectors
• Fading away
• Playing the particle once.
• Templates
• Website documentations/help files
• New commands for Dark World to for particles
• Loading Particles in Dark World.

Updates on Dark World:

• Setup lua type scripting concept and make the code more spread out.
• filemapping needs to be fixed several bugs that need to be worked out.
• Need to add more functions and work on the IDE for my new commands.
• Dark Lights was started and will have the basic structure of Dark Particles layout.
• Collision Engine being worked out
• Terrain engine being worked on
• Basic 3D Parimitives being made in Milkshape for loading instead of using default DB Pro parimitives.
• Working on saving and loading system for Dark World.

Update: Window API commands

I just started working on my command lib. I have windows api commands that can do various functions. One command that many users were looking for was the get handle of the dark world window. I also have several other functions that deal with basic windows functionallies including flashing the window, destorying the window, and moving and changing the properties of a window.

• Get Window Text
• Set Window Text
• Get Window Visible
• ShowMessagebox
• Beep
• SystemMatries - Getting all user information
• More system information commands
• Get Dark Basic Pro. window handle

There will be more posted as more get done.

Updates: March 22 2007 - Tutorials

I just started my first tutorial which goes step by step though how to create an fps game. I have everything color coded like how an ide would color it's code. I am creating pictures, examples, demos, and source code to guide the user though the process of making an fps game.

Updates: March 21 2007

What I got done last night:

• Finished loading textures
• Finished applying textures to objects
• Finished saving particle files

• Working on perfecting loading the particle file in both programs: Dark World and Dark Particles.
• Working on attactors and deflectors for particles.
• Creating particle functions for attaching particles to objects, minipulating behaviors, and changing properties.
• Setup basics for Dark Lights in Dark Basic Pro code. Now have to create the app in Visual Basic.net.
• Documentation started: Website - Pictures, Demos, Movies, and the next beta to release.
• Beta is almost ready for launch. Basic GUI and functionallity for the engine is almost setup.
• Estimated beta release: After Spring Break

Dark World Engine Productivity Major increase..

I have gotten a lot done last night including several new ideas that I will share:

• I have a particle engine I started and got about half of it done.
• I started a light program and got the basic coding in Dark Basic Pro setup
• I will post new screenshots soon on my website of the particle engine, light program, new Dark World Beta look, and all the functionallities including controls.
• The particle file format was created. Now you can load particle files into the Dark World Engine.
• Create new light was created. Now you can create a new light and move it around.
• Light properties are being worked on including color.
• Tools for the Dark World Engine are being established, including the project files including several new file types.
• Collision Engine began to be worked on.
• Movement engine code is setup, now have to make a program out of it.
• New handy functionallities for Dark World are being tested including:

1. When an object is move around it will turn red when hits another object.
2. In game functions for adjusting properties of an element during game play.
3. Own lib on all the functions that can be used in creating a game.
4. Parsing, which would be figured out later. Parsing is creating you own "Language" for Dark Basic Pro and converting it over to the syntex that the Dark Basic Pro compiler can reconize.
5. AI and basic physics are being worked on.
6. AI engine will be started soon. The AI engine works on creating a sight a certain distance and if the object sees something between a certain range then it will return a 1 which the programmer can manually create a respose or use one from the lib.
7. Dark World Language is being worked on using a parser. The Dark World language will be used for calling my functions in my lib.

Dark World Documentation: March 19th 2007

I have been working on documentation, presentations, and demostrations for my project that will be posted soon. I just started working on it today. I will post more about this soon as I get more done.

Updates: March 19th 2007

• Fixed parsing errors and few bugs and now up to version 0.017.
• New beta look will be posted soon on the website.
• Working on particles, Lights, and basic functionallity.

UPDATE:March 17

• Communication successful: Filemapping and parsing complete
• Basic GUI setup: New look for the next beta
• Started on Dark World IDE

Final Program of Dark World

Check out the final Program of Dark World:
Final Program

It includes screenshots and documentation on the final project. Updating is kind of slow because I have to establish a good communication port for both applications.

Dark world Website Launch

I have now lauched my first site for the Dark Work's company product call Dark World. The site is www.darkworldengine.co.nr. There also is a forum setup at: www.darkworldengine.forumup.com.