[p]NOTE: This version is only available on the EXPERIMENTAL beta. You need to manually switch to it in Steam. Right Click on Fireworks Mania -> Properties -> Betas -> "Experimental" in dropdown. To go back to the normal version, change it to "None".[/p][p][/p][p]I think the new mortar implementation is now ready, let me know if you find any issues. Please test loading and saving with blueprints, test that your old blueprints that include mortars still work.[/p][p] ### Changed[/p][p]- Improved performance of playing sounds on impact as it in some cases had a huge performance downside[/p][p]- Improved performance of "other objects" shooting out of mortars[/p][p][/p][p]### Fixed[/p][p]- Fixed bug where mortars loaded with shell and other objects would not fire after ignition, if it was loaded from a blueprint[/p][p] [/p][p]YouTube | Twitch | Twitter | Discord[/p][p]- Happy testing, enjoy! 🤓🕺[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/"][/p]
[EXPERIMENTAL] v2025.7.1
[p]NOTE: This version is only available on the EXPERIMENTAL betas. You need to manually switch to it in Steam. Right Click on Fireworks Mania -> Properties -> Betas -> "Experimental" in dropdown. To go back to the normal version, change it to "None".[/p][p][/p][p]As mentioned previously, I got a bit sidetracked while working on the upcoming firing system. So I ended up making some pretty major changes to how the mortar/shell system work. As a player it will work very much like before, but it should performance better and work more solid now.[/p][p][/p][p]IMPORTANT NOTE: The major performance benefits will not work for mortars coming from mods, until the mod have been updated. I already worked with Amnestey to get all his mortars updated, however, he can not release that version to the workshop until this version is released. So here on EXPERIMENTAL, Amnesteys and other modders mortars should still work, but perform more or less as they use to. [/p][p]For the above reason, it will also be a bit hard for you guys to test things are working - I know, sorry.[/p][p]However, I just wanted you guys to have a chance to test the version out, see if things work as they use to, or better, in the cases mentioned in the changelog below. [/p][p] ### Changed[/p][p]- Refactored various scripts and logic in relation to Mortars. In general a big performance boost, but logic around how "other items" is put into a mortar have been changed. Once you loaded in a shell that fits the mortar, so it's loaded properly, you can put more items/objects into the mortar. However, it have to be something you spawn and the size of the object that to roughly fit the size of the mortar. In general it should work pretty much as before, just perform better and mortars being easier to work with in relation to physics. NOTE TO MOD CREATORS THAT HAVE CREATED MORTARS: I will post a video shortly, showing what you need to do to your mortars to optimize them. Your mortars should work fine in this version, but to really get the performance boost, you need to remove some colliders, which I will show in that video. Keep an eye on my YT channel :)[/p][p]- Shells now dynamically follow the mortar during the "load into mortar" animation[/p][p]- Changed the UI text showing info about the object you look at, so the font does not auto size anymore. It looked weird in some cases of mortars and shells as they can have long names. Now it does not jump up and down in font size[/p][p]- Optimized the "PickUp" logic to work more stable[/p][p]- Updated translations from https://crowdin.com/project/fireworks-mania[/p][p][/p][p]### Fixed[/p][p]- Fixed background videos not playing on SteamDeck[/p][p] [/p][p]YouTube | Twitch | Twitter | Discord[/p][p]- Happy testing, enjoy! 🤓🕺[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/"][TAG-60][/p]
[p]Celebrate 4th of July with virtual fireworks, either by yourself or with friends during 4th of July 🎆🥳🎇 [/p][p][/p][p]If you do not live in USA, I'm sure you can find another reason to celebrate something and enjoy virtual fireworks. [/p][p][/p]
[p]Fireworks Mania joined the Summer Sale this year so you can enjoy virtual fireworks, either by yourself or with friends during 4th of July 🎆🥳🎇 [/p][p][dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/"][TAG-10][/p][p]If you do not live in USA, I'm sure you can find another reason to celebrate something and enjoy virtual fireworks. [/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36145520/31afc4558fb8ae43258b64e2bf84cbe592ef9943.png"][/p]
Temporary 4th of July update
[p]I just pushed an small temporary update, v2025.6.1-4th, to enable the 4th of July decorations in Town, Ranch and City. These will be enabled for a few weeks of July.[/p][p] [img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36145520/eaa3b08456e1db1cb366ee4da1cadc20a097300f.jpg"] [/p][p] YouTube | Twitch | Twitter | Discord [/p][p][/p][p]- Enjoy![/p][p][dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/"][/p]
Developer News - June 2025
[p]Hey!
Its been another month and time for an update from the developer - aka me 🤓 [/p][p]Good progress this month! Not on what I was originally planning, but good progress anyway 😂 [/p]
FuseConnection visibility distance setting
[p]Sometime ago, while working on the firing system, I realized that the new feature I added some time ago, where the fuse connections completely disappears when are not holding the FuseConnection Tool - could be a bit confusing.
For players that have played the game for a long time, it might not be that big of a deal, because you knew the fuses where still there, even though you couldn't see then, when switching away from the FuseConnection Tool. [/p][p]However, for newer players or players that don't play that often, I saw some videos/streams where it seemed to confuse people, that they just created a lot of fuse connection and then they disappeared. [/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36145520/23bbc13405ec8e36776b5cf743350133d6629274.gif"][/p][p]Therefore, I implemented a setting so you can decide how far you wanna see fuse connections. Setting it to 0, basically gives you the same behavior as before, but increasing it, will make fuse connections within that range show up, no matter what tool you have selected. [/p][p]I think it works better and is a bit more intuitive. As said, this was originally something I made as part of the new firing system, however, as its not really related to the firing system, I took this particular feature out so I could push it into an update already now, so you don't have to wait for the firing system update for it.[/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1079260/view/539982417315758989"][/p][p]I explain in some more details in a live stream, in case you are interested for more details (NERD ALERT!) Starts around 05:30 in.[/p][p][/p]
Refactor and optimize mortars
[p]Since I originally created the native shell and mortar support, there have been some weird issues. First of, Amnestey tried creating an angled mortar rack long time ago, but ended up never releasing it because it performed really bad. He didn't do anything wrong, it was something in the game.[/p][p]As all the other mortars were working fine, back then I didn't looked more into it as there were tons of other things to do.[/p][p]As I was anyway looking into the mortar as part of something related to the firing system, Amnestey asked me again if I could look into it, now that I was away from firing system anyway.[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36145520/8de6e79ddd948e839a06c8a883631c19285cd288.jpg"][/p][p]I took the time and tried figuring out why it was not working properly. After some digging, I figured out there was actually something in the mortar scripts that in some cases would end up with a lot of physics calculations, which in turn result in bad performance on your CPU and send a lot of unnecessary data over the network in a multiplayer session.[/p][p]I'll spare you the technical details, as nobody cares, but if you want more info on the topic, watch my livestream here from around 08:25, where I try to explain it in a bit more:[/p][p][/p][p]Anyway, the short version is that I have made some changes that make mortars perform better and easier to work with, as there are less physics stuff going on. In general everything should feel like it work as it use to, which is the whole point, however, you thing is a lot different.[/p][p]You use to be able to put stuff into the mortar, physically placing it inside the mortar, and then it will shoot out when you ignite the shell beneath all the "other stuff". [/p][p]This part have changed a bit. You can still put things into a mortar, if it's small enough, but now it's "sucked into" the mortar if you place it at the opening, but only if you have already loaded the mortar with a shell.[/p][p][img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36145520/1f59ae7d3a473e30e6e55f32772ed07c62e23d01.gif"][/p][p]Hard to explain, but I expect you can soon try it out on EXPERIMENTAL where I would love to hear your feedback on it in the Experimental channel on my Discord.[/p][p]The performance difference can be seen around 36:45[/p][p][/p]
Back to firing system
[p]I know I say it all the time, but I really do need and soon will, get back to work on the firing system - as we need to have time to figure out the features and perfect them, so they are ready for New Years 🤞[/p][p][/p][p]I'll finish off the mortar changes as soon as I can and get back on that freaking firing system! 🥳 [/p][p]I'll present you with the same screenshot as in the last two posts, as the status is more or less the same:[img src="https://clan.akamai.steamstatic.com/images/36145520/be7e6d3fde7fc7ae6179038657c202ea649655ba.png"][/p][p]That's all for now 🤓[/p][p][/p]
[p]While working on the new firing system, I managed to fix and add some other things as shown below. As they are not related to the firing system I can push these out already, so you don't have to wait for them until the firing system is ready. [/p][p][/p][p]### Added[/p][p]- Added "Fuse connection visibility distance" setting to decide how far away you wanna be able to see fuse connections[/p][p][/p][p] ### Changed[/p][p]- Performance improvements to Mortar scripts[/p][p]- Changed the "Create mods" button in the Workshop, so it now goes to the Mod Tools playerlist on my YouTube channel, instead of going to the github page[/p][p][/p][p]### Fixed[/p][p]- Fixed missing shot from the big middle tube on OxWannaGo cake, so it now have a finale shot from that too[/p][p][/p][p]### Known Issue - Some mods have items that writes an warning like: "The referenced script on this Behaviour (Game Object '') is missing!" in the console. This is due to some changed in NGO Unity made. Luckily its easy to fix. The mod creator just need to upgrade the mod project to latest Mod Tools (Unity 6) and rebuild the mod. Should fix this particular issue
[p]NOTE: This version is only available on the EXPERIMENTAL branch/betas. You need to manually switch to it in Steam. Right Click on Fireworks Mania -> Properties -> Betas -> "Experimental" in dropdown. To go back to the normal version, change it to "None".[/p][p][/p][p]While working on the new firing system, I managed to fix and add some other things as shown below. They are not related to the firing system I can push these out already, so you don't have to wait for them until the firing system is ready.
So I now put these changes below to the EXPERIMENTAL branch/betas so you guys can help test it out. Let me know what you think and if you find any issues so I know all is good until we push this version out to all other players.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]### Added[/p][p]- Added "Fuse connection visibility distance" setting to decide how far away you wanna be able to see fuse connections[/p][p][/p][p] ### Changed[/p][p]- Performance improvements to Mortar scripts[/p][p]- Changed the "Create mods" button in the Workshop, so it now goes to the Mod Tools playerlist on my YouTube channel, instead of going to the github page[/p][p][/p][p]### Fixed[/p][p]- Fixed missing shot from the big middle tube on OxWannaGo cake, so it now have a finale shot from that too[/p][p][/p][p]### Known Issue - Some mods have items that writes an warning like: "The referenced script on this Behaviour (Game Object '') is missing!" in the console. This is due to some changed in NGO Unity made. Luckily its easy to fix. The mod creator just need to upgrade the mod project to latest Mod Tools (Unity 6) and rebuild the mod. Should fix this particular issue[/p][p][/p][p] YouTube | Twitch | Twitter | Discord [/p][p]- Enjoy! [/p][p][/p][p][dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/"][/p]
Developer News - May 2025
Hey!
Its been another month and time for an update from the developer - aka me 🤓
I'm gonna do it short this time as there really isn't much to tell. I have been super busy with private stuff and at my day job. Therefore, the small amount of "game dev time" I have had this month, was spend on the minor fixes mentioned in the changelog below.
The main focus is still the new "Firing System" (and related tasks) but nothing major have happened, so nothing to show or tell really.
So I give you the same screenshot as last month :D
That's all for now - hope to bring some more interesting stuff next month 🤞
Change log
I have pushed the following updates since last Developer News. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1079260/view/547861177540018591 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1079260/view/508454046376394906 https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1079260/view/508453412573021077
### Changed - Tweaked the lighting in maps to avoid the blue tint happening when switching from night to day, less intense now - Updated translations from https://crowdin.com/project/fireworks-mania
### Known Issue - Some mods have items that writes an warning like: "The referenced script on this Behaviour (Game Object '') is missing!" in the console. This is due to some changed in NGO Unity made. Luckily its easy to fix. The mod creator just need to upgrade the mod project to latest Mod Tools (Unity 6) and rebuild the mod. Should fix this particular issue
### Changed - Updated translations from crowdin.com
### Fixed - Fixed issue where grass in some modded maps where not showing
### Known Issue - Some mods have items that writes an warning like: "The referenced script on this Behaviour (Game Object '') is missing!" in the console. This is due to some changed in NGO Unity made. Luckily its easy to fix. The mod creator just need to upgrade the mod project to latest Mod Tools (Unity 6) and rebuild the mod. Should fix this particular issue