### Added - Added new "fm-host-clear_fireworks" command that clear out all spawned stuff in the game - Added a basic "fm-host-ban_player" command to ban players. On the host a json file is saved in the games data folder with holds all banned players id, name, and reason for banning. So if you need to unban, delete that file completely or remove just the entry you need manually in a text editor - Added new "fm-host-settimeofday" command to set a specific time
### Changed - Minor changes to start chat messages - Minor improvements to the sync of the time of day in general
### Fixed - Upgraded to Unity Auth package 2.6.1 as that should fix the "token expired" issues that some have had - Fixed issue where you could erase another player with a bit of "hacking"...looking at you Guanaco - Fixed bug where the "start time" set in a map was overwritten to be 00:00
Since I launched Fireworks Mania back in 2020 one of the must request features have been multiplayer.
After implementing some of the other requested features over the first two years of the game being released, like mod support, localization, blueprints etc. I finally started on multiplayer back in January 2023.
6 months has past and I have made decent progress - at least enough to let you guys try out this alpha for 10 days :)
DISCLAIMER: This is an alpha, which means this is early in the development and therefore have a lot of bugs, lots of missing features, lack of error handling etc. Therefore, please do not review the game, positive or negative, based on what you play in this alpha. Of cause reviews are more than welcome, but they should be based on the released version of the game - thank you :)
With the disclaimer out of the way, lets get to the fun part so you can start playing!
How to switch to branch and back?
You get the alpha version of the game by switching "beta branch" in Steam. Right click on Fireworks Mania -> Properties -> Betas In the dropdown select "multiplayer-public-alpha" and close the window.
Now Steam will update your game to the alpha version.
Once its done you can start the game.
Note: If you want to go back to the 'normal' version of the game, you just set the dropdown back to 'None'.
More details about the alpha
I made this little video about how the game works right now, how to use it etc. I think it's easier to explain in a video than in text - so if you want to know more watch that.
Alpha feedback
Your feedback from this alpha, positive or negative, is very welcome - it's one of the biggest reasons for doing an alpha like this. So please share your thoughts, experiences etc. in my Discord.
Videos of playtesting is also very very useful, so please share these too - see below.
Videos and livestreams
You are more than welcome to create videos, livestream etc. from this alpha. Just make sure the viewers understand that its based on the 10 days alpha version from July 2023. Simply to avoid viewers getting confused about why they can't see the same etc.
Enjoy the 10 days of alpha testing and have fun with fellow Fireworks Mania players. Also happy 4th of July to the ones of you who celebrate that.
Even though its a HUGE task and I only work on the game in my spare time, I have actually made pretty decent progress already. The very "basics" of the game works now - which is a huge step!
As I have shared on my YouTube channel I have a small group of testers that regularly helps me test multiplayer. Big thanks to these guys by the way!
However, there are some things I would like to test in a bigger scale, even though multiplayer is still in a very early stage.
So I thought it could be fun to have some kind of public multiplayer test around 4th of July!?
I know, I know, 4th of July is only a thing in USA, however, who says no to celebrate with a little fireworks, right?
Save the date
From 09:00 (09:00 AM) CEST, 30th of June until 23:59 (11:59 PM) CEST, 9th of July 2023.
During this periode you will be able to opt-in to try the "Ridiculously Early Multiplayer Alpha of Fireworks Mania".
I will share more information about how to opt-in, what to expect etc. when we get closer.
DISCLAIMER: The version of the game you will get access to in this period is an early alpha version, so please DO NOT REVIEW the game based this version - as its not representable for either the current version of the game or the final version that will include multiplayer.
Once again I'm not going to write too much, as status is really the same. The main focus is on multiplayer and I'm making decent progress as you can see below.
Another month has past and its time for a tiny update.
My main focus continuous to be on adding multiplayer and I'm making good progress.
As previously shown, I have basic stuff in place like spawning props and players walking around.
Next up is making the fireworks work.
Obviously, the fireworks do work, you know that from the current version of the game, however, making it work so that it's in sync between players is a different story.
I won't bore you with technical details just want to share a little video with you here of 4 players in a game with fireworks going of. The main focus is to make sure the effects looks the same for all players.
This update brings 4 new languages, which have been requested and translated by the community. The game can now be freely resized when not in full screen mode and various packages have been updated to latest version.
Added
Added new languages: Lithuanian, Finnish, Swedish & Portuguese. If you want to help translate or find a translation bug, please let me and the community know on my Discord: https://discord.gg/SzZD77p
Added feature to allowing game to be freely resized if "Fullscreen" is turned of
Changed
Upgraded to Unity version 2021.3.20
Upgraded QC Console
Upgraded Master Audio
Updated Credits with new translator names
Removed some 'demo' commands that was included by mistake from the QC Console upgrade
Changed how sounds are played, when played rapidly. This is to try and avoid missing some sounds when things goes faaasssttt
Fixed
Fixed bug where custom sounds from mods won't work if mod was updated while game was running
Fixed odd bug where rooflamps on gas station wasn't turning on and off
Another month has past and its time for a tiny update.
It's no secret that my main focus this year is to try and add multiplayer to the game.
However I have actually also managed to do some minor changes to the current version of the game. These are, as of writing, still only on the Experimental beta/branch, but will be out to all in the near future.
Now to status on multiplayer, which I guess the most of your are a bit more interested in.
I won't go into technical details here, but I can say that it's coming along pretty nicely so far. As always when talking multiplayer, I cannot promise it will be in the game as I'm currently and for the next many months testing to see if it's possible.
I have tested it with a couple of the most active and dedicated mod creators for Fireworks Mania and we have already had a lot of fun, even though the game is very very basic at this point. You can't even fire of some fireworks yet. :)
I put together a little video here with clips from our first playtest.
