This update is actually a really big deal as it contains much faster map listing and auto updates of mods.
### Changed - Changed how maps are listed to increase the speed - a lot faster now! - Change the way mod maps are loaded so it's now much more efficient if you have more than one map installed - Upgraded localization (changes to Norwegian)
### Fixed - As a side effect of the above we now also have working automatically updates of subbed mods. This is something that have annoyed me (and players) for a long time, but I thought I wouldn't be able to fix it until I upgraded to the new mod.io v2 SDK - however I found a way. It's not the most elegant, but it seems to work good enough until I redo the entire workshops UI later on
Want to follow the development closer, have an issue, suggest or just want to chat with other Fireworks Mania player, consider joining my Discord.
Want to see dev logs, live streams, other dev stuff, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel @Laumania.
### Changed - Changed some loading backgrounds - Removed the firework stands outside "Codys Fireworks" in Town (He is cutting down on the fireworks here off-season, due to inflation and high interest rates) - Changed the fireworks displayed in the window of "Codys Fireworks" to show the 2023 cake - Updated localizations, mainly Norwegian had some updates
### Fixed - Yet another attempt at trying to fix the "game starts minimized" bug. I still haven't been able to reproduce the bug locally, but have made a few changes now in an attempt to avoid that happening
Want to follow the development closer, have an issue, suggest or just want to chat with other Fireworks Mania player, consider joining my Discord.
Want to see dev logs, live streams, other dev stuff, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel @Laumania.
As you might already know, December, brought the first release of "Custom Map" support. This means, mod creators can create custom maps you get from the workshop and play around in.
As more content and more types of content gets added to the workshop (which is hosted by mod.io), the more filtering becomes relevant. So just a little reminder, that in the top of the workshop you can filter, so you ex. only see custom maps.
December/January is obviously also the peak-season for Fireworks Mania, due to New Years, so its always nice to see a lot of new players on my Discord, YouTube and here on Steam.
However, lets get to the more exciting stuff, lets take a look at a rough list of what's next on my todo/roadmap for 2023.
Optimizing map loading
The first thing, which I am already working on but it's not easy, is to load and list maps more optimal. As you know, it can take a really long time to just list the maps if you have a few installed and that's just good enough. As I was creating the custom map support, there are 1000 of things to consider and I was expecting this to become a problem, however, didn't think it would be an issue this fast. However, the modding community around Fireworks Mania are fast dudes, so there were quickly a ton of big maps, which makes this problem even more obvious. The good thing is, I'm already working on improving this and I am pretty sure I know how to fix it, it's "just" a matter of making it working now. So give me some time and I'm sure I will fix it.
Another thing, that goes hand in hand with the above, is some optimization of actually loaded maps. Right now, its done in a way that takes up more memory than it should really, so as I improve the listing speed I will also improve how map mods are handled and loaded, that should (hopefully) make it use less memory in general. Obviously, I can only do so much as its also something the mod creators have improve on their maps, but at least I know that I can at least do something, so I'll do that.
Optimize workshop
As you might have discovered, if you have a lot of mods installed, the current workshop UI is not really well optimized. I want to both update the UI in general but also optimize it to run smoother. I don't know how I want it to look or how to optimize it - I just know it's something that I need to do to improve the overall quality of the game.
Multiplayer
Before you go all crazy, let me give a little disclaimer to set expectations. Multiplayer is the most requested feature of Fireworks Mania and I totally understand why. However, the game have from day 1 been made to be single player. Making a multiplayer game is in itself a huge task, changing an exciting singleplayer game with mod support to be multiplayer, is an insane task. However, I'm wiling to give it a shot for you guys! However, be aware, that it might ending up not getting to work good enough for me to include it in the game. What I'm trying to say is, I'm gonna look into it in 2023, but it doesn't mean it will ever be a thing. I am pretty excited to start investigate this to be honest - I'm a nerd, so I like these technical challenges :)
I will share the progress, when there is something to share, here on Steam in these Developer News posts and on YouTube and Discord.
Others
There are a lot of other smaller things, I will fix and change and push in smaller updates in the near future. Mostly bug fixes and improvements, but the above is the big ones.
That was it for this "Developer News", Happy New Year everybody and thank you guys once again for the support!
Thank you for being part of the "Fireworks Mania" community and journey! Thank you for the support and for buying my little silly game :)
Then I started working on this game 3 years ago, I would never have thought that by now, I would have such an awesome community, a game that a lot of people enjoy and still be happy spending the majority of my sparetime working on it. However, that is how it is, here at the end of 2022 and I'm so happy about it - thank you all once again.
I will keep this post fairly short, as I really just want to say Happy New Year and tell you that the new "2023 Cake" is now in the game, v2022.12.11.
I will soon write a longer "Developer Update" for December, where I will write a bit more about what the plan is for 2023.
### Fixed - Fixed bug where propane tanks wouldn't chain react if you have a too good pc. (I know, don't ask, I'll let myself out)
v2022.12.9
### Changed - Make buildings in Ranch destructible - Changed map thumbnail for Ranch to indicate something is new - Increased wind speed on all weather types
### Fixed - Fixed bug where loading of maps could stop working if mod was modified while loading - Fixed bug where movement input was still handled if console were opened via F1
v2022.12.8
### Added - Made the last 4 houses in the middle of Town destructible too. Now the entire Town can actually be destroyed if you are not careful
### Changed - Updated Town map thumbnail - Maps are now ordered A-Z on the map selection view, however the build is maps are always first - Changed the console to only keep 100 latest logs in attempt to avoid it stop rendering the text - Increased mouse scroll speed on Workshop mod overview - no time for slow scrolling - Changed the "Very Low" Quality setting to disable Volumetric Clouds and Fog, it doesnt look as good, but should perform a little better. Let me know what you experience the ones of you who are playing on "Very Low" Quality setting, do you feel any improvements? - Made the Rain a bit more visible, before it was very hard to see the rain at all
### Fixed - Fixed the zero/negative scale issue at spawn time - again :)
Follow the development of the game on my live stream on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@laumania
OUT NOW: Custom maps, More Destruction & Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to the ones who celebrate 🎅🎄
It is the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas, New Years and a big update for Fireworks Mania.
To celebrate the holidays, I have decorated Town, Ranch and City. The weather forecast predict snow for the next few weeks, so enjoy the decorations and snow while it's there.
If that's not enough Christmas for you, check out guanaco0403's "Christmas Addon for Fireworks Mania". It even has a mini-game of finding presents.
Custom maps
This year I have not added any new maps into the core game, however, I have added support for custom maps. This means mod creators can create maps for the game, so instead of me added one extra map - you now in theory have unlimited new maps!
Mod creators have already made 20+ new maps during the closed-beta - so there is a lot to choose from already in the ingame Workshop. To only see maps, use the filter options to limit to maps.
ProTip:Don't have too many map mods activated or installed at once, as it can take a long time to load the map selection. I am working on improving that, so it will hopefully change soon.
Heads-up fireworks novices!
I know all Fireworks Mania players have pure intensions and only play to make beautiful and controlled firework shows, therefore this is not relevant for you.
However, there have been some reports of cases where houses in Town have had a really bad reaction to fireworks and explosives in general. So keep a save distance to buildings in Town, so it doesn't end like below.
... and more
There is a ton more tweaks, fixes and features in this update.
For example we now have a first draft of a weather system (that's the one providing the Christmas snow). There are currently no UI to change it, but I plan to add that. For now you can change the weather via the "fm-weather" command in the console, if you want to.
1600+ pieces of fireworks
Many have asked me if the new update will have new fireworks in the core game. The short answer is no, but fear not, as there are literally 1000s of fireworks to play with.
If you don't know, I am one dude making this game in my spare time, meaning time for developing is limited. One way to get more content into the game, is to add support for mods. Therefore, last year I implemented "mod support" and the ingame Workshop. This means that mod creators can make new fireworks, props and now custom maps too.
This free up time for me to work on new core features, bug fixes etc.
Does this mean I will never add more to the core game - no - of cause I will add more fireworks.
For instance it is a tradition that I make a new cake each year, so this year I will add a 2023 cake. It is not part of this update - but will come in an update between Christmas and New Years.
The core game have around 75 pieces of fireworks that I made.
in the Workshop in the MainMenu you find 1600+ pieces of fireworks and many of the fireworks are much better than the ones I have made. Since I add 'mod support' 1 year ago, there have been downloaded over 3.5 mio - yes millions - mods for Fireworks Mania alone.
So don't hold back - check out the awesome stuff the mod community have created.
So fear not, if you want more fireworks, browse the Workshop in the MainMenu.
If you rather want to browse for mods in your browser you can do so here: https://mod.io/g/fireworksmania
I have simplified the Mod Tool dependencies, so it's now much easier to get Unity setup.
As I have been busy getting this update ready for the game, I have not had time to create a new "Getting started video" and other Mod Tools related videos.
Mod Tools will be updated in the coming days - so if you are into modding for Fireworks Mania, keep an eye on my YouTube channel.
