Fireworks Mania News
Developer News - Jan. 2023
Hey there!
As I mentioned in the last Developer News post, I wasn't happy with the initial version of the custom map listing and loading.
It used unnecessary amounts of memory and it listed the maps way to slow.
[h2]Improved map listing[/h2]
Over the last couple of weeks I have been working on this issue, I even livestreamed twice.
As always, really cozy and chill livestreams, so thanks to the ones that had time to join :)
I got the map listing working much better now by using the meta about the custom mod maps from mod.io instead of the mod file. I'll spare you the technical details, you will have to watch the livestreams if you wanna know more.
The short version is - it lists maps a lot faster now!
[h2]Automatic mod updating[/h2]
Automatic updates of mods should really have been a thing from when I added the workshop initially - or so I thought. Turned out it only worked when you were logged into mod.io in the workshop.
However, while fixing the above listing of maps, I was dancing around in the mod.io v1 SDK and found some methods I could use to actually look for and update mods that the player have installed.
This means mods are now checked for updates and they are downloaded if any is found.
This should be the end of having to "resub" to mods to get the latest version - really nice!
[h2]When can I get this?[/h2]
As of writing (2023-01-22) v2023.1.4 that contain these changes are pushed to the Experimental beta of the game for players to test out.
The testing is going really great, so I hope to be able to push this version to everyone over the coming days - unless some unforeseen issues shows up.
[h2]Optimizing the workshop UI[/h2]
I also mentioned in the last Developer News, that I wanted to optimize and update the workshop UI, however I will have to put that part on pause.
The reason is, that before I found the before mentioned methods to update mods automatically, I was under the impression that I needed to upgrade to the mod.io v2 SDK to get that fixed, which would also update the workshop UI and a lot of other things under the hood.
However, as automatic update now works, I have decided we can live with the workshop UI for a while anyway, as that free time for me to look at other and more important things - like multiplayer!
[h2]Status on multiplayer[/h2]
As always when talking about multiplayer and Fireworks Mania - lets start with a disclaimer.
Adding multiplayer to Fireworks Mania is a very requested feature and something I really want to add to the game. However, multiplayer is a very complex task all by itself. On top of that, I have to add it to an existing single player game that support mods. If its even possible it can easily be a 1-2 years project!
Therefore, I'm always making it clear that multiplayer is something I want to add, but I cannot promise it will ever be a thing.
With the disclaimer out of the way - I plan to start on it very soon and do some initial tests etc.
I hope to be able to give a bit more insight in next Developer News post sometimes late February 2023.
Fingers crossed :)
YouTube | Twitter | Discord
- Enjoy!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/
As I mentioned in the last Developer News post, I wasn't happy with the initial version of the custom map listing and loading.
It used unnecessary amounts of memory and it listed the maps way to slow.
[h2]Improved map listing[/h2]
Over the last couple of weeks I have been working on this issue, I even livestreamed twice.
As always, really cozy and chill livestreams, so thanks to the ones that had time to join :)
I got the map listing working much better now by using the meta about the custom mod maps from mod.io instead of the mod file. I'll spare you the technical details, you will have to watch the livestreams if you wanna know more.
The short version is - it lists maps a lot faster now!
[h2]Automatic mod updating[/h2]
Automatic updates of mods should really have been a thing from when I added the workshop initially - or so I thought. Turned out it only worked when you were logged into mod.io in the workshop.
However, while fixing the above listing of maps, I was dancing around in the mod.io v1 SDK and found some methods I could use to actually look for and update mods that the player have installed.
This means mods are now checked for updates and they are downloaded if any is found.
This should be the end of having to "resub" to mods to get the latest version - really nice!
[h2]When can I get this?[/h2]
As of writing (2023-01-22) v2023.1.4 that contain these changes are pushed to the Experimental beta of the game for players to test out.
The testing is going really great, so I hope to be able to push this version to everyone over the coming days - unless some unforeseen issues shows up.
[h2]Optimizing the workshop UI[/h2]
I also mentioned in the last Developer News, that I wanted to optimize and update the workshop UI, however I will have to put that part on pause.
The reason is, that before I found the before mentioned methods to update mods automatically, I was under the impression that I needed to upgrade to the mod.io v2 SDK to get that fixed, which would also update the workshop UI and a lot of other things under the hood.
However, as automatic update now works, I have decided we can live with the workshop UI for a while anyway, as that free time for me to look at other and more important things - like multiplayer!
[h2]Status on multiplayer[/h2]
As always when talking about multiplayer and Fireworks Mania - lets start with a disclaimer.
Adding multiplayer to Fireworks Mania is a very requested feature and something I really want to add to the game. However, multiplayer is a very complex task all by itself. On top of that, I have to add it to an existing single player game that support mods. If its even possible it can easily be a 1-2 years project!
Therefore, I'm always making it clear that multiplayer is something I want to add, but I cannot promise it will ever be a thing.
With the disclaimer out of the way - I plan to start on it very soon and do some initial tests etc.
I hope to be able to give a bit more insight in next Developer News post sometimes late February 2023.
Fingers crossed :)
YouTube | Twitter | Discord
- Enjoy!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/
[EXPERIMENTAL] v2023.1.4
### Added
- Added progress bar to the automatically mod update UI
### Fixed
- Fixed a problem where mods sometimes couldn't be loaded right after they were updated
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.
For instance I fixed the progress bar in this livestream:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
- Enjoy!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/
[EXPERIMENTAL] v2023.1.3
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.
I actually fixed the progress bar on my last live stream:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
- Enjoy!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/
v2023.1.2
### Fixed
- Fixed bug where "Mouse Primary Button" was not working when player had it setup reversed
- Fixed some crashes on lower-end hardware
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.
- Enjoy!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/
- Fixed bug where "Mouse Primary Button" was not working when player had it setup reversed
- Fixed some crashes on lower-end hardware
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.
- Enjoy!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079260/Fireworks_Mania__An_Explosive_Simulator/