FIRESTARTERS Patch Notes (Steam EA + Demo Archive)

Where Do Official FIRESTARTERS Patch Notes Live?

FIRESTARTERS (Studio Kerosene, Steam app 3733710) publishes changelogs as Steam community news. This fan-compiled page copies entries captured from the Steam news API on 2026-11-02 for search and offline reference.

For Demo versus EA scope, see demo vs Early Access. Weapon names referenced in Demo fixes are summarized in weapons overview. Roadmap timing sits in Early Access roadmap.

Caption: Gameplay-facing patches change combat feel inside arenas like this official overview shot—not this static page.

Early Access — 2026-10-31

Source: Steam GetNewsForApp — FIRESTARTERS PATCH NOTES style entry dated 2026-10-31.

Audio device initialization

• Fixed a startup crash when the audio engine could not initialize the default playback device.
• If default device init fails, the game attempts other onboard output devices.
• If no playback device works, the game can launch without audio instead of crashing.
• Developers note future improvements (such as re-initializing audio) are under consideration.

Input and localization

• Fixed input rebinding failing on some keyboard layouts (example given: Japanese keyboard).
• Updated several Japanese strings.

Early Access — 2026-10-28

Source: Steam news API — launch-window EA patch.

• Fixed a crash when Russian language is enabled.
• Fixed visual novel text wrapping on ultra-wide resolutions.

These align with Steam store language support (English, Japanese, Russian UI/subtitles) and community ultra-wide VN complaints in preview coverage.

Caption: Presentation fixes target VN segments and UI, not this arena geometry specifically.

Demo Delist Notice — 2026-10-27

Title: NOTICE REGARDING THE FIRESTARTERS DEMO

• The long-running Steam Demo no longer represented EA quality.
• Demo delisted as Episode One went EA on 2026-10-28 (announcement wording: Episode One releases “tomorrow” relative to post date).

Historical Demo patches below may not match EA build behavior—use for weapon naming archaeology and shop timing research only.

Demo Patch Archive (Steam News API)

Entries titled DEMO PATCH NOTES or PATCH NOTES before EA. Listed newest first within Demo era.

2026-03-01

• New sound effect on STAGE CLEAR UI.
• Fixed Vulkan out-of-date swapchain crash when moving window to another monitor.
• Fixed ambient audio muting when dragging window across monitors.

2026-02-25

• Adjusted Medal logic to prevent farming Medals with Overseers (enemy name from patch).
• Fixed unnecessary writes under Program Files that could cause permission issues.

2026-02-22

• Added full Russian text (translator Arsenii Pecherin); language via Settings > Game Settings > Language when Steam UI is Russian.
• Weapon Switch may use mouse wheel (option).

2026-02-20

• Added full Japanese text (translator kagerou01gata); language path as above when Steam UI is Japanese.
• Rail grinding nominal speed 3000 → 3500.
• Visual novel scenes advance with bound Use key in addition to click / Space / Enter.
• Fixed startup crash on unrecognized vendor GPUs.
• Fixed Mining Laser and Railgun missing beam/trail effects when firing at skybox.
• Fixed ability to buy Shotgun, Railgun, Rocket Launcher upgrades without owning those weapons.

2026-02-16

• Fixed texture load crash on some GPUs.
• Fixed intermittent Vulkan Code: -4 crash loading worlds.
• Fixed inability to create new save files—developers note these regressions followed insufficient testing of prior GPU fix.

2026-02-15

• Purchase Phase no longer ends immediately when player cannot afford anything.
• Purchase Phase uses 30-second timer; Ready Up key skips wait.
• Merged Max Health, Max Armor, Movement Skill into one upgrade item (Demo balance experiment).
• Adjusted purchase queue items for two available Storms.
• Kills/hits on Sufferers count toward Variety/Clean multipliers (still 0 direct score, 0 Medals per patch wording).
• Fixed enemy spawn marker bug around Special Test arena transitions.
• VSync prefers low-latency driver path; fallback to traditional VSync; recommends Framerate Limit for capping.
• Further GPU selection logic updates.

2026-02-13

• Added 18 control rebind buttons.
• Added Look Inversion modes: Off / X Only / Y Only / X and Y.
• Added Framerate Limit: 30 / 60 / 120 / 144 / 240 / 360 / Unlimited.
• Added Vertical Sync toggle; warns VSync may cause unwanted input latency.
• Improved rendering backend error reporting with Windows dialog on unrecoverable failure—directs players to FEEDBACK AND BUG REPORTS forum.

2026-02-11

• Fixed engine choosing integrated GPU instead of dedicated GPU (thanks LonesomeLurker, Tsingtao Zhang).

How Should Players Use This Archive?

1. EA troubleshooting — Start with the newest 2026-10-31 audio and keyboard entries if launch crashes or rebinds fail.
2. Weapon name verification — Demo 2026-02-20 is the strongest official textual source for Mining Laser, Railgun, Shotgun, and Rocket Launcher together.
3. Settings migration — Framerate, VSync, and language menu paths come from Demo notes; EA may differ—confirm in client per controls and settings.
4. Expectation setting — Demo shop timers and medal anti-farm logic show active balance iteration continuing into EA.

Caption: Arena content patches are not listed weekly yet—Episode One is young; watch Steam news for gameplay balance.

Sources

• Steam store — news & patches
• Steam news API (app 3733710)
• Internal fact pipeline: docs/facts/community-facts.md (transcription checksum 2026-11-02)