The Backyard Edition of ShowSim is intended for amateur fireworks enthusiasts who design elaborate backyard shows for their own enjoyment. This low-cost version contains nearly all the features of the professional versions, only with a few key limitations that limit its use in commercial shows. Among these restrictions is a maximum cue limit of 300, a maximum shell size of 3”, fewer reports and a limited set of supported firing systems. These limitations should not effect backyard hobbyists building shows from legal consumer fireworks however.
Note that this software can also be used by firework manufacturers as a way to prototype shells
and get the timing right before actually building them. You can
experiment with different colors and effects at the comfort of your
computer while getting a better feel for what the final product will
look like. The 3" size limitation does not apply when working within
the shell editor, so you can apply any burst height and star velocity
you want when inside the editor without the program limiting it to 3"
max the way it will when working outside the editor. This exception was
created specifically for builders who want to prototype shells of any
size.
Firing systems currently supported in the backyard edition:
- Cobra
- Pyro Ignition Control file format
- Merlin
- Dewy
- ODA Systems
Unlike the subscription versions of ShowSim, the Backyard edition does not ever expire or stop working. There
is an optional maintenance subscription that can be purchased to extend
the ability to receive program updates and effect library updates
beyond the initial one year period following purchase of the software. New program updates are released every few months and there will be more effect libraries getting added as time goes on. Effect
libraries created by other users can always be loaded even if your free
update period expires. If you didn't renew updates for a year and then
renewed the following year, you would still have access to all effect
libraries that were released on the year you skipped. The only program
or effect updates that would not be available would be ones that have a
release date later than the expiration date of your update period, which
is always a twelve month block of time from when you bought the program
or from when you renewed it. If the program does everything you want
and you have all the effects you need due to community effect sharing,
you could just not renew the updates without losing any functionality.
Then maybe three years later you see some big feature added that you
like, then you could renew updates and get that (along with three years
worth of effect library updates).