Firestarter
A downloadable profiler for macOS
Long-Term Compatibility
A single binary provides compatibility across all DragonRuby versions since 6.0, and upgrading Firestarter involves copying only a single file.
Precision and Focus
Firestarter produces a meaningful level of detail out of the box. Optional configuration and instrumentation let you tune for the insights you need most.
Frame-by-Frame Analysis
Find the exact moment your game's performance dropped, and use snapshots of the actual gameplay to identify which game actions triggered it.
Data That Matters
Statistics, histograms, flamegraphs, and more. Firestarter provides a comprehensive suite of visualization tools to help you understand large datasets and identify patterns that would otherwise stay hidden.
Back to the Source
Every captured zone in Firestarter is tied to the code that produced it, allowing you to trace issues straight back to the problem's source.
Battle-Tested Foundation
Firestarter is built on Tracy, the same tracing profiler trusted by major studios and indie developers alike. You're getting professional-grade tooling with a proven track record.
Yours for Life
No nags. No trials. No paywalls. Everything included, forever. One purchase gets you every future update included at no additional cost.
Success-First Licensing
Give your game a chance to stand on its own merits, not limited by your tools or your budget. Use Firestarter to improve your game today, and pay for a commercial license after it's profitable.
FAQs
Do I need to have purchased DragonRuby?
Yes. Firestarter is specifically for DragonRuby projects, not a general-purpose profiler. You'll need a valid DragonRuby license to make use of Firestarter.
Do I need to get Tracy separately?
No, everything you need is bundled with Firestarter!
How much overhead does the profiler add?
While profiling, there is some minimal overhead that scales with the amount of detail being captured. In rare cases, this can exaggerate certain performance issues — but even then, Firestarter accurately showcases the relative costs in your profiled code. The bottlenecks it finds are real bottlenecks.
How does the commercial license work?
The short version: We want to prove our value before we ask for your money.
We only ask you to purchase a commercial license after you've shipped a game where Firestarter genuinely helped you identify and fix performance issues, and you've already made profit from that game's sales.
There's no functionality gated behind the commercial license. We believe everyone should have access to the best tools for learning and improving — and if Firestarter can't actually help make your game better, then it hasn't earned your investment.
How do I publish my game?
Firestarter works perfectly on completely unmodified game code. If you do add optional profiling hooks for more detailed data, we've designed them to add only a two-instruction overhead when running outside the profiler. Leave them in your shipped code without worry. Everything else is handled by DragonRuby's provided publishing tools.
Where's the documentation?
Documentation is still in progress, but Tracy's excellent documentation covers the profiler interface, and Firestarter's integration is designed to be intuitive.
Purchase
In order to download this profiler you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $20 USD. You will get access to the following files:
