Firework Rocket

Firework rockets are items and entities used to create decorative, harmless explosions.

Obtaining
Fireworks can currently only be obtained by crafting. They are not listed in the creative inventory.

Creative inventory
In Console Edition, five pre-made firework rockets are listed in the Creative inventory:


 * A firework rocket with a duration of 1; it explodes in a small ball in brown and it twinkles
 * This can be crafted by creating a from,  and , and then crafting a  from that firework star, a piece of  and one.
 * A firework rocket with a duration of 2; it explodes in the shape of a creeper in magenta
 * This can be crafted by creating a from,  and any type of , and then crafting a  from that firework star, a piece of  and two.
 * A firework rocket with a duration of 2; it explodes in a burst in orange, fading to red
 * This can be crafted by creating a from gunpowder,  and a, and then adding  to the firework star, and then crafting a  from that firework star, a piece a  and two.
 * A firework rocket with a duration of 3; it explodes in a burst in green, fading to yellow while twinkling.
 * This can be crafted by creating a from, , a  and , and then adding  to the firework star, and then crafting a  from that firework star, a piece of  and three.
 * Lastly, a firework with a duration of 2; in explodes in the shape of a star in blue, fading to red while having a trail
 * This can be crafted by creating a from, , a  and a , and then adding  to the firework star, and then crafting a  from that firework star, a piece of  and two.

Usage
To launch a firework rocket, its item on a block. They can also be launched from dispensers.

Behavior
Once launched, fireworks will fly out vertically, with random horizontal offset up to 5 blocks. After some time, the firework will explode into a colorful explosion based on the effects of the firework stars added upon crafting, or no explosion if no firework star was used. If multiple firework stars were added to the rocket upon crafting, they will all explode simultaneously.

The explosion of firework rockets is only aesthetic and has no damaging effect on entities or blocks. There is also a delay between detonation and the player hearing the sound, emulating real fireworks, but this sound travels much more slowly than in the real world.

Care should be taken during firework assembly so as not to exceed the (unmodded) particle limit of 4k with fireworks. If the limit is exceeded, the oldest particles are removed before displaying new ones, resulting in severely diminished firework quality / duration. At most a firework should have 3 trail stars, more than that could waste diamonds, firework stars, and other fireworks. Particle counts per star are:

Twinkle effect adds 2 particles to the count.

Like most other entities, they can be moved by water and explosions, and teleported via portals. They also cannot move through solid surfaced blocks, upon hitting one they will either move to a side or explode based on the duration. If a firework explodes under a block, its explosion will be flattened.

Duration and direction
Fireworks travel different heights based on the amount of gunpowder added. The number will be displayed as a tag on the item's tooltip with the description of "Flight Duration"

The height it rises is between 12 to 22 blocks with 1 gunpowder, 23 to 39 blocks with 2 gunpowder, and 40 to 60 blocks with 3 gunpowder. (Note: Using command blocks, firework rockets with higher durations will go much higher and keep accelerating with virtually no terminal velocity. If the duration is long enough, the firework rocket could reach heights of over 1000000 blocks and speeds of over 10000 m/s in a matter of minutes. Such fireworks with significant X and Z motions will speed up sideways exponentially and reach outside the world boundary in a matter of seconds.)

Fireworks can be made to travel different directions by being dispensed or launched under flowing water. The firework's direction then rapidly arcs to the horizontal and the travel distance increases to a point further than the height.

Data values
As an item, firework rockets have an ID name of  and an ID number of 401. As an entity, firework rockets have an entity ID of  and a network ID of 22.

Trivia

 * Launching a rocket by hand on a wooden pressure plate will activate it. The same doesn't hold for stone plates or when using dispensers.
 * Fireworks got implemented by a wish on MineCon 2012.
 * Dispensers can set fireworks.
 * You can see the explosion of a firework 64 Blocks away, regardless of its height.
 * Fireworks without firework stars don't explode.
 * Flowing water affects the rockets trajectory.
 * Fireworks can be shot from underwater.
 * If you shoot a firework into a Nether portal, it will explode in the Nether.