Liftoff: Micro Drones News

Update 0.6.0 marks a significant milestone in the Liftoff: Micro Drones journey, as in introduces an extensive tutorial covering everything from fundamental flight skills to advanced racing techniques. Additionally, we're excited to introduce the initial phase of the Silver Screen level along with a fresh analog and digital camera effect that enhances the authenticity of Liftoff: Micro Drones like never before!

[h2]Changelist [/h2]

• Added Silverscreen level (will be expanded later)
  
• Added several Race and Item Collection tracks.
  
• Added a new interactive tutorial. The tutorial can be selected from the main menu.
  
• Updated camera noise effect to be more realistic.
  
• A digital noise effect is also available (toggle in Game Options).
  
• Fixed several inputs not functioning.
  
• Slightly Increasing the new drag factor that was introduced in the previous update.
  

We're thrilled to introduce the highly anticipated Stargazer along with some subtle flight behavior tweaks in this exciting new update for Liftoff: Micro Drones.

[h2]Changelist[/h2]

• Added: Hisingy Stargazer
• Added: seasonal events: Christmas, Halloween. (more to come)
  
• Added: The FPV Angle Mixing feature is available in the flight controller settings. Toggling this feature on will affect the H-ALT, LEVEL and HRZN flight modes to also correct on their roll when yawing while pitching forward or backwards.
  
• Fixed: Multiplayer connectivity issues.
• Fixed: spectating in 3rd person view now works correctly.
  
• Fixed: Camera noise is working again.
  
• Fixed: Rate profiles saving.
  
• Fixed: Loading screen tips on mac are now showing properly.
  
• Fixed: Invisible collisions due to objects not rendering in various environments.
  
• Fixed: Several occlusion culling issues, where objects would disappear when flying behind objects.
  
• Fixed: Startup screen brand logo’s now show centered on the screen.
  
• Fixed: Sign in to the multiplayer in non-multiplayer related menu’s.
  
• Update: increased the overall drag factor to eliminate some observed drift behaviour.
• Updated: The quality settings in the graphics menu have been reduced to three options (Low, Medium and High) instead of five options.
  
• Updated: Slightly tweaked text color in the loading screen, flight controller settings and controller calibration menu’s for better readability.
  
• Updated: The environment selection now shows small clips to better visualise the current selection.
  
• Updated: The environment loading process has been optimised on slower hard drives. Environment loading should be a lot faster on these devices.
  
• Updated: Lighting in many environments has been redone to give a more consistent look.
  

[h2]Stargazer[/h2]
The HISINGY Stargazer, an acclaimed micro drone, now joins Liftoff: Micro Drones. With its stylish design, modular construction, and remarkable user-friendliness, the Stargazer is set to bring the excitement of FPV to a broader audience. We are excited to welcome them into Liftoff!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Physics and flight behaviour tweaks[/h2]
Through the development of the original Liftoff, we've learned that achieving a satisfying flight simulation requires an iterative approach involving the community's testing and feedback. As Liftoff: Micro Drones is in early access, we're committed to refining the flight experience.

Your feedback highlighted drifting issues with the micro drones in Liftoff. This update addresses this by increasing the drag factor.

Liftoff: Micro Drones has always aimed to be the catalyst that propels your dream of flying, by offering an easy-going entry point into the hobby of FPV.

A company that shares this vision is HISINGY and we are excited to partner with them to introduce the Stargazer, the most sought-after beginner drones on the market, in Liftoff: Micro Drones. But calling it just a drone would be an understatement. The Stargazer is an immersive experience that introduces the exhilarating world of FPV to new pilots, evolving its capabilities alongside your flying skills. Soon, Liftoff: Micro Drones will become your ultimate Stargazer-life-hack, accelerating your progress by offering a digital twin to practise with in the virtual worlds of Liftoff: Micro Drones.


The Stargazer will be released soon in Liftoff: Micro Drones as a free update to every Liftoff and Stargazer fan. Here's what to look forward to:

[previewyoutube]https://youtu.be/aVdU_91XiLg[/previewyoutube]

Presenting you with a long list of improvements and fixes, the new Liftoff: Micro Drones update is finally here! And while it only took us 7 years, for the first time in the history of liftoff games, your virtual lipo is finally connected to your drone ;) But hold on tight, because there's more to come, including exciting new content. Stay tuned for future updates!

• Added: voice chat to multiplayer.
  
• Added: French as a supported language. The language can be changed in the game settings.
  
• Added: support for custom music playlists. Supported file formats are mp3, wav and ogg.
  
• Added: save, load and delete profiles for your rates. Rate profiles are available in the flight controller settings from the pause menu.
  
• Added: report function in multiplayer.
  
• Updated: blocked players through the Steam platform will not be able to enter a multiplayer game with you any longer.
  
• Updated: entering a multiplayer game when a blocked player is present in that game will now ask you whether you want to enter the game or not.
  
• Updated: switching game modes or drone configuration while in-game doesn't require a reload of the whole level anymore.
  
• Updated: the game engine has been updated. This should increase performance somewhat. This fixes some input latency issues on Linux while using Vulkan rendering.
  
• Updated drone visuals: lipo batteries now have cables. This is done procedurally.
  
• Updated: added more race A.I. opponents for all races.
  
• Updated: multiple smaller memory efficiencies during multiplayer to reduce potential stutter.
  
• Updated: race checkpoints and other in-game triggers now show their outline clearer when touching other objects.
  
• Updated: improved level loading process so it should be a bit faster. The loading speed improvement depends on the level complexity.
  
• Updated: Liftoff: Micro Drones now runs natively on Apple Silicon.
  
• Fixed: several audio sources would not be linked properly to their respective volume category.
  
• Fixed: several small memory leaks with requests to the Liftoff Pro service.
  
• Fixed: Liftoff: Micro Drones should not start with a resolution of 0x0 anymore.
  
• Fixed: the Liftoff Pro credentials file could sometimes get corrupted and cause connection issues when trying to enter the multiplayer.
  
• Fixed: throttle issue that could result in inversed thrust when going down.
  
• Fixed: replays for item collection and hover drones should be properly displayed in the replay selection screen.
  
• Fixed: adjusting the target frame rate from the pause menu now is applied immediately upon change.
  
• Fixed: scroll speed issue on UI elements. Several UI elements should now react snappier when scrolling through them.
  
• Fixed: several UI elements now show properly on Mac.
  

Our favourite level Sawdust Inc. finally gets a night time version and it's a complete visual redesigned that doesn't just change the look and feel, but also the layout and gameplay. Make sure to bring your boots.

Sawdust Inc. has seen better days. A once thriving store, now a decrepit and abandoned building, left to crumble under the wrath of nature. The sky pours down rain relentlessly, flooding the old store and causing the water level to increase by the minute. As you race through the area, steer clear of the barricades that are holding back the deluge, you have been warned!