Liftoff News

The release of Physics 4.0 on the Experimental Branch was a massive success. You have tried our improvements and shared valuable feedback with us. You all seem to have a great time with the physics improvements! We couldn't be happier with the result.

Nonetheless the team at LuGus Studios saw room for improvements, thanks to some suggestions from dedicated testers. Those improvements are added today in the form of Liftoff Physics 4.0+, an iteration on the previous physics 4.0 with a strong focus on the "lift" factor, adding yet another layer to the most detailed FPV simulator system on the market. Read all about it in our dedicated development blog here.



Just like before, the new physics update is first available to test on the Experimental Branch. We will be looking for community feedback once more before we push this update to the main version of the game. We don't plan any further updates for Physics 4.0 anymore if the feedback on this iteration is positive. Thanks in advance! Read all about getting access the Experimental Branch.



Your feedback is crucial and helps us to move forwards with the improvements of Liftoff.

• Does Physics 4.0+ feel better than Physics 4.0?
  
• Are our latest changes an improvement to what was available in Liftoff these past few years?
  
• Do you feel something is still missing?
  

Please let us know!



[h3]**Update (5th of June)**[/h3]

Thanks to your feedback we have further improved the Physics4.0+ update by tweaking some of its values.

• Drag scaling has been slightly reduced to be closer to Physics 4.0 in order for the drone to carry more momentum when throttle is cut;
  
• Lift effect has been tuned down drastically as in some condition, it was resulting in making the drones feel "too heavy" and participated in shifting velocity direction too fast when throttle was cut;
  
• Overall, the physics should feel like a comfortable mix of Physics 4.0 and Physics 4.0+ effects.
  

As always feedback is much appreciated, and has helped us make these further improvements. We have looked at your concerns regarding the previous P4.0+ update and hope these tweaks introduce everything you loved about P4.0, with the added improvements of P4.0+

As you read this, this month's Kwad Boxes are being packed and will be shipping to subscribers shortly. Liftoff fans should be excited about this one as this edition contains all kinds of Liftoff goodies, including some exclusive in-game rewards. Though we don't want to soil the secret just yet, we can't wait to show you all some behind-the-scenes unboxing pictures, soon as our box arrives at the studio. No point denying it: the team at LuGus Studios is super excited about this.

[h2]WHAT IS KWAD BOX?[/h2]
Kwad Box is a monthly goodie box sent out monthly to subscribers, filled with miniquad goodness! It's a fantastic project that has excited FPV pilots for years. The idea behind Kwad Box comes from Daniel Sandoval (Xhover) and Chad Kapper (Rotor Riot), who have partnered in a way that utilizes both companies' strengths to make Kwad Box an exciting experience for the customer. Here's how to get a Kwad Box subscription.

[h2]WHAT'S IN THE BOX?[/h2]
Ah, we're not supposed to tell... But here's a quick teaser of the exclusive in-game gift ;)




[h2]I MISSED OUT! :([/h2]
Since the Liftoff boxes are being sent out now, existing Kwad Box subscribers will receive the box in the next few days. Luckily, for those of you not yet subscribed, there's an opportunity to win one of the remaining Liftoff Kwad Boxes. We'll send the Liftoff Kwad Boxes seen below as a prize to two random players who conquer a place in the top 20 of the latest Liftoff Pro League tournament. This is your chance to win the cool surprise box full of Liftoff goodies.

The "Kwad Box Race" can be found in the Liftoff Pro League and is active from April 31st to May 20th. Good luck!

Enjoying freestyling the newly pimped Bando City? We have an exciting challenge for you!

Zoroe is organising a freestyle video contest that can earn you a place in the spotlight! Create an awesome freestyle video featuring some of Zoroe's awesome graffiti art in Bando City. The best submissions will be featured in his next video and will be rewarded with the Night Fever DLC!

To enter the challenge, create an awesome freestyle video and edit it however you want. Most of all we want to see you have fun with it! Upload the result on YouTube and send a link to your video to [email protected]

For more details, make sure to check our Zoroe's video below.

[previewyoutube]https://youtu.be/B3_et8FDwvE
[/previewyoutube]

A fun little update dedicated to the wonderful pilot and artist Zoroe

• Added graffiti art in Bando City and the Workbench by Zoroe
  
• Fixed issue with a propeller name that could cause errors in the Workbench.
  
• Fixed issue with the sky haze in the background of some environments.
  
• Added code redeem feature in the Liftoff Pro account panel.
  
• Added new unlockable skins for the Skyliner, Vega and AK Mistral frames
  

Zoroe has lent his exciting artwork to pimp some of the Liftoff environments. We are super happy with the results and can't wait to hear what you think! Zoroe is a designer, graffiti artist, psychonaut and sponsored drone pilot who loves life, making videos and making people's day a bit better.

Go check out his channel!


A quick reminder: our Physics 4.0 test is still up and running on the Experimental Branch. Want to try out the new physics comming soon to the main version of the game? Check this out.
Already on the Experimental Branch? Make sure to change back to the Main public branch to get these updates.

We are thrilled to announce that, after a long phase of testing with eminent members of the community, Liftoff Physics 4.0 has been released on an Experimental Branch, and is available for public testing!

Find out more about this Experimental branch and how to participate.

[h2]What is new?[/h2]

• Drag (sometimes referred to as air resistance) has been reworked to be a lot more accurate by using the actual drone aerodynamic profile rather than an approximation;
  
• Idle motor speed is configurable in the flight controller settings;
  
• Pitch and Roll RC rates can be tuned independently from each other.
  

For more details, I would recommend reading this article. It gives a more technical overview of the changes we made and goes into detail about the altered flight physics.

[h2]An improvement for Racers and Freestylers?[/h2]
Our development priorities are always aimed at realism and authenticity. However, test results and feedback often give conflicting results on what that actually means. After our first test phase, it was obvious that racers and freestylers were looking for different things in Liftoff Physics 4.0. While freestylers were attentive to hang time, carrying of momentum, and driftiness, racers tended to be more interested in having as much control over their quadcopter as possible.

Physics 4.0 aims to please both worlds!

By using the actual aerodynamic profile of a drone instead of a generic approximation and a fine-tuned model thanks to testers, we made every build more unique. Take the Talon and its vertical arms, it will generate less drag while flying forward horizontally than a Vortex Pro. Using the version of the Vega with an aileron will help you maintain trajectory while racing.

That means that some builds will be great for freestyle, but less impressive in a race setup and vice versa. This is a super exciting time for pilots to test new things to find their perfect build. So go ahead, experiment, add parts and manage your quadcopter as you would in real-life! Find that perfect freestyle setup and your favorite race quad! 

A special thanks goes towards the pilots who have been involved with early testing. Among our testers we can mention, Bomba, a well-known master of creative track building and freestyle, Preston Marlowe and Power_Polo, pillars of the French Liftoff community, CrazyFPV a talented freestyler, pothead_bongtoe, one of our Discord server moderators, and a great member of the community, as well as BlueCheese, Mr.D and GTag_Graphics, some of the most skilled racers in the world. We are really grateful for their help during development.