Digital drones take flight - Liftoff

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The Belgian game developer LuGus Studios and drone manufacturers ImmersionRC and Fat Shark have teamed up to create Liftoff, the first video game that translates the rush of first-person view drone racing to the digital world. The game is supported by The Flanders Audiovisual Fund.

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Unmanned aerial vehicles frequently get a bad rap, catching the public eye as espionage tools or precision weapons. However, the new technology's unfair reputation is illustrated by a wide range of positive applications, one of which is the budding sport of first-person view (FPV) racing. In this adrenaline-fueled activity, pilots use virtual reality goggles to steer their drone as if they were looking through the machine’s eyes.

“A while ago a video did the rounds on the internet of some people having an FPV race in a forest. It was fast, exciting and dizzying, and had a real ‘Star Wars’ vibe,” says Tom Lissens, co-founder of LuGus Studios. “We immediately knew we wanted to make a game about it. Some time later we were contacted by ImmersionRC and it turned out the video that inspired us had actually been made by a team member of theirs. It was a match made in heaven.”

The joint creators of Liftoff aim for the game to be a sort of gateway to the quadcopter racing scene, a platform both for pilots with real-life experience and for gamers who are as of yet unfamiliar with the new sport. Veterans can explore new environments or race one another, while newcomers can experiment to their heart’s content and hone their flying skills before taking to the field.​

Liftoff is slated to be released for PC and Mac. Further details about the game will be released at a later stage.

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About LuGus Studios
LuGus Studios is an independent game studio that creates clever and and exciting games.
info@lugus-studios.be
www.lugus-studios.be

About ImmersionRC
ImmersionRC is continuously pushing for a better FPV experience with groundbreaking products and technology.
www.immersionrc.com

About Liftoff
www.liftoff-game.com

 

This looks really fun!

 

Thanks a lot!

 

Not bad...

 

Thanks you!

We just released a FAQ:

• Is Liftoff a simulation or a game?

It's a bit of both. There are many amazing simulators out there, but with Liftoff we want to do more than just fly a race drone in a digital environment and also create a game with its own challenges and rewards. FPV drone racing is not only about flying your machine, but also about tinkering with the best configuration, building racetracks and sharing the experience with friends. These are all things that we want to portray in the game as well.

• How realistic will it be?

As realistic as possible without losing the “fun” factor of the game. We want the game to be appealing to both drone experts and gamers who are new to the drone experience. That's quite a challenge! Of course we are also limited by what the technology allows us to do, but with the help of ImmersionRC and Fat Shark, we are doing everything we can to translate the look and feel of FPV racing to the screen.

• Will the game feature a multiplayer mode?

Creating a fast-paced multiplayer is always challenging. Multiplayer is definitely on our to-do list, but we'll take the time to perfect the experience and get the best results. The first versions of the game will feature a ghost mode and computer controlled drones and it will be possible to share your ghost data with other players too. The multiplayer mode will probably be added in a later stage.

• Will the game have multiple drone models?

At the start we want to focus our development on core features and content. That's why we'll focus on the Vortex drone for the first playeble releases. At a later stage we'll be talking to other manufacturers to get them involved with Liftoff.

• Will I be able to use my radio controller?

We plan to support a wide range of controllers, both your traditional radio controller and gaming controllers.

• Will we be able to use goggles?

It's something we would love to do and we are definitely exploring the idea together with ImmersionRC and Fat Shark.

• The game will be released for Windows and Mac. What about other platforms?

We hope to bring Liftoff to as many people as possible. We initially aim for a PC and Mac release, but other platforms are definitely possible at a later stage!

• When will the game be released?

The reply is what many smart game developers have said in the past: “when it's done”. We hope to get the game released in early 2016. Don't worry, we are exploring ideas of getting you playing much faster. We want to include the community as much as possible during the development process, so you may be able to fly some digital drones before the final release.

• I want to beta test the game! How?

The game is still very much in development and it's too early to start testing right now. Of course we want to get the community involved as soon as possible to collect feedback before the full release. We are considering setting up an Early Access program for those who are willing to give an early version of the game a try. Nothing is set in stone yet.

• How can I help?

Share the love! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and tell your friends and family about the game!

 

Hi, I think you should really consider including Oculus Rift support, to get a the FPV feeling there,I have a DK2 headset and would be willing to test or whatever needed to make that happen ..

 

It's definitely something we are exploring right now! We also hope to get access to Valve VR at one point

 

During the development of a game, not everything is ready to be shown to the public. The game can be buggy, it uses a lot of placeholder art and it hardly resembles what the final product will be like.

Most developers are very careful in showing these development processes to the public, but we enjoy sharing it with our community. We are happy to reveal our Behind The Scenes program. We'll try to release images and videos about the development of the game on a regular basis.

This is the first Behind The Scenes video for Liftoff. Our first video is very art-focussed and talks about modelling, texturing and the use of Speedtree. Everything shown in this video is work in progress and may not represent the final product.

 

We are happy to release the second Behind The Scenes video. We talk about the drone physics simulation and the programming processes.

We hope you guys enjoy these videos, let us know what you think!​

 

This next Behind The Scenes video is less development focussed. It shows our source of inspiration and drone racing near the studio!

 

As we said in the past: we are planning to get you playing before the official release of the game. We hope to start an Early Access program for Liftoff on the Steam distribution platform.

To make this happen, we need your help!
Steam Greenlight is a system that enlists the community's help in picking some of the new games to be released on Steam. Liftoff is one of those games. The more "YES" votes we collect, the faster we can get the game to you!

>> STEAM GREENLIGHT <<​

Thanks!

 

I Yes voted your game on Steam Greenlight. I have also told several friends who are into flying the drones. Your game looks great so far. Good luck with it.

 

Finally! Been waiting something like this. I made a proto couple years ago, but controls was quite difficult. Hope you get it right, looks really good already.

Voted and tweeted.

 

Thanks a lot for voting!

The Greenlight campaign is going great!

 

Behind The Scenes:
We are currently working on environments and are experimenting with different environment types. These screenshots show some snow-environment experiments.

What environments would you like to see in Liftoff?

 

Those are some great looking screenshots! Would love to be able to take this game for a drive

 

Thanks Haagndaaz!

Great news!

 

Making great progress!

While we are not ready to show you new in-game screenshots and footage yet, we can show you some (slightly revealing) behind the scenes snapshots

 

Looks nice! a video would be a awesome too of the updates.

 

We'll be showing the game to the public for the first time next month on GameForce in Belgium, I'm sure we'll be able to release some game footage around that time

 

Creating and personalizing your drone is a big part of the sport and it will be a big part of the game too! In our Early Acces version (soon) you'll be able to modify your drone with the "Workbench" feature. Different drone configurations will result in different flight behaviours.

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Raw (cam) gameplay footage taken during the first public reveal on the Belgian game event GameForce

 

Very Nice, wish the it was a proper Fraps like recording

 

Like this?

 

Very impressive! How did you make the video mode so real? Is it a unity asset?

 

I have an idea to pass on, how about you have a section that teaches drone pilots about flying these devices responsibly, e.g. a scene in an urban area where if you fly to close to humans you fail, something like that? or teach the players the rules about drone flight and being safe?

 

I agree, we'll only represent safe and legal scenarios in the game, to give a good examples. In Liftoff you won't fly in cities,pedestrian areas,...

Our parking lot level "Minus Two" is an existing location we got permission to fly in. As we would never fly in this parking lot of there were cars parked in it, for the same reason we won't show cars in it in the game.

 

Yes, we wouldn't be able to create this game with limited time and budget if it wasn't for the amazing assets packs and plugins we find on the Asset Store. Long live Unity and its community! The video signal is a cool plugin we adapted to our needs.

 

Exciting times for the team!

http://www.liftoff-game.com/2015/11/05/early-access-what-to-expect/

 

Can you let me know somehow when the game is available, I am eager to try it... will it work with dk2?

 

http://www.immersionrc.com/liftoff-early-access-released/

It's out!

 

Nice!
If I may ask, how did you render the skies, is it with an asset?
I especially like the sky in this screenshot:

 

A simple skybox can make all the difference!
We used an amazing asset pack called "25 HQ Skyboxes Pack 01", highly recommended!

 

Liftoff sucks, do not eat. The game does not handle the settings, the control is horrible, it locks constantly.
Look for the simulators like DRL, Freerider among others, but do not buy this F***ing game that is Liftoff.