Is Liftoff a VR game?

Though FPV drone racing might look a little like a virtual reality experience, the goggles used by racing pilots function quite differently from VR headsets.

Many of Liftoff's characteristics, especially its fast-paced gameplay, are incompatible with a good VR experience, as our internal tests have shown. We would not be able to provide an enjoyable and comfortable VR experience, which is top priority for a VR game. 

Can I get a physical copy of the game?

Yes, Liftoff: Drone Racing should be available as a boxed version at your usual game retailer. 

What input devices are supported?

With thousands of input devices on the market, it's hard to provide an exhaustive list of hardware that Liftoff supports. In fact, at LuGus Studios we have likely never even seen a good deal of the devices that work with Liftoff. In general, if you can easily connect the device to your computer, and it has at least two stick inputs, there's a high chance it will function in Liftoff. 

Some of the more popular remote brands that are used by our community: 

• FrSky Taranis
• Spektrum
• Turnigy
• FlySky 
• Futaba
• Radiolink
• Realflight
• Grauphner
• Nirvana
• DEVO
• Playstation controller
• Xbox controller

The game system can automatically detect when a controller is plugged in, and will provide default settings for well-known controllers. This means remotes such as the Taranis will work out of the box.

Controllers that do not have default settings provided can be set up using a user-friendly tool in the game. Using the right cable (often USB) is crucial here. 

Are piloting skills required to play?

Not at all! Liftoff: Drone Racing on consoles is designed to be instantly fun for everyone! Experienced pilots can have an authentic simulation experience, while new gamers will find the pick-up-and-play experience you want from any race game. Furthermore the game features extensive tutorials that help you become an experienced pilot faster than ever before. There's something for everyone! 

My game runs slow

Liftoff can perform differently depending on the game settings and the computer it runs on. A good indication to see if your game is underperforming is to look for a red triangle in the top right corner of your screen while playing. This icon appears when your game has been running below 30 frames per second for a while. 

A few options to consider: 

• Lower your general graphics settings (Main Menu > Options > Graphics)
• Turn off some visual effects (Main Menu > Options > Graphics)
• Lower the resolution (Main Menu > Options > Graphics)
• Make sure your system meets the minimum system requirements for Liftoff listed on the Steam store. A PC upgrade might be required. 

What is a Liftoff Pro Account?

The Liftoff Pro Account grants you access to our player progression and rewards system. This system rewards you for your achievements in-game and allows you to unlock various cosmetic items to further personalize your drone setup in the Workbench. A Liftoff Pro account is also required to participate in Liftoff Pro League tournaments, which are organized on a regular basis. 

Creating a Liftoff Pro account is completely optional and free.

Citrix Workspace makes Liftoff crash

If you are on Windows and your game is crashing, check if you have Citrix Workspace installed.

In 2019, Citrix updated its Workspace application. This new version causes many games to crash upon start due to a 'virtual display adapter' that isn't recognized by the game engine Liftoff runs on.

To fix the issue on your end, you can:

• Uninstall Citrix Workspace if you don't need it.
• Reinstall Citrix Workspace with a working configuration. To do so, read on below.

Reinstalling Citrix Workspace

To install with a different configuration, you will have to manually run the installer with command-line arguments. To do so, follow these steps:

• Uninstall the current installation of Citrix Workspace.
• Download the Citrix Workspace installer from its website. Do not run (double-click) the installer. Place it somewhere on your computer.
• Take note of the location where you put the installer and copy the path to that location. The easiest way to do so is to open a File Explorer window and navigate to the installer's location. Click in the address bar on top to the see and copy the path.
   

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• Now open a  Command Prompt window. To do so easily, simple type "cmd" in the Windows Start menu and the program will show up. Run it as administrator, by clicking "Run as administrator" on the right.

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• Next, we must point the command prompt to the location of the installer. We will use the 'cd' (Change Directory) command for this. Type 'cd', followed by a space and then the path we copied previously. To easily fill in the path, paste it in by hitting Ctrl+V or by right-clicking and selecting "Paste".  Note the path to your installer may be different from the one shown in the image below.

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• With the installer pointed to the right path, we will now run the installer with additional information. Type or copy the following command:

CitrixWorkspaceApp.exe ADDLOCAL=ReceiverInside,ICA_Client,AM,SELFSERVICE,DesktopViewer,Flash,Vd3d,WebHelper,BrowserEngine

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• Note that your installer may be named differently. In that case, replace 'CitrixWorkspaceApp.exe' in the above command with the actual name.
• Citrix Workspace should have been reinstalled. Close the command prompt window and try running the game again.
   

My Taranis does not work anymore (Windows 10)

First off, check whether your input device is being recognized at all by your computer.

Due to a recent Windows 10 update that affects drivers of USB devices, some remotes may not be recognized in Liftoff (and other simulators). Since this is an issue outside of Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing, we cannot provide a solution ourselves. However, we are exploring workarounds and talking to our hardware partners who might be able to provide a more definitive fix.

For now, there's a workaround that seems to work in most cases. This document details a few steps you can take to get things working again:

Liftoff-Windows-10-Reinstall-Remote-USB-Driver.pdf

Additionally, make sure you have the right cable to connect the Taranis to your PC, and select the "joystick" option, rather than the "MassStorage" option when the question appears on your screen.

How do I connect an input device?

The game system can automatically detect when a controller is plugged in, and will provide default settings for well-known controllers. This means remotes such as the Taranis will work out of the box.

Controllers that do not have default settings provided can be set up using a user-friendly tool in the game. Using the right cable (often USB) is crucial here. If your input device isn't being recognized, make sure to check whether your system can read input from it.

What platform releases are planned?

Liftoff: Drone Racing is currently exclusively planned to come out for Xbox One and Playstation 4. 

Can I test Liftoff Academy?

We love your enthusiasm! Liftoff Academy is currently still in an early development and prototyping stage..That means there is no fully playable version at this time. Whenever we are in need of testers, you'll hear about it on this website and through our community channels. Thank you! 

Can I use a DJI remote?

For the longest time, DJI remotes were not compatible with the majority of simulators on the market. However, the company has recently released a series of updates (12/2/2019) that allow DJI customers to use their remotes with Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing. This DJI forum post seems to confirm that news.  However the team at LuGus Studios has not tested this and as such cannot verify this at the moment, so make sure to check with the DJI community and support to be sure.

For more information, please refer to DJI support page and forums. If you are experiencing issues connecting your DJI remote with Liftoff, we recommend contacting DJI support via support@dji.com.

I want to promote my product in Liftoff

We are always interested in working with manufacturers and companies to bring their products to the Liftoff simulators and consider product placement agreements on a case-by-case basis. 

Adding a product to a Liftoff simulator always involves a shared vision and shared investment between LuGus Studios and the party involved. Our number one rule is that the every product needs be a good fit for the project and must add value for the players. We love creating partnerships with companies that offer great products we feel our community will enjoy.

How does this work and what do we offer?

1. We figure out how we can best represent your product and brand, both for you and our players.
2. We collect reference materials to help us recreate your product in the most detailed way possible (images, blueprints, production 3D files, etc.)
3. We calculate a production cost based on the development time needed to virtualize the product and implement it in our simulators. 
4. The manufacturer agrees to fund the work required by LuGus Studios to create and implement the game assets. This is a one-time payment.
5. Following a mutual agreement on the costs involved, the LuGus Studios artists and developers get to work creating the virtual product. 
6. If the addition is a good fit for our simulators that we feel the players will enjoy, we do not charge any additional product placement fees. The virtual product will be added to the game for free, provided the production costs have been covered.

We look forward to working with you. Feel free to contact the team directly using info@lugus-studios.be

When will Liftoff Academy be available?

Liftoff Academy is a big project that contains a lot of interesting development challenges. The team at LuGus Studios is always working on meeting many development milestones, while still supporting and updating or other game projects. As a result of this organic development, it's hard to provide an exact time frame for the release of the project. That being said, we hope to have an early playable version available by the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021.

How do I get updates?

The team at LuGus Studios has currently released over a 100 free updates for Liftoff, all of which are available as an automatic update on Steam.  If your game is not updating, make sure you are connected to the web and check your Steam update settings. 

Not sure if you have the latest version? Check the latest development update to see what the current version number of the game should be. You can compare that to the version number displayed in the bottom left corner of the game's main menu.

How to redeem a code in Liftoff?

Liftoff includes a code system used to redeem in-game content. You might receive such a code by participating in specific tournaments, community events, or by buying specific items from our partners for instance.

In order to redeem a code, you need a Liftoff Pro Account. Then, please follow these steps:

1. Launch Liftoff
2. Sign in your Liftoff Pro Account by clicking on "Sign In" in the top right corner of the main menu
3. Click on your Steam Account picture on the top right corner
4. Click on the account option button
5. Click on "Redeem a Code"
6. Enter your code and validate by clicking on "Redeem code"
7. If the code is valid, you will receive instantaneously a confirmation that your in-game content has been unlocked

Do I need Liftoff to play Night Fever?

Night Fever is Downloadable Content (DLC) for Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing. You need to own and download the base game first in order to make use of the Night Fever DLC content. 

I have an issue with Steam

Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing is distributed through Steam, but the team at LuGus Studios is not involved with the development and support of the Steam platform itself.  For any issues related to Steam, please contact Steam Support. 

My input device is not being recognized!

System level

The first thing to figure out is whether your computer as a whole recognizes your input device. If it doesn't, Liftoff obviously can't either.

HTML5 Gamepad Tester is an online tool that allows you to test whether your system can read input from an input device. HTML5 Gamepad Tester is supported in most common, modern browsers, with the exception of Safari.

If this page says that no gamepad is detected, the problem is likely external to Liftoff. To diagnose the problem further, you can try some of the other support topics under the Remotes and controllers section.

Steam overrides

Next, it could be that Steam, the distribution platform on which Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing is hosted, is overriding your controller configuration. To check if that is the case, open your Steam client and navigate to the Steam/Settings menu. Once there, click on the Controller subsection and click the General Controller Settings button.

In the following window, ensure that PlayStation Configuration Support, Xbox Configuration Support, Switch Pro Configuration Support and Generic Gamepad Configuration are toggled off. If not, Steam hijacks the controller for use with its input system, which does not match the one used by Liftoff.

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Taranis issues

Taranis is a common controller brand in the FPV world. If you are on Windows, and are using a Taranis controller that doesn't work or has stopped working, please check the dedicated support page.

Further

If your input device isn't being recognized, there still could be a variety of issues at play. The wide range of controllers in use in the FPV community and supported by Liftoff can make these problems complicated to diagnose. Take a look at some other support topics to get started.

• What input devices are supported?
• How do I connect an input device?

Is the Night Fever DLC free?

Although we have the habit of releasing hundreds of free updates, Night Fever is our first (and currently only) paid content update for Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing. This DLC is completely optional and is not required to continue playing Liftoff.

Liftoff is difficult!

Liftoff has realistic flight behavior, meaning that every second you fly in Liftoff is like flying a real drone. This realism means the game can be quite hard for starting pilots. It's normal to struggle in the first few hours of gameplay, but, as with everything: practice makes perfect.

For beginning pilots, we recommend the following: 

• Take your time and set yourself easy goals (reach that, fly through that gate, hover still in the air)
• Practice in Free Flight or the Freestyle mode before you hit the tracks in Race mode. 
• Enable god mode, so your propellers can't take damage in collisions
• Press "R" to quickly reset or "T" to rewind time. 
• If you're not having fun, you are doing it wrong. 

Additionally Liftoff has a fantastic community who are always happy to help new players. Record and share your flight gameplay on our community channels and don't hesitate to ask other players for advice and feedback. 
 

What are the system requirements?

In order to have a smooth experience, the computer on which you run Liftoff must meet certain requirements. These requirements are also displayed on the Steam store page.

Your computer should at least meet the Minimum requirements in order to guarantee minimal performance and stability. If it does not, the game may fail to load or crash unexpectedly. The Recommended requirements are what we recommend for a smooth experience. 

Windows

Minimum

• OS: Windows 7
• Processor: Intel Core i5 2.4Ghz or better
• Memory: 3 GB RAM or better
• Graphics: Geforce GTX 960 / Radeon HD 7750 or better, 1GB video card memory
• DirectX: Version 10 or better
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 15 GB available space

Recommended

• OS: Windows 10
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: 2GB video card memory or better

Additional Notes: The game is only playable with a game controller or remote. Single screen setups are recommended. Integrated Intel HD graphics cards are not recommended.

Mac OS X

Minimum

• OS: OS X 10.9
• Processor: Intel Core i5 2.4Ghz or better
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: 1 GB video card memory
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 15 GB available space

Recommended

• OS: OS X 10.9
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: 2 GB video card memory

Additional Notes: The game is only playable with a game controller or remote. Single screen setups are recommended. Integrated Intel HD graphics cards are not recommended.

SteamOS + Linux

Minimum

• Processor: Intel Core i5 2.4Ghz or better
• Memory: 4 GB RAM or better
• Graphics: 1 GB video card memory or better
• Network: Broadband Internet connection
• Storage: 15 GB available space

Recommended

• Memory: 8 GB RAM or better
• Graphics: 2 GB video card memory or better

Additional Notes: The game is only playable with a game controller or remote. Single screen setups are recommended. Integrated Intel HD graphics cards are not recommended. RX2SIM is not supported.

The physics feel weird

With Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing, we aim to get the flight behavior and physics as close to real life as possible. While a simulation can never mimic real physics 100%, we are confident we have reached very desirable result with our latest physics developments. If physics in Liftoff feel off to you, it might be worth looking into a few other factors that can affect your experience:

• Your PC performance. Many people try to play Liftoff on systems that don’t meet the requirements listed on the Steam Store. Bad performance might result in a slow response time, often labeled “floaty”.
• Your flight controller settings. Many players have never touched the flight controller settings, but expect the virtual drone to fly precisely like their own setup. Just like in real life, however, flight controller settings always need to be tuned to suit your exact flying style, preferences and hardware. A lot can be achieved by experimenting with these settings.
• Your drone configuration in the Workbench. Every drone is completely different and everyone is used to flying their own personal setup. The in-game drones might not be the same as your personal setup, but that does not mean the in-game flight behavior is unexpected, given the drone parts being simulated.
• Your remote settings and calibration. Any delay in input data might produce a slow response time often labeled “floaty”. Remotes (in combination with your OS) can also vary in the number of discrete values they return per second. If this “resolution” gets too low, your quad might respond sluggishly.
• False perception of speed and distance. It is not always easy to have an accurate sense scale when you're looking at a screen. Environments might be considerably bigger than they appear, resulting in a feeling of slow flying, while in fact you are moving quite fast.
• Field of View. Your field of view (FOV) has a big effect on the perception of speed. Wide FOVs make it feel like the environment is passing by much faster. You can adjust the FPV lens size under the main menu's Graphics settings to adjust this, and can further fine-tune in-game with the horizontal arrow keys.
• Motion Blur. Motion blur is a visual effect that visually smears fast-moving objects. If it is not already enabled, you can give it a try for an increased feeling of speed, at a small performance cost.
• Screen resolution. FPV goggles have a very different resolution than your computer screen. This has a big impact on the feeling of speed.

Is Liftoff realistic?

While no simulator is ever 100% realistic, the team at LuGus Studios aims to make Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing as realistic as technically possible. The authentic flight behavior in our simulator is the result of dozens of different simulated systems working together.

In Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing, every single piece of drone hardware uses its exact real-life statistics, which are factored into the calculation of the flight behavior. We calculate ground effects, drag (based on air density, frame tilt,…), weight (based on drone parts) and every other factor you would expect. Liftoff simulates damage, calculates signal degradation based on distance and obstacles, and even has a working virtual flight controller that stabilizes your flight behavior according to your settings.The only thing we can’t simulate is a detailed aerodynamics model, which would be too computationally complex.

Is Liftoff a simulator or a game?

Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing is a game that simulates real FPV flight behavior. A project can simultaneously be a simulator and a game. If executed correctly, the two will complement one another. Liftoff contains a lot of fun game elements that make the simulation aspects new and fresh every time. None of the flight behavior in Liftoff is scripted: it is the result of dozens of different simulated systems working together.

Liftoff flies differently from my real drone

Every drone setup is a little different, both real drones and virtual ones.

Drones in Liftoff behave based on their exact combination of parts and the flight controller settings used on the virtual flight controller. The number of parts in Liftoff allows for more than a 100 million unique combinations, each of which will have different characteristics. Given that wide range of possibilities, it is fair to say your virtual drone might not fly the same as your real-life drone out of the box. 

What can you do when your real and virtual drones feel different?

• Fix up real life drone ;) 
• Try out different drone parts in the Workbench
• Change your Flight Controller settings
• Make sure your Input device is working currently (low input resolution can impact the flight feeling) 
• Check out any of the more than 3000 community created setups on the Steam Workshop.
   

Where can I get Liftoff?

Liftoff is only available on the digital distribution platform Steam. Please check out our dedicated Steam page. 

Liftoff Steam keys may be available for purchase on other stores as well, but you will always need the Steam software to redeem the key and download the game. 

What's included in the DLC?

• A night-time version of all Liftoff environments
• A cyberpunk version of The Drawing Board
• 20 exclusive glow-in-the-dark frame skins
• Exclusive glow-in-the-dark propellers
• 2 new soundtrack songs by Nightime Burnout

What languages does Liftoff support?

Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing is currently only available in English and French. We may add additional language support in future updates.  

Want to help us translate the game to your language? Let us know: team@lugus-studios.be

Can I play with people who don't have Night Fever?

We wouldn't want Liftoff's community to get split up. That's why players who do not own the Night Fever DLC can still join Night Fever multiplayer lobbies. DLC owners will play in the night version, while others will simply see the daytime version.

My game crashes!

A game crash could be caused by a wide range of issues. Below is a list of common problems that you can check.

System requirements

Check if your computer meets the minimum requirements to run Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing. If it does not, this is a likely cause for the instability. As long as you use the same Steam account, you can always install the game on a new computer.

Citrix Workspace

If you are on Windows and your game is crashing, check if you have Citrix Workspace installed.

Drivers

Make sure your hardware drivers are all up to date. Outdated drivers may make the game unstable.

Further support

If the above information didn't help, we are happy to help you investigate the crashes and pinpoint the culprit. After a crash, please send us the log file that is generated by the game. You can find this log file by following these steps:

Windows

1. Right click on Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing in your Steam library and click "Properties."
2. In the "Local files" tab, click the "Browse local files" button.
3. Open the Liftoff_Data folder and look for the 'output_log.txt' file.

Mac

macOS version 10.14 or earlier

Open console.app, open the '~/Library/Logs' category, Find the 'Player.log' file.

macOS version 10.15 and later

Open console.app, open the 'Log Reports' category, find the 'Player.log' file.

Send the log file to team@lugus-studios.be

When can we get a new environment or frame?

Since the first Early Access version was released in 2015, the team at LuGus Studios has continuously worked on new updates, containing environments and drone frames, even today. Frames can take from a week to a month of work to produce, and environments often take many months. That's why we are only able to release a few of each per year. Nonetheless new content is always on its way and can be expected in future updates. 

Is Liftoff available on Mac or Linux?

Liftoff is available on Windows, Mac and Linux. Make sure your system meets the minimum system requirements listed on the Liftoff Steam page, before you purchase the game for your platform. 

Is this an exact port of the PC version?

It's not going to be an exact port: there are some key differences between the PC and console games.

While Liftoff: Drone Racing on consoles will feel familiar for fans of Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing on PC and much content will be transferred, the look and feel of the game is getting a major rework and the console game will also include some new exclusive features.

The game will have a stronger focus on the single player experience and usability for gamers not yet familiar with drone racing. Additionally, we made sure that playing with a game controller feels natural and provides a fun experience. 

Can I use a game controller?

Though true RC remotes offer a better experience, Liftoff also supports many popular game controllers. 

These game controllers do give you a slight handicap compared to players with specialized remotes, since they have limited sensitivity and sticks that snap back to the center position.

Can I use my regular RC transmitter?

Even though the game internally is capable of reading input from a wide variety of devices, the console hardware currently does not allow us to connect those devices. As such, Liftoff: Drone Racing on console won't be playable with your regular Taranis, Spektrum, Turnigy etc.

However, a series of clever improvements and "Assisted Flight" features will make the use of game controller considerably more viable and natural. Liftoff: Drone Racing is designed to be a genuine console experience and having a great experience with a game controller has been a key goal since the start of development. 

I have an idea or suggestion

That's fantastic, we are curious to hear what you have in mind. It's fair to say that many of the top features in Liftoff: FPV Drone Racing are the result of community feedback and ideas. Liftoff would not be what it is today without the input from a vibrant player base.

We are always happy to hear your ideas and would encourage everyone to share them on our community channels. Feel free to join our Facebook Community Group, Steam forums or Discord Channel.

When will the game be available?

An exact release date has not been announced at this point, but the game to be launched in 2020. Our current focus is to make this the absolute best experience possible for the console platforms.