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Full Release: Liftoff: Micro Drones

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When we launched the Early Access of Liftoff: Micro Drones back in late 2021, we made a bold promise: to deliver the ultimate simulator for the micro drone class.

Today, we’re proud to say, we’ve kept that promise. And it’s all thanks to you. Your passion, feedback, and unwavering support have shaped every update, every feature, every line of code.

TL;DR

The changelist below is massive—packed with the fixes, features, and fine-tuning you’ve been waiting for. But we know you love a good TL;DR, so here’s what you really need to know:

  • Track Builder — The long-awaited, fully custom toolset is finally here. Over a year in the making, built from the ground up to empower your creativity. Create, share and download custom tracks.

  • Levels — Azure District (previously Silverscreen) and Melon Pan Park now feature stunning nighttime versions, each transforming the experience into something entirely new.

  • UI/UX Polish — We’ve polished every pixel. Buttons are consistent, menus intuitive, everything feels tighter, smoother, better.

  • BETAFPV Air75 — You asked. You waited. It's here.

Changelist

New:

  • Two new environments!

    • Melon Pan Park - Neon City

    • Azure District - Grip

  • All new Track Builder

    • Build and configure your own custom Tracks and Races!

    • Share your custom content through Steam Workshop

    • Place gates, triggers, checkpoints, resizeable blocks, …

    • Familiar industry-standard 3D editor controls: 3D gizmo, increment snap, snap points

    • Spline placement tools

    • Over 175 Track Items with various skins, with more to come!

    • Empty variants for each “daytime” Environment; and the night variants are under way!

  • Achievements! 18 achievements are available to unlock.

  • Thumbnails and description added for each track

  • Added BetaFlight Air75

    • BetaFPV Air75 frame

    • BetaFPV Motor 0802SE 19500kv

    • BetaFPV Motor 0802SE 23000kv

    • BetaFPV LAVA 1S battery 450mAh 75C

  • Multiplayer high scores save a recording. Recordings can be reviewed in the leaderboards menu.

  • Pre-v1 leaderboard times have been archived. They can still be accessed by selecting the ‘Legacy - no recordings’ option in the leaderboards menu.

  • Added a volume setting for Ambient sounds.

Updated:

  • Extensive UI polish pass for consistency and flow.

  • Added Purist toggle for leaderboards.. You can now switch between purist and regular leaderboards.

  • Updated text in the multiplayer game lobby to be more readable.

  • Changed the default motors for the BetaFPV Air65 frame from 23000kv to 27000kv.

  • Updated the race guides visualization. Arrows are used for the next checkpoint, and spheres for subsequent ones.

  • Updated the race guides’ generation to be more smooth between checkpoints.

  • Several new options in the game settings menu:

    • toggle skip the race countdown

    • setting for how many checkpoints ahead the race guides should show

    • Threshold for “best lap time” notification

  • The next music track starts playing when loading in an environment.

  • In the multiplayer game lobby, clicking on a player now shows their leaderboard times and drone setup. You can clone their drone setup to include it in your own fleet.

  • The multiplayer chat window now displays new leaderboard high scores set by other players.

  • Updated the display logic of the multiplayer chat window. When expanded, the chat will always be visible. When collapsed, the chat will auto-expand when the player is not flying and auto-collapse when they start a flight.

  • The realtime ranking in-game now shows your personal best score for a race.

  • Updated the multiplayer game settings menu to store your last session, and restore it when creating a new game.

Bugfixes

  • Reduced frame weight of the BetaFPV Air65, so motors and propellers are not counted double.

  • Fixed propeller blur visuals on certain props.

  • Fixed camera part angler where it wouldn't stay between [-180, 180].

  • Fixed issue where the default spawnpoint could still be used for drone placement.

  • Fixed issue where rewind would also bring the drone to a previous spawnpoint.

  • Tutorial Fixes:

    • Fixed issue where the flight inputs were being re-enabled after returning from an exercise, possibly conflicting with the dialog being shown already.

    • Fixed several issues in the game features tutorial.

    • Fixed issue where resetting the drone during an ongoing dialog would lock the player out from continuing to fly afterwards.

    • Fixed ZetaFlight input issues in the tutorial.

    • Improved Hoverdrone track in tutorial.

  • Fixed issue with hover drone not showing the proper speed and altitude values in the Item Collect game mode.

  • Fixed issue where the propeller collisions would not work as intended when the drone is not armed.

  • Fixed issue where UI becomes unresponsive after a race.

  • Fixed issue with KISS rates where the yaw channel was always overridden with the pitch channel values.

  • Fixed drone audio getting “stuck” upon disarming.

  • Fixed windshield collider on car in San Lipo Drive.

  • Partner logos are no longer low-res in the splash screen on lower quality settings.

What to Expect Next

In the days and weeks ahead, we’ve scheduled time for:

  • Rapid fixes and improvements While we’ve tested extensively, an update of this scale always brings unexpected bugs. We’re ready to respond quickly and keep things running smoothly.

  • Track Builder enhancements The new Track Builder is a powerful starting point, but we’re not done. Expect additional building elements, quality-of-life improvements, and ongoing polish.

  • New content in development The next micro drone is already in production, and we’re actively conceptualising the next environment, with level production to follow shortly after.

A Heartfelt Thank You

Once again, we want to express our deepest gratitude to the entire Liftoff and FPV community for being part of this journey. FPV has always been a passion-driven niche, and while it may be a smaller market, it’s one with a big heart. Projects like Liftoff: Micro Drones only exist because of your collective support. Every single pilot makes a difference.

What we’re launching today is not just the result of our development efforts, it’s the achievement of an entire community. True teamwork.

A special thank you goes out to our testers, who’ve spent the past weeks relentlessly bug-hunting and stress-testing the new Track Builder. Your dedication and detailed feedback have been invaluable.


A Tribute

Lastly, we’d like to dedicate this launch to someone truly special, a legend in the Liftoff community whose creativity and passion have touched us all.

Shane Hirst, known to many as Mekon, gave us countless hours of joy through his incredible tracks. His talent, generosity, and love for the game inspired a generation of pilots and creators.

Though he’s no longer with us, his legacy lives on in every turn, dive, and gate we fly.

This one’s for you, buddy. Thank you, Shane. You will be missed.

Build and release context

Recorded Steam release date:

Within one calendar day of this post (UTC). The listed date does not establish an exact launch time.