Just like the previous update, 0.8.4 contains features, content and fixes. We are not just adding new things but are also improving and upgrading existing systems and features to feel and look more polished.
CHANGELIST
- Visually upgraded the main menu to look freaking awesome! Your currently selected drone setup is shown.
- Added the Fibonacci frame, a uniquely tilted four inch quadcopter.
- Added a new FPV camera, specifically for the new Fibonacci frame.
- Added option to disable drone trails for you (multiplayer and ghost). They are still visible for other players.
- Added option to change camera angle in-game, before arming the drone (arrow keys). This angle is not saved and will reset back to your workbench setting next time.
- Allow to change camera angle in-game (not in workbench) to go beyond the hard limits. (temporary feature)
- Improved and updated scroll functionality and speed in menus.
- Fixed Sleek frame to always start in Acro mode instead of 3D mode.
- Automatically make chat input active when entering a multiplayer room or when spectating.
- Added functionality to “tab” between text fields in menus (example: drone name and description in workbench).
- Minor bugfixes.
FIBONACCI FRAME
This unique new frame is all about the looks, but does not perform poorly either. It’s designed by Sander Nysten, the genius behind the Aether and the Sleek. Just like his other frames, the Fibonacci is an existing “open source” frame, free for everyone to recreate. This is what Sander wants to share about the design:
The rationale behind this frame was fairly straightforward. I was looking at some new generation frames, which seemed to heavily rely on aerodynamics and which incorporated a number of unconventional features. My aim was to come up with a similarly unconventional frame, but make it more aesthetically pleasing. Design is often about making compromises. Some frames are geared towards performance, while others are more durable, more user-friendly, more aesthetically pleasing, and so on. So I made it clear for myself that I would put the visuals in the first place, even if it performance and user-friendliness would suffer. That was a personal choice at that point in time. However, the frame turned out as it is today. Although the narrow frame doesn’t make it easy to work on, the performance is outstanding. So although it might look like I designed this frame to be aerodynamically efficient, this was mostly done because it looks interesting and different from what we are used to. This frame was designed to look nice and to inspire others. Feel free to build upon this design and share it. I want to learn from you as well! Enjoy!
FLIGHT BEHAVIOUR AND PHYSICS
Those following us on Facebook might have noticed we got a visit from ImmersionRC godfather Anthony Cake and Rotor Riot legend Chad Nowak. They came here for Belgian fries and beers, and in between also to test out some of the things we have been working on: Liftoff Vantage, stunt mode, and most of all an improved flight behaviour and physics implementation.
While we won’t go into much detail yet, we are happy to reveal that, based on your continuous feedback and that of our friends mentioned above, we are making some interesting changes to our simulation code. We are also happy to announce that world champion VincBee is joining the Liftoff team to help us test and improve changes to the flight behaviour and help us with other Liftoff projects too.
We won’t introduce the new flight behaviour in a drastic way. Instead, we will create an open experimental test branch of the game on Steam, accessible to anyone interested in trying it out and giving us feedback. Only when these changes feel 100% good will we add them to the main version of the game. We are not ready to reveal these changes yet, but you can expect to try them in the near future.
More information soon!