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SITL Forge - FPV Laboratory
Not just a flying simulator. A physics-first quadcopter laboratory with 1000Hz modeling, a virtual workbench, and a built-in flight controller — design, tune, and analyze real drone builds before you ever touch hardware.

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Features
Single-player
Family Sharing
Profile Features Limited 
Languages:
Interface Full Audio Subtitles
English ✔
Ukrainian ✔
Simplified Chinese ✔

Coming Soon To Early Access

The developers of this game intend to release as a work in progress, developing with the feedback of players.

Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“SITL Forge is built by drone pilots for drone pilots, and we'd rather ship it now and shape it together with the community than polish it in isolation. Early Access lets builders, FPV pilots, and flight-controller developers try the simulator against real hardware setups, tell us what's missing, and influence which platforms and features we prioritize next.
”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We plan to remain in Early Access for approximately 6–12 months. The exact length depends on how quickly we can act on community feedback, expand the parts library, and ship the next flight-controller integrations.
”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“During Early Access we plan to grow the simulator along several axes:
• Additional flight-controller integrations as DLC — iNAV and ArduPilot are planned alongside the existing Betaflight support.
• A larger parts library: more frames, motors, propellers, batteries, and ESCs, with bench-validated specifications.
• Additional environments and test scenarios.
• Continued refinement of the VMG motor/propeller physics model based on real bench-test data.
• Quality-of-life improvements driven by community requests.

These are our intentions, not promises — final scope will depend on how Early Access unfolds.
”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“SITL Forge is fully playable today and includes:
• A built-in SIM flight controller (ACRO / ANGLE / HORIZON) for standalone simulation.
• A Betaflight DLC integration for testing real Betaflight firmware over the standard SITL ports.
• 1000 Hz Jolt physics with a power-balance VMG motor/propeller model.
• A drone workbench with part assembly, real-time thrust and current predictions, and joystick support.

The current build ships with a limited library of 3D models, parts, and environments, and may contain bugs and rough edges. We will be expanding content and fixing issues throughout Early Access.
”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“We plan to gradually raise the price as the simulator grows — additional flight-controller integrations, an expanded parts library, and new environments will be reflected in the price during and after Early Access. Customers who purchase during Early Access keep their copy and do not pay the difference later.
”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We see Early Access as a working dialogue with our players. We plan to:
• Use the Steam Community Hub for feature requests, polls on what to build next, and bug reports.
• Publish regular changelogs that credit community-driven improvements.
• Engage directly with flight-controller developers and FPV builders who test real firmware against the simulator — their setups are the toughest test of physics fidelity.
• Share experimental builds for community review when meaningful changes land.
”
Read more

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About This Game

SITL Forge - FPV Laboratory is a physics-first quadcopter simulator and engineering workbench. We aim to reproduce the behavior of real motors, propellers, and batteries as accurately as possible — model parameters are fitted to bench measurements where available, so simulated flight tracks the trends you'd see on real hardware. Validate builds, optimize efficiency, and learn flight tuning with realistic feedback, without crashes, burned components, or wasted money.

This is not just a flying simulator — it's a laboratory for designing, analyzing, and flying real-world multirotor systems.

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Why SITL Forge - FPV Laboratory?


  • Test motor and prop combinations before buying real hardware
  • Predict thrust-to-weight, current draw, and flight time from real spec data
  • Validate heavy-lift builds and payload configurations safely
  • Learn PID tuning and rate setup with instant, risk-free feedback

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1000Hz Physics, Calibrated to Real Hardware


The VMG (Voltage-Motor-Generator) engine runs a full torque-balance simulation at 1000Hz using Jolt Physics. Component models are calibrated against bench measurements wherever possible:

  • Motor iron losses (eddy current + hysteresis) calibrated from real dyno data
  • Per-propeller thrust and torque coefficients fitted across multiple motor+prop combinations
  • LiPo discharge with voltage sag, internal resistance, and state-of-charge tracking
  • ESC dead-time losses, timing advance, current limiting, and thermal derating
  • Aerodynamic drag via virtual wind tunnel with shader-based surface analysis
  • Vibration injection into simulated gyro and accelerometer sensors

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Built-In Flight Controller


Fly out of the box with a built-in PID flight controller in ACRO, ANGLE, and HORIZON modes. Tune PID gains and rates in real time. Perfect for learning, prototyping, rapid testing, and benchmarking a build before committing to real firmware.

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Virtual Workbench


A real-time engineering workspace for building and analyzing quadcopters:

  • Thrust-to-weight ratio, max current draw, hover throttle, and flight time estimates
  • Throttle sweep analysis with efficiency curves
  • Payload attach/detach simulation
  • Multiple frame sizes, motors, and propellers based on real-world specs

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Procedural Motor Audio


Procedural motor audio generated from RPM, current, and thrust — no samples, fully dynamic. Blade-pass harmonics, electromagnetic whine, aero noise, and sub-bass rumble respond instantly to throttle changes.

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Built for Precision


  • 1000Hz physics tick rate with Jolt Physics engine
  • FPV camera with lens distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting
  • Real-time OSD: altitude, speed, battery voltage, per-cell monitoring, motor outputs
  • Debug graphs for any telemetry channel
  • Force visualization: thrust vectors, drag forces, center of mass/pressure markers
  • Full joystick and RC transmitter support with per-device mapping
  • Session persistence — layouts, builds, and settings saved automatically

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Extensible With Optional DLC


The simulator is built around an open integration interface. Optional DLC packs add bridges to real flight-controller firmware running in software-in-the-loop mode — the built-in flight controller is replaced with actual firmware while the same physics continues to drive the airframe. Sold separately.

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Who Is This For?


  • FPV pilots testing setups before building real drones
  • Drone engineers and hobbyists learning multirotor system behavior
  • Builders validating heavy-lift and payload configurations
  • Anyone curious about the physics behind a quadcopter

System Requirements

Windows
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-6400 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200 (4 cores)
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 960 / AMD RX 560 (Vulkan 1.1 support required)
    • Storage: 500 MB available space
    • Additional Notes: RC joystick is recommended
    Recommended:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 10/11 64-bit
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (6 cores)
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1660 / AMD RX 5600 XT
    • Additional Notes: RC joystick is recommended
    Minimum:
    • OS: Ubuntu 20.04+
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-6400 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200 (4 cores)
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 960 / AMD RX 560 (Vulkan 1.1 support required)
    • Storage: 500 MB available space
    • Additional Notes: RC joystick is recommended
    Recommended:
    • OS: Ubuntu 22.04+
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (6 cores)
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1660 / AMD RX 5600 XT
    • Additional Notes: RC joystick is recommended
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