FinForge

Inspiration

We were inspired by how much testing and simulation goes into real rocket design. Before anything reaches space, engineers need to understand how small design choices affect launch stability. We wanted to make that process more visual and interactive, so users could shape rocket fins, adjust materials and payload, launch the rocket, and immediately see what happens.

What it does

FinForge is a 3D rocket fin design simulator. Users can customize fin shape, fin count, fin material, payload mass, fuel, thrust, wind speed, and wind direction. While designing fins, the simulator shows live stats like stability estimate, fin area, drag penalty, shape factor, and fin mass. After finishing the design, users can launch the rocket in a 3D desert environment and see how their choices affect tilt, speed, stability, and maximum height.

How we built it

We built FinForge in Godot 4.6.1 using GDScript. The rocket uses a custom simplified physics model with thrust, gravity, fuel burn, wind, drag, payload mass, material effects, and fin stabilization torque. The fin editor converts the user’s custom fin shape into values like surface area, span, root chord, tip chord, and shape factor. Those values are then used in the launch simulation so the user’s design actually affects the rocket’s flight.

We also used GitHub for collaboration and imported 3D assets to create the rocket and desert launch environment.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was making the physics feel believable without trying to build a full aerospace-grade simulator. Real rocket aerodynamics are extremely complex, so we had to simplify the model while still making fin shape, material, wind, and payload have visible effects.

We also ran into issues with scaling the rocket and environment. When the rocket model was scaled up visually, the physics no longer matched properly, so we had to think carefully about the difference between visual scale and physics scale. Another challenge was connecting the fin editor to the launch system so that the user’s design changed the actual flight, not just the visuals.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud that we built a working interactive fin editor, live design stats, a launch dashboard, and a 3D flight simulation in one project. The most important part is that the user’s design choices are connected to the simulation. Changing the fins, materials, payload, fuel, or wind can change how the rocket behaves.

We are also proud of creating a project that feels like more than just a game. It is still simplified, but it gives users a real sense of how engineering tradeoffs affect rocket design.

What we learned

We learned a lot about Godot, GDScript, 3D scenes, physics bodies, and how difficult it is to make simulation systems feel stable and understandable. We also learned that good engineering tools need clear feedback. That is why we added live fin stats, so users can understand their design before launching.

We also learned how important project structure and teamwork are during a hackathon. Since multiple people were working on scenes, scripts, assets, and UI, we had to use GitHub carefully and avoid overwriting each other’s work.

What's next for FinForge

Next, we would improve the physics model with better center of pressure and center of mass calculations. We would also add more rocket parts, graphs for altitude and velocity over time, better aerodynamic modeling, and a way to compare multiple designs side by side.

Long term, FinForge could become an educational aerospace sandbox for students, makers, and early-stage rocket design teams who want to understand how rocket design choices affect launch stability.

Built With

• custom-3d-physics-scripts
• gdscript
• github
• godot-4.6.1
• imported-3d-assets