Character and Circuit Discussion for Team Sonic Racing 🏁

[Multikaris]

On 8/25/2018 at 2:50 AM, Silent Jack said:

At this point, IF (big if) the last character on Eggman's possible team is...

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Orbot and Cubot, according to an italian preview later edited. Which is pretty disappointing.

I would rather have a DLC team made up of villains, it would be pretty cool to see:

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Infinite - Speed

Chaos 0 - Tech

Zavok - Power

As for the tracks, now we know there are 7 zones and they are all from past Sonic locations, so I'm hoping for some among these ones:

Sonic 2 - Casino Night

Sonic 3 & Knuckles - Hydrocity/Mushroom Hill/Sky Sanctuary/Death Egg

Sonic Adventure 2 - Radical Highway

Sonic Heroes - Casino Park/Egg Fleet

Sonic Lost World - Silent Forest

Sonic Forces - Green Hill/Metropolis/Mystic Jungle

Out of these, my favorite quartet would be: Hydrocity, Casino Park, Green Hill (Desert) and Radical Highway. I didn't include zones from Sonic Adventure, Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors, since we already have (apparently) Ice Cap, Rooftop Run and Planet Wisp.

An interview mentioned there would be at least one new locale that didn’t correspond to anything before. I wonder what it will be like? 

[kalion]

On 8/25/2018 at 10:50 AM, I Love Sticks said:

As for the tracks, now we know there are 7 zones and they are all from past Sonic locations, so I'm hoping for some among these ones:

Sonic 2 - Casino Night

Sonic 3 & Knuckles - Hydrocity/Mushroom Hill/Sky Sanctuary/Death Egg

Sonic Adventure 2 - Radical Highway

Sonic Heroes - Casino Park/Egg Fleet

Sonic Lost World - Silent Forest

Sonic Forces - Green Hill/Metropolis/Mystic Jungle

Out of these, my favorite quartet would be: Hydrocity, Casino Park, Green Hill (Desert) and Radical Highway. I didn't include zones from Sonic Adventure, Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors, since we already have (apparently) Ice Cap, Rooftop Run and Planet Wisp.

I'd want

Sonic 2: Metropolis (I'd wanna see what kinda devious traps they can set on a racing track. Better have Slicers.)

Sonic 3: Sandopolis with some Egg Quarters for indoor sections (Since we know mixed tracks are a thing

Sonic Adventure 2: The ARK. We had a taste of this in Generations and I want more.

Sonic Heroes: Mystic Mansion

Sonic Lost World: Lava Mountain (It has links to Ice Mountain is why I think it could happen)

Sonic Forces Sunset Height as it's most iconic but I'd rather have Metropolitan City.

The new locale is a Time Eater like mesh of sonic stages as the final story stage, calling it here. Kinda like the Sega Ages stage in Transformed, man I love that stage.

[jgcatindig]

@kalion I like your thinking on the Time Eater stage! 

Would like an Arsenal Pyramid raceway.

 

[Multikaris]

I think the final track theme will be based on Null Space & Egg Reverie. Perhaps for the Zone Names:

 

* Dodonpa Reverie

* Null Corridors

* Edge of Space (Boss Battle with Dodonpa/Classic Eggman)

 

Considering that Titanic Monarch wasn’t destroyed in Plus, will we even get a final stage set there? 

 

Market Street also looks like a good opportunity for character cameos, like Cream, Charmy, etc.

[Red Hot Jack]

I also want cameos, if we can't have DLC...

But I'm still annoyed that apparently

Spoiler

We have both Seaside Hill and Green Hill, AGAIN. My problem is mostly with Seaside Hill, especially if the tracks are rehashed.

 

[Gemster312]

6 hours ago, I Love Sticks said:

I also want cameos, if we can't have DLC...

But I'm still annoyed that apparently

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We have both Seaside Hill and Green Hill, AGAIN. My problem is mostly with Seaside Hill, especially if the tracks are rehashed.

 

Ummm... where were those last 2 stages confirmed?

I just looked around and see no sources that those 2 zones will be in this game...

[Tracker_TD]

5 minutes ago, Gemster312 said:

Ummm... where were those last 2 stages confirmed?

I just looked around and see no sources that those 2 zones will be in this game...

Green Hill's been seen on the signs in the game (and referred to by name on said signage) and what looks like Seaside Hill (though it could be GHZ) appears in the Story Mode screenshot released in Famitsu a while ago. 

[Gemster312]

57 minutes ago, Tracker_TD said:

Green Hill's been seen on the signs in the game (and referred to by name on said signage) and what looks like Seaside Hill (though it could be GHZ) appears in the Story Mode screenshot released in Famitsu a while ago. 

So reference to a place = confirmation of in-game zone?

I feel like it would be kind of unnecessary to reference other zones within zones.

That's like if Sonic Generations Rooftop Run having signs about Crisis City. What's the point of bleeding one zone into the others? Personally, I feel as though these signs are just for reference to make the world feel more like a world rather than a set of levels.

And as for the Famitsu scan, (if im thinking of the right picture), it's just Sonic on a beach for a "cutscene" of dialogue. Does "on a beach" = "Seaside Hill confirmed"? Is there anything specific on that beach that indicates its Seaside Hill and not a different beach level?

 

I can understand speculation if they might be "hinting" something, but i think its a bit dramatic to just say "oh Green Hill Zone is confirmed because theres a sign with the name on it in a different stage and Seaside Hill is confirmed because i saw a picture of a random beach". That's almost like looking at the new ice-themed level they brought and saying "wow look there's a patch of snow right there, I guess IceCap from Sonic 3 is confirmed"

Just kind of a leap and i was curious if there was solid evidence or was it speculation.

Heres to hoping they are just references and not official

[LukA8]

47 minutes ago, Gemster312 said:

And as for the Famitsu scan, (if im thinking of the right picture), it's just Sonic on a beach for a "cutscene" of dialogue. Does "on a beach" = "Seaside Hill confirmed"? Is there anything specific on that beach that indicates its Seaside Hill and not a different beach level? 

It is Seaside Hill. You can see Ocean Palace's stone pattern on the ground.

That being said, the developers confirmed the first Sonic game with stage representation is Sonic 3, and I think Seaside Hill is where Sonic gets his invitation to Dodonpa's grand prix (since Planet Wisp seems to be the beginning/poster child stage here), but of course they might pull a good old Sonic Team and go "Green Hill is SoNiC FaRceS representation". I wouldn't be surprised if both stages are in the game, but I really hope we get Aquarium Park, Twinkle Park, Mystic Mansion, at least ONE uncommon pick instead.

There's not many locales left after all since out of seven, we have:

- Planet Wisp

- Rooftop Run

- Ice Whatever

- Lava Something

- Sonic 3 (& Knuckles) stage

Oh, and while I'm here, I've read in an interview that the customization system will reference the respective character's history, so expect some Tornado/Cyclone parts for Tails.

[Rowl]

When was a Lava stage and a Sonic 3 stage announced?  According to my count I only have so far Planet Wisp, Rooftop Run, the unnamed ice stage.

[LukA8]

As said above, in the Gamescom interview they revealed that the earliest stage they pulled from Sonic's history comes from Sonic 3, and they're probably referring to Death Egg or Sky Sanctuary.

For the lava stage, you can see a volcano in the background of Ice Mountain, and similarly you can see Ice Mountain in the far distance of the Market Street track, so it seems the locations are connected. It is possible the volcano will be part of the Ice zone, but since that one was said to be inspired by several past ice stages in last month's panel, I find a Fire&Ice zone unlikely. It might be Lava Mountain, for some Lost World/Runners representation.

 

 

[Rowl]

C'mon.... again with the Death Egg and Sky Sanctuary? I'm really sick of those two stages. 

[Gemster312]

26 minutes ago, LukA8 said:

As said above, in the Gamescom interview they revealed that the earliest stage they pulled from Sonic's history comes from Sonic 3, and they're probably referring to Death Egg or Sky Sanctuary.

For the lava stage, you can see a volcano in the background of Ice Mountain, and similarly you can see Ice Mountain in the far distance of the Market Street track, so it seems the locations are connected. It is possible the volcano will be part of the Ice zone, but since that one was said to be inspired by several past ice stages in last month's panel, I find a Fire&Ice zone unlikely. It might be Lava Mountain, for some Lost World/Runners representation.

 

 

Well... then this confirms that Green Hill zone isn't in this game, since that's before sonic 3 right?

And how come Death Egg and Sky Sanctuary are the only 2 options? Just cause they used them in previous games?

 

As for the lava stage. Yeah, fair observation in the fact that they have the mountain in the background of multiple stages, but again:
How does that confirm a lava stage? It might just be there to keep consistency and make players feel like they are in different locations of a single world rather than completely different places. It's a thing in the background.

You guys are counting "details" that exist in the background/doodads as confirmations of different zones? I'm just lost how that CONFIRMS anything.

[Dr. Detective]

I don't know about "confirmation" but as far as "speculation" goes I totally wouldn't be surprised if the Death Egg or Sky Sanctuary returned. Would the speculation be based on the fact that they were used in previous games? Yeah. That's kind of been the pattern so far. It happened with Forces, it happened a little bit with Mania, and aside from "Ice Whatever Place" it's happening again here. 

I understand wanting a couple iconic stages (even my impossible level wish list has a few of the ones we've seen more than once on there) but there comes a point where playing things that safe is going to be detrimental. 

[Red Hot Jack]

I'm not against Death Egg or Sky Sanctuary, I love both, they are great scenarios and deserving to be iconic and present, the only other stage I would welcome from S3&K is Lava Reef, but there is already a lava trope in the game, via Ice Cap/Holoska hybrid.

[Red Hot Jack]

Double post. Here is my semi-final prediction & wishlist combined:

- Planet Wisp (Colors and Generations)

- Rooftop Run (Unleashed and Generations)

- Ice Cap/Cool Edge/Red Mountain hybrid (Adventure and Unleashed)

- Seaside Hill (Heroes, All-Stars Racing and Generations, 1 rehashed track)

- Green Hill (Forces version)

- Death Egg (Sonic 3, All-Stars Racing and Forces, 1 rehashed track)

- Casino Night/Park hybrid (Sonic 2 and Heroes, 1 rehashed track)

I am only gonna be satisfied if this ends up being the final zone list, because all of them are popular and iconic, as all of them appeared in multiple games, only 3 are from Generations (not counting Green Hill) in this case, there is more variety, we have lava, desert, beach, water, factory, alien planet, town, ice, casino, space and base, Green Hill from Forces has more variety too (Green Hill/Sand Hill/Arsenal Pyramid), Death Egg is a favorite of mine, if Green Hill was desert and Seaside Hill was beach/ruins/water there'd be more differences, plus 3 rehashed tracks from ASR via various zones instead of slapping everything from old Seaside Hill, that's the same number but much better IMO, and hopefully each track feels unique in design and aesthetic.

[EzSonic01]

I don't know if anyone posted this before as I haven't read the whole thread, but some days ago Nintendo Enthuasiast interviewed Derek Littlewood, the design director for the game at Sumo Digital. If anyone wants to take a look, here it is:

https://www.nintendoenthusiast.com/2018/10/15/team-sonic-racing-developer-interview/

Something of interest I found:

"NE: How many tracks and characters are there in the game?

DL: There are 21 tracks in the game. We’re not talking about the number of characters at the moment."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it confirmed some time ago that the number of characters was going to be 15?

[Rowl]

Man... that would be such a boring track roster.... Even the first All-Star had better variety. 

[Iko]

What if they increased the number of characters after people complained about it?

I hope they finally decided to put Cream, Charmy and Espio in the game (maybe along with some other more fanservice characters such as Chaos, GMerl and so on).

Or simply they didn't want to discuss the amount of characters because they know that the topic can generate some negativity and it's not a nice thing to talk about if they want to promote the game.

[Salamander]

How odd.  There being fifteen characters was revealed in literally the first press release about the game, so it's strange if they suddenly decided that they don't want to talk about it, as if people would just have forgotten.  It seems highly unlikely that they would be adding more characters, considering that that would presumably have an impact on story mode; but conceivably they might be preparing some for an early DLC announcement.  Or perhaps they finally realised the low roster number was not working in their favour, and decided to start stonewalling.

[Red Hot Jack]

It clearly does not work, since there are 12 players in a race, there should be a bigger choice, at least 24 characters. I do not exclude the possibility they use Sega characters, as they already have the models from previous ASR games (but this is a new console generation, so I'm not sure), and Sumo loves those characters, the story is not a problem, they can just be extras, like there were in Riders.

[Rowl]

Been now a Sonic only game was actually one of the biggest marketing tools for this game. Why should they now bring in some other Sega characters as a little extra?

[Tracker_TD]

9 minutes ago, Rowl said:

Been now a Sonic only game was actually one of the biggest marketing tools for this game. Why should they now bring in some other Sega characters as an little extra?

Because their big marketing tool hasn't really worked out given the game's received a fair amount of criticism for going Sonic-only. Or failing that, for going Sonic only in a pretty damn boring way. 

That and as Riders style extras, it's not like they'd be impeding on the story content or anything - they'd be just that, extras. 

[Red Hot Jack]

Yeah, extras are harmless, it's just to please different crowds, they are cheaper to add anyway, but still Sonic only allows them to make a more focused game, even though it doesn't really feel like Sonic, it's not as generic as the ASR series. I mean, you got some of the cast, you got iconic zones, you got rings, loop de loops, character types, teams, a super boost, wisps and invincibility, theme songs, what's missing for it to have the soul of the series?

I just asked for more Sonic content, so I'm pleased anyway, I don't know why Sonic can't deserve its own spin-off, I guess people assumed racing is a Sega All-Stars exclusive. IF there are more Sonic characters, either as secret characters or pre-order bonus, I think we should expect the Babylons, after all they showed those pins and the Rogues were included. I would say that is the most obvious choice, now if there is even another trio, I would say no classic characters since they insist on the division, but either Espio-Cream-Sticks as forgotten, or Infinite-Chaos-Zavok as villain teams.

[Tracker_TD]

54 minutes ago, I Love Sticks said:

Yeah, extras are harmless, it's just to please different crowds, they are cheaper to add anyway, but still Sonic only allows them to make a more focused game, even though it doesn't really feel like Sonic, it's not as generic as the ASR series.

In what world was the ASR series more generic than this?

Part of the reason people beg for old SEGA IP to return so much is because they were unique and exciting. Stuff like Jet Set Radio, Burning Rangers, Skies of Arcadia - it was all stuff ahead of its time and that you weren’t gonna find anywhere else (unless there’s some other Space Fire Fighters game I’m not aware of). And it showed through in ASRT, with the huge variety in level tropes and track design structures. 

At most I can say ASRT had more generic items - but the JP version took steps to address that, such as replacing the blowfish with a garbage Puyo. And then they added more on top of that, such as getting SEGA legend Mitsuyoshi in as a commentator for races. 

...shame none of that stuff got patched into our version actually.

So tell me how reducing that variety down to just 7 locales from a single series, as well as netuering the art style and in some cases just settling for “this is a new locale, it’s... ice and a volcano” makes it less generic? It’s not more focused, it’s just more generic. If you want examples of non-generic Sonic Racing games, you’ve got Riders and even bloody R right there.