Team Sonic Racing - Team Gameplay Spotlight

[Patron]

Quote

Take a look at some of the new team mechanics in Team Sonic Racing in this gameplay spotlight!

Team Sonic Racing arrives this winter, and is being developed by SUMO Digital, the team behind both titles in the Sonic & SEGA All-Stars racing series.

 

[JosepHenry]

....... is Roger voicing Knuckles?!

[Detective Kaito]

Nothing much to say about the trailer, I guess it's cool we get to see Ice Mountain in good quality. It could be Ice Mountain from Sonic Advance, or they could've just forgot that name is already taken.

You'd think it would make sense for them to re-use Ice Cap, Cool Edge, or even Frozen Factory, it's a racing spin-off so it's okay to re-use stages. But instead we get a generic Ice-themed track.

And god, what's wrong with Knuckles' voice?

[GentlemanX]

Oh good, so it wasn't just me. I wonder why they don't have Willingham voicing Knuckles (or if that is Willingham, why he sounds like that).

[Red Hot Jack]

Wisp Circuit looks so lively, I love it graphically, don't tell me anything.

And Ice Mountain is a brand new zone as I hoped, yes! It looks something from a Galaxy game with the ice and fire gimmick, but cool, it's not a generic ice level at least.

Can't say anything about the rest, team mechanics look pretty cool, I'm glad there's a lot of them, and they are racing focused obviously. Still looping forward to this title. Roster is certainly lacking but I like the gameplay more than Transformed already. Now I'm hoping to see some Rooftop Run gameplay, and the Ice Mountain full version in a demo.

[Bobnik]

This trailer was...weird.

It's good that we've seen Ice Mountain in high quality now, and it looks like, um, an ice level. Still can't tell if it's something from the past or an original location. It's also nice to see footage in 60 FPS throughout most of the gameplay (for some reason when showing the item transfer, either the game or the capture footage just went to crap framerate).

All of the voices sound fine except for "Knuckles' " phrase "Awesome boost, thanks!". Yes, I put "Knuckles" in quotations, cuz I'm pretty sure that's not Travis saying this line. I feel like they just didn't have a good line for that bit, so they (and this is just speculation) picked one of Roger's lines and lowered the pitch. The reason why I think that? Because here he actually sounds fine (or as fine as Travis can be when it comes to Knuckles). I hope I'm right on this one.

The rest of the voicelines sound fine, Big sounds like BIg, which is a 10/10 from me. It's just this "Awesome boost, thanks!" line... Hell, the whole sound editing was pretty weird throughout the trailer. Like, you can hear voicelines from the actual footage, but they also edited different voicelines and I'm like "why"

EDIT: Also there's a volcano in the background of Ice Mountain. That's an...interesting choice.

Spoiler

 

[Blue Wisp]

I swear I've seen these mechanics in other racing games but I can't remember which ones...

I don't know man. I need to see more of this game, but so far it looks reaaaaaally generic. And for a Sonic game that is horrible.

[Tracker_TD]

Yeah, this just ain’t doing it for me. It’s like someone sucked all the life and excitement out of ASRT. You could shove the bloody M&M’s in Sonic’s place and I wouldn’t bat an eyelid.

Really wary of this game right now. I don’t think it’s going to be a Forces-tier disaster, but it’s not looking particularly good.

[Harkofthewaa]

Please tell me you can turn the voices off. Because I can easily see this being as ridiculous as Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (or Sonic Heroes to a lesser extent) with the constant chatter.

[LukA8]

1 hour ago, GentlemanX said:

Oh good, so it wasn't just me. I wonder why they don't have Willingham voicing Knuckles (or if that is Willingham, why he sounds like that).

Many people seem to get confused by that misplaced line. It comes from Big, not Knuckles. We've heard Knuckles' voice in the game before, and it's still the same one.

The track design reminds me a lot of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, which I always found to be rather bland. Transformed's tracks were on a whole other level even without the transformation gimmick, but obviously this game is not another Transformed, and its more dynamic and slightly inaccessible design wouldn't work with the team gameplay anyway, which aims to keep players on the same path. I do hope we can go back to the Transformed-style one day, provided this game turns out moderately successful, allowing Sumo a bigger budget again for future titles.

Ice Mountain was obviously not from Advance, but I do like the Fire&Ice-theme, so if they're going through with the zone theme as hinted at, then its counterpart will probably be Lava Mountain(..no, also not that Lava Mountain).

Also noticed that Vector's Tailgator car got a redesign, its "snout" has a darker tone of green now. I hope they will reveal Team Chaotix soon, and it doesn't end up being Team Chaotish like what they did to Rose. I do wonder why that car's ad is plastered everywhere on the two tracks, either they must think the joke is extremely funny or something's up with that.

 

[Blue Blood]

46 minutes ago, Tracker_TD said:

Yeah, this just ain’t doing it for me. It’s like someone sucked all the life and excitement out of ASRT. You could shove the bloody M&M’s in Sonic’s place and I wouldn’t bat an eyelid.

Really wary of this game right now. I don’t think it’s going to be a Forces-tier disaster, but it’s not looking particularly good.

I'm really not feeling this game that much either, but only because I'm not that keen on the artstyle Sonic had taken as of late and I think it'll be better without using the team mechanics. It's not up to ASRT standards, although even saying that it doesn't look bad or even mediocre to me. I think it's going to be decent enough. A step down for sure, but not something poor.

[therealfalconpawnch77]

20 minutes ago, LukA8 said:

Many people seem to get confused by that misplaced line. It comes from Big, not Knuckles. We've heard Knuckles' voice in the game before, and it's still the same one.

Except it's not Big saying it, it's a pitched down Sonic line. Why they did that we'll probably never know. I don't understand why people think it's Big, he doesn't sound like that either.

[Plasme]

All Stars Racing Transformed came out in 2012, and this game looks worse in its character roster, track design, aesthetics, sound design, weapon design (the weapons themselves), forced team gimmicks and virtually every other aspect. It doesn't hold a candle to Mario Kart 8, it's obvious competitor, despite that game being 4 years old.

The game looks like it would be alright but somewhat uninspired if it came out in 2010, but it's woefully outdated by today's standards. It doesn't look good, it looks mediocre as fuck, the kind of game which any mascot would be thrown into.

[LukA8]

17 minutes ago, therealfalconpawnch77 said:

Except it's not Big saying it, it's a pitched down Sonic line. Why they did that we'll probably never know. I don't understand why people think it's Big, he doesn't sound like that either.

It's not used for Knuckles, the text box in that clip is a different line, which we've heard in the first gameplay there was, while the line in question never turned up. It's gotta be Big, maybe Roger is voicing him?

[Multikaris]

2 hours ago, Bobnik said:

This trailer was...weird.

It's good that we've seen Ice Mountain in high quality now, and it looks like, um, an ice level. Still can't tell if it's something from the past or an original location. It's also nice to see footage in 60 FPS throughout most of the gameplay (for some reason when showing the item transfer, either the game or the capture footage just went to crap framerate).

All of the voices sound fine except for "Knuckles' " phrase "Awesome boost, thanks!". Yes, I put "Knuckles" in quotations, cuz I'm pretty sure that's not Travis saying this line. I feel like they just didn't have a good line for that bit, so they (and this is just speculation) picked one of Roger's lines and lowered the pitch. The reason why I think that? Because here he actually sounds fine (or as fine as Travis can be when it comes to Knuckles). I hope I'm right on this one.

The rest of the voicelines sound fine, Big sounds like BIg, which is a 10/10 from me. It's just this "Awesome boost, thanks!" line... Hell, the whole sound editing was pretty weird throughout the trailer. Like, you can hear voicelines from the actual footage, but they also edited different voicelines and I'm like "why"

EDIT: Also there's a volcano in the background of Ice Mountain. That's an...interesting choice.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Given Ice Mountain in Advance was just before Angel Island, I suppose that it is Red Mountain/Lava Reef that can be seen from there. 

[Bobnik]

14 minutes ago, LukA8 said:

It's not used for Knuckles, the text box in that clip is a different line, which we've heard in the first gameplay there was, while the line in question never turned up. It's gotta be Big, maybe Roger is voicing him?

1) The "Awesome boost, thanks!" line doesn't sound like Big at all when you compare it with literally the next voiceline, which is Big's line.

2) Even if it was Big's voiceline, why would they use it when Knuckles is being shown? Throughout the whole trailer every character's line was put in the places where said character is in spotlight. Why would this be any different?

Text box being different is just the evidence that the voiceline has been edited in, nothing more.

[Tracker_TD]

57 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

I'm really not feeling this game that much either, but only because I'm not that keen on the artstyle Sonic had taken as of late and I think it'll be better without using the team mechanics. It's not up to ASRT standards, although even saying that it doesn't look bad or even mediocre to me. I think it's going to be decent enough. A step down for sure, but not something poor.

I dunno man. While I don't think it's gonna be an absolute trash fire, I can't confidently say it looks good. 

A neutered art direction,  bland, wide track design to cater to a very questionable team gimmick (as opposed to the extremely dynamic ASRT tracks), the mechanics of which just seem to be things other games have done but better, but now with RNG AI that can drag you down, and a lacklustre roster on top. Even basic stuff like getting hit by items and its affect on momentum is in a somewhat questionable state. 

Like I said, I don't think it's gonna be awful. But I think it's a dramatic step-down, perhaps below "decent" 

[LukA8]

13 minutes ago, Bobnik said:

1) The "Awesome boost, thanks!" line doesn't sound like Big at all when you compare it with literally the next voiceline, which is Big's line.

2) Even if it was Big's voiceline, why would they use it when Knuckles is being shown? Throughout the whole trailer every character's line was put in the places where said character is in spotlight. Why would this be any different?

Text box being different is just the evidence that the voiceline has been edited in, nothing more.

It sounds like the exact same voice to me, just a little too energetic considering what we're used to from Big. Not that much of a stretch if this is a new voice actor, or Roger, voicing the character for the first time. They might just have edited in the wrong voice line, it's not as big of a mess-up as giving a character a completely wrong voice.

[Blue Blood]

2 minutes ago, Tracker_TD said:

I dunno man. While I don't think it's gonna be an absolute trash fire, I can't confidently say it looks good. 

A neutered art direction,  bland, wide track design to cater to a very questionable team gimmick (as opposed to the extremely dynamic ASRT tracks), the mechanics of which just seem to be things other games have done but better, but now with RNG AI that can drag you down, and a lacklustre roster on top. Even basic stuff like getting hit by items and its affect on momentum is in a somewhat questionable state. 

Like I said, I don't think it's gonna be awful. But I think it's a dramatic step-down, perhaps below "decent" 

Nah, I totally get you. I think we're more or less on the same page here, with it mainly coming down to preferences. The lack of SEGA characters doesn't bother me. I'm happy to see a purely Sonic racer honestly. On the downside of that though, it's really annoying that the gameplay isn't Sonic themed at all. For all that the gameplay does here, there's absolutely no reason that this isn't SEGA All Stars Racing 3. The team mechanic sounds gimmicky and potentially broken and frustrating on paper, but I would like like to see it first hand before passing judgement on this. I'm guessing it's going to be adequate at best and game-ruining at worst.

[Tracker_TD]

1 minute ago, Blue Blood said:

Nah, I totally get you. I think we're more or less on the same page here, with it mainly coming down to preferences. The lack of SEGA characters doesn't bother me. I'm happy to see a purely Sonic racer honestly. On the downside of that though, it's really annoying that the gameplay isn't Sonic themed at all. For all that the gameplay does here, there's absolutely no reason that this isn't SEGA All Stars Racing 3. The team mechanic sounds gimmicky and potentially broken and frustrating on paper, but I would like like to see it first hand before passing judgement on this. I'm guessing it's going to be adequate at best and game-ruining at worst.

I'd be fine with it being Sonic only, but it doesn't feel like making it so was justified. It's extremely safe thus far, and if not that just outright generic. Even putting aside my love for the SEGA IPs, the stages in ASRT were far more exciting than this. I think we are on the same page though, aye.

[Plasme]

Part of the problem of the boring roster is the Classic/Modern split they've done. They can't put Fang, Mighty, Ray in to please Mania fans because it's 'not the Modern dimension'. Same for Tails Doll, Metal Knuckles as a throwback to R. Most the obscure fan-favourites are from the classic era and they are now unavailable.

This Classic/Modern dimension split is atrocious. It's the same bloody character and universe, just in a different art style. Goddamn.

[Fire-N-Space]

Really liking this game so far I can see that its more put together then Transformed you can now bump in to other racers without flying off the road, Items now aim at the target and are effective, no badly programmed water tracks, no empty sky tracks, and tracks aren't big enough to drive a bus on Transformed had far to many bugs in it. I'm happy to see that the characters talk during the races it makes the game feel more like Sonic Heroes now.

 

Amy's car looks good in 3D!

 

[LukA8]

Rouge hits Sonic: "A little something for you, Sonic!"

Rouge hits Knuckles: "Execution."

Someone's not over that Master Emerald.

[therealfalconpawnch77]

1 hour ago, LukA8 said:

It sounds like the exact same voice to me, just a little too energetic considering what we're used to from Big. Not that much of a stretch if this is a new voice actor, or Roger, voicing the character for the first time. They might just have edited in the wrong voice line, it's not as big of a mess-up as giving a character a completely wrong voice.

Big is being voiced by his 4Kids actor, like he was in Lego Dimensions, the line we're all caught up on is really a Sonic line, not a Big one. The pitch is too deep and warbles like it's been digitally altered, unlike Big's actual voice. I've been listening to the line through my gaming headphones, so I've had the sound isolated from the white noise around me, and I can say 100% it's not a Big quote.

[Dr. Detective]

Odd Trailer.

For those who are worried, for whatever reason, about Knuckles' voice, don't be. We've got clips of Travis speaking as Knuckles in the game already. Not just from other videos but he speaks in this one too a bit after the weird sounding line.

Aside from the miniscule roster, I'm starting to worry a tiny bit about how cool the tracks will be. Not really the general locations but more about how they'll be designed. This is only really because of other concerns brought up by other people though.  I'd have likely not noticed if I weren't on a forum where tons of other people could readily point out issues I haven't noticed before.

Other than that, I'm still anticipating the game. I want another Sonic racer. It looks good. Whether it'll be as good as their previous games, I can't say. However, it looks good all on its own regardless.