Sonic Transformed iOS CONFIRMED (For December)

[S0L]

I'll break radio silence to say a couple of things...

 

1. You can get everything in the game through playing it and with in-game currency you earn through playing (with the exception of some early access to DLC content). You don't have to spend anything else unless you want too after buying the game.
 

2. All players should start with the VIP pack (the guys who posted that video must have copied it from another device or haven't signed into the store). That includes GP mode, Multiplayer and 4 characters right from the start...
 

3. You can buy an All-Star move in single player modes. But it's limited via a cooldown.
 

4. You can get starting items via the tumbler to give you a boost at the start of a race, but guess what, entirely optional.

 

5. That FaceBook login stuff allows us to do proper leaderboards for all events in a way that you can't normally. It's actually pretty cool to have a leaderboard per event and per difficulty. It is also entirely optional.

 

I know how (un)popular IAP's are, but we've tried to design this around them in a fair way, before you criticise too harshly, wait till some people have played it and seen what it's like. I think you may be pleasantly surprised. For a start, there are more game events in there than the console version and some things that have been requested (such as upgradable vehicles) have made it into the mobile versions.

 

That's all I can say on this right now, have a little faith in us though, there has been a lot of thought gone into this to make sure it offers choice but rewards play. Some people actually like being able to pay to get everything without any effort which is why the option is there.

 

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S0L

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[Blue Blood]

Actually, I take back what I said before. Someone here posted misinformation about what's available and what isn't- it's not too bad. I do however dislike that everything is based around rings and stars. Like, everything you do in the game require currency. That feels very, very cheap. Either way, I did buy it and am enjoying it. It's bloody impressive the sheer quality of the tracks. Nothing's been lost in the technical down-grading of the game except what was absolutely necessary. It's very pretty for a mobile game. Seeing all the character animations, course transformations and such left in-tact says a lot. The dynamic water surfaces have lost a bit of their oomph in the transition, but it's still definitely a boating feel.

 

And the controls are sublime. Everything works a treat.

@ S0L's post...

1. So far, it doesn't seem so bad. But like I said above, everything uses in game currency. Like, you're unable to retry an event if you run out of rings/stars. I can just imagine how frustrating that's got the potential to be. Not keen on the idea of buying DLC character packs like Knuckles/Shadow and Metal/Ralph early though. But they'll be around for standard unlocking in the future I guess? That's fine. IAP's just aren't my thing, and that's what the game is designed for. Can't be helped, and not really an issue either.

2. Ah! So that's what the VIP pack is, and where the misinformation comes from. I went into the store and it said "you can upgrade to VIP", but I couldn't see an option for it. At what point will the VIP pack not be standard issue

3. This I really, really hate. I'm not yet sure if you can or can't get All Star moves out of item boxes as per the console/PC game (which isn't the problem), but so far I've managed to buy three All-Star moves totally by accident because it's right next to the drift button which you have to swipe to do tricks. So that's a waste of three stars, which are pretty scarce to begin with. Not fun. A future update could really do with moving the button or giving the player the option to disable it. The stars are quite valuable and I don't like having to worry about throwing them away without meaning to.

4. No complaints. 1 or 2 reels costs rings, and 3 costs a star. It's not massively different to the star tokens used in the other versions. I'm not going to use it personally, but it's just something extra.

5. Cool stuff. Don't use Facebook, but still. People will really appreciate that.
 

[SumoSpartan]

S0L's post clears most of it up, and as it's out - we can talk facts & myth busting:

• Its currently £2.99 in the UK.
• You start with the first 4 characters, Grand Prix and Multiplayer unlocked.
• To play online multiplayer you need to be signed in the gamecenter/google play (for matchmaking).
• To play local multiplayer you don't need to be signed in to anything.
• You can't buy any powerup you want at any time.
• The game isn't 'littered' with real money microtransactions or IAP. If you go look in the shop, sure, there's things to buy there, but the game isn't going to attack your credit card every time you play a race.
• It doesn't pause in-game to try to attack your credit card either.
• A Hogfather review is worth so much more than $3.99

Oh and it looks and runs very nicely on the iPhone5S

 

But don't take my word for it, here's PocketGamer's review: http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Sonic+%26+All-Stars+Racing+Transformed/review.asp?c=56318

 

They gave it 9/10.

 

Indeed, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed seems to be the work of a developer that’s completely attuned to the iOS platform. ... it's a nigh-on essential arcade racer that wears its big-name console IP badge with pride.

[Willsy]

So you don't need to buy the VIP pass? Okay, I think we have a deal, I'll be getting it later on today

[SumoSpartan]

PocketGamer also cover the subject of IAP...

 

SAASRT is another game to incorporate in-app purchases, which isn't particularly surprising even if it is slightly dispiriting. Still, Sumo's fine sense of balance is again on display.

We spent several hours with the game without once feeling like we were being coerced into spending real cash. You can dive into the virtual storefront and unlock all of the characters ahead of time, or purchase stars or rings to buy items, enter events, or upgrade your kart, but the former is unnecessary and the latter can be achieved through general play.

 

[Willsy]

Oh, I think that's fair comment then

It could be much, much worse (*cough* Simpsons Tapped Out *cough*). Also if you want to see IAP hell, download Real Racing 3. You literally have to pay for every single car with real money. It's a free app but every single thing is a microtransaction.

Edit: Downloading ASRT through PC iTunes so I can sync it to my device, takes up less space then.

[Detective Shadzter]

Ok, cool. That's not bad now we know you don't have to buy the game and then pay the same price again for the VIP Pass. 

[Willsy]

Just tried the game, and it's great! Haven't noticed the microtransactions, and rings are VERY easy to accumulate through races. Touch controls feel almost natural, and function very well. Runs surprisingly well on my iPad Mini 1st Gen, there are some blurry textures, however that's not really a problem if you have a better device. My only complaint is the all star button being right above the drift button, I've accidentally bought all star moves before with stars. However it's a very minor thing that can easily be fixed in a quick patch.

Over all, it's a very good port of a console game, much better than the 3DS version by far. IAPs are not a problem in this, and I actually like the Facebook integration.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

So it's not like the Sonic Dash launch then? If you continuously fail the events, will you lose all your rings? And if so how can you earn them again so you can replay that event? Please not by completing a daily challenge...

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[SumoSpartan]

So it's not like the Sonic Dash launch then? If you continuously fail the events, will you lose all your rings? And if so how can you earn them again so you can replay that event? Please not by completing a daily challenge...

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

There are set difficulties of events throughout world tour and grand prix which have no cost of rings to enter, the first time you attempt a challenge its the same, and playing multiplayer also has no cost of rings to play - all of these things earn you rings and can earn stars too. So, you have lots of opportunities to earn currency just by playing the game.

Oh and if any of you folk want to add me on GameCenter: Pr0gen (yep thats a zero) and on facebook... pm me

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Ah okay so it doesn't sound as bad than I thought. Still not a fan of the stars currency (rings I understand though). It's like the red star rings from Dash and around launch these red rings gave me nightmares.

 

What other people mentioned, about that all star button being so close - you are going to fix that right? I can easily get frustrated when I hit that button by accident. If you guys can fix that problem, then I'll gladly buy this version.

[S0L]

Yeah, we'll take a look at that. A few people have mentioned it, must be my dainty fingers as I've not done it yet

 

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S0L

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[Willsy]

Could anyone recommend an iOS7 gamepad that's not £100 (if they even exist at all)? It's not that the touch controls are bad, they're perfect, it's just that I prefer controllers.

Also, what is up with Sonic's eyes? If you thought the creepy stare syndrome in the console version was disturbing enough, that has nothing on Sonic's eyes clipping through his brow. It's, quite literally, really disturbing when it happens, to say the least.

By the way, my Gamecenter ID is in my signiture if you want to play sometime.

[Komodin]

Hey, is this available on Google Play yet? For some reason, I can only find its predecessor (for 99 cents, surprisingly).

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Hey, is this available on Google Play yet? For some reason, I can only find its predecessor (for 99 cents, surprisingly).

 

It's not out on Google Play yet.

[Chooch]

 

Official trailer for the mobile version

[Place]

So is this bizarre pseudo-realism stuff going to be the standard for advertising Sonic games from now on

[Willsy]

Aww, no Sanctiary Falls?

Please tell me that it will be added in the near future...

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Android release is delayed, confirmed.

 

http://blogs.sega.com/2014/01/02/sonic-all-stars-racing-transformed-releases-for-mobile/

[S0L]

It's not as delayed as you might think

 

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S0L

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[Ming Ming Hatsune]

It's not as delayed as you might think

 

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S0L

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Not that I care much personally because I'm all iOS, but it's amazing how all the ads say "COMING TOMORROW/OUT NOW on iOS and Android!" then changed their minds on the day.

 

And looking at the past releases of Jump and Dash...

[Willsy]

Do we have a track list for the game? I haven't unlocked them all yet.

[kimplix]

It's been one day and it's already Editor's Choice. Now that's fast processing!

[Sephy]

Am I the only one who has problems with GameCenter achievements? I unlock them in the game, but they're locked in the GameCenter app, I have the same problem with Sonic Dash D:

I think I'll stop playing till it's fixed. I don't want to get back to do the same achievements because when Gamecenter gets fixed, surely what I would have done will be reseted.

[Komodin]

Android release is delayed, confirmed.

 

http://blogs.sega.com/2014/01/02/sonic-all-stars-racing-transformed-releases-for-mobile/

... Well, damn. I knew it was too good to be true.