Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars: Available Today on PSN!

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I’m pleased to announce that Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars will be available today on the PLAYSTATION Network! I can say with some certainty that we are the first Unreal Engine 3 powered physics-based vehicle arena sports game available for PSN and we also might just have set the record for longest game title ever! Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars lets you pick from seven cars and drops you into a high-flying, lightning-fast game of vehicle-based soccer. It also features Trophy support, custom music tracks, and YouTube support for uploading match replays.

We’re really excited about getting online and playing you guys. One thing you might not have read much about is our extensive online feature set. If you’re the competitive type, we have a full-fledged ranking and stats tracking system with scoreboards, and our matching system intelligently groups up players of similar skill to give you the best online experience possible. As your skill improves you can climb up the rankings and compete for the top spots on the scoreboards and maybe even win some prizes – we’ve got some great ideas for tournaments, but more on that in the weeks to come.


If you’re more of a group player, we also have party system in which you can register a team with a unique name and then invite your PSN buddies to join it. You can then play together in ranked team matches and compete for the top spots on the Team scoreboards. We support four player split-screen both locally and online, so if you and three of your buddies want to take on the world with your own team, you can do that too!

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We know how much you guys want more Trophies, so we made sure to include some good ones for you. They’re split between single-player and online and I’ll talk about just a few and how they fit into the game.

Bronze:
Champion – Beat the Tournament Mode
You can acquire this trophy by completing the tournament mode, a single player challenge that pits you against harder and harder groups of bots in Battleball matches. Sometimes you play alone, sometimes you have bots on your side, and sometimes you even have to start the match down a few points!

Hot Shot – Achieve the Most Valuable Player Award in an online ranked match.
After each match, we give out awards based on how each player did. The Most Valuable Player generally does a little bit of everything – scores goals, blocks shots, assists other players’ shots, and maybe even demolishes a few of the opposing team in the process!

Showoff – Score a goal while reversing in an online ranked match
To win this trophy, you’re going to have to learn how to shoot backwards! This can be a real challenge, especially in the competitive online environment, but it’s a lot of fun to try and you can even save your replay and upload it to YouTube!

Silver:
All Star – Earn All the Stars in Single-Player Mode
This trophy is your reward for completing all of our single-player challenges. Whether it’s playing a game with a cardboard box instead of a ball, soaring high through the air to collect floating canisters, or scoring as many goals as possible in a short time, we’ve created a lot of fun challenges that will hone your skills for online ranked play.

Gold:
Striker – Score 500 Goals in Online Ranked Matches
All I can say is this: anyone with this trophy is a Battle-Cars master.

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The last thing I’ll talk about is our replay system. Countless times in development we’d play a match and have something spectacular happen and wish we had an easy way to view it again and share it with friends. This inspired us to create a really powerful replay recording tool that you can use in-game to view, edit, and upload replays to share with other players.

Here’s how it works: After each match you’re given the option to save a replay of the entire game. From our replay manager you can view a list of your saved replays at any time. When you select one, you can choose to simply view it again, export it to YouTube, or export it to the XMB. When viewing or exporting, we give you full control of camera with the ability to focus on the ball or specific players, change angles, or go into slow-motion – just about anything you can think of, you can do it. On top of that, when you’re exporting, we let you record clips however you want so you can do your editing right in-game! Of course, if you prefer, you can just export the whole thing to the XMB and edit it yourself with video editing software.

We also have a forum where you can watch for news on organized tournaments, ask us questions, post links to replays you’ve uploaded, or look for teammates. We’d love for you to check it out if you’re interested.

The game is available today on the PLAYSTATION Network Store for $14.99 and we’re making a demo available today as well, so please give it a try and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

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141 Comments

19 Author Replies

  • Woah! What a sweet surprise, I can’t wait to check this out :)

  • @DLB

    It’s good to see you hear, I’m a big fan of yours.

  • Great looking game, did not even know it was coming out. I will check out the demo for sure.

  • I didnt think anyone could make soccer more boring………cars playing soccer???? i’ll pass

  • This looks quite fun.
    But after getting burned $15.00 on Jeopardy, I’ll wait for reviews. :O)

  • Looks interesting. Kind of like a Twisted Metal type game without the guns and the over the top characters. Will definitely check out the demo.

  • I’d like to think I’m an open-minded fellow and will download the demo, though this doesn’t really look like my kind of game at all. I just figured I’d pop in and say, despite that, it does LOOK very slick.

    Title of the game’s a little cumbersome, but it looks great!

  • heeey, looks cool! is that Paul Van Dyke i hear ?? i have a feelin i’ve been dancing my ass off to that song sometime somewhere … awesome =)

  • well putting a demo just increase the chance of me actually buying this

  • “$14.99”

    Little steep, don’t ya think?

    • I can understand the expectation that downloadable titles be in the sub-$10 range, but I\’d offer up our extensive feature set that you just won\’t find in a $9.99 title to justify our pricing.

      Do you see this sort of feature set on $9.99 titles?
      – Full fledged online ranking/matching/party system support with leaderboards, different skill rankings for each bracket (so you can become the top 2v2 player, make a registered team and become the best 3v3 team in the country with your PSN or local friends, etc)
      – A really powerful replay saving and editing tool. You can save a replay after each match of the entire match and later re-watch it with full camera controls (free cam, focus lock, slow motion, etc etc etc) and even edit it ingame and upload the new clip directly to YouTube or export the thing to your XMB and do your own video editing in higher quality.
      – Unreal Engine 3
      – Support for every new Sony feature – YouTube, custom music tracks, Trophies
      – We\’re planning a lot of active community support features like organized tournaments with real prizes, and patch support. We\’re the #1 fans of this game, we play it every day at the office, and we\’re most looking forward to just getting online and playing new people. To that end we have full intention of supporting whatever the community asks for within reason.

      You get all that for just over the cost of a movie ticket in a lot of places. It\’s not designed as a throwaway title, we really want it to last. But if that isn\’t worth the cost of a sit-down restaurant burger and fries to you (plus we don\’t give heartburn), that\’s your call. Just offering some perspective.

  • This looks fun!
    With tropies and YouTube and Replay support AND ONLINE PLAY! You can’t go wrong!
    The price seems right too!

    Nice work!

  • When I heard the name, I laughed it off.

    After watching the video … it looks friggin’ fun!

  • Wow, never new there were so many features.. Definitely buying this O_O If I miss out on LBP content, I’ll blame you xD

  • this game actually looks like a lot of fun

  • great name!

    say that 3 times fast!

    when you guys are ready for your next game-

    let me suggest an even longer name-

    WACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBE-MEN!

    WACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBE-MEN!

    WACKY WAVING INFLATABLE ARM FLAILING TUBE-MEN!!!!

    http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh80/mendointoronto/FamilyGuy-WackyWavingInflatableArmF.jpg

    ah, good times..

    anyway, thanks for the trophy breakdown-

    i assume a fair amount of trophies involve multiple players, since this is a team game, but i’m glad there sill be a single player one, too..

    thanks for the post!

  • ouch $15. I can’t justify adding to inflation. $10 is my cap for DL games.

  • One other thing to mention – the trailer in the blog post was actually created using the in-game replay editing tools, just to give you an idea.

  • AWESOME! I’m definately going to try out the demo!

    I’m probably going to end up purchasing this sooner or later… I just need to get my hands on more PSN Cards!

  • This game looks awesome! I can’t wait to get home and try it out. If I like the demo, consider me in! The editor looks amazing.

    One question – when you say “patch support” are you meaning fixes, or new features/enhancements? Just wondering…

    • I meant both, but not in the sense that it\’s going out with problems that we\’d have to fix post-launch, just that if we run into unforeseen problems (like a balance issue we didn\’t catch in development, for example) we\’re very dedicated to rectifying those sorts of things.

  • Great, I’ll give the demo a shot

  • I love when the PSN can deliver titles seemingly out of nowhere, and yet they still teem with quality. I’m hoping DLC such as maps will extend this title sometime down the line? I love replay engines in games like this, so I’m probably going to get this today.

    PSN ID: T3mpr1x

  • Well, I’ll definately DL the demo and check it out. If you get my daughter’s seal of approval, then you’ll get a purchase.

  • Will This Game Be 2 Player Split Screen For Online And Offline

    • There is up to 4 player splitscreen for both, yes. You can also configure your view mode in 2 player (horizontal vs. vertical split).

  • is this the game that the rumors we’re about?

  • Just checked PSN. Looks like Canada is behind like the UK.

    :\

  • @ 61 Corey Davis replied on October 9, 2008 at 11:32 am

    So is this how you justify your $15.00 price? Because you’re actually delivering features that should be on all Sony games? LOL Now I know I wont be buying this game. I’m not into buying features unless I’m buying a car.

  • Having my PS3 out for repairs, right now, sucks!!
    I can’t check this out, missed the LBP Beta, aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!

    Oh well, I’ll have to check it out when my PS3 returns to me, it looks really cool. Man my wallet is taking a beating this year.

  • This game looks pretty fun. I’ll definitely check out the demo tonight.

  • To me This:
    – Unreal Engine 3

    Is not a selling point, but all of this:
    – Full fledged online ranking/matching/party system support with leaderboards, different skill rankings for each bracket (so you can become the top 2v2 player, make a registered team and become the best 3v3 team in the country with your PSN or local friends, etc)
    – A really powerful replay saving and editing tool. You can save a replay after each match of the entire match and later re-watch it with full camera controls (free cam, focus lock, slow motion, etc etc etc) and even edit it ingame and upload the new clip directly to YouTube or export the thing to your XMB and do your own video editing in higher quality.
    – Support for every new Sony feature – YouTube, custom music tracks, Trophies
    – We’re planning a lot of active community support features like organized tournaments with real prizes, and patch support. We’re the #1 fans of this game, we play it every day at the office, and we’re most looking forward to just getting online and playing new people. To that end we have full intention of supporting whatever the community asks for within reason.

    Is. I’ll buy it after WipEout(PS3 getting replaced right now) and I’ll enjoy it.

  • ill check the demo and decide if its worth the $15 :P

    seems like a cool game, i hope it has replayability

  • Looks neat. Maybe a future patch can make this into an RC Pro Am type game using the existing engine?

  • ok, 2 questions…

    * how much HDD space do i need? im running out of space so thats important to me…

    * when this is released in Europe, will the online play be worldwide or restricted to your region? i hope its worldwide

    • The minimum HDD space is about 180 MB, but that restricts certain features like replay saving which require additional space to store.

      Right now the online play is slated to be regional but we could theoretically support worldwide or both. The limiting factor here really is latency – it\’s such a fast paced game that the delay introduced when playing cross-continent might make the game unplayable, we\’ll have to look into it.

  • glad to see you guys used the blog!

    hope to see you online today

  • @76 GhostM

    Quote:
    “So is this how you justify your $15.00 price? Because you’re actually delivering features that should be on all Sony games? LOL Now I know I wont be buying this game. I’m not into buying features unless I’m buying a car.”

    I fail to see what the issue is with the extra $5 compared to other PSN games that don’t offer half as many ones as this game sounds like it will.

    This game has my money. I’m glad to see a game come out with all that stuff, and $5 more is not really that much.

    Are you saying that you’d pay $30,000 for a $20,000 car (only an extra 50% more, like the $10-15 issue) for a bunch of features?

  • For those who are screaming about $14.99 would you rather pay $49.99 for a disc based version? Looks like your gonna have to sell more newspapers or collect more scrap aluminum if you don’t have money. And anyway with the game on the PS Store it will be there for a while if not as long as needed so you have time to save up for it…

  • is this game made especially for the ps3 or is it a port?

    anyway, it looks good, ill get it

  • well with so many features that full fledged $60.00 games dont offer, its a bargain, Ill be purchasing this tonight, sound like a really good party game, which is exactly what I was waiting for. Thanks guys.

  • Youtube+custom soundtracks= bought.

    Bye.

  • Really impressed you all included the video export to YouTube and in-game editing, Trophies, Voice Support, Party system with game invites, and a simultaneous demo with online/offline. All for a relatively small developer.

    You have basically given us all we have been asking for, and I can’t think of a better way to market your game. Hopefully the sales reflect everyone’s wishes being granted.

    Personally, I haven’t had too much free time recently and I’m still working through the LBP beta – expires on Oct 11. But when that’s done, I plan to buy your game. $14.99 is a bargain when it includes all that.

    I hope a lot of people play online though, b/c if no one gets on – this will go the way of Calling All Cars.

  • Oh, one other thing, I’d like to see actual gameplay in a trailer too. Awesome that the in-game editor was used to make this. But can’t get a feel for the game’s speed (I think it’s using the Slow-mo in a few shots here). That’d be like having a Madden trailer where all they do is use the replay, which looks nicer. Oh wait, that’s what they do in Madden trailers every year.

    haha even still, can I see the game UI in a video, showing how it will look when I play? Also, 720p as opposed to 1080p, right? Not a big deal, cuz many 720p games look better – just curious.

    • I think we have a few gameplay videos in the works, I\’m not sure what the ETA on those are.

      Your best bet would be to grab the demo and check it out yourself for now.

      And it runs at 720p.






  • $14.99? R&C was $14.99, this is no comparison to that game. This game me be worth $9.99, but no way $14.99.





  • @ 84 phobos

    Don’t you see? Sooner or later these PSN games are going to reach between $30-40 price point. Not to mention the nickel and dime dlc system. This game is half the price of Burnout Paradise. Think about that!

  • @92 Ghostm

    If the amount of content/features that keep getting added in to PSN games continues to go up with that price, bringing the features/content closer to that of retail games, what’s the big deal? If I see a game that has good features, rich content, and is fun to play, I will gladly pay $15 for it. If you want to keep shelling out $10 for games that lack content, have no replayability, and are just rehashes of old games, there are plenty to chose from.

  • Hmmmmm, it’s mine! I was saving money for LBP… but I just want have fun!

    There will be payable contents in the future?

    A question “sorry for my english”, the local-online multiplayer is avalaible? I mean, a friend and I in the same PS3 in split screen mode, playing online against another players…

    • We haven\’t confirmed anything about future pay DLC, we\’ve announced a free downloadable map in the near future though.

      No worries about your English :)
      There is multiplayer both locally (offline) and online. So you can play a local match with your friend against bots offline, or the two of you can go online and play against other players.

  • @ 91

    what!?

    R&C is an offline 6 hours adventure you cant compare them (btw I loved quest for booty but please…)

  • @92 Ghostm

    The more people that buy these games at high prices, the more Sony will charge for them. And just from the video, this game IS NOT worth $14.99. Burnout is 10 times the game this is, and it’s $30. I see your point.

  • I know I’ve been complaining about the price, but I am really happy to see those really cool features in this game. As I’ve said before, all PS3 titles should include all these features upon release. That should be mandatory.

    – YouTube, custom music tracks, Trophies, in-game voice chat, cross game invite

    This could really help distinguish the difference between our hardware and other consoles.

    Thank you for the effort. I hope you guys inspired some other developers to do the very same.

    • Thanks for contributing. I understand the need to evaluate where your money is going (especially these days) and all we can do is hope people try the game and judge it to be worth their $14.99.

      It\’s hard for a small developer like us to compete with a game like Burnout that\’s a $60, Triple-A title that\’s been out long enough that they can drop the price to $30. But I also think it\’s important to judge our game on its merits, a lot of which are involved in online play and the community involved, and not just draw apples-to-oranges comparisons with games like R&C.

  • @ 95 Captain Fury. online vs offline doesn’t matter when you compare the actual time and quality of a game. R&C is well worth $14.99, this game is not.

    And it’s my opinion. But as a smart shopper, i’ll pass on over priced stuff.

  • How many people online in a match? After more of your responses, I think I will buy this game, even if I don’t get a chance to play it for a couple weeks.

    • Up to 8 players online (4v4), though you can play games of any team size – 1v1,2v2,3v3,4v4, and there are separate ranked brackets for each, so if you prefer 1v1 you can just play it and rise in those specific rankings.

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