For a while, there have been some doubts surrounding the accuracy of the In Game Timer (IGT) for Sonic Dream Team (as shown in the save file). To both quell any concerns, and validate the accuracy for speedrunning, I have done some work to confirm that, YES, the IGT is accurate!

Here is the full breakdown of the frame counting of 2 runs to confirm the accuracy:

As part of this work, I have also been able to confirm exactly what does and does not count for the In Game Timer. We're updating the ruleset this week to account for some of the quirks that have been found, and will review all existing runs to ensure compliance.

The findings are below:

Level time

All time from when the level finishes loading to when the level ends (which is when UI disappears) is counted. This includes:

• Any time spent paused
• Any time spent changing character in-level

Restarting

• Restarting from checkpoint continues IGT
• Restarting a level resets the IGT to what it was when the level was first selected from the menu
• Exiting a level saves IGT based on what it got to when you pressed Exit
• Force quitting the game, or the game crashing, does not add IGT

Cutscenes

• Cutscenes after level load do count, such as when the character is coming down a rail into the level, or when it's giving a skippable flypast to show you the level
• Cutscenes outside of a level do not count i.e. story info when unlocking a new act
• Cutscenes prior to a boss don’t count

Note: Bosses count time from boss life count appearing to character UI disappearing i.e. boost gauge or character loss of control

• All cutscenes during Nightmare Eggman count, including the unskippable one starting at "...nightmare!"

Menuing

• Menuing outside of a level does not count
• Unlocking of achievements/trophies does not count

Collectables

• Collecting items (such as red star rings or keys) and the game either then crashing or being force quit saves the collected items in the save file for no time penalty

You heard that right! A little ahead of schedule but @WitherMin, @RayNheartZ and I are proud to announce we have the boards ready for your submissions! We want to ride the hype that this game has generated and have these boards open for your submissions ahead of the two week embargo.

Please familiarise yourself with the rules, especially relating to timing for both Full Game runs and Individual Levels.

We are super excited to see where runs of this game go and who will join us in running it! If you have any questions feel free to message one of us or join the conversation around the game in the Sonic Speedrun Community Discord Server!

glhf!

Sonic Dream Team is out!

Get your Apple devices ready for some high-paced platforming action, Sonic Dream Team is now available for download through the Apple Arcade! Having had some hands on with the game this morning, my first impressions are very positive! Would totally recommend giving it a go if you have the means of doing so.

As is the case with most leaderboards nowadays, we will be having a provisional leaderboard embargo for two weeks (opening on 19/12/23) whilst we figure out rulesets, leaderboard structure amongst the other boring thangs.

In the meantime please enjoy your time with the game and keep your eyes open for how the speedrun shapes up in the next couple of weeks in the Dream Team channel in the Sonic Speedrun Community Discord Server

Good luck gamers