Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers/Mechanics

Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers adds several new mechanics to the kart racing formula evolved from SRB2Kart, most centered and influenced by the addition of Rings to the game.

Track Features

Mechanic	Preview	Description
Rings		The main new addition of Ring Racers. Ring-based mechanics explained in the Ring Mechanics section.
Blue Sphere		An alternate collectible used in Battle and Prison Egg modes. Collecting more builds a meter that increases your stats but drains over time if more spheres are not collected.
Tripwire		Barriers used to block certain shortcuts, which you can only cross if are in a boost state (indicated with a light blue circular glow effect) by using Sneakers/Sneaker Panels or gaining momentum from going down a hill, but some items [Flame Shield, Invulnerability, Grow, Gardentop] can also cross tripwires.
Springs		Launches the player either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally based on the spring's orientation. Afterwards, the player is followed by a trail of stars matching the color of the Spring. Comes in four color-coded strengths, from weakest to strongest: gray, yellow, red, and blue.
Trick Panel		Launches the player vertically and initiates a Trick. Comes in the same four color-coded strengths as springs.
Sneaker Panel		A green panel that applies a Sneaker boost when driven over.
Dash Panel		A gray panel that catapults the player in the direction it scrolls.
Charge Panel		A multicolored, glowing panel that applies a very strong speed boost.
Slope		Various inclines found around pretty much every track. Unlike stairs, these decrease or increase your speed when driving up or down them respectively. It's important to use Rings wisely when navigating steep inclines. Launching or bouncing off a rising incline provides a vertical boost, while bouncing off a downwards incline provides a horizontal boost. Slopes also effect the arc of items being lobbed forwards.
Halfpipe		A slope with a curve facing entirely vertically, allowing you to drive on the sides of walls when launched off. Be careful, as you'll Stumble if you return to the ground while tilted.
Position		Can move around the starting line before the countdown starts, Sonic Riders style. First player to cross the line after GO gets a rainbow boost/mini-turbo.
Position: Fault		If you cross the line or fall off the track before GO appears, you'll get halted until a few seconds after the race starts.

Gameplay Mechanics

Mechanic	Preview	Description
Drift		While turning, hold the Drift button to perform a wider, slower turn that charges up Mini-Turbo in four stages the longer you remain drifting: yellow, red, blue, and rainbow. Release drift to consume your Mini-Turbo charge for a speed boost! Note that Mini-Turbo charge rate is affected by character stats, charging faster the closer to bottom left your character is.
E-Brake		Hold the Accel and Brake buttons at the same time to slow down and increase traction without hard braking. You can also hold the Spindash button while moving to E-Brake into a Spindash.
Spin Dash		By holding the Spin Dash button, or by holding the Accel, Brake and Drift buttons at the same time, you can charge and release a spin dash. The closer you release it to when it says GO, the stronger the effect is. If you hold it for too long, you'll spin out and lose rings. Note that the charge time is significantly faster if you have no rings.
Trick		After launching off a Trick Panel, two slices will appear on the screen. Tap accel while holding one of the directional buttons to Trick forwards, sideways, or upwards. The closer the two slices are to each other, the stronger the resulting Trick will be. Be careful, you'll fail the trick and stumble downwards if you wait too long!
Trick Charge		Landing after a succesful Trick will give the player a blue aura that increases the effectiveness of their next mini-turbo.
Fastfall		E-brake or tap the Spin Dash button while mid-air to fall downwards, bouncing in the direction you're facing after touching the floor. Fastfalling after a succesful Trick will use up the Trick Charge for a bounce-less Voltage Drop that gives you a boost after landing.
Tether		Follow an opponent racer closely to attach a link to their kart that speeds you up over time. Tether effectiveness is influenced by character stats, reaching full power sooner closer to top left, but has higher maximum power closer to bottom right.
Drift Storage		Holding a drift spark and going mid-air will let you conserve the drift once you land on the floor. You can also let go of drift mid-air for a downwards boost with your stored driftspark.
Brakedrift		Tapping or holding the Brake button while drifting will allow you to slow down while keeping your drift and drift spark. Useful when trying to get a tighter line on sharp turns or spirals.
Sliptide & Wavedash		Release drift while in a state that can pass tripwires to turn very sharply. Executing sharp enough sliptides will create a whirlwind effect behind your kart, which can be kept as long as you keep doing drifts. If you drive straight for enough time, the wavedash will be released with a boost of speed.
Bubble Bouncing		Using a Fastfall with the bubble shield allows you to repeatedly bounce by continuing to press Fastfall each time. This provides a constant speed boost as well as allowing you to hop over Tripwires with good timing. Attempting to bounce in first place will pop the shield.
Ring Shooter		Hold the respawn button to deploy the Ring Shooter, an emergency respawn device for dire situations only. After respawning, the Ring Shooter remains on the track for others to use it. Letting an opponent use your Ring Shooter should be avoided if at all possible.

Damage Mechanics

Mechanic	Preview	Description
Hitstop		Any interaction that causes damage will freeze all involved parties in place for a brief moment.
Stumble		Weaker damage, failing to land upright (such as after a halfpipe launch), or failing Tricks will cause a small, short Tumble. Unlike a full Tumble, you will not be granted flashing iframes after a Stumble.
Spinout		Moderate damage spins the player out, causing them to temporarily lose control and spin around in their pain frames.
Tumble		Stronger damage can send you flying and tumbling back down with an unique animation. You can hold directional inputs to DI (Directional Influence), which influences where your character goes after every bounce from a Tumble.
Explosion		Getting crushed, taking damage with -20 rings, or finishing in last place causes the player's kart to violently explode, flinging them away in their death animation. You'll respawn shortly afterwards.
Insta-Whip		Holding the Item button with neither items nor rings allows you to charge and release a quick spin attack that can damage players and deflect items. In Race Mode, you'll start going into negative rings if you hold it after its charged. The Insta-Whip can even damage players with Invulnerability and/or Grow.
Guard		E-Brake in Battle Mode to spend your Blue Sphere meter to cast a shield.
Big VS Small		The effect of items as well as direct impacts are influenced by the comparitive scale of your target.

Ring Mechanics

Mechanic	Description
Ring Boost	Hold the item button to spend your rings for a speed and acceleration boost. You can use it to increase your speed when drifitng, going through an uphill slope, or get out of off-road faster. Character stats closer to top left have their boosts last longer and need less rings to reach max boost, but stats closer to bottom right have a stronger max boost. Your character's sprite will flash while boosting with rings.
Ring Buffering	If you hold the Item button to spend rings and touch an item/ring pickup, you can keep spending your rings until you let go of the Item button and then press Item button again to stop the roulette.
Ring Supercharge	Through the Super Ring or Ring Capsule pickups, you can get rings beyond the maximum of 20. The more extra rings you get through this, the more you'll supercharge your racer and gain a noticeable burst of speed and acceleration.
Ring Debt	If you run out of rings, you'll have an exclamation mark above you.
Ring Sting	Getting hit with items or even bumped by a racer in Ring Debt will inflict knockback. If you get hit with -20 Rings, your character will explode and be forced to respawn.