Great news! I messaged YSNet on Kickstarter and basically suggested to them how they should make Ryo and Shenhua look like. Here's what they said: "Thank you very much for the words of encouragement and the advice. We will be sure to pass the info along!

Best Regards,
Joel & the Shenmue III Team"

What did you suggest?

This http://i.imgur.com/fzvjQyn.jpg and this http://i.imgur.com/JIThlIf.jpg I'm a perfectionist and an OCD type of guy so I wasn't sure which Ryo was better. With Shenhua though, I made it clear that it was perfect. You can't go wrong with either Ryo though!

I presume you're not the only person to suggest pics to YSnet. One day Suzuki-san said he's aware of fan requests regarding charadesign.

I like your tastes btw.

https://www.gamekult.com/actualite/yu-suzuki-le-plus-difficile-est-de-creer-de-bons-personnages-3050797909.html

Interview context: Gamekult is shown an extended version of the trailer with additional scenes and QTEs with "work in progress" mark. Then the interview begins with Suzuki and his English translator.

https://i.imgur.com/jseQm8Q.jpg

Gamekult: First of all, I would like to know why you decided to publicly publish a short version of what you just showed us privately? Is it for marketing purpose or a future backer exclusivity?

(Suzuki begins to talk to his translator who is also in charge of the business side of YSnet. The latter takes the floor.)

YSnet businessman: That's a good question! Honestly, there's no specific reason but some people think showing the extended version is too early. The idea behind the trailer was to announce our partnership with Deep Silver. We aimed to reveal that we got a better financial support. We have been silent for too long so it was important to show something at Gamescom while it's not a real marketing strategy.

Yu Suzuki: We may create an improved and longer version of the video for the end of the year. A true promotional trailer.

GK: After watching the video, I now wonder how you proceed with animation in Shenmue 3. Do you use motion capture, handmade animation or both? Are you working with an outsourcing studio or do you have your own motion capture studio?

YS: We use motion capture as working base then we make adjustments. Everything is captured internally although we do not have a true motion capture studio. We're using a magnetic capture tool because it needs less space to work so we can easily proceed in an open space. However, we are certainly going to use a real motion capture studio for the most important action scenes.

GK: Are you working with outsourcing studios? For instance, TOSE or Virtuous.

YS: We have our own team where people from various companies are working. In general, everything is made internally. The goal is to avoid outsourcing.

GK: How many people are working in the team?

YS: Sorry but I can't tell you any figure.

GK: How will your partnership with Deep Silver benefit Shenmue III? Is the original project going to evolve?

YS: To be honest, we just signed the contract. We have yet to know what Deep Silver can bring us exactly but we hope it's significant (laughs). From a business point of view, we should take advantage of their international network and their communication expertise since they have a great record with Japanese studios.

GK: How will you proceed to make the game interesting for the fans as much for the newcomers? Can we start Shenmue III without having played the previous episodes?

YS: We plan to insert images and videos from previous episodes in ingame situations, something like memories. One of the ideas consists of inserting visuals when you're phoning characters from Shenmue I & II.

GK: Yakuza 3 proceeded differently with cinematic buildups to summarize the story of Yakuza 1&2. I wonder if Shenmue 3 can proceed the same way but the visual contrast between cinematics and the gameplay would be obviously significant.

YS: I still don't know how it may look on screen but it's a possibility. Anyway, we'll decide our own way to proceed.

GK: What will the Shenmue III main themes be? Storywise, is there any particular event or topic you're willing to set up?

YS: It's faster to show you. (Suzuki starts his PC and launches a slideshow) Here we go, the three key points of the game are romance, characters' life and martial arts. Then my main goal is to use the latest advancements in technologies to express feelings through gaming situation. Today there are even more ways of expression but also more challenge with the modern tools. With Unreal Engine 4, the most challenging part is to create good characters.

GK: You mean, using your own engine when you're working on Shenmue I&II was easier than using a foreign third-party engine?

YS: Yes, absolutely!

GK: So far, have you programmed with your own hands?

YS: I created some algorithms and little prototypes but I'm not working at the heart of coding. I worked on an artist's AI who appears in the game, NPC behaviors and some combat scenes. But my main job is research. The final code is written by people who are more skilled than me.

GK: About visuals, how far do you think you are from the final state?

YS: First of all, I confirm that everything related to the characters is temporary. Then I would like to say that, in order to reach the best possible result from a technical point of view, we need a lot of resources, way more than we currently have today. That's why I'm trying to find a balance between visual quality and the other key points of the game, especially what makes the gameplay singular and different from the other productions.

GK: About environment size and interaction volume, how would you rate Shenmue 3 compared to the Dreamcast episodes?

YS: I would say that the game is as wide and dense as Shenmue 1&2... On further consideration, it will even be richer. The time of play is more difficult to estimate since each player has his own pace and may progress differently with all the side quests available. I think more than 20 hours will be needed.

GK: In order to make Shenmue 1&2, you traveled several times in China. Did you travel again for Shenmue III or are you using mainly archives and memories?

YS: I went back to China two years ago, when the project did start. (Suzuki is searching his PC folders to find photos of mountain landscapes, old buildings and busy streets) As you can see, we reproduced some roofs of tiles in the last video. I really would like to display as much characters as those you can see in these photos! (laughs)

GK: If you were going to leave Japan to live in another country, would you choose China?

YS: Not China, no. (laughs)

END OF INTERVIEW

Q: What's the reason for your focus on humidity?

YS: I'd have to say creating a reality. Just being realistic isn't interesting, so my approach is to embellish it a touch further.

Around the time of the first and second Shenmue games, everyone wanted graphics that were as realistic as possible. However now, we're in an era where achieving that is taken for granted.

His mind is so brilliant that I may cry. :cry:

My edit:


VS

Interview by GameCentral for Metro.co.uk

The style of control from the original game is one thing that will be updated, but that is natural given modern controllers and the advance of that type of technology.

At the moment we are trying to keep it to 30% new and the keep the other 70% of the game similar to the original

[...]as you know we have now partnered with Deep Silver. So I’m now comfortable in saying, ‘Don’t worry, I can make the whole game you imagined!’

about the story: I needed to pick up some of the elements of the original games to please fans, but other elements have become changed or removed. I adapt the story to fit the modern era and to my own changing influences.

^Game Watch.

http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/0 ... uzuki.html

Q: Who will be the publisher in Japan?

YS: That's still to be decided. The international publisher is Deep Silver.

http://www.gameblog.fr/interview_1100_yu-suzuki-je-ne-suis-pas-encore-satisfait-du-design-actuel-m

Translation from French.

https://i.imgur.com/zyrGefI.jpg

Gameblog: Suzuki-sensei, how are you? How do you feel here at Gamescom after you showed us this first trailer ?

Yu Suzuki: To be honest, it's more a teaser rather than a real trailer! About the Gamescom, I believe hundreds of thousands of people come here, that's truly gigantic. I only visited the business area at the moment, I don't know how things look at the other side, in the public areas. But we will go into it soon, I'm sure that will be great. I have already met a lot of fans and enthusiastic journalists. All these people give me a huge boost.

GB: So far, is the development going well? Are you pleased with your working pace and progress?

YS: We made a lot of research before we signed our partnership with Deep Silver. Since that moment, I feel we now have the full team and I'm relieved. Finally, we can focus entirely on the remaining part, I mean the production.

GB: Does Deep Silver provide you funds for the remaining production? Can you tell us something more about it?

YS: I cannot comment officially or give you precise figures. But yes, there is something...

GB: How close we are actually to the trial version?

YS: I'm currently thinking about the best way to design the demo, in order to show the game to the players. But I'm still unable to tell you when it will be available... It will be sometime!

https://i.imgur.com/9sssThK.jpg

GB: What are the main mechanics that you will take back from Shenmue 1&2 and the new ones you're currently creating for Shenmue III?

YS: I could not be really specific about Shenmue 1&2 mechanics but I can tell you that our first priority is to remain faithful to the spirit of the first episodes, the "Shenmue universe".

However, regarding Shenmue 1&2, the constituent elements such as mini-games, jobs and miscellaneous activities were not really linked together. They were simply there, and their connections were not strong enough. In Shenmue III, I want to tie the different elements really tighter, make these connections clearer. This way, the world of Shenmue will be improved. Each gameplay sequence will be included more naturally into the story, the screenplay, then the player feels more involved and focused. I believe this will be one of the strongest and most attractive features of Shenmue III.

https://i.imgur.com/kEdploI.jpg

GB: Can you tell us more about the new QTEs we've seen in the extended teaser?

YS: I hope you'll appreciate this new QTE system! Let me give you few examples...

(Yu Suzuki starts his PC which is connected to the television then opens a Powerpoint file with pictures and texts about every elements of the game. He goes directly into the slides about the QTEs)

The most important aspect of the new QTEs is the fun provided to the players. We would like to challenge the QTE concept with a new function called "Variable Speed Play" in order to offer a funny and entertaining experience to the players. It's a style of QTE that has never been seen before.

So far you're only seeing the Circle or Triangle buttons from the PS4 controller but more symbols are yet to come. QTEs might be based on colors seen on the controller buttons, or even on Chinese characters associated with some specific actions. Moreover, we may imagine a system based on specific sounds associated with each controller button. A color coupled with a sound. This way, we could perform QTEs only by referring to a game sound... Well, it's still experimental but I would like to offer that kind of experience to the players.

https://i.imgur.com/mSnKDBJ.jpg

GB: What about the battle system?

YS: In Shenmue 1&2, I choose the Virtua Fighter system. It was more about strategy than button mashing. In Shenmue III, I would like a more friendly system and something completely new. One of the most important improvements would be the ability to attack several enemies once, during the same combo. Unlike the previous episodes - and many other games - where you had to fight only one ennemy once, if three enemies surround you, you need to fight all of them at the same time, by doing combos on each other (Suzuki mimes a triple combo with his fists: "bam - bam - bam!").

Of course, if you want to focus on one enemy only, you can do so, but you will have the choice.

GB: Like Shenmue I, can we train our moves to improve Ryo's abilities, skills and techniques?

YS: Yes indeed, I would like to make this happen and I'm still thinking about it. Solo training is definitely part of Kung Fu. The skill tree system is still confirmed as well. (Suzuki opens a new Powerpoint slide named "Skill Tree").

Each blank rectangle you're seeing here represents a skill book. These books can be obtained by several manners. You can buy some books in stores while you can earn the other ones by prizes. They can also have different forms: books, scrolls or sheets...

https://i.imgur.com/PLxQ3x2.jpg

GB: Everyone was suprised by the lack of facial motion in the teaser. Can you give us an explanation? By the way, is the charadesign final?

YS: First of all, no the charadesign isn't final. Actually, no character in the teaser is finished. I'm still not pleased with the current design, even if it's way better than the characters we showed at E3 2015. About the facial motion, it was there two months ago, but the developers changed something in the face bone structure then everything started to bug. (The translator is miming with his hand the jaw entering the head). The facial motion no longer worked so we decided to remove it from the teaser.

GB: The logo has changed again too...

YS: Yes, it has been changed because I wanted to remake it myself. By the way, the ideogram you can see on the poster has been made by my father (Suzuki points at the kanji on the poster - see the red circle on the picture below).

https://i.imgur.com/CpkMb09.jpg

GB: The interview already comes to the end... Shortly, have you got any positive news about Shenmue HD?

YS: As you know, Sega still owns the licence, so I really cannot say anything about it.... but I want to tell something to Sega: please, do it! I really would like to see this happen.

Aside from his eyes, it seems that YSnet has nailed Ryo completely.
https://i.imgur.com/j8nXXUc.jpg https://i.imgur.com/7NPCQlA.jpg https://i.imgur.com/9Ykm10E.jpg https://i.imgur.com/YM5E75B.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1yiIvw7.jpg https://i.imgur.com/mgAcUuH.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/jzI56X4.jpg

Face as much as body:
https://i.imgur.com/D2jJ33S.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/7nsj1aS.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/nO83aUb.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6zVcc8b.jpg

Tweak the eyes and polish his face skin for camera close-ups then we have the real Iwao's boy.

You got me, I first thought it was an official screenshot since the material we got from kickstarter updates doesn't look so different.

Two interviews with Yu Suzuki by Fok! (Dutch) and Gamona (German):

http://frontpage.fok.nl/preview/774723/1/1/50/interview-met-yu-suzuki-over-shenmue-3.html
http://www.gamona.de/games/shenmue-3,interview-mit-entwicklerlegende-yu-suzuki-ich-moechte-nach:article.html

According Google Translate:

Fok! :
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Ffok.nl%2F774723

- Confirmation of an international phone card (named "World of Telecom") to call Ryo's overseas friends. Yu didn't tell if it's still an exclusive backer item.

- A turtle aquarium can be seen in the extended trailer. Yu says there will be a turtle race.

- Shenmue 3 will explain the Shenmue prologue poem.

- Yu describes Shenmue 3 as " a kung-fu adventure that takes place in China."

- Shenmue 3 will have easter eggs like the previous episodes.

Gamona :
http://www.gamona.de/games/shenmue-3,interview-mit-entwicklerlegende-yu-suzuki-ich-moechte-nach:article.html

- Thanks Deep Silver, Shenmue 3 will be about 3 times bigger than initially planned. Overall, however, ambitions about the story and graphics are likely to remain the same.

- Yu laughingly refuses to answer if we get a new cliffhanger at Shenmue III end.

- As animals, there will be chickens, ducks, turtles, dogs, cats and more. Yu has yet to know if the player will be allowed to have a pet like the cat in Shenmue 1.

- The Shenmue 3 staff consists of a lot of freelancers and people who are working for other studios.

Succinct but interesting interview with Yu Suzuki by PlayStation Official Magazine UK (November 2017 issue)

- Shenmue 1 & 2 might be offered along with Shenmue 3. It seemed a no-brainer before Yu Suzuki thinks he should rather incorporate memories straight into the game.

- The Shenmue 1 & 2 memories you will get in Shenmue 3 might be playable but Suzuki remains "undecided".

- Yu Suzuki claims that memories are very well incorporated in the game and gives the example of a NPC guy able to tell you what happened before.

- In order to make the combat system simpler and visually different from Shenmue I & II, YSnet will use "Variable Speed". Suzuki did not give specific details.

- He emphasizes that the world of Shenmue III will be designed as a whole, rather than a sum of parts.

- Yu Suzuki gives few words on his position towards realism and VR in Shenmue III.

Read the issue for further details.

In this case, here the quote:

" We considered offering the first two games along with Shenmue III, and it still may happen " " But we thought it would be more fun to include that content as memories, so when you play the new game you get memories of old stories or some other content from Shenmue I and II. "

It's a progress update, should be for fucking fans, and take into account that it's mostly showing the range of "emotions" they are working, the model is even in a t pose making it even more surreal.

I would say that the gamescom trailer was a weird marketing move, but this is a backer update to show PROGRESS, people fucking on this are just being assholes.

It looks a little dated, ok, but bad ? For what it's pretty much an indie game with tons of characters ? Really ?

Now YS should keep the fans without updates because some people are going to be shitty ??

Tbh, the models are truly shocking at first sight and would easily make fun meme-generators. I needed to watch the video several times to fairly assimilate the YSnet's work.
Shenmue Dojo is quite an understanding audience but I think many outside fans are afraid of what they're seeing in the last few months.

Actually we were supposed to get Shenmue 3 some years afterwards. According Shenmue Master, it was close to be announced at E3 2004 on Xbox stage before Sega just decided to cancel it definitely.

I don't think it's specially convincing but the Wikipedia quote is still my favorite insight into what the game is.

If the Grand Theft Auto games have been vilified as crime simulators in which you can press a button to buy a hooker then run a hooker over with a car, Shenmue is a game where you can press a button to politely ask directions, then combo into cherishing your elders and always remembering to recycle. Instead of giving us a city to be tested and battered against in all directions, Shenmue builds you a world and asks you to follow the rules rather than break them.

Brendan Main, The Escapist, December 21, 2010


I would add "And that is what makes the game so fun!".

https://i.imgur.com/2LwRfgP.jpg

Prior to the upcoming publishing of their interview with Yu Suzuki, Trent and Shendream from Shenmuemaster.fr have written a recap of what we learnt from the Gamescom event, divided into the following parts:

Deep Silver: The Origins and Nature of the Partnership
The Different Interviews With Yu Suzuki At Gamescom
An "Open World" Game With Enhanced Content
The Gamescom Teaser
MOCAP or Motion Capture
The Story's Main Themes
The Environment
New Characters
QTE And Fights
Mini Games And Part Time Jobs
The Current State Of The Development
The Shenmue III Staff
The Connection With The Shenmue I and Shenmue II Stories
Game Lifespan
Music And Dubbing
Start Menu And Shenmue Logo
Demo Trial And DLC
HD Remasters
Miscellaneous
Conclusion

You can read my humble translation of it here:
http://shenmuemaster.fr/page.php?cat=shenmue3&page=gamescom-2017-the-recap

mjq jazz bar wrote: Can you get rid of that annoying signature?

Use adblock my friend.

I just watched the Shenmue Master video. What's Cedric said:

"We'll unveil the new steps, images, mechanics, etc"
"I did play the game recently. It's a beautiful game. At Magic, we'll see the game in motion, as beautiful as the screens you're seeing"

I read my email history and it's the first time they talk about Magic 2018. In addition, I knew that Yu Suzuki will be there but I was not sure whether there would be a conference so I do appreciate the clarification.

*Kenshin Himura* wrote:

amj1190 wrote: New Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7qAdv0R3xQ&t=

^Interesting.. I like it but I need a HD version of this trailer with better quality. QTE system looks good and Ryo's persona seems more brighter.

That's the best I could find.

So again, people are accusing Cedric of teasing/hinting about showing new gameplay, and again there's a lot of anger going around. Maybe it's like I had said before that just maybe when Cedric said (paraphrasing) "I'm playing it now, I don't know about fans" he was just being honest? No, couldn't be. That's not to say there is no blame to around, cause there is, when he said I think last year that "fans would finally see the game in motion at Monaco 2018" he should understand what that implies. But his comments this week specifically? That's fans overhyping things and getting disappointed.

I appreciate you're defending Cedric because he surely needs it. I always backed him because, as a native French speaker, I can feel by instinct he's 100% honest, and his interest in Shenmue as a gamer is truly authentic. Today however, I feel disappointed by him.
First, I heard that fans in the room could not understand a single word because the promised English translator was not there. Secondly, Yu looked exhausted. I hope Cedric didn't employ Yu as a stopgap solution for his event because there's really no reason he would cross the planet to make a repeat of the GDC Postmortem 2014 as Shenmue Master ironically said on live.
Thirdly, here we go, the "in motion" thing. How he could contradict himself so easily? I believe something wrong happened in the last moments, with Cedric and Yu getting a last say from Deep Silver "What? You're going to show gameplay content to public? No, not now!!!". As usual since the beginning of the project, it's hard to get a fair opinion with so few information.

My fav bit of the trailer:


Too bad I don't know how to make gifs. There's a lot of good little sequences there (turtle, arcade, npcs, night market, ryo combat pose).

Does anyone know how the QTES in the video work? I see a blue orb with a yin/yang symbol but there aren't any button prompts or anything. Is it just press any button?

I like Shenmue 2 style QTEs that are basically fighting game input combos.

Sound QTE. A specific sound leads you to push the right button. They're prototypes. Explained in Gameblog's interview with Yu at Gamescom.

Technophilz: very good find, I did not even noticed lol

Spaghetti found the pics in 1080p:

I just sent a message on Kickstarter requesting some kind of Q&A session for backers. Obviously, Yu Suzuki is too busy for such a thing, but surely they can get someone from the team to take some questions. I think that would boost morale a little bit. They really need to start talking to the fans.

They're under NDA. Answering tricky Q&As may be quite a tiring exercise for them.

What do you guys think about the new characters introduced since the deal with Lakshya Digital?

Personally, I love them! I would never have dreamed of such beautiful characters to be honest.

https://i.imgur.com/ylWpA5H.png

https://i.imgur.com/l4QFq2u.png

https://i.imgur.com/4mlliIe.png

Thanks for the transparent renders.

what made Yu Suzuki think that it had to be that way since it's obviously much a brighter yellow colour?

Shenhua is expected to change her clothes everyday - at least on a regular basis - so maybe... The Shenmue III screenshots may take place the day after they discovered the cave secret entrance. If you give the Saturn CGI artworks a look, you'll check her wardrobe.

Regarding Ryo, I genuinely think the Online model is great if not the best:

https://i.imgur.com/hM1oV8Q.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ofcNPZA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/HKas3J3.jpg

I just took a look at kickstarter's page and the comments section is a madness as always. Same people as always talking same shit as always...

In other order of things, I played for a while the game Sleeping Dogs and has some resemblances of Shenmue but I got bored of it soon. There aren't games today that attract my attention today, just a few, but only Shenmue gets me as hyped as when I was a child, I await for this game with much ilusion (listening Shenmue OST while I write this words).

I can't wait to have the game in my hands, I'll shed a tear for sure..

Deadly Premonition: X360/PC
Yakuza 0: PS4
Shadow of Destiny: PSP/PS2/Xbox/PC

To a lesser extent:
Elder Scrolls 5 Skyrim
Life Is Strange 1
Animal Crossing

It's so cool that I added the game to my "collection".

Is it the official boxart? Where does it come ffrom?

24.99 would have been a fairer price but I'm relieved not to see Sega making a dumb decision.

d3t. Now I know why the remaster has errors like wrong eye movement and aspect ratio. Somebody needs to reach out them and explain a few things they're doing improperly before the console versions are baked.

I'm pretty much done with your toxicity and constant negative attitude. This is your last..... Last warning. It's not 2012 anymore, and the toxic place this once was, isn't what it's like anymore. Not as long as I own it. Change the attitude or find another site to visit.
The aspect ratio and eye movement are WRONG. Does your hate blind you so much to deny objective facts noticed by others on this board the very first day the trailer was made public?

Have you read the line on the video? It's WIP. We cannot know if it's an error yet.

Shenmue will be the first game where I do care about achievements so I'm fine with any idea.

Rofl

An example of what an improved track audio may sound


The recorder does sound way cooler than the compressed one!

Allan, I've something very important to tell you:

N.1 & 12 in France



source: https://www.amazon.fr/gp/bestsellers/vi ... ideocom-21

All the sources you need are here : viewtopic.php?f=5&t=48975