Exaggeration and stylisation was always there in the design. In the 2D art indisputably, but I'd wager some of that carried over to 3D models too even if they were at the time "realistic".

https://i.neoseeker.com/ca/shenmue2_conceptart_VfMWk.jpg

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JFCT1S6MoeU/WSuosYWgnjI/AAAAAAAACVw/p3oikZ1SlqcltyMSYHWsTsxcHOPuyrpRgCLcB/s1600/1.jpg

There's no real gulf in the design work going on here, just that 3D artists can interpret those designs in higher and more accurate fidelity.

A few screenshots I've taken over the past few months:

Max-imum length and girth

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/933803303911577280/7BFAB55607BC0BA2D6E2E98E3C7E08F8BAFE387B/
All it needs is a pink car and some stars and it'll be just like that famous ending screen from The Simpsons

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/919164171851218953/C0B93A41E674183EFCBF0840C418497232BD252A/
Gimpy beard

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/919164171851218375/5FA825F57241C913AB90FA1C7FD5FCB6B4D181B1/
CRAZY HORSES! WAH! WAH!

https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/915785115793069313/24BF5A396449C7AE8C7EF4ADBB9B58D0EC8728C0/

Hey everyone,

Never thought about posting this here, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

Black Scar Blues is an action-drama feature film that I finished back in 2016. It's been in production since 2010, so it took up six years of my life. I landed a small distribution deal last year, which got it a VOD release. It wasn't until yesterday though, that an actual physical DVD was released, which I happened to find out about on Amazon.

The film is definitely rough around the edges, and with a budget of basically $5K, we did what we could. But this here is my baby, and now having an actual DVD of it for sale, it really is a personal milestone for me. I've attached the trailer below, and if you're interested, I've listed places where you can buy or rent it online. Please check it out if you get the chance!

Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwNvTT5-EhU

Buy the DVD
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07CCFZFRP/ref=nosim/michaelsmovie-20
Movie Zyng: http://www.moviezyng.com/810162030063.aspx

Stream or digital download (buy or rent)
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WGRR6HG
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffUOJxAftIo
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/black-scar-blues/id1234392802
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=ffUOJxAftIo
VUDU: https://www.vudu.com/content/movies/#!content/867221
PlayStation Store: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/home/games#!/en-us/movies/black-scar-blues/cid=UV0054-NPVB33620_CN-0000000000349176

Old school Shoji Meguro!

RIIIIIICHAAAAARD!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DfLNxGeV4AMEhJe.jpg

https://twitter.com/devolverdigital/status/1005091916906713091/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs9e.github.io%2Fiframe%2Ftwitter.min.html%231005091916906713091

Around a year ago From Software made a Tweet noticing the cult status of Metal Wolf Chaos (since it had basically become a kind of meme) which made Indie publisher Devolver Digital take notice. Looks like they're going to release From Software's lost game Worldwide now, if that tease is to believed! I'll be watching Devolver Digital's E3 conference for the announcement now.

For those not in the know, Metal Wolf Chaos is a hilarious action game where you play as the President of the United States on a mission of vengeance...piloting a mech. The voice acting is really something else. The game was only released in Japan on the original Xbox despite being fully voiced into English.

Chris Avellone writing = Day 1.

Walking around Chinatown in Sydney, when suddenly...

“Father’s Heaven?”

More excited for this than I am for Shadows Die Twice! Hehe.

It's directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. Coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC.

About

Your death won’t come easily. Introducing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a fantastical, dark and twisted new gameplay experience from developer From Software, creators of Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series.

Directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, and published by Activision, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a third-person, action-adventure game with RPG elements. The single-player game puts players in the protagonist role of a hard-hearted warrior whose mission is to rescue his master, a young lord who is the descendant of an ancient bloodline, and exact revenge on his arch nemesis. Set in the re-imagined world of late 1500s Sengoku Japan; a brutal, bloody period of constant life-and-death conflict, in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice you are the “one-armed wolf,” a disgraced and disfigured warrior rescued from the brink of death.

In the game, players come face-to-face with larger than life foes; unleash an arsenal of deadly prosthetic tools and powerful ninja abilities to blend stealth, vertical traversal, and visceral head-to-head combat in a bloody confrontation.

Take revenge. Restore your honor. Kill Ingeniously.

Key Features

Kill Ingeniously – From Software delivers their best in class combat in this fast-paced, action-adventure game featuring all new mechanics.

Exploration is key – Players will experience the thrill of exploration and discovery in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice like never before. Through exploration, players can uncover new items, meet new characters, and encounter hidden enemies.

Armed – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice gameplay is centered around sword combat, enhanced by a variety of prosthetic arm attachments that supplement or change the way a player fights. Achieving strategic mastery of “Sekiro” or the “one-armed wolf’s” techniques and abilities, from prosthetic tools, swordplay to stealth and the grappling hook is no easy feat. To overcome difficulties and bring each situation under control, gamers must discover, integrate and use a variety of new tools when heading into combat.

One-armed wolf – Play as a highly talented shinobi in the service of a young lord raised in isolation. After suffering defeat at the hands of a shadowy Ashina samurai seeking the unique heritage of your master, the two of you are separated. Deep in the mountains, in a dilapidated temple, you reawaken to your fate. You must take back your master and exact revenge on your enemy at all costs.

Hard to the core – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a hard-core game worthy of the name From Software. Miyazaki designed Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice this way! Fans of From Software will find the gameplay challenging, yet fun and rewarding. The quality of combat, level of challenge, and creative enemies and bosses are something that can only be found in a From Software title.

Reimagined world – This reimagining of Japanese aesthetic blends a withered, yet vivid, world of the late 1500s Sengoku Japan as the age of warring states nears its end. Witness a world brought to its knees by constant bloodshed; a ravaged world on the brink of destruction. Explore these environments, rich with FromSoftware’s intricate design and steeped with secrets to discover.

https://gematsu.com/2018/06/activision-and-from-software-announce-sekiro-shadows-die-twice-for-ps4-xbox-one-and-pc

Seems like they're going for a more story heavy approach this time, which is a welcome change of pace. It is kind of weird to me since visually, it doesn't look as good as Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne. May just be because of the daylight and since it isn't coming until next year.

The story is definitely giving me Blood Will Tell/Dororo vibes!

Adventure game Directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. New IP.
Now this is something From haven't done in a long time. Nice to see them return to the Adventure genre.

Bought this back on release but wasn't posting then. Picked up the PAL LE of Ni No Kuni II for PC (which is why I imported it). Its got a hardcover artbook, vinyl with the theme song in an awesome sleeve with pop up artwork and a music box. I'll link a video in the spoiler if you want to see the contents.

https://i.imgur.com/ft6Oo1Y.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wLKedL3meA

I can understand you are trying to keep excessive trolling out of the site, but may I ask what is exactly the level of shitposting acceptable in here from now on? The Haruto guy might have been a previous offender but the way I see it now his posts are pretty harmless specially when stacked with his contribution to the gaming section with new trailers and news. So once members are banned, will they be lockout for life? Do we get any warnings? Shouldnt the forum have some kind of guideline for tone and humour acceptable while posting? I don't get why even old time regulars Himuro and Bluecast were banned (or remain so). I'm asking because I'm kinda wary of attempting any lame jokes or even engage on any controversial discussions at the chance of being misunderstood as trolling or creating drama, when there were no such restrictions a year or so ago.

No... no....

The account that i personally banned...

First off, i really shouldn't be banning anyone whatsoever. I have selected the best staff that's ever been in place on these forums. We have an awesome mix of Shenmue die hards, casual gamers, and old skool veterans which keep a watchful eye over every aspect of shenmuedojo.net.

I shouldn't have stepped on their toes, but thanks to a member i wont name (they know who they are and have my humble thanks), i had info about them that made it more or less clear. Once i asked other members of staff for their opinion, it also became as clear as glass that this was what was going on.

The member "Haruto" was an old admin from here, who has a lot of history with the site. Now, in the interests of transparency, I would LOVE to go through all of that history. Its been backdated and recorded by various members of the Shenmue community. But, the reason i don't is because of the same reason i also don't rise to his bait, or any other bait that exists out there within the Shenmue community. From Youtube Channels, and their associations with fake Shenmue websites, to numerous banned members from here over the years. They crave attention. Its their fuel, and how they really achieve the attention they so desperately desire.

In your specific case Sandfish, no, of course have a laugh and a bit of craic! Enjoy yourself here! You have proven you are an upstanding member. What does that mean? Someone who has been here first and foremost for Shenmue! The reason the banner hangs high and proud above the door. Every member here shares that, and even if they dont, then ok! We have a general gaming forum for that. But, if anyone thinks they are gonna come in here, new member or old, and just start spamming 15-20 posts a day about anything that goes through their head, then that wont be tolerated. Let me reiterate that once again. 15-20 posts.... A DAY. That, is the definition of shitposting. They may be a post about Shenmue, general games, or current topics, but they are opinion-less, non engaging, words on a screen and nothing more posts. Thats it! aka... shitposting. That will not be happening here, and in all honesty, in 15 years, there has only ever been one person whos posts even define that, and thats the said member whom i banned.

If you are asking why Bluecast was banned, ive just explained to you why. But really..... if you need to ask why Himuro was banned then i really have to ask you why you are questioning that. I will go on my gut feeling you dont know the whole story.... but Himuro maintained a posting attitude that went well beyond the limits of what i would describe as a level headed mentality within a fan based community forum. From questioning every single aspect of a game in development, threatening other members with abusive content, to even rallying the questionable gaming journalists that may or may not read these boards (which i know for a fact a lot do) to provoke action against YSNET... for a game that was in early development!!!! Think about that for a second. Questioning Yu Suzuki.......YU SUZUKI and rallying the media against him during the first full year of development. Really???

Himuro was one of those old member who's been warned (under previous accounts) over and over again across several years to can it. He's one of those who tends to follow a pattern. The staff knew who he was and could have banned him on the spot, but in the interest of fairness he was left to continue in his new account. He seemed a bit more reserved, so why not?
But his basic patterns started to emerge once again, and the staff has seen where it eventually goes if left alone.
You really have nothing to worry about. This one is more a matter of him having an actual history of shitposting and obnoxiousness that has previously resulted in the forum being... shall we say, offputting . To phrase it mildly. The ban was based on that, and where we could see his current manner eventually leading to. It's just an old dance that nobody feels like going through again.

So it was Himuro? I thought it may have been some one else, actually deleted another post because I realized it wasnt them. Does the staff actually have to recognize post style and pattern of banned members trying to weasel their way back in? Man this place has a long history of that too, trolling has been more or less a life time long problem of this place so I can see why doing what has to be done :/


No i think OL got slightly mixed up there.

The member banned is "Haruto", aka Bluecast, Ryudo, and about 10 other high prolific accounts he has had here over the years.

So what you guys are saying is that since this site's inception the same few trolls/crazies keep crawling back under different names for a span of what, 15 years? What kind of nuthouse is this place I got myself into?

Ohhhh you have no idea. But that's why it was important for me to keep OL and Henry Spencer on the current staff roster. For shit just exactly like this. Who keep me right in times like this. Me banning Haruto isn't some snap decision. It was discussed at length in a private staff forum we have. Every forum decision is discussed in there. No moderator takes it upon himself to go rogue and pull some shit, unless its necessary! Almost all decisions are brought to a table and discussed.

Mate, this place used to be much different. To the point where I wouldn't be surprised if even Peter or Spencer have been banned once or twice (though I don't think they ever have)

100%

A lot of us old timers shouldn't even be here!

So whats the difference? Simple.... we grew up! We realised we were a bunch of young boys who, despite becoming men, shared a love or a respect for this site. Yea, we can all talk shite, that's a skill that doesn't go away, even with old age. But we grew in our posting attitude. We learned things like respect and maturity. We knew what words we say carry weight for other human beings within ears reach... or visions reach. We calmed down. Even if posting here was a habit, we went off, got lives, got jobs, got hobbies, got humility. Learned that everything in life is in moderation. Spending all the live long day on here posting message after message, after message was not a good way to live a life, and whilst we welcome everyone here, the purpose of the site overtakes the personal needs of a user. I'm sorry but thats just the way it is. This site is a Shenmue fan forum. Not psychology 101 for the impaired.

At different points in the history of this place, yes, and a few rare cases of it going on over extended years. This place was attacked and brought down a good few times in the more early years and I am trying to remember long it was down for at its worst. We even had a community divide and differences going on, and how many owners now? Part of it directly had to do with Shenmue going dark for over 10 years and obviously morale and activity dwindled during that time, but there was a lot of differences in the earlier days of the series going dark that resulted in many different opinions about a number of different things even down to how the forums and site were run and the individuals in charge. The Shenmue community took a huge hit because Shenmue III essentially was silently cancelled believe it or not, but some how this place has stayed here through the thick and thin, and that should be testament alone to how great Shenmue actually is. Ask some of the old veteran members to share a story or 2, as a whole everyone was extremely upset about Shenmue III in those days. Also ask about the epic stories that went on around here too ;-)



I got that part a few years ago when I read a topic with you guys discussing about it. But I seriously had no idea that some of these oldest members were still playing bipolar up to this day. And here I was thinking that maybe from time to time some genuine newbies'd be interested in Shenmue and this forum in general.

Anyway, I apologize to the moderators and Peter if whatever I said sounded insulting. I just always wondered about what criteria was used to ban members in this place as I never really paid attention to it when I first joined in all these years. Thank you all for the clarification.



There's absolutely no apology necessary Sandfish. Like i said before, you are an upstanding member. Whats the definition of an upstanding member? Very simply, someone who posts here for Shenmue, and is a genuine person in terms of posting style and attitude. We have members who have been here 15 years, and 15 minutes. Whats genuine about them is that they were all brought here for the one reason we all share and love Shenmue. But whilst they are here, they all contribute in a civil way. I don't even think i need to explain what that means, and the members banned are being banned for a very clear defined reason.

Like i said, its my fault regarding the ambiguity of why that member was banned. I didnt put a message within the post, as i have so strictly told staff members to do so whilst taking action to keep transparency. I acted and didny say why. For that im sorry. But, i would do it again tomorrow if i felt it was the right thing for this site. We are on the cusp of both Shenmue HD and Shenmue 3. Let that sink in for a second. Shenmue HD, available across all of modern day consoles, as well as Shenmue 3!!! That really was in impossible dream for a long ling time.

I will admit i have been quiet since taking over. I know i have. But that's because i am wasting no time at all to make changes. I took the week off work and have spent them more or less without sleep. A new site is on its way, completely backdated with news info since Shenmue 3. Up to date. Coherent. Organised. Simplified. A new logo. Clear. Defined. Signature. A new forum design. Updated, User friendly. Relationships with the community. Communicative. Easy to access. Beneficial. Clear. This is the future i always envisioned for this site, but it was never my place to do so. But now it is, and if people think i am bullshitting then come back to be in about 2 months time. I have never been more tired or stressed in my life, from working with designers, coders, community members, and other elements of the Shenmue team in general i don't feel i should name. Enjoy this old site, for it will soon be the last you see of it outside way back machine. I also know most people in general hate change, most of all Shenmue fans, but i have to follow my heart and believe that it's worth it for the self preservation, and continuation of this 15 year site. Am i ready for the backlash? Hells yea. Do i think its necessary and justified? OH HELLS YEA! Either weay i will live by my own sword and die by it. If people have an issue with the changes i bring, or the way i do things, then thats cool. Movements can be made to encourage to pass the site on. I will never have an issue doing that as long as it goes to the right person, much like it was decided beforehand that Yama should contact me to pass the torch.

Miyazaki confirms that neither Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or Deracine are not one of the "3 major games" From Software is working on that they talked about a year ago (one being a dark fantasy Action RPG, one a new IP that Miyazaki is going to Direct that he described as being "weird" and the third one being a "mech action game").

So that means they have 5 games in the pipeline (6 if you include the re-release of Metal Wolf Chaos). Director of AC5 and Verdict Day confirmed he is working an unannounced project but not saying what it is (AC6!)

https://gematsu.com/2018/06/from-software-president-hidetaka-miyazaki-hints-at-new-armored-core-in-development

^I envy your solid 2nd hand market!..

Is it your "dream" guitar? What other models/makers were you considering?
I haven't played electrics in years and have only 1 MIC semiacoustic Ibanez (only play acoustics). I'm sure for that sort of money you'd be looking at plenty of different options.
Baritones are interesting but that's a beast and a half.. I imagine for heavy metal music it might be different but I can't imagine having a baritone as a main guitar..

Beautiful guitar, congratulations!

As my biggest video game request after Shenmue III, I was stoked when Ancel began teasing imagery up til the e3 announcement last year, and extremely disappointed after watching the reveal trailer and learning it would be a prequel, not a sequel, and yet another open world overly customizable adventure game.

BG&E had simple, but fun gameplay, and an interesting story that was bolstered by heartfelt, compelling characters and music. I want another 10-15 hour action RPG in the same vein, continuing the story of the original which ended on a cliffhanger.

This prequel nonsense is of little interest to me, and their backpedaling on NOT including the original characters makes me think they have no idea what they want to accomplish in terms of storytelling. So, we have preteen Jade, who is a villain - after being told for the past year she wouldn't be in the game at all. And we get to play as a build-a-character crew-member on a space pirate ship in what would appear to be just another massive open world game that probably entails of nothing more than a long list of quests that might trigger an occasional scene to propel the story.

Totally missed the mark with this one, at least as far as getting me excited about its existence after waiting 15 years for a follow-up. I'll still be watching its progress with some interest, but I really would have liked a direct story-driven sequel with similar style and gameplay. Ancel had a trilogy planned and I'm not convinced this is going to stick to his original script at all.

Remember the Ubi Days 2008 announcement trailer? Can't believe that was 10 years ago, but it showed Pey'j and Jade broken down on a desert planet and even though it was a short teaser, it seemed like it was definitely aiming to pick the story up where we left off. That's what I wanted.

Ah well that's perfect then...

I'm sure sooner or later, when the situation is right, you'll want to add the baritone or go custom. The lack of decent local stores is a usual problem but these days quality control even in factory-made instruments is pretty good and online stores usually offer a trial period. That said you can always mess with dials, pickups and pedals if you desire a different sound. Be wary that a baritone might be a bit harder to play due to the longer scale length.
In the meantime you've got a professional instrument that will make you a better player, as you've surely felt by now. I don't know what guitar you were playing on previously but it seems like it was a big jump in quality and that really makes more of a difference than one imagines. Of course a great player can make a shoebox with strings sound great but a great instrument makes everything so easier and smoother.
I wouldn't worry about the aches from string gauge as that's something you'll grow accustomed to in time (assuming it gives you the tone you want). 13s seems like too much for an electric though! Be sure ESP recommends (or.. doesn't NOT recommend) using such a high gauge. It might warp the guitar's neck due to excess tension (unless of course you already play in drop tunings or.. you could tune it to standard but a half or full step down)

When that Steam wishlist email appears...

Golden circle tickets for this. I can see why the concept of paying to be at the front pisses some people off though.

Norio Hanzawa is another underrated composer that I follow; Gunstar Heroes, Guardian Heroes, Dynamite Headdy and Mischief Makers are probably his most known works and most Genesis/Mega Drive fans would recognise his work right away.

He is also the composer of various Konami games (such as The Simpsons Arcade, Castlevania and Contra) before that development team left to form Treasure. Listened to his work various times over the years just felt he's worth highlighting since his musical style is unique and heard in so many games and yet not a name that well known despite being in such highly acclaimed games.

His music evokes such a uniquely 90s style and sometimes get so weird. His synth work veers off into sounding quite strange (Stretch Panic/Freak Out OST, for example; Mischief Makers, Astro Boy GBA, Advance Guardian Heroes and Dynamite Headdy other prime examples). I really like his Sin & Punishment 2 OST as well. Shame his work is so often ignored despite it enhancing the games overall so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFM0_HMcsqg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TobbHB20AcM

https://twitter.com/ShadabOmar/status/1 ... 6824628224

Edit: https://twitter.com/yu_suzuki_jp/status ... 4109270016

Sigh, and already the misinformation in games media and comment sections begins in response to the surveys. I guess the preliminary minimum specs didn't get enough exposure with the initial batch of surveys but now that they've gone out for everyone, the media have caught wind of this whole "100GB" and "broadband internet" requirement. It clearly states this is preliminary and subject to change, it should be abundantly obvious that they don't yet know what the requirements exactly will be and so are giving a very broad very general idea just to cover all their bases, and the broadband requirement is probably just for downloading the game. (Since it says Steam disk, I assume it has to be downloaded from Steam.) Obviously if it requires downloading, the internet is necessary lol.

But the media and commentors' spin on this? "Shenmue 3 to require 100GB storage space and internet connectivity to play" which isn't even close to being confirmed yet, but the hate bandwagon has already started, yet again. Uuugh. >_< Now everyone assumes it's going to be rife with DRM or what have you. And then I also saw someone talking about how "Sega are publishing this so that confirms it'll have Denuvo," both of which are untrue lol. It's like being a Shenmue fan consists of a neverending cycle of being subject to the most misinformed commentary in video gaming history, once every few months, for almost two decades lmao.

I can already see the negative Steam review average in the game's future because of this no matter how many of us try to counter it. Sigh.
Many video game journalists are as incompetent as they wish they were still relevant - very - and people know this. Don't worry about any possible effect it will have, dude. Remember when a slew of websites decried Kingdom Come: Deliverance , a game with historical accuracy as its very foundation, for being 'racist' because they were unable to compute the idea of a lack of black and brown people in fifteenth-century Bohemia? They were ridiculed for being so retarded and the game went on to sell over a million copies in two weeks.

When other characters in Shenmue III look like this:

https://abload.de/img/4mlliieg0kt5.png

https://abload.de/img/l4qfq2uo6kzz.png

https://abload.de/img/ylwpa5h7tjt6.png

- singling out Mr Muscles as the definitive representation of Shenmue III's in-progress graphical design is a bit silly. These characters don't look like they're from Street Fighter 5, and I'd argue neither does Mr Muscles, really. He may be a big ugly bastard, but that's by design.

http://sm.ign.com/ign_mear/screenshot/default/screen-shot-2017-05-29-at-80305-am_aj23.png

Ren's gang in Shenmue II, by comparison:

https://i.neoseeker.com/ca/shenmue2_conceptart_VfMWk.jpg

Even if AM2 were pushing for the most realistic graphics the world had ever seen with the originals, the manga-inspired design still runs through the characters pretty heavily, and I'd say that's more recognisable now that realism in graphics has moved on so considerably.

BTW, any less obvious Shenmue references in Yakuza 0? I've only seen the "You Game" arcade signs on Tahei Blvd..
I swear there's an homage to Yu Suzuki in one of Majima's sub stories. He resembles the leader of a cult Majima has to infiltrate. See if you agree when you get to it..

Eeeehhh... I dunno on that one. The thin mustache, long hair, and lack of a cheek mole negates it in my mind, but I could be wrong. The cult leader definitely reminds me of someone (can't for the life of me put my finger on who, though) but I don't know that I'd point toward Yu Suzuki.

Well, the obvious reference would be Shoko Asahara, the actual doomsday cult leader of the Aum Shinrikyo, who did the sarin gas attacks in the Tokyo subway.

https://i.imgur.com/qNGV0ca.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1zdd8Sb.jpg

Could be a bit of both! The face and demeanor is Asahara, but the mole and name are more similar to Yu..

The sort of references I was expecting though would be more of .. you know.. some sort of thing that hinted of a shared gameworld, since Yakuza 0 takes place right during Shenmue's timeframe.. Maybe one of those Segatasanshiro posters you'd see near Abe store... or those Shen hua chocolates and crisps, if not one of the stores actually being a Tomato (or just have the jingle).. Just wishful thinking, I know.

I first learned about Jero back when he was starting to get famous from the Dojo (probably Kiyuu I think). He recently announced he's going on hiatus from music after celebrating his 10 year anniversary as a singer. While he may be stepping away from music, I'm glad he had a solid run and wasn't a one hit wonder.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ITkTqA_fA0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFdUGs6qIuw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUnHbcFTOxc

Really need to get around to playing Doom, heard nothing but great things. When I next have that FPS itch, that will be the next game that I play.

Anyway been replaying Resident Evil 2 and actually got my first A rank as Leon (finished Claire A scenario with a B rank) and in turn unlocked 4th Survivor (where you play as HUNK) which is real fun and a cool extra where Zombie Brad appears outside the Police Station. Just finishing it all reminded me of why it's one of my favourite games of all time and makes me even more excited for the reimagining (which I was initially disappointed about being TPS and not having cinematic cameras like REmake).

Also led me to play RE5 again which I hadn't played since release almost a decade ago. Loved it upon release date and lived up to my hype after RE4 blew me away. So it's nice to return to these games again and find they're still so great. The combat for me is the most refined in the series, yes, including RE6, which tried to take the series into new territory (more towards even more action focus with melee counters, quickdives, dual wielding and beat 'em up elements). Not that RE6 combat was bad or anything, but RE5 just hit that sweet spot between staying true to being the action adventure game whilst refining what made RE4 so great in the first place. I feel that RE5 is greatly underrated by the fanbase despite it being a clear attempt by refining what people loved about RE4's aesthetics and gameplay mixed with trying to stay more true to the "RE mythos", as it were, since RE diehard fans complained about how RE4 "betrayed" the story canon by changing everything up. Also the co-op aspect is fine by me too, Sheva's AI is better than what people were moaning about back then too, her AI was programmed smartly to get you out of hot spots (heal, revive, take out the enemies gathering around you etc) and the boss encounters are great as well. Such a great game, screw the haters.

It also makes me know that the RE2 Remake is in great hands, since the Director is actually Yasuhiro Anpo, who was the director of RE5 and lead programmer of RE2 (and a member of the Onimusha team, working as a Planner and Lead Programmer on those games also). So his credentials check out, out of the remaining members of the Resident Evil team, I think the RE2 Remake is in good hands with him at the helm.

Locking this thread as the question has now been answered.

FYI - if anybody wants to gripe about it and go through the "pre-order cancelled!" motions, do it elsewhere. By which I mean off-site.

Thanks.

Anyone who's struggling with why expanding the cutscenes from 4:3 would be so difficult should try playing with the widescreen settings in an emulated version of Shenmue for additional context.

When something isn't "on-screen" during gameplay, the game isn't fully rendering it for what I would assume are performance reasons. The textures/assets pop in as Ryo turns to them. Since the screen will literally be wider in the HD versions, you'll be able to see more of the game world at a single time.This was possible because the game is programmed to adapt to the player's actions.

Now think about cutscenes. In comparison to gameplay, these are intricately staged and the player was never meant to "see beyond" what was on the screen at a single time. For these cutscenes to properly display, d3t would need to create and stage additional assets that just aren't in the game right now. If you really think critically about this, you can see why keeping the cutscenes in 4:3 was the only feasible option.

Now think about cutscenes. In comparison to gameplay, these are intricately staged and the player was never meant to "see beyond" what was on the screen at a single time.

I'm reminded of something I read about the remastered versions of Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes. The episodes were shot on 35mm film and then edited for television to 4:3. So some fans are like, "release the remasters in widescreen!" However, since the cinematographers knew that 4:3 was the target format and they framed their shots with that in mind, the widescreen footage contains things that shouldn't be seen in frame... abrupt edges of the sets, boom microphones, crew members at work, and so on.

With Shenmue's cutscenes, of course there aren't mics or crew members, but the characters sometimes freeze immediately when going out of the 4:3 frame. Then there's the suggestion (or, for some, the furious demand) that D3T reframe the shot - somehow zoom it in until it fills the 16:9 frame. Well, this may be possible, though it's not likely to be as easy as we imagine based on the camera controls in contemporary game engines. But beyond the technical issues of working with source code from a 20-year-old game that runs on its own custom engine, changing the zoom, camera placement, lens angle or however else you would achieve the new shot, is the artistic issue of changing the director's original vision. As furious as some consumers get about not having every pixel of their widescreen TV lit up at all times, that's as uncomfortable as some creators get about having their work altered by others. Particularly in film with regards to matters of framing and cropping. And Shenmue is one of the first truly filmic games, so it's easy to imagine that Yu Suzuki would not be comfortable with handing the keys to the Ferrari over to the work-for-hire guys at D3T and allow them to make those kind of creative decisions.

But then one might say, well... all the rest of the gameplay has been altered to 16:9 - isn't that changing the creator's vision? I suppose it is, in a way. But I would say there's a significant difference between a cutscene, which is fully directed to convey the story in a particular way, and gameplay in which the player has agency to choose the view (within limits).

Ultimately there's no clear solution that will satisfy everyone, so I also think there's no reason for anyone to become irate about their preference not "winning." (No reason to be furious on the internet? Yeah, right!) There are difficult technical challenges and difficult artistic decisions and it's really a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't position for the developers. So I say take a deep breath and just enjoy the games for what they are.

Ok, I was curious and did some analysis using the stream uploaded on youtube, timelines are in the pictures and you can check yourselfs too.

Window in Dojo isn't rendered, it's passable I guess but noticeable:
https://i.imgur.com/2r8u8T1.png

Camera inside Ryo's arm, noticeable:
https://i.imgur.com/cuIxDZA.png

Camera inside lights, not very noticeable:
https://i.imgur.com/a7JqhoP.png

Kid stuck in the back, very noticeable:
https://i.imgur.com/NaHs1Ne.png

Camera inside Ryo's head, very noticeable:
https://i.imgur.com/ftKwcSu.png

Fisherman stuck in the back, very noticeable:
https://i.imgur.com/NLUKtAf.png

Camera inside Hisaka-san arm, noticeable:
https://i.imgur.com/v2rK3KE.png

Camera inside Ryo's arm, noticeable:
https://i.imgur.com/hPa5Q4L.png

Camera inside Ryo's head, very noticeable:
https://i.imgur.com/AmRSgAS.png

Actually it's kind what I was expecting, keep in mind that this is what I noticed (could be more) and I only did it until reaching the beginning of disc 2, didn't feel like continuing.
As you can see there's a lot of problems just for this portion of the game alone.

As for Shenmue 2 I didn't try looking at it yet but its a mixed bag, one would expect to be the best game to support 16:9 because of the letterbox already implemented but the game just keeps jumping from 19:6 to 4:3 in cut scenes with QTEs. Probably would be very jarring, everything would need to be cropped I guess...

Probably disc 4 would be passable since there's almost no QTEs there. I'm curious what they will do with this game actually...

Doing a replay of SH2 for the first time since the PS2 era and being reminded of Akira Yamaoka's OST.
Masterpiece. Probably still his best work yet.

Not as barbaric as death by marlin cannon

Henry Spencer wrote:Doing a replay of SH2 for the first time since the PS2 era and being reminded of Akira Yamaoka's OST.
Masterpiece. Probably still his best work yet.

Thats crazy. I just started playing Silent Hill 2 on xbox for the first time a couple weeks back. Man this game is creepy as fuck even today.

Full vision does exactly what it says on the tin. Full vision. There no point adding takes on it to suit your opinion.

If your point of view is, "Yu Suzuki said this, but he didn't mean this..", then it's a bit of a futile stance to take. We can agree to just disagree, and like I said, people are free to increase their original pledges. But we will not be running any sort of campaign to get to 7 million.

Anyway been replaying Resident Evil 2 and actually got my first A rank as Leon (finished Claire A scenario with a B rank) and in turn unlocked 4th Survivor (where you play as HUNK) which is real fun and a cool extra where Zombie Brad appears outside the Police Station. Just finishing it all reminded me of why it's one of my favourite games of all time and makes me even more excited for the reimagining (which I was initially disappointed about being TPS and not having cinematic cameras like REmake).

Also led me to play RE5 again which I hadn't played since release almost a decade ago. Loved it upon release date and lived up to my hype after RE4 blew me away. So it's nice to return to these games again and find they're still so great. The combat for me is the most refined in the series, yes, including RE6, which tried to take the series into new territory (more towards even more action focus with melee counters, quickdives, dual wielding and beat 'em up elements). Not that RE6 combat was bad or anything, but RE5 just hit that sweet spot between staying true to being the action adventure game whilst refining what made RE4 so great in the first place. I feel that RE5 is greatly underrated by the fanbase despite it being a clear attempt by refining what people loved about RE4's aesthetics and gameplay mixed with trying to stay more true to the "RE mythos", as it were, since RE diehard fans complained about how RE4 "betrayed" the story canon by changing everything up. Also the co-op aspect is fine by me too, Sheva's AI is better than what people were moaning about back then too, her AI was programmed smartly to get you out of hot spots (heal, revive, take out the enemies gathering around you etc) and the boss encounters are great as well. Such a great game, screw the haters.

It also makes me know that the RE2 Remake is in great hands, since the Director is actually Yasuhiro Anpo, who was the director of RE5 and lead programmer of RE2 (and a member of the Onimusha team, working as a Planner and Lead Programmer on those games also). So his credentials check out, out of the remaining members of the Resident Evil team, I think the RE2 Remake is in good hands with him at the helm.
Weird timing! I just dug out a couple of RE posts we made in this topic in 2011.

Finished RE1: Director's Cut (which I had never played before; arrange mode is really cool) & Resi Evil 4 (PSN "HD" version, which is basically a port of the Wii version) clocking in at 15 hours and gave Mercenaries a quick whirl. Great games, forgot how great they really are actually. Now I'm playing RE2: Dual Shock Edition and just completed Leon A [which gave me infinite rocket launcher and infinite chaingun!!!], now onto Claire B. Resi Evil 2 is still my fave in the series.
I always found it strange that Claire A - Leon B is the "canon" version of events, pretty much everyone I know played it the other way around, especially with Leon's disc being the first one.

I love the old Resident Evil games, I have fond memories of playing the first game on the Sega Saturn, my friend and I were so scared that we boarded up my door with some furniture and insisted my dog stayed in the room to protect us.

I got the second game when it was first released, it was easily my favourite, a friend of mine still does speed runs of it every now and then. I'm sure that I got Nemesis on release as well but I only completed it once, which is pretty weird considering I've bought all the ports of it, essentially I've bought the same game three times and only really played it once.

I loved Code Veronica though, I did "knife only" runs for huge portions of it, I never quite understood why it wasn't a numbered game, I remember reading something about keeping the numbered titles on the Playstation or something...

After that I sort of lost interest in console gaming and while I did buy a Gamecube exclusively for the Resident Evil remake and Zero, I never really played them properly, which is a real shame as I've since watched friends play them through and they look great.

Anyways, here endeth the diatribe.
https://i.imgur.com/mcOXaE4.png

A mere 7 years later and I'm finally going for it with REmake!

This game is brilliant, I'm genuinely creeped out the entire time I'm playing it and a couple of the scares got me good. :oops:

Definitely no need for me to take a "what RE character are you?" quiz.

https://i.imgur.com/z8DFkph.png
Relatable.

The previous console generations all had a slew of "hidden gems", games that usually have modest sales that are either loved by the critics and hated by the public or vice-versa, that are usually not perfect but bring forward something new and original to the table, later evolving into another trope of the industry: the "cult classic". Shenmue of course is an obvious example.

Ive missed a lot of this generation. Coming in recently though I'm surprised to see a lot of love for these "cult classics". We're seeing re-releases of games like Okami and Rez (& Shenmue), the revival of series like MonsterBoy, Torment and Beyond Good & Evil (& Shenmue) and even Yakuza and Earth Defense Force are in the Playstation Hits line in the West. I think this is great, and probably a case of a critical mass of hardcore gamers that has been building up since the 90s, which now represents big business and can justify the investment.

However... where are the hidden gems of this generation? I see a lot of indie games but these have a tendency to look and feel quite similar between themselves as they adhere strongly to the "retro-inspired" trope. I haven't been able to otherwise identify too many, especially made in Japan games, and my "shopping list" right now has only two: Polybius and Dangerous Golf (none of which are japanese of course). I would definitely add Hollow Knight to that list as well, which I already have. Which others can you recommend? What am I missing?

For me those kind of games are on the Vita and 3DS.

Games like Lost Dimension for fans of hybrid RPGs (mixture of SRPG and Action, with a retro-futuristic art style), Mercenaries Saga Trilogy (also on Switch) if you're into SRPGs like Tactics Ogre/FFT, Soul Hackers if you like cyberpunk JRPGs, Azure Gunvolt if you like side scrolling action, Grand Kingdom (which is also on PS4) if you like board games, SRPGs and tactical action combat.

There's also what Bethesda have been putting out like The Evil Within 1 & 2 (which are different attempts of creating modern survival horror), Prey and Dishonored 2 which all have cult audiences and are fantastic games in their own right.

Then there's the recently released Vampyr which is building up a cult fanbase. Looks really good to me.

Knowing you since you're into Japanese adventure games like me, I can see you maybe liking the upcoming Jake Hunter game for the 3DS, Ghost of the Dusk, which has a gritty Japanese art style and is out at the end of August.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmCiisn0WbA

Plus there was also that game from former members of Cing released not too long ago which I need to play, Chase: Cold Case Investigations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI_h4W7Y_pY

or