I've made a blog post with some photos from last month's U.S. Kickstarter Reward Dinner which was held in San Francisco.

Thanks to attendee Chris Van Graas for use of his photos.

http://i.imgur.com/9TVWXR3.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Z0Mxyr2.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5mhLR4u.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jjb1pMD.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Yp8WIQ5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/fTHJFcv.jpg

Click here for the blog post and a few more photos:
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/01/shenmue-3-reward-dinner-in-la-with-yu.html

(Let's Get Sweaty, I'm counting on you to post up your wrestling meme image :) )

Yeah the event was terrible, the launch lineup is threadbare, and Nintendo remains the out of touch, idiosyncratic weirdo company on the block. That said... I still like a video game industry with a flawed, lost, at times maddeningly frustrating Nintendo making consoles in it, more than I do one where they've gone under like Sega.

To me, Nintendo is the last of the old guard. And as long as they're still at least making games I want to play... I'll be there. Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey are arguably their most ambitious games ever. That's saying a lot considering what they've done in the past imo.

It won't be enough to win back core gamers outside their established fan base, and this joycon gimmick certainly won't be enough to win over casual gamers. (I really, really wish Nintendo would recognize what everyone else does... that Wii was an anomaly, and they are NOT getting that "blue ocean" they garnered on it back. Those casual gamers have MOVED ON. They're never capturing lightning in the bottle twice.)

But, I'm a gamer, not a shareholder. All I care about are games, and they've already shown me three exclusives I consider must-have, and one non-exclusive that their platform will let me play on the go. (Which is great for me, because let me tell you... having a new Zelda game during one of my many hospital and/or dentist appointments? Will make life bearable, because I have anxiety attacks constantly at the doctor lol.)

So, I'm buying the thing.

But... do I think this might be the last console Nintendo ever makes? If they don't bring some MAJOR heat at E3... which I'm hoping they're holding back some games for ... and by MAJOR heat I mean more first party IPs people have wanted for ages, and MUCH broader third party support (right now the launch year lineup is LESS THAN WII U Had, that cannot bear repeating enough!) ... then... yes. Yes, I think it just might. Which, for all Nintendo's stumbles and flaws and failures, would be heartbreaking to me.

Every bit as heartbreaking as when the Dreamcast's failure sunk Sega. I hate those moments in gaming history. For all that we decry "gimmicks," time was, every console had a gimmick. Every console had its own spirit, feel, look, controller, and peripherals. Every console was its own animal. That's what a video game console WAS. It wasn't just another black box, PC-lite with powerful hardware that played mostly the same games, with just a smattering of exclusives here and there.

I feel that era has been on life support since the DC died... and while Nintendo's last few platforms have been abysmally painful at times, and shockingly out of touch... they've also felt like consoles used to feel to me. Quirky, fun, unique (even frustratingly different,) and while I know many won't agree, chocked full of exclusive first party IP I really enjoyed.

If we are witnessing the last desperate gasps of Nintendo as a platform maker, I won't applaud when they're gone. And I'll be very worried because while everyone assumes it would be a wonderful thing for them to go multiplatform... we all see how great that's worked out for Sega and its IPs.

ETA: The requirement to use a separate smart device for online functionality like voice chat and friends lists is just foolish on their part beyond words imo. I don't play online much with people so it doesn't affect me personally, but still. Wtf? It's meant to be a competitor to mobile devices... so naturally, they require a mobile device lmao. >_<

Sega higher-ups are part of Lan Di's gang! Proof below!



From the Nintendo Switch event last night. Clearly suspicious.

Because misanthropy, outrage, and trollishness are now the new normal in all areas of life, not just on the internet. It's just most prominent in online gaming discussions imo (present company excepted 99% of the time) because for some reason, gaming discussions have always incited enormous defensiveness and factionalism.

But yeah, it's everywhere. Look at the political climate. Look at any discussion, anywhere, about anything, online. It's disheartening and worrying, but there's little we can do about it sadly.

I also think the internet has changed how people communicate in not always healthy ways. It's cliche to say it, but interesting sociologically and psychologically, that people will say things to one another - and more pertinently, THINK In ways about one another - that they never would face to face.

The lack of nuance, social cues, body language, tone of voice etc. seems to make people online default to the worst possible, most defensive attitude toward absolutely everything anyone says. And the gamification of everything - likes, dislikes, followers, etc. trying to establish a digital presence - seems to encourage a territorial response in people. Like, this comment/webpage/account is my turf, and I want to get likes for it and if I get dislikes or people attack my turf, I have to defend it etc. (Not me personally, but it seems this dynamic happens constantly.)

I used to think the internet, because it connects the world, would be the greatest facilitator of better communication between different views and ideologies ever created. Now... I'm not so sure. Sometimes I fear it's fundamentally altering how people think about and empathize with one another.

There's a more benign, but still worrying, side to this too, though. Because it's mostly text on a screen, when people express concerns or criticisms of a thing/person/product/position/whatever, it gets default interpreted as an utter rejection or disdaining of its target, even if the reality is that there's a more nuanced opinion beneath the words that would read in person - because of tone of voice and other cues - more like, "I have these criticisms, but I'm not totally negative towards it either." Essentially, people just assume the worst, and then get defensive.

Second to lastly, some of it is also just that people are more conscious consumers now, and more aware of their own interests and needs, with many more options at their disposal. They also have more information about the history of a company and have more of an ability to play armchair analyst (and this happens with everything - people think they're authorities on everything now after reading about it for an hour on the internet) and so they're more cautious and wary and less willing to simply trust corporations whose job it is, ultimately, to extract money from them.

And lastly... while I dislike the word "entitled" and think it gets thrown around way too much... there is also just an element that we've all grown up for generations now without a world war, with declining rates of disease, longer life spans, supermarkets filled with prepackaged foods, and advanced technology at our fingertips and in our pockets that our ancestors couldn't even dream of in their wildest imaginings. In short... yeah, we're slightly spoiled and aren't always mindful of that or as grateful as we could be for what we have imo.

I think all of the above plays into the sense that everything is so damn contentious and filled with consternation and venom all the time online. But I also think that perception, likewise, is a product of us assuming the worst. I think things are actually less dire than we might assume based on the surface image it might give, again, because of the text on a screen + anonymity vs face to face dynamic.

For instance... I'm hyped as hell for Nintendo Switch and have one preordered. But I bet based on my lengthy posts about concerns I have about it, many would assume I must hate the thing and can never be satisfied. I think a lot of it is just that disconnect between thought, text, and real human interaction.

cactusjack901 wrote:Beyond that even; why should I go out of my way, to spend hundreds of dollars to play a game I've already spent over $100 on?

Because it's Shenmue.

I've translated the Tile-Breaking document in my latest blog post:
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/0 ... enmue.html

January 18th

$6,701,078

73,658 Backers

They haven't even released any in depth game aspects, like mechanics, or musical styles and samples. Things like that are good, non spoiler, and can make a great update. The majority of last year's was... "nice".

2017 has to end these "nice" updates. I'd prefer no updates if they remained as surface updates.
Mm. I think we're all hoping for more substantial stuff this year, but it probably won't happen immediately.

I did some reading up on how UE4 prototyping works, which is a system called blueprints. Blueprints allows game designers to easily create the basis of their game using a node-based tool for utilities, so they don't have to rely on programmers to code functions before they can build the game. It's good for testing and understanding the scope of the full game early on, which is great for development and efficiency, but not so great for showing it off to the public.

Programmers and coding are needed for specific control over the engine to take it from a basic prototype to an actual video game. We know YSnet have been looking for programmers since that UnrealFest Switch got the leaflet from, so in the full production phase they're going to be building Shenmue III as we will eventually see it as a final product, rather than an internal prototype.

When we see it depends on when they started full production and how quickly they're making progress. I can't remember who said it, but a game developer once remarked that the last 10% of game development is what takes the longest, but we'll see.

Wisely they've avoided showing their hand too early and having the prototype colour the impression of the final game, or falling into the AAA trap of spending months on a polished vertical slice for a public showing when the rest of the game is still up in the air.

I hope I'm not making a leap of logic here, but in the context of development it makes sense for them to have made 2016 a year or "less" rather than "more".

I think the internet has just made everyone think their opinion is important.

I used to be a waiter and maître d' and you could spot the people who would go home and write a review about their meal on Trip Advisor a mile away. They thought they were a professional critic writing for a newspaper and didn't let themselves just enjoy the meal but spent the entire time trying to nitpick so they had something to write about.

I think most people now go into games looking for things to bring up on forums/twitter etc and don't just sit down and enjoy a game like they used to.

Also American culture seems to be slipping into the rest of the world due to the world becoming more open. Americans have always been seen as very extreme by the rest of the world, from food to politics it's always go overboard or go home. No one can just find a game ok anymore, if it got an 8.7 IGN are idiots for hating it and don't like good games because it didn't get a 10. If people love something they have to love it and everything about it and the same the other way round with hating it.

I don't think gamers as a whole are more negative these days I just think there are more platforms for people to think their opinion matters and the loud minority make it hard to hear the rest. There may be 50,000 online who complain Uncharted 4 is a stupid generic game but the game sold 8.7 million copies and most probably played it and never said a thing about it online.

Amir wrote:

Amir wrote:

Spaghetti wrote: January 18th

$6,701,078

73,658 Backers

23rd January

$6,701,078 --> $6,702,705 (+$1627)

73,658 --> 73,685 backers (+27)

25th January

$6,702,705 --> $6,702,984 (+$279)

73,685 --> 73,691 backers (+6)

27th January

$6,703,859 (+$875)

73,700 Backers (+9)

I've completed giving the Fishing and Washing documents English annotations.

http://i.imgur.com/rq3k7Rz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/v3Q5B3G.jpg

Read my article at PhantomRiverStone about the documents here (any comments appreciated!):
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/01/gachinko-fishing-washing-place-shenmue.html

I messaged YS Net on Kickstarter and they said there should be one at the end of the month!

January 31st Update:
Greetings everyone, we're already towards the end of the first month of the year! :O Crazy! I managed to get up to quite a lot of stuff done for here, though I'd never talk about it 'till it was done, just like sony and the other big boys, I like to shadow drop, I'm sure you would agree it's more fun to see results rather than talk-talk-talk of intentions, I sure do! xD Here's the rundown!

SEGA DVD/Blu-ray Stand:
I've been wanting a cool desk stand for my games for a while now. This month I thought I would take soem time/steps to designing one:
https://i.imgsafe.org/11bc397c17.jpg
https://i.imgsafe.org/11bc322edf.jpg
After the design/3D modelling phase was over, I was ready to start printing the pieces:
https://i.imgsafe.org/11bbb67e73.jpg
And through that journey, there were many setbacks and failures, that's the name of the game when it comes to product design, you can't let yourself get discouraged for too long, you must persist!
https://i.imgsafe.org/11bbc23965.jpg
And then we get to post processing and assembly to complete the final product. As a one-off personal piece, I'm happy, but going forth if I wanted to produce some more, I would think about improving some of the draft angles on the sides of the design as well as producing a more cost-effective+weighted piece. (I haven't printed the back part of the rack connector yet due to some work commitments with my machine and not being happy with its current state)
https://i.imgsafe.org/11bb883f3b.jpg

Coin Series - Poker/Chess Pieces:
I like iconography and appreciate good graphic design and art, especially from video games! I thought it would be cool to print a set of 5cmx5cmm study coin pieces.

I know for a fact we have splinter cell fans at the dojo! :D I'm sure you'll recognise that this is from SC Blacklist (the icons for each of the distinctive playstyles: ghost, panther, assault). Printed with transparent filament to give it a cool camo/armour effect. Been thinking to paint the middle icons gold)
https://i.imgsafe.org/11bc2d1ade.jpg
And a set I've very much been wanting to make, Valkyria Chronicles wooooh!!!1 Again, I just need to sand+paint the inner icon.
https://i.imgsafe.org/11bb20fdc0.jpg

I also produced two more wooden plaque engravings for my collection from stratch (only references): one based on a movie nobody's heard of, the other based on Asura's Wrath.
https://i.imgsafe.org/11bc5b8e6d.jpg

And finally, I produced some graphic design art yesterday for kazuma kiryu called 'the beast is unleashed' to covey his inner dragon spirit in a very altered beast/Bill Bixby sort of way. I hope to make an engraving of this as well! :-)
https://i.imgsafe.org/11bb066bbc.jpg

And that about wraps the month! Thank you for viewing, hope you enjoyed the journey, I knowthere is a distinct lack of shenmue this month but after i lost the files to my previous shenmue project I did loose a bit of steam in the stort term. I hope to pursue and complete it by the end of Feb but we shall see how things turn out. 'Please be excited' for the end of February, hopefully it will bring many new and interesting stuff. Hope by that time, we do get an juicy update for Shenmue 3! Thoughts? Love and Respect everyone! :-)

UPDATE: Apologies for the broken image links. Google, you've failed me!

Part Three of the interview is now up.



Read it here: http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/0 ... rview.html

Of course, i am hyped! I baked today a second time a physical copy. Now i baked two versions. One for PS4 and one for PC.

In Shenmue I & II Ryo gathered various pieces of information about the visit father made to Hong Kong & Guilin all those years ago, so I've tried to bring these together into a diagram showing some of these relationships and timelines.

The diagram includes some assumptions / guesses, which I talk about here:

Blog post:
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/02/iwao-hazukis-china-visit-diagram-of.html

http://i.imgur.com/QvEB4lR.png

The character of Yuanda Zhu is quite enigmatic, as he seems to change what he says depending on who he is talking to. I don't think he has bad intentions towards Ryo, but I get the feeling he is hiding the true circumstances around the death of Sunming Zhao. It will be interesting to see how (or whether) this is developed in Shenmue III.

You can count one more contributor as from now !

6th February 2017

$6,710,485

73,765 Backers

For real, I'm probably going to buy up 10-20 PC keys for Shenmue III and do a giveaway on GAF.

For real, I'm probably going to buy up 10-20 PC keys for Shenmue III and do a giveaway on GAF.
I'm planning on doing something similar, only I'll do so through randoms I meet in online lobbies. I might be completely wrong in what I'm about to say, but I get the feeling giving codes out to random players grants a better chance of giving the game to someone who likely wasn't going to play the game in the first place, as opposed to doing so through a video game forum where people are more likely to know about it, whether through following or in passing, meaning less chance of the game not gaining an extra sale.

Spaghetti wrote: 6th February 2017

$6,710,485

73,765 Backers

7th February 2017

$6,711,400 (+$915)

73,773 Backers (+8)

I been doing some thinking about Shenmue 3 games people preorder on kickstarter or Paypal. Would that count as Shenmue 3 sales when the game releases?
Almost certainly not. Buy multiple copies at launch if you want a Shenmue IV!
Im also planning to do the same thing buy multiple copies for the game to sell better. I already getting 2 physical copies from Kickstarter and Paypal.

I contacted YS Net again and they said we should see a update at the end of the month!

I don't think anyone's posted this yet.
I've finally got the french book in the mail, despite having preordered it.
It's mostly text but it has a nice little photo section at the end, with pictures of real-site inspirations for the game that I thought I'd share:
https://imgur.com/a/eZK7Z

I'm impressed, Saturn emulation is alway so tricky to get playable. Still, can't beat playing Panzer Dragoon Saga on the original hardware:

http://imgur.com/wESElBR.jpg

http://imgur.com/mASkojA.jpg

Next to Snatcher and Knuckles Chaotix, Panzer Dragoon Saga is the pride of my collection.

I saw this copy on eBay from a local seller some years ago at a decent price. I jumped on it immediately; sold my entire collection of Magic the Gathering cards to cover the cost. It was worth it, Panzer Dragoon Saga is one of the greatest games that I've ever played and a true masterpiece on the Saturn.

With the game being scheduled to be released by the end of the year, backers rightfully expect by March either footage of the game in final stages or a delay with an apology.
You'll struggle to find any video game genuinely in its "final stages" 9 months away from a proposed release window.

Don't let promotional materials inform you of how advanced a game is, because I guarantee you 90% of the time it is smoke and mirrors. Case in point: Final Fantasy 15's 2013 E3 reveal. Looked pretty advanced, but it was all bullshit ginned up for a press conference and would take another three and a half years to release.

Don't put an arbitrary date on when you expect to see footage by either, because you'll likely just set yourself up for disappointment and anger.

What we want to see is coming, but it really is just a case of being patient.

Can't say I'm surprised.
I think when we finally see something, it's going to be a drastic leap from whatever we saw months ago. No point in sharing something that isn't representative of the final product at this point.

And they said development on Shenmue III is still going strong and they said they cant confirm if there will be a update at the end of the month. Im sure there will be though. What are your guys thoughts?

I added some scenic photos to match the music.

https://www.destructoid.com/rumor-shenmue-hd-remaster-double-pack-coming-this-year-421170.phtml?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

While Shenmue is iconic in its own right, Shenmue II impacted me in a big way . It came at a perfect time in my life, and has kept me waiting for a follow-up ever since. I hope this remaster project goes off without a hitch, and that all of the minigames, arcade machines and all, are intact!

I contacted YS Net yesterday and they said Shenmue III is still set for release in December 2017 and that development is still going strong!

No way it is keeping that score. That's only from the more niche websites so far. Not really surprised either way that it's getting good reviews off those who have finished it however. This game is rad. Music is almost at the original's quality, some of it is the continuation of the music, some of its music sounds distinctively different from previous Nier music (and still sounds great) and some of it sounds so melancholic. So glad I pre-ordered the soundtrack (can only get the 3rd disc if you pre-order the first release, any stock after that will miss out on the 3rd CD).

NieR was my favourite game from last generation (next to Dark Souls 1) simply put because of the music, storyline, characters, dialogue, the atmosphere and way it defied genres. If you enjoy games like Team Ico's games, Zelda, story heavy games, like a wide variety of games (since it changes genres a few times over the course of the game) and just generally weird niche Japanese games you should try it. Why did it have low Metacritic? Because journalists last gen were a joke, that's why. Make up your own mind about games, don't let others do that for you. It's also shorter that you'd think too. Think I clocked in at 40ish hours in total doing all of the side quests and doing the NG+ runs (since the game changes when you do NG+ the first time, which drops you in halfway through the game) all combined.

EDIT: Automata has sold three times what NieR did in its first week, so the outlook is looking good for more PG + Yoko games in the future.

SledgeNE wrote:1280x720 is enough for me.

Screw that I'm going all out and force cropping to 4:3 and 480p via VGA on an old dell CRT monitor for the truest Shenmue experience!

Part of what makes me so sceptical about this (besides the fact, as per usual, there are no specifics besides "it's coming guys!") is the Shenmue III claim.

Why would some random nobody in Atlus USA know about Shenmue III's delay status? Why would someone working in an American branch of a Japanese subsidiary of SEGA have knowledge of a project being made at a completely different studio from their parent company?

Even if SEGA were genuinely coordinating with YSnet on a long-term release strategy for Shenmue HD and Shenmue III (and there's no evidence that they are), how the fuck would the information be passed from YSnet, to SEGA head management, to SEGA rank and file (management probably wouldn't talk about this around the watercooler, they should - in theory - know "loose lips sink ships"), passed to ATLUS, to ATLUS USA (who's main work is translation)?

Honestly? It just seems like the article author is looking to build some rumour credibility by making easy predictions based on earlier rumblings about Shenmue HD and the widely-held assumption YSnet won't hit December 2017.

https://www.famitsu.com/news/201703/09128374.html

The Famitsu interview with Cedric is now online. There's some Shenmue III stuff halfway down.

Google Translate's wonky take:

Shibuya Productions is also involved in the development of " Shen Mu 3 ", why did you become involved in " Shen Mu 3 "?
Bis Kai　was originally a " Shen Mu " fan, playing "1", "2", I was very sorry that there was no "3". So, whenever I see the European event with Mr. Hiroshi Suzuki, I was jokingly asking "Is Shenmue 3 still"?

- Originally, we had a chance to interact with Suzuki.
As Vizukai　Suzuki san, he was always proceeding with other projects as Shibuya Productions . Unfortunately the project was gone, but when I heard that " Shenmue 3 " development took on reality, I decided to be involved as Shibuya Productions. That is before Kickstarter's support recruitment began.

- Specifically , how is involved in " Shen Mu 3 "?
Biscay <a As a Co - producer as one of the investors, i = 23> I am checking whether development is proceeding smoothly or not.

- I think that many fans are interested, but how is the current development situation?
Biscay　is doing fine. As long as Mr. Suzuki's wrist breaks, I think that I will proceed as planned! Please look forward to.

Seems Cedric still thinks the December release can happen, if Yu & co work hard enough?
Almost done with translating the interview which should help straighten out some of the kinks introduced by Mr Google. Up tomorrow.

Update: now ready. I've made a thread for it here .

Let's hope Yu has been drinking his milk.

I've completed an English translation of the recent Famitsu interview with co-producer of Shenmue III, Cédric Biscay.

The interview covers Cédric's background and reasons for starting his company Shibuya Productions, and he talks about some of the guests and goals of the MAGIC event.

And of particular interest for Shenmue fans, at the end of the interview Cédric is asked about Shenmue III and the current development progress. Here's the relevant section:

http://i.imgur.com/NlwmD3M.jpg

If you have a few minutes the whole interview is worth a read too. Link:
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/03/interview-with-cedric-biscay-at-magic.html

KidMarine wrote: The one that plays when Ryo wakes up on Wong's boat. I wish I could remember what it was called. Gives me chills every time.

Morning's Fog Wave

Yea it's small so this is still Bailu Village. Choubu is far bigger, with a harbour and stuff. Then Baisha will be the biggest area from what I've seen.

So it makes sense the landscapes and layouts are locked in, and it's now time to fill this world with content, like arcade machines, story elements etc. as seen in this video. So before people give off about how they must not have much designed or began work on this, that and the other, then please don't. Have faith. They are just fulfilling their KS pledge to give us updates, but at the same time, not show off the majority of the game.

And just for reference, if anyone's interested, they do seem to be clever with what is on their monitors because despite seeing them in their almost full form with placeholders, they have never once shown Choubu it Baisha in an update.

Yep and look really hard at the size of the character models in relation to the size of the area, and buildings. This game will not be a small game. Choubu is bigger than this, and Baisha is bigger than Choubu. Can you imagine walking down from that path on the left, just walking around this little area, listening to the sounds of the environment, interacting with NCPs.

This is fucking Shenmue 3 right there.

http://thumbnails117.imagebam.com/53852/d4f8de538516739.jpg http://thumbnails117.imagebam.com/53852/b496bd538516741.jpg http://thumbnails117.imagebam.com/53852/d2a012538516743.jpg http://thumbnails117.imagebam.com/53852/21e834538516745.jpg http://thumbnails117.imagebam.com/53852/6af12b538516747.jpg
http://thumbnails117.imagebam.com/53852/269a0f538516997.jpg

I'm kind of obsessed with the "Bailu" village images from the video.

I tried to sharpen my screencapture, adjust colours, brightness and contrast and while I was at it, I've included Kidmarine's thumbnails, Peter's Notebook ( :mrgreen: ) and Himuro's filtered Ryo sequence.

http://i.imgur.com/JkwMzik.jpg

I count 5 houses, maybe 6. I guess the wood bridge takes you to another section of the village, maybe the area with the pond (where hopefully Ryo can fish).

Can you believe we will soon be back into Shenmue's world, wandering through those sceneries? :heart:
Sometimes I struggle to convince myself that all of this is real.

Out of boredom, I've done a 1920x1080 "collage" with some WIP Shenmue 3 images.



If any of you would like to change his wallpaper.

^ Besides the polished aspect of the village, that's the contrast quality that really amazes me although most of the credit highly goes to Epic. Shenmue on Dreamcast (especially Shenmue 1) had a remarkable contrast also so it's no surprise there's a continuation here.

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

https://i.imgur.com/7QEu23b.jpg

They're definitely getting a lot of the colour and light source stuff right, IMO.

Shenhua's kitchen is a good example:

http://i.imgur.com/dJziYmA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/sz41zOw.jpg

Blue shadows:

http://i.imgur.com/y77VXYL.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/KYKeTtm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/8EXMg01.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/lEaJPaK.jpg