yep, this subject screams one thing:
gdi assembly not reading the disk properly.
if you can get a optical drive cleaner, run it through the drive a few times, and try again. :mrgreen:
(the cleaner is like an audio disk, but with a pair of drive head brushes on the disk. comes with a small bottle of ispropyl for the brushes. a drop on each. )
...
if the issue persists, and the disk reading gets harder, it's possible the laser requires a pot calibration?
but one step at a time... :P

I've been thinking about what the beginning would be like.

I'm picturing a cold opening- a brief narrated prologue, just summarizing that Ryo has traveled from Japan to Hong Kong and China and now is in Guilin, has met Shenhua and then gameplay starts at her house the morning after walking through the mountain woods. It starts with the walk from the house to the cave, a recreation of the cave sequence serves as a basic gameplay controls tutorial, and once the mirrors are revealed the Shenhua orchestral theme starts booming and it cuts to an opening title sequence showing panoramic in-engine views of the villages and surrounding country side as the title and lead credits are displayed.

England belongs to Europe?

Hi all,

Lately I have been diving slowly back into Shenmue Modding. Hi Bluemue!

I have taken an interest in recording the outer areas of maps, in which I call unloaded areas.

These are the areas you briefly see when opening and closing doors, as well as outside surrounding areas.

All of this is accessible using my Explore Mod version 1.3.

What do you guys think of these areas?

Here are some videos. More are available on my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/lordcanti

Enjoy!
Old Warehouse District:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNstdiuP5xc

YOU Arcade:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhEXA-J5_zc

Tomato Convenience Store:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DNYYXVmAQY

Abe Candy Shop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHZAv20zEjc

Rumors say that his name is Bill Gates.

This moment is why I hated the lack of dub in the Dreamcast version. It was an extremely all shot scene, imo, and very atmospheric. I was tryna take the whole thing in, and was barely paying attention to the subtitles. "Yeah, yeah, three blades, heard it all before... There has to be a QTE coming up... Ha! Knew it. Wait... What? Fuck off!"

But yeah, I fell for it.
You lack Dan, be brave and calm to make the right decision.

I think that Shenmue 1 and 2 were missing something very crucial in making it much more diverse. People never lied to you and always told you the right direction to travel, and always told the truth. Hopefully in Shenmue 3, people can lie to us meaning that every NPC would be different and it would be much more challenging to complete the game.

These are the original sprites (they need to be flipped)

http://s10.postimg.org/vsym3pq15/image.png

http://s1.postimg.org/kyj2cq4yz/image.png

http://s17.postimg.org/qqmnwqrhb/image.png

http://s9.postimg.org/4w9jgqaqj/image.png

http://s15.postimg.org/9uklokuqv/image.png

http://s22.postimg.org/5xegu9t7x/image.png

He is cool to do an interview.
Dear shengoro86,

Hi James -- I would be more than happy to do an interview. I briefly popped in on the site a few years back. I love that there is such a great place for Shenmue fans to hang out. I am going to load the game up again tonight and try to cycle through the main menu debug screen. I recall that you could use the triggers to pull different stuff up on that screen as well. Maybe there is a version number there? I think you could also go straight into playing Hang On or Space Harrier from that screen as well. We had a tester high-score list for all the games within Shenmue. I think I held the darts high score. One of my guys killed it on Hang On. Anyway thanks again for the interest.

I'll handle it from here

Hello guys,

As promised, I've received Yu Suzuki's approval to publish it, so here it is !

Meeting Yu Suzuki in Japan once again was awesome. I had the opportunity to meet with the development team and saw some footage and can say that Shenmue is definetly in good hands.

This interview do not contain major spoilers, however, DO NOT read the question/answer #14 if you do not wish to know about Shenmue III's bosses.

Enough said, here you go !

English version / 英語版 :

PDF version : coming soon

Yu Suzuki's interview : A New Shenmue (2015)

1) David : Hello Yu Suzuki. Today is September 14th and 2 months have passed since the end of the Kickstarter's campaign. Could you tell us how you've felt during the campaign ?

Yu Suzuki : Many people asked me how it was during E3 so I'd rather talk about what happened after that, the development and so on. That's what is the most interesting to me. The game's budget has been decided with the Kickstarter and we're working on it accordingly. We're currently testing the Unreal Engine 4.

http://s20.postimg.org/3q8adrch9/image.jpg

2) David : 14 years have passed since the release of Shenmue II. If you had to think about it, was there anything that could have been improved in the previous games ?

Yu Suzuki : When I was making Shenmue II, my goal was to make it better than the first one. Of course, there are many things that could have been better. If I had to provide an example, that'd be the use of time. How long you had to wait until the next event.

In Shenmue Yokosuka, the player had no other choice but to wait until the next event occured. The concept was to add many different features for the player to enjoy while waiting for the said rendezvous. After the first Shenmue was done, people provided their feedback and many of them were frustrated having to wait, that's why I've decided to add the « Skip Time » feature in Shenmue II. By using it, you could skip time and jump to the next scene.

3) David : During the trailer of Shenmue Online, we could see Shenhua summoning a Phoenix to fight Lan Di. Is it linked to the original story of Shenmue ?

Yu Suzuki : This is a story I made up specially for Shenmue Online. So no, It has no link to the original story.

http://s20.postimg.org/v4nf1xkvh/image.jpg

I would like to ask you some questions regarding Shenmue III and the Kickstarter campaign if you don't mind.

4) David : You've planned to add scenes from the first 2 games « Story Digest » in Shenmue III to describe the story. Are you going to use the previous games original scenes or do you plan to recreate them under the Unreal Engine 4 ? Is there any chance you're going to add Chapter 2 « the boat » in it ?

Yu Suzuki : The boat chapter won't be added. Regarding the « Story Digest » we're thinking about the best way to add it.

5) David : A fan has made a suggestion and wanted you to hear it. Is it possible for Ryo to hold a camera and take some pictures that the player could save in the inventory ?

Yu Suzuki : Ryo holding a camera doesn't match with his style and the way he is. However, the fact that the «player» himself is taking the pictures sounds like a nice idea. To be honest, I already thought about it before, so if that's possible, I would like to make this possibility happen.

6) David : In your previous interviews, you've mentioned that Shenmue III's size would be around the size of Shenmue's Dobuita. Each village will be around the same size as Dobuita or where you talking about the full game ?

Yu Suzuki : I want to make Choubu as large as Dobuita. Now, about the remaining villages, we're thinking about it.

http://s20.postimg.org/ua0vfwd0t/image.jpg

7) David : Characters will be linked to Ryo through the « Rapport System ». But is it going to change the main story and why not, make some of the characters disappear at some point ?

Yu Suzuki : This system has been built for Ryo and Shenhua. We are thinking about the possibility to make it work with other characters but that's undecided. Regarding the impact that it's going to have on the story and the game itself, that is currently under experimentation.

8 ) David : The exclusive Kickstarter content « S3World telecom» will provide the possibility to call some characters of the previous games. But are the conversations going to be limited to some lines only or will they offer some variations ?

Yu Suzuki : No, It won't be limited to a single conversation.

9) David  : The Stretch Goals «AI Battling», «Ragdoll Reaction» and «High Ground Battle System» have yet to be reached, but is there anything we could learn about these Stretch Goals ?

Yu Suzuki : Some of you may know what the Ragdoll physics is. If you release the strength of the body, it becomes like a doll, that's not really natural. That's why we're working on the «Motion Blending», adding some resistance to the muscles for example, to obtain realistic moves.

In a Virtua Fighter scene, patterns were determined by the Motion Capture, but with the Ragdoll physics, moves won't repeat over and over. If you get into something (like a wall) the reaction won't be the same. In fact, I'd like to combine the «Ragdoll Physics», the «Motion Blending» and «IK Constraint» to make the NPC and battle's reactions as real as possible.

Regarding the «AI Battling» Stretch Goal, if I had to explain this simply, that'd be, for example, when you're hitting the punch button of your pad to hit your opponent. A jab when he's close, to hit him when he's away from you and to move to hit him when he's even more far away. I would like to create a system that is taking account of the distance, conditions and the position of your rival. During normal fights, if you push a button, your character will use the same move over and over without considering your current situation. I don't really like that and would like to use the «AI Battling» to add some variations to the movements depending on your current state.

And finally, the «High Ground Battle System», is the interactivity with the surrounding environment. I want to create and add strategy and realism to the battles. For example, throwing your opponent on a barrel and making it break or hitting a wall and making it fall like a wave on your enemy. I'd like to create more complex battles using the UE4's physical phenomenon.

David : These features were not available in the first two games right ?

Yu Suzuki : To say the truth, I've already used it. You could see something like that during the «70 Man Battle». But these techniques were used 14 years ago and I am sure that the result will be more interesting if we use the actual technology.

10) David : Is Shenhua going to be with Ryo all the time or is Ryo going to be on his own from time to time as well ?

Yu Suzuki : Both. Moments where Ryo will be on his own and some where Shenhua will stand by his side.

http://s20.postimg.org/6lldkmgh9/image.jpg

11) David : Just like in Shenmue I and II, is it going to be possibile to grab the items around us and examine them ?

Yu Suzuki : I would like to make it.

12) David : Some people would like to know more about the Paypal campaign and its rewards. Is there anything you can tell us ?

Yu Suzuki : The campaign will start on September 17th. With Kickstarter, people were limited to one reward, but this time, they will be able to add other rewards. Also, I'd like Japanese users to browse this page, all details will be in Japanese. The remaining Stretch Goals are also a part of this campaign and if we reach them, as promised, they will be made. I am counting on you !

13) David : Niao Sun has been presented during the first Shenmue events but is only appearing for the first time in Shenmue III. Why did you show her so soon during the promotion of the game ? Is there a special reason behind this ?

Yu Suzuki : There's no real reason. She was attractive and I liked her, that's why I wanted to show this character to all of you as soon as possible !

http://s20.postimg.org/jr0vqqact/image.jpg

14) David : Looking at the development's schedule, 4 big bosses will be added to the game. Have you decided to cut some parts of the story and add the 4 main Chiyoumen bosses ?

Yu Suzuki : All I can tell you is that you're going to face Niao Sun of course, and also Lan Di !

http://s20.postimg.org/40fsx3r3h/image.jpg

15) David : Many players would like to have the possibility to switch between the Japanese and English voices. Do you plan to add such a feature in Shenmue III ?

Yu Suzuki : We are considering the possibility to switch between English and Japanese voices. So, many people would like Japanese voices and English subtitles ? I will probably start a poll about this to see what people are looking forward to.

Here is the last question !

16) David : Any special message that you'd like to say to the fans and why not, people who never played Shenmue until today ?

Yu Suzuki : My message towards the fans :

Thank to all of you who have been waiting for the last 14 years. I will bring with Shenmue III a new way to play and many things that were not in the first two games. I am aware that many of you are expecting Shenmue III to be the same as the first games but as a game creator, I am always challenging myself and I'd be very happy if the fans appreciated Shenmue III. Thank you for welcoming the new Shenmue !

Now the message toward players who never experienced Shenmue before :

I am developing it in the best possible way to make sure that you are going to enjoy the experience even though you have never played the first Shenmue. So even if you have no idea what the Shenmue I and II were, please do not hesitate to try it out please !

http://s20.postimg.org/ja248r8x9/DSC_0563.jpg

The interview is now over. I would like to say thank you to Yu Suzuki who allowed me to do this interview. A huge thanks to all the people working at YsNet, for their warm welcome and kindness.

I'd also like to say thank you to Cédric Biscay, french co-producer of Shenmue III. I had the opportunity to meet him and I can tell you that he's really motivated and he loves Shenmue as much as we all do ! Shenmue III is in good hands and I am really looking forward to it !

My next interview should happen during the Magic Monaco in February 2016.

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed the answers.

©David DE VILLE

**********

Japanese version / 日本語版 ：

鈴木裕さんのインタビュー : 新しいシェンムーへ

1) ダビッド ： 鈴木さん、こんにちは。本日、インタビューを行わせていただくことになり、ありがとうございます。宜しくお願い致します。それでは、はじめましょう。シェンムーⅢのKickstarterのキャンペーンが終了してから、二ヶ月ぐらい経過しました。よろしければ、キャンペーンの間の印象を教えて頂けませんか。

鈴木氏 ： 皆さんに良く聞かれたのはショーの期間中の印象でしたので、その代わりにE3（ロサンゼルスで行われるゲームショー）が終わったあとや開発について話したいと思います。バジェットが決まったので、そのバジェットに合わせてゲームのフローに従って、現在はUE4のテストに入っています。

http://s20.postimg.org/3q8adrch9/image.jpg

2) ダビッド ： シェンムーⅡが発売されてから１４年が経過しました。今、思い浮かべると、シェンムーⅠとⅡには改善点があったと思いますか。

鈴木氏 ：　シェンムーⅡを作るときはシェンムーⅠを改善して作ったので、もちろん改善点が沢山ありました。一つの例を挙げると、待ち合わせの時間です。シェンムーⅠでは待ち合わせの時間までただ待つことしか出来ませんでした。なので、シェンムーⅠでは待ち合わせの時間までに遊ぶ要素を沢山入れてあります。待っている時間に違うことをやって欲しいというのがシェンムーⅠのコンセプトでした。シェンムーⅠが終わったらそこに対してストレスが溜まると言うプレイヤーの声が高かったのでシェンムーⅡでは待つシステムを入れることに決めました。その時間まで待つというシステムを使うと、その時間と場所にジャンプすることが出来るようになりました。　

3) ダビッド ： シェンムーオンラインのトレーラーでは藍帝（らんてい）は龍を、シェンファは鳳凰を召喚して戦っているシーンがありました。このシーンはシェンムーのメインストーリーと繋がっているのでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： シェンムーオンラインのために作った外伝なので、オリジナルストーリーと繋がっていません。

http://s20.postimg.org/v4nf1xkvh/image.jpg

4) ダビッド ： まだ、シェンムーをやったことがないプレイヤーにストーリーを分かってもらうために、シェンムーⅢにシェンムーＩ＆Ⅱのストーリーダイジェストコンテンツが追加される予定があります。
それは、昔の動画（シェンムーThe Movie)か、あるいはUnreal Engine 4でリニューアルしたもので追加されるのでしょうか。そして、カットされた「二章　船」の動画版を追加されますか。

鈴木氏 ： シェンムー「二章　船」　は追加されません。ストーリーダイジェストに関してはどの形がいいかどうか検討中です。

5）　ダビッド ： シェンムーファンからのアイデアを聞いたので、お伝えさせていただきます。シェンムーⅢの涼がカメラを持って、写真を撮って、アルバムに保存できるシステムというアイデアでしたが、いかがでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： 涼がカメラを持つというと、ちょっと彼のイメージに合わないと思います。プレイヤーの方が写真を撮ったらいいと思っています。写真の機能が使えるのは以前からやりたいと考えていたので、出来ればやりたいです。

6） ダビッド ： 以前、他のインタビューを受けていたときに、鈴木さんはシェンムーⅢの世界のサイズはシェンムーのどぶ板と同じぐらいになると言いましたが、それは全部のエリアですか。それとも一つずつの村がどぶ板と同じぐらいのサイズになるということでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ：鳥舞をどぶ板くらいの大きさにしたいと思っています。他の村については検討中です。

http://s20.postimg.org/ua0vfwd0t/image.jpg

7） ダビッド ： 今回は好感度システムによって涼が他のキャラクターと繋がっていることは変わりますが、そのシステムでストーリーの変更や仲が悪いと仲間と会えなくなってしまう設定がありますか。

鈴木氏 ： 好感度システムは涼とシェンファーに向けて作ったシステムです。他のキャラに使うかどうかは検討中です。ストーリーやゲーム進行にどれくらいの影響を与えるかどうかは現在実験中です。

8） ダビッド ： キックスターター限定の国際テレホンカードで前作で出てきたキャラクターに連絡することが可能ですが、出来る会話が一つ限りなのか又はバリエーションがたくさんあるのでしょうか。

鈴木氏 : 会話は一つ限りではないです。

9） ダビッド ： 「ラグドールリアクション」や「ＡＩバトル」や「ハイグランドバトルシステム」というストレッチゴールはまだ達成していませんが、それについて詳しく説明してくださいませんか。

鈴木氏 ： 皆さんはご存知かもしれませんが、ラグドール物理演算というのがあって、人体の力を抜くと人形みたいなものになって、キャラクターがだらんとしてしまいます。これだけでやると動きが不自然になってしまいます。
そのため、これにモーションブレンディングしたり、例えば筋肉の抵抗（コンストレイン）を加えると、よりリアルな動きが出ます。バーチャファイターで攻撃をされるシーンはモーションキャプチャーで撮ったシーンでパターン化されていますが、ラグドールというのはそのときの地形やぶつかったときの動きを繰り返さないので、実際はラグドール、モーションブレンディング、ＩＫコンストレインを上手く組み合わせてバトルのリアクション・・・例えばNPCのリアクションをもっとリアルにしたいです。

AIバトルというのは、例えば簡単にいうとパンチのボタンだったら、相手が近かったらジャブ、相手が少し離れていたらストレート、もっと離れていたら移動してストレートというふうに相手との位置や距離や状況に応じて,自動的にバトルの技が出来るようにAIでコントロールしたいです。普通のバトルというのはコマンドを押せばそのコマンドの技が出るという風になっているので、その技が状況に合っていなくても出てしまいます。それは良くないなと考えているので、状況に合った技をだすためにAIでコントロールしたいと思っています。

ハイグランドバトルシステム は、キャラクターの周りのものを使って、バトルに臨場感と戦略を加えて作りたいと思っています。例えば、敵を投げたらドラム缶が崩れてきて敵をやっつけるとか、闘おうとしているときに壁を叩いたら波のように崩れてきたり・・・UE4の物理現象を連鎖させて、より複雑で楽しいバトルを作りたいと思っています。演算を使ってやりたいなと思っています。

ダビッド ： シェンムーⅠ・Ⅱではやっていなかったシステムですね？

鈴木氏 ： ちょっとやっていました。７０人バトルのときにドラム缶が崩れてきたりとか…　ですが、あれは14年前の技術でやった表現なので、現在の技術でやったらもっと楽しいものになると思います。

10） ダビッド ： シェンムーⅢではシェンファがシェンムーIIと同じように常に涼と一緒にいるのか、彼が一人になることが多くなるのでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： 彼女と一緒にいるときもありますし、一人になるときもあります。

http://s20.postimg.org/6lldkmgh9/image.jpg

11) ダビッド ： シェンムーとシェンムーⅡでアイテムを細かく観察することが出来ましたが、シェンムーⅢでも同じような動作が出来ますか。

鈴木氏 ：　出来るようにしたいです。

12) ダビッド ： Kickstarterのキャンペーン終了後、更に支援したい方がPaypalで支援出来るシステムが発表されました。それについての詳細を説明して頂けますか。

鈴木氏 ： ９月１７日からPaypalを開始対応しています。Kickstarterでは１個しか買えなかったのですが、今回は追加の購入が出来ますし、あとは特に日本のユーザーが日本語で申し込むことが出来ますので是非ページを見に来て下さい。基本的にはストレッチゴールにも対応していますので追加金額でストレッチゴールをクリアすると約束している部分が実現出来ます。皆さん、宜しくお願いします。

13) ダビッド ： 鳥隼（ちょうじゅん）は昔からプロモーションキャラクターとして使用されていて、シェンムーⅢから登場することになりましたが、どうして１４年前からそのキャラクターを紹介されましたか。特別な理由がありますか。

鈴木氏 ： 特別な理由がありません。キャラクターが魅力的だったので、僕がそのキャラクターが好きで、早く皆さんに見せたかったからです。

http://s20.postimg.org/jr0vqqact/image.jpg

14) ダビッド ： 開発の構成によって、シェンムーIIIでは4つのボスがいるということが分かってきました。つまりストーリーを短くして、四天王（らんてい、こうてい、えんてい、げんてい）を含めることにしましたか。

鈴木氏 ： 一つだけのことを言います。四天王の藍帝(蒼龍) と炎帝（鳥隼）が出てきます。

http://s20.postimg.org/40fsx3r3h/image.jpg

15) ダビッド ： 日本語と英語音声を選択するオプションが欲しい方が多いそうです。このような選択肢をシェンムーⅢに追加するつもりでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： 日本語版と英語版の音声切り替えが可能かどうか検討してみます。海外では日本語音声で英語字幕が欲しい人が多いですか。出来たら、一回アンケートを取ってみたいですね。

それでは、最後の質問です。

16) ダビッド ： シェンムーファンや又はシェンムーを初めてプレイする方々に伝えたい特別なメッセージがありましたら、どうぞ。

鈴木氏 ： シェンムーファンの皆さんについては１４年間ぐらい待ってくれて、本当にありがとうございます。シェンムーⅢではシェンムーI＆Ⅱにない、新しい遊びをチャレンジしようと思っています。シェンムーI＆IIとか全く同じ遊びを期待している人がいるかもしれませんが、鈴木裕は常に新しいことにチャレンジするクリエイターだと思って、シェンムーⅢを応援してくれると嬉しいです。新しいシェンムーを応援して下さい。

はじめて遊ぶ人については、シェンムーIとⅡを遊んでなくても、知らなくても楽しく遊べるように、シェンムーⅢを作る予定です。はじめてのプレイでも、シェンムーの良さが伝わるようなゲームになるので、是非遊んでみてください。

http://s20.postimg.org/ja248r8x9/DSC_0563.jpg

インタビューを読んで下さった皆さん、ありがとうございます。鈴木裕さんとYSNETのスタッフの皆さんにも大変感謝しております。

シェンムーIIIは２０１７年１２月末に発売予定です。興味がある方は是非、シェンムーIIIの公式サイトのページをご覧下さい。

http://shenmue.link/　

予約購入のページはこちらです。

http://shenmue.link/order_jp/

If being "truly open world" means spending 40 minutes getting lost in an empty forest that serves no purpose beyond background detail, then I think I'll take this horribly restricted, suffocating exercise in claustrophobic torture and enjoy it all the same.

http://www.marketingweek.com/2015/10/12/sega-europes-marketing-director-on-the-transition-from-sonic-to-smartphones

"Now my biggest challenge as marketing director is to make sure people are aware that Sega isn’t just this heritage brand that made all the Sonic games but we’re making cutting edge adult narratives such as Alien Isolation too. Not a lot of people realise we make Football Manager either – that has to change.”
“We’ve had some great successes on mobile – our Sonic Dash game has over 100 million downloads – but mobile is an overcrowded market and being truly innovative in that space isn’t easy,” he adds. “The strategy at Sega is to focus on producing great content first and then decide which platform it works best on afterwards.”

Admitting that Sega has not done a “great job over the last four years” in communicating its brand values and “Yes, we want to innovate and back smarthphones and virtual reality but our key purpose is to go back to what the brand used to stand for and I think the buzz around Shenmue 3 shows that people love our legacy,” adds Rooke, who says Sega is exploring ways to re-release the original two Shenmue titles.

“Sega was an innovator, the Dreamcast was offering online gaming as early as 1998. But perhaps back then we were pushing boundaries a little too soon. Nowadays we know what we’re good at and the strategy is to be more gradual. Over the next few years, we want to use engaging content and marketing to remind the public why they fell in love with Sega in the first place.”

Go to the park 4 days later and shes dead.

sshen1127 wrote: i don't think this one was ever post it on dojo channel...

Apparently, that's the same video as the one we talked about in this topic seven years ago:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=37513

Guys I thought this deserved its own thread as people will be super excited to see this now its in full quality! They just uploaded the Bailu Village Hut video from the Chinese presentation to the Shenmue 3 Official Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_NppngNCC8

It looks so great! I'm so giddy right now! haha! You can look at it and see within 1 second that it just fits the Shenmue feeling and atmosphere! So happy!

The thing that blows my mind the most, is the fact that the whole game is going to have to match this graphical fidelity and I couldn't be more pleased. What you guys think?

That Ine-san is such an attention whore.

http://i.imgur.com/h0aTFxY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3ZxlOUF.jpg

Yu Suzuki : Some of you may know what the Ragdoll physics is. If you release the strength of the body, it becomes like a doll, that's not really natural. That's why we're working on the «Motion Blending», adding some resistance to the muscles for example, to obtain realistic moves.

In a Virtua Fighter scene, patterns were determined by the Motion Capture, but with the Ragdoll physics, moves won't repeat over and over. If you get into something (like a wall) the reaction won't be the same. In fact, I'd like to combine the «Ragdoll Physics», the «Motion Blending» and «IK Constraint» to make the NPC and battle's reactions as real as possible. (source : http://www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=49223)

Oh boy.... when the media hears about this, they're gonna rip Shenmue 3 a new one.

''Shenmue III developers scam Paypal pledgers from giving them exclusive items''
Even if I have zero confidence in gaming press, that would stray into outright lying. Nobody got scammed, it's just Awesome Japan ignoring the democratic will of the backers in two polls because they are afraid of backlash from a higher than expected percentage of backers.

Exactly. All that has happened is... nothing has changed.

I agree, it's pretty shitty. They should have at least stated before the poll that if "yes" doesn't get at least 'x'% of the poll, that nothing would change. Announcing that 'yes' won, but because 'no' still got a lot of votes they're not going to add any of the Kickstarter exclusives, is pretty bad.

http://www.redbull.com/en/games/stories/1331775510544/shenmue-3-yu-suzuki-interview

Kickstarting Shenmue 3 and the return of Ryo
By Ben Sillis on 9 February 2016
Legendary game designer Yu Suzuki on crowdfunding, Ryo’s return and even Shenmue 4.

http://i.imgur.com/Jd1PO79.jpg
Ryo is back after more than a decade © Ys Net

Mr Suzuki has been waiting a long time to make his latest game – about 20 years, in fact.
" From the beginning, I had been readying plans for various contingencies should the chance to develop Shenmue 3 ever arise, " he tells Red Bull in an exclusive interview. " After the Kickstarter announcement, I received a lot of messages and videos from people all over the world. I was very deeply moved that Shenmue still has so many loyal fans, even after 15 years. "

There are very few developers who are household names, stars that shine as bright as the mascots they create. Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo, Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear fame, maybe Peter Molyneux at a push. You could probably count them all one one hand, even, but you'd have to reserve one digit for Yu Suzuki, AKA Mr Sega, head of its AM2 development team for almost two decades.

While American CEO Tom Kalinske is often credited with turning Sega into a powerhouse to rival Nintendo in the 1990s, it was Suzuki who turned in the games he sold. Responsible for arcade hits like Hang-On and Out Run, Suzuki was one of the first developers to pioneer polygonal 3D graphics, in games like Virtua Racing, Virtua Fighter and Virtua Cop. Did you ever play in a Daytona USA cabinet in the arcade as a kid? Of course you did. That was him too. Ferrari F355 Challenge. Space Harrier. Dozens of classic games. But there's one game he's never been able to escape from, one he has never even tried to, that has cast a shadow over his career this century: Shenmue.

It's a little hard to describe Shenmue if you've never played it. It's a sweeping drama of family revenge set in 1980s suburban Japan and bustling Hong Kong that incorporates detective work, 3D fighting, a metric busload of voice acting and more of life's most mundane activities than you might expect. You can play darts or buy toy capsules from a vending machine. You can get a job lifting boxes for pocket money, and at one point you literally have to spend an entire in-game week carrying books out of a library.
It was banal and it was beautiful. It was the culmination of Yu Suzuki's work pushing Sega's hardware to the absolute limit, and cost a fortune to make – a rumoured $70 million, though part of that cost went into Shenmue 2.
It did not sell.

http://i.imgur.com/AT8Tl3X.jpg
Shenmue creator, Yu Suzuki © Ys Net

It would be tempting to say that audiences were not ready for such a game. But Shenmue and its sequel were only failures by the same metric that Dreamcast was, in that they happened to exist at the same time as the mighty PlayStation 2, and therefore did not make their costs back. Both games were adored by fans, who spent more than a decade clamouring for a resolution to the cliffhanger at the end of part two. Suzuki for his part continued to spend the 2000s returning to his older arcade hits while dropping hints that he'd love to return to the story of brave, blundering teenager Ryo Hazuki, if only Sega would give him the budget.
Then E3 2015 happened and everything changed. Suzuki decided to tweet a photo of a forklift truck, Ryo's preferred ride, and then turned up on stage at the Sony keynote to announce Shenmue 3 would be coming to PC and PS4 – so long as fans were prepared to back the game on Kickstarter to the tune of $2 million. Predictably, the project broke the Kickstarter record for funds raised for a game when 69,320 backers pledged a total of $6,333,295 to help bring Ryo back.

The return of Ryo
As we enter 2016, it's clear we're entering a new phase in Suzuki's career. Sega has granted his new studio, Ys Net, permission to use the Shenmue IP, but otherwise does not appear to be involved, while inexpensive and powerful game engine software now makes the game feasible on a much smaller budget. In some ways though, Suzuki admits he's picking up where he left off all those years ago.
" Shenmue 3 will be based on the original 11 chapter story I planned during the [Sega] Saturn era, " he tells Red Bull. " Using that story, we put the game together in such a way that people new to Shenmue, as well as fans of Shenmue 1 and 2, will be able to enjoy the game. "
For those new to the saga, Suzuki has a quick primer: " It is the story of a boy who travels to China on his quest to avenge his father's death, but it is also a story of love and friendship, and the bonds he shares with the people he meets as he matures to manhood through his martial arts training. "
This description sounds a tad like the blurb you might find on the back of a Sega Saturn game box, and does not quite capture the story's allure: Shenmue 2 ends on a decidedly magical note in a rural village in China, with Ryo discovering that two mysterious Macguffins may cause the resurrection of an even more evil Macguffin. We push for a few more details, and while Suzuki is keeping tight-lipped on plot, he says Ryo will grown on his journey. He's still angry, but his encounters with others may help to temper that rage.

http://i.imgur.com/7XFjSyX.jpg
Shenmue 3’s environment is making use of UE4 © Ys Net

" In terms of the story, a year has not yet passed from the conclusion of Shenmue 2, so Ryo's feelings of revenge have remained unchanged, " Suzuki says. " As Ryo did in Hong Kong in Shenmue 2, he will travel to Guilin in Shenmue III, maturing as he encounters different people through his martial arts training. "
Little time has passed for Ryo, but gamers have certainly grown up in his absence. Entire console generations have come and gone. You can still play Shenmue 2 on an HDTV with an Xbox 360, but the frustrating controls – you move with the D-pad, not a thumbstick – only serve as a reminder of just how much conventions have changed.
We wonder if Suzuki, who openly admits he began planning this game in the '90s, believes he will struggle to update Shenmue 3 to 2016 expectations. " We are planning to use Unreal Engine 4 for Shenmue 3, utilising the most cutting edge production techniques so we can exploit the engine's maximum potential, " he says. " The design concept of UE4 matches perfectly with how I make games, which is why I went in that direction. "

Genre shifting Shenmue
It's not just games that have changed in the interim however, but how we talk about them too. Shenmue was far ahead of its time in this regard, at least. The game's open cities, with operating bus routes and shops that opened and closed with the days of the week, predated even Grand Theft Auto 3 by several years, and were a predecessor of the sandbox games we play today. Suzuki even came up with his own acronym for the genre at the time, 'FREE' (Full Reactive Eyes Environment). But if he had to pigeonhole his life's work now?
" The genre that is the closest to describing Shenmue is what nowadays is called an open world game, " he says. " The concept of Shenmue was to maximize the level of game play freedom by offering the highest potential number of different ways one could enjoy the game. "

http://i.imgur.com/lkBBjlF.jpg
Expect plenty of mystery in the third instalment © Ys Net

For better or worse, Suzuki also originated the concept of the Quick Time Event (QTE): you would perform set actions and survive certain scenes – like someone trying to stove Ryo's head in with a metal pipe – by pressing a button on time with the screen. Succeed and the story continues. Fail and you might have to go the long way round, find another lead in your detective hunt, or have your face smashed in by a Triad member. It was a novel concept at the time, but it's fair to say it's been overused since, especially in Japanese action games. A good developer, so the theory goes, will provide the tools and the engine to let you pull off cool stunts, not just bang out a cut scene set to a rhythm game.
Suzuki says QTEs will be making a return in Shenmue 3 however. " While QTEs may feel a little wanting to some action gamers, I believe that it is a fundamental technique that allows a broad range of players to actively participate in the dramatic performances of a game."
"That said, I would like to take up the challenge of creating the next evolution of the QTE, " he adds, cryptically.

http://i.imgur.com/VDMCglZ.jpg
Suzuki wants some of the team to remain anonymous © Ys Net

How Ys Net balance that need for secrecy and surprise with the transparent communication required of a successful Kickstarter project will prove interesting. " This is my first experience with developing a game in this manner and it has been a very valuable one, " Suzuki says.
" For the Kickstarter, the architecture of the game was based on a scalable structure that could be adapted to the changes in budget. I can continually receive feedback from the backers through the entire process, which in turns helps to focus the development. "
The team will have to focus. Despite the availability of powerful, multi-platform game engines and middleware, the Japanese gaming industry has turned away from open world games, and console games altogether, Suzuki points out. That makes finding a team to tackle a game with such a heritage on a comparatively small scale more challenging still.
" Smartphones have become the mainstream in the Japanese gaming market today, creating an environment where the technology developed for consoles is often underused ," he says. " Also, it is becoming difficult to secure the talent necessary to make such games, but thankfully, we have managed to gather a very promising team for Shenmue III. "

Suzuki says that he cannot reveal the size of the team – or the budget – for " confidentiality reasons ", but he is happy to talk about one recent and remarkable hire: a fan. 'Kid Nocon', a South Korean graphics designer, wowed gamers recently with his incredible high definition makeovers of scenes from the first Shenmue (" I have wanted to make a Shenmue HD for a long time ," Nocon tells us). He must have made an impact on Suzuki too, because he then hired Nocon for Shemue 3.

" Kid Nocon is one of the people who has never stopped supporting Shenmue through all this time, " Suzuki says. " Even when I first met him, I could really tell he felt strongly towards Shenmue. I hope he will continue to be an active part in the Shenmue team. "

Sequels incoming
At the time of the Kickstarter, Ys Net had little more to show prospective backers than a scene with Ryo and Shenhua hopping over some stepping stones. Suzuki says the team are currently, " working on the prototype for the game. Using that prototype, we are experimenting with the various features of UE4 and testing out the systems we want to implement. "
Suzuki is avoiding making any benchmarks to break his own back with, and steering clear of promises on visual fidelity and specs, at least for now. So 1080p, 60fps purists will have to hang tight for now. " We have just recently decided upon the graphical benchmark quality. As to frame rate, we are still running tests ."

Suzuki's reticence to talk specifics up until this point is understandable – who would want to ruin a game fans have waited patiently for, for more than 15 years? It does, however, make the answer to our next question all the more surprising. Will Shenmue 3 hasten to conclude what was originally conceived as a sprawling, 11 chapter epic?
" I'm afraid that the story will not be concluded with Shenmue III, " Suzuki says, frankly. " After thinking it through, we decided that forcing a conclusion in Shenmue 3 would only make the story feel rushed, and compromise the game as a whole. I hope we can make "
In other words, Suzuki is back to that grand, original vision for the series once more. All it took was a bit of a patience for publishers, the industry and software to catch up with him.
We just hope we won't be waiting quite so long again for Shenmue 4. Suzuki, for his part, seems optimistic: " In five years’ time, I think I will [still] be making games, " he says. " As for Ryo? I am anxious to hear where the fans think he will end up. "

test print! looks fantastic just need to scale it up a bit

Ready for some paint man it looks and feels like a real handguard and the best part is a sword actually fits inside of the hole (jst need to find the right one) :) once i paint it and create a box and cloth i may sell it :/ looks to nice to sell but hey if another shenmue fan can have one why the heck not! i am not a greedy modeler :) ENJOY

https://cdn.pictub.club/2016/02/06/hNIG.md.jpg
https://cdn.pictub.club/2016/02/06/hx1Z.jpg

Yu Suzuki on his way to Monaco.

https://twitter.com/yu_suzuki_jp/status ... 5367094272

I did a comparison between Shenmue 3 and Shenmue 2 assets. Hope you find it interesting.

Be unique, and draw the classic schoolyard cock, with balls and pube dots. Always good for a laugh.


I dare ya.

Yu Suzuki interview by Journal du Japon
http://www.journaldujapon.com/2016/03/16/interview-yu-suzuki-et-la-saga-shenmue/

Journal Du japon : Hello Mr. Suzuki... The world has finally found out the Shenmue 3 project since the kickstarter launch by Shibuya Productions. How have you met Cédric Biscay and when the idea of that production has born?
Yu Suzuki : To be honest, I don't remember how I met him (laughs). I only remember that he was the person who loved games and mangas.

Has the Shenmue 3 project been initiated by Cédric Biscay or was it already planned?
No, it's not his initiative. I've already the project in mind but Ryan Payton and Mark Cerny are the ones who advised me. They're pretty famous people in the gaming world.

The Shenmue saga is famous for its gameplay innovations. Is still an objective for Shenmue 3?
Yes, I would like to bring new things. I think it's necessary to move the game forward. If I don't, my creator role makes no sense. I always want to renew everything but if I make a game where everything is different, people will be unable to follow. Shenmue 3 will keep its identity while adding new elements.

Martial arts hold an essential part in this saga. What are your references?
In 1992, I made a trip to China for Virtua Fighter 2, I studied martial arts there. I also entered Shaolin monk temples. I wanted to study blocks and the way to deal with an attack. To do so, I visited several Shaolin schools in order to study with them how to do blocks because their specificities didn't really stand out visually.
note : Yu Suzuki stands up to show us how to do a block. With his gestures, he explains us that slow training was useless, and that being said, he had to practice for real to reproduce this in Shenmue II. He even harmed himself several times, he admits with laughs.

Do you plan to introduce other martial arts like Bajiquan in Shenmue 3?
I would like to put Hanken and Heishunken (note : martial arts from the South of China) to do fights on a boat for instance.

In an interview, you said being influenced by cinema rather than games. Your references?
No films especially influenced me but at Shenmue time, there was not really "cinematographic" games yet. What I especially took from the cinema were the staging techniques : the view angles, the way to put the dialogues forward and goes on. To make my speech clearer, at old-time Hollywood, the storyboards were long and very well written while today, they have to pack a film into two hours. That leads to action scenes and scene changes being way too fast. In games, there's no such problem, it's like the old movies (those I prefer!). It affords a better scene and character development, thus you can add depth and taste to your game. About the emotions you can perceive from the character faces, I like to watch Pixar, they're very good about that.

Today a lot of games have also the purpose to be an "interactive movie" very scripted, strengthening the immersion at the cost of player freedom. What's the best balance for you ?
If a story is always telling the same thing, I don't think it will be interesting. If possible, I would like to progress in a "multi-story" with several interesting branches to play because making a game which is not funny and without branching paths, I can do it right now (laughs). But it's more difficult to make a game like this.

I think the next big evolution will come up when the AIs manage to analyse the phases by themselves to create their own dialogues. A lot of new technologies like synthetic voice or voice recognition have appeared now. I said earlier that making a game with multiple paths was difficult but if we continue to get technologies and be able to put them together little by little, all of this can perfectly become possible and affordable.

About new technologies, a lot of games invent new things since Shenmue 2. What's the most significant one for you?
I already worked a lot on new technologies during Shenmue 2 and I will follow this direction. The biggest difference with today is the computing speed. This is beyond compare. Thanks to this, without going into details, I would like to do all the things I was not able to achieve in the past.

About the game localization, do you plan to include the Japanese voices?
We're thinking about it.

About the release date, what could happen to change it? Apparently, the game is planned for the end of 2017, is still the case?
If Shenmue 3 is delayed, a bug will be the cause. As you read the end of 2017 as release date, I will try hard to reach that goal (laughs). However, I think we could make a better game if we can spend more time on it. Currently I have to take charge of the management besides the game, so I have less time to devote to Shenmue. If possible, I would like to devote more time to the direction, so more time to the game and lesser to the staff.

Good luck for the remaining work so!

Credits : Romain Lapi (author), Laurence Gauthier, Kenji Kojima (translator), Olivier Benoit.

Nolife TV interview with Yu Suzuki

https://youtu.be/bGTG4rTTSFU

direct link: http://www.mediafire.com/download/0r6k4pdakly5c97/NoLife+TV+16+3+17+interview+Yu+Suzuki+%28Shenmue+3%29.rar
source: http://noco.tv/emission/31674/nolife/interview/suzuki-yu-shenmue-iii

raw text: It was one of our topics earlier in the week, the MAGIC show was recently taking place in Monaco. Among the many guest artists, we could distinguish Yu Suzuki, the famous creator of the Shenmue franchise including the upcoming third episode, 15 years after the second one.
Over the last 15 years, the Shenmue III rumor spred out one time per year at least. Always around March or April. I responded : "Let me know when it happens". But this time, it's real.
It's an absolute iconic game but Shenmue was considered as a commercial failure since its release on Dreamcast in 1999 despite his reference status for a lot of players around the world. Shenmue is still remembered for having introduced the modern bases of open world and QTE.
At the beginning, I named this game "FREE". I wanted the player to be able to do everything he wants as far as possible. That's the reason I made Shenmue. When I saw a lot of similar games coming out, I realized that it would become an unique genre. That really made me happy. I didn't expect this at all. Furthermore, these games have often big budgets. I was rather surprised. About the QTEs, we made it for the players who don't always have a good skill so they could still immerse themselves in the story. That time, I had the feeling this system would become very common.
After a resounding announce during the last E3 and a crowdfunding campaign with tremendous success, the third episode of this legendary saga is currently under production. While the public exceptations are obviously high, the Yu's objectives remain clear:
For Shenmue III, our goal is to deepen the characters. Shenmue II has widen up the scope of possibilities. Now I want to focus on more specific points. The thematics are still love, courage and friendship but the episode 3 will focus on Shenhua the heroine and deepen every aspect of her character.
If everything goes well, we have to wait until December 2017 to discover the story of Shenhua who succeeds to Ryo Hazuki as main character. But no doubt one and a half year is worth the 15-year wait...

Yu Suzuki interview by ShenmueMaster at Magic 2016 is now available on Youtube:


(French)

Something like this would be much more "classy", to use a Trumpism:

http://i.imgur.com/ewiZv7u.png

Source: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=168114798&postcount=4125

I can see the joined up "n" and "m" in the original logo being hard-to-read for youngsters and newcomers, and a design like this is much more legible without resorting to Papyrus or Bradley Hand ITC.

I accept that's what the logo will be. Regardless of opinion, if that's what Yu feels then who am I to tell him he is wrong. I'm just happy Shenmue 3 will appear on the front of the box. Some people feel the need to begin a revolution every time a decision is made that they disagree with.

That being said, if I was given the option between the 2 logos, of course I would select the original Shenmue font all day long. The new font.... I have different reasons for not liking it. I believe it to be a very lazy option to take. The reason? Well before I left Belfast, I was typing up the questions for the interview and then wanted to design a cover page for the document (I was printing out a hard copy for myself and James). So I was fooling around with font styles on Word and I was shocked to see that the logo is a MS Word font. Not one like it, not one similar to it. It is the actual Bradley Hand ITC font from Word. Here, I just opened up Word in work and did this example in 2 seconds:

https://imgur.com/jwU6aim.jpg

What annoys me about this, is that it's as if they have just flicked through fonts and decided, "Oh, that will do". Even something that stinks of a lazy AJ idea, but we know that's not the case. Either way, I am not getting caught up on it. I have mellowed out since Yu defended the logo. If he feels that it will appeal me to a greater audience then so be it. He is in a better position to have came to that conclusion than I have. He has my complete trust with this game, end of story.


Also thank you to everyone for the kind words about the interview. It was hard to keep it a secret for so long, ever since that Friday night when I received the message from Ziming, followed by David Villeroy. It was an unreal experience, from beginning to end. Thank you James for the fantastic write up.

I can't end this without taking a bit of time to sincerely thank David, and all the guys from ShenmueMaster.fr. I can't stress enough how this really would not have been possible without them. All of this, is a result of them reaching out to us, concepting the idea, organising it all, from press access to interview slot time, helping out with advice and question guidelines, and of course, even taking care of all video and picture capture of the day. I can't say enough how this would not have happened without them, and I still owe them more than a round of Guinness to say thank you.

Very interesting interview. Much appreciation for the guys and all the effort!

On some subjects he touched on regarding Shenmue III:

-Logo: I said it in some other thread before but I have a real issue with the current Logo. It just looks bad. It has no redeeming factor honestly. And in my opinion since there was no change in the logo from Shenmue I to SII besides the colouring I think they should stick to that. Also it still look brilliant.

The first logo we ever saw for Shenmue III was that great one in the kickstarter video and since then somewhere along the lines someone just pasted this ugly papyrus logo and all of a sudden it gets this great attention right now. I don`t get it...

Some members talked about it here, too:
http://www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=49533

-Music: Wow, I would have never thought that they already composed music for all the chapters. Kinda makes sense because as we all saw in the Saturn-Trailer there were scenes in there that also come up way down the line in the saga. That is probably also why the following piece sounds like it is right out of Shenmue II... So good!

https://youtu.be/Qd4MyNqI0fo

-Loading Screen: I personally think even if the hardware-limitation doesn`t make them have to put in the loading screen I think similar to why I don`t want them to change the logo that loading screen is part of the experience we love so much. So I would imagine the screen to be put in but just don`t last as long because it probably wouldn`t have a real purpose.

-Changing clothes: I really didn`t get that. Ryo didn`t change his clothes in Shenmue I even though he went home all the time. That kinda stuff is nothing I`d care about in the slightest. I would love Shenhua to stay in her iconic clothes unless because of the story they need to change. Something like that will probably happen to Ryo because at some point he will wear those green clothes we`ve seen so much. I`m totally ok with that.

Gave it another shot.

More satisfied now... needs some PRO tweaking

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

http://i.imgur.com/6NCVLzx.jpg

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

http://i.imgur.com/GuzAqT8.jpg

And now, as far as I'm concerned...

http://mrwgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Michael-Scott-Closes-The-Door-Awkwardly-On-The-Office.gif

pragma once

#include "GameFramework/HUD.h"
#include "MyHUD.generated.h"

/**
*
*/
UCLASS()
class SHENMUE3_API AMyHUD : public AHUD
{
GENERATED_BODY()

public:
AMyHUD();
virtual void DrawHUD() override;

class USoundWave * Ryo_English_01;
class USoundWave * Ryo_Japanese_01;

int LanguageSwitch = 0; // 0 - English
// 1 - Japanese

bool PlayOnceForTesting = false;

}

// End of .h
// MyHUD.cpp

AMyHUD::AMyHUD()
{

static ConstructorHelpers::FObjectFinder<USoundWave> ryo_eng(TEXT("(FOLDER_DIRECTORY_FILE_HERE"));
Ryo_English_01 = ryo_eng.Object;

static ConstructorHelpers::FObjectFinder<USoundWave> ryo_jap_0(TEXT("(FOLDER_DIRECTORY_FILE_HERE"));
Ryo_Japanese_01 = ryo_jap_0.Object;

}

void AMyHUD::DrawHUD()
{
if(PlayOnceForTesting == false)
{
PlayOnceForTesting = true;

if(LanguageSwitch == 0)
{
UGameplayStatics::PlaySoundAtLocation(GetWorld(), Ryo_English_01, GetActorLocation(), 1.0);
}

else if(LanguageSwitch == 1)
{
UGameplayStatics::PlaySoundAtLocation(GetWorld(), Ryo_Japanese_01, GetActorLocation(), 1.0);
}

}
}



Well, if it's voice acting that is the budget concern then that is a shame. If it is code related then here is some quick UE4 C++ code I made that should solve the problem. :P

Here is a translation of part of a Japanese magazine interview with Yu Suzuki that was published in the May 9 (2016) edition of the Bessatsu Shonen magazine. The article scan was obtained by Ziming.

(Original scans provided by Japanese Shenmue fan @da34ss on Twitter)

In this part, Suzuki talks specifically about Shenmue III, although it is pretty short.

Note: the rest of the article covers topics like Suzuki's background in designing arcade games, the gaming industry in Japan, and how RPG and text adventure games of the time were influences on his design for Shenmue etc. I selected the part below as a priority for translation since it relates most to Shenmue III and the other topics have been discussed in previous talks & interviews.

We Talk With a Gaming Legend!

Shenmue III, the Game the World Eagerly Awaits, is in Development!

http://i.imgur.com/rT9HyAhm.png

Game Creator Yu Suzuki Envisions
the Future for the Game Industry

Yu Suzuki developed the Shenmue series for the home console from 1999 through to 2001, and is a game developer respected by video game fans and game developers the world over. Reporter Ikeda from the MMR* investigation team has carried out this personal interview as Suzuki works with youthful enthusiasm on his latest game, Shenmue III. Suzuki speaks with passion about Shenmue III and the Japan game industry.

* MMR stands for "Magazine Mystery Reportage", a manga series involving investigation of mysteries and the unknown.

Interviewer Profile
⋅ Name: Ikeda
⋅ Reporter for the Weekly Shonen Magazine “Magazine Mystery Reportage”. During the 1980s he wrote under the pen name “Akira Hibiki” as a game journalist.

Growing Anticipation for Shenmue III

What Lies Behind the Veil of Secrecy?

Q: Getting straight to the point, what kind of game will Shenmue III be?
YS: With Shenmue III, I have taken a different approach compared to Shenmue I and II. Normally, a video game is planned around a pre-determined budget, but with Shenmue III money collected through crowd funding is allotted to the development budget, so I designed it so the design could scale flexibly to match. In addition to the open-world gameplay aspect (which I termed "FREE" at the time of the first game), I also prepared new and attractive features that could be incorporated elsewhere. In saying that, the creation of a video game that can be packed with open-world style elements will always be swayed by the development budget. Rather than there being say 10 mini-games to play in a certain town, an even greater number like 20 or 30 is more enjoyable, right? However, creating a game this way has a direct impact on the cost.

http://i.imgur.com/nuy3QURm.png

Q: The development cost of Grand Theft Auto, a game which popularized the open world concept, is said to have been over 10 billion yen (US$100m).
YS: Trying to compete directly with Grand Theft Auto and its vast difference in budget would be like a puny 10kg guy taking on a 100kg sumo wrestler. In which case, the video game fans may as well just play Grand Theft Auto, wouldn’t you say? (laughs)

Q: Trying to compete in terms of quantity would be a losing proposition, wouldn’t it.
YS: The story for the Shenmue series is made up of the 11 chapters that I planned out, with Shenmue in 1999 being Chapter One, and Shenmue II in 2001 being Chapter Two. Actually, my intention for Chapter Three has always been for a scenario that digs down into a single theme. Across the course of the first two games of the series, the player’s degree of freedom increases, their field of exploration widens and the scale of the game grows to having around 450 NPCs. By comparison, although Chapter Three will give the appearance of growing further in scale, it will focus on digging deeply down into one particular matter, just as I planned out almost 20 years ago. And I’m aiming to do so in a way that the fans will enjoy, placing importance on originality.

Q: What do you have in mind when you say “originality”?
YS: For example, when characters are talking to each other, it would be weird for them to stand almost touching if they’re meeting for the first time, right? In real life, they would maintain a certain distance between each other.

Q: Their personal space... That’s true, if someone you haven’t met before stands too close it’s threatening rather than friendly.
YS: Conversely, when you’re with someone with whom you get on well... when you are with your girlfriend, you’ll be closer together, right? So if we introduce a new “intimacy” parameter setting, for example we could set the distance between characters according its value. If the game contains many of these subtle but natural experiments then I think it will make for a much more believable world. It will give the game a more gentle feeling. Right now I’m working on overlaying these kind of subtleties.

Q: It makes me look forward to Shenmue III even more! And finally, actually there’s something I want to ask personally: I’ve heard that when deciding the name of the hero of Virtua Fighter, Akira Yuki, the “Yu” in his surname was taken from your name. If that is the case, how about “Akira”?
YS: Well, I took it from the pen name you yourself used when you were a gaming journalist: Akira Hibiki.

Q: What... really?!
YS: It’s true. Both “Akira” and “Yuki” sound cool, don’t you think? I think the name of the hero of a game should sound cool. Akira Yuki sounds way better than say “Torao Daimoji” (laughs).

Q: To me, Torao Daimoji sounds pretty cool too though. It sounds like the name of a heavy-set guy with chiseled features (laughs).

<End of article>

There's some direct feed footage of the videos shown off at Magic Monaco at about 1:11 here- https://youtu.be/BSZwkuBRB4c?t=70

Better than shaky cellphone footage!

Can we expect the traditional "Shenmue experience "?

Suzuki

: Obviously it's the true sequel to Shenmue 2 so you can expect a lot of detail. For example, one thing we have right now is, if you hit a guy blood sprays out and hits the wall and drips down. It looks really nice.

This bothers me more than it should. I know that real fights can easily get bloody, but I don't like to think of Ryo as violent or cruel. Most/all of his fights are self-defense.

How Complete would you say the game is?

Suzuki

: Oh, we are way early on it. We're currently about 30% complete.

Sounds great to me, considering that they haven't even been at it for a year.

Mr357, SMDZero is just making shit up again ;) He has way, way too much time on his hands :P

If this VGA to HDMI adapter you bought is only an adapter, and not an upscaler, then unfortunately it's not going to fix your 480p problem. It's simply outputting 480p over HDMI instead of VGA.

Now that you're back I imagine you'll want to answer people's questions about your last thread before getting too bogged down in a new one:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=49162

Where do those bloody sailors hang out?!

I will be attending TGS 2016 tomorrow and will be looking for anything shenmue related. Will keep you updated if I see anything interesting