Hmm.

Couple things as I play more and get into the meat of the game.

Dungeon design - linear but interesting gimmicks. Nothing notable so far. Considering Atlus' penchant for excellent dungeon design, soemthing to look at as the game progresses.

Freedom - complete backstep from P3. In P3 you have multiple cycles through the day. While in 5 you are stuck with really one choice per day. This seems good at first because it makes things more tense. But then the next day you decide to go to the dungeon. In P3 you could prep. After school you have the choice of hanging out with an s link or going to a club or working a job or studying in the library. Right now in P5 I have items I want to sell for sweet cash to build up my compendium. Except I can't because by choosing "let's go to the dungeon today" it automatically goes to the rooftop and I can't do anything else that day. I can't prep and make choices. Combined with the fact that you can only do the dungeon after school and not in the evening like in P3/4 makes the game feels small and limited.

In P3 I made a literal calendar, in real life, for how I wanted to go through a week in that game. I can't do that in P5 and for this reason it's not as addictive. Less sim periods means less choice. The result is what appears to be a smaller, far more guided game. Right now with 12 days left until my deadline the only real choice is to beat the dungeon. Since there's only one real choice, it doesn't feel like a choice. This completely ruins the Persona 3 sim game structure because what makes it so fun is the balance between day (school) and night (dark hour). If you always have to choose between dungeoning and school, there is no balance and if there is no balance then the game loses its unique game structure and gameplay loop. Awful design.

Battles - very boring so far for a Megaten vet. So far the only silver lining is that sp healing items feel limited so I can't just beat the entire dungeon in one day.

Story and characters are great but the gameplay...I just don't know. Still fun, but it just feel limited to me. What were they thinking making you choose between doing the dungeon and studying/doing a part time job/s links? Bad design choice.

I fucking LOVE Dragon Quest.

I will never forgive game informed for spoiling KOTOR for me in some random ass magazine. Assholes.

Vanquish owns.

Making a new 16 bit era Sonic, a sequel to Generations, allowing Shenmue III to be made and giving Ys net use of materials, putting Bayonetta on Steam;etc are all pretty damn good decisions. Sometimes you guys give Sega far more flack than they really deserve. Sega wouldn't put Shenmue HD on just steam. Come on now.

I'm sure we will get an update. They tend to record the rev room stuff in bulk.

I think you guys are insane.

Tank controls are not "immersive" and they will doom Shenmue III because you wanted to feel like how it was to play Shenmue when you were 16.

It is completely selfish to demand tank controls of this game and you will doom the project.

The only tank controls I could see working is Resident Evil 4/5 style.


no no... NO!
the camera should stick behind Ryo all the fucking time except for zoom into objects just like it was before.
and they should stick with Tank control not 360 degree movement crap.


I think this would be a recipe for getting savaged in reviews. Keep tank controls as an option but have an updated control scheme as default. There's a reason why they're called "tank" controls and not "natural human motion" controls. This is supposed to be a game for millions of people, not just the players from the Dreamcast era. It should be possible to cater to both.
i don't care about the reviewers and what they might think is necessary for modern controls.
i don't agree with anyone saying the "Tank" control is outdated! it's a design choice that could fit/not fit with the game associated with.
there is a reason why the previous games controlled that way (body movement & camera movement) and if it's not for the lack of the left analog on the Dreamcast controller it would be absolutely a perfect controls for the series.
everything about the movement and camera makes you feel like you are Ryo you are in his shoes and you are observing your surroundings. being able to move the camera around Ryo and in front of his face rather than controlling his head will make you lose a lot of this sensation.
and i am completely against your point regarding the "natural human motion" too
for example take a look at this video at (09:23) basically most of the games (if not all of them) using this so called modern controls the character would act like this when you rotate him.
https://youtu.be/xkN9oru-qCQ?t=563
how can anyone consider this as a natural human motion and Ryo's motion is not! Ryo's motions are more natural than most of the games i played in my entire life! you feel his weight and feel his body parts moving around accurately.

Doesn't matter what critics think? What about new players? You are dooming this game with this talk. Honestly, I've never, in my 11 years as a Shenmue fan, ever felt that the controls were a part of why I love Shenmue 1 and II. It's probably last on that theoretical list. Most of your arguments are arguing in favor of specific animations and aesthetic and not controls. You can still have right stick act as camera and still function as Ryo's head. You can even do more things with the right stick compared to R trigger. With Right stick you can move the stick up and down and make it function like Ryo's head. But you're thinking not about replicating the experience but replicating the design of the old games - essentially choosing nostalgia over function, which is the last thing we need. Furthermore, having a feeling of always being in Ryo's shadow and has absolutely nothing to do with tank controls but the position of the camera and Ryo's movement speed, which is slow and relaxed, even when sprinting. Even then, games like Gears of War have the camera placed so that it feels like you're in the characters perspective while not having tank controls. Your premise is flawed.

Honestly, I find the claim that tank controls are immersive and realistic funny. Like people turn around like robots when they want to turn around.

I'm still not understanding the slot house's appeal.
Personally, it's just a nice bit of extra texture to the world. Do I visit the slot houses often in Shenmue/Shenmue II? Nah, but it's nice that they're there.

Like I said in my earlier post, a beat up slot machine in the warehouse arcade in III would be nice; if only because it would add to the lived-in feel.

I agree with that.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ysnet/shenmue-3/posts/1872994

Greetings Everyone,

The intrigue, adventure and drama of the Shenmue story is a hallmark of the series which has ignited our imaginations and burns with anticipation in our hearts. In this month’s update, Yu-san offers a short discourse on plot structurization, thematic touchstones and story pacing. So, take your seats, class is about to start!

https://youtu.be/7-fLEb2h3DQ


Thank you again everyone for your enduring support throughout! See you next month!

Come onnnnnn Shenmue!

All reasonable rebuttals.

You'd hardly post them if you didn't think so. :lol:

I'm not going to tell anyone what they should appreciate most about the games, I'm only talking about objective facts, and it's an objective fact that the mysticism became more overt as the story progressed. You don't have to like it, but to be in any way surprised or disappointed at the thought of the Sword of Seven Stars playing a role in Shenmue 3, which directly continues from Shenmue 2's ending featuring the Sword of Seven Stars, means at some point you were kidding yourself about the direction in which this series was already heading.

Depends.

If it ends with Ryo throwing hadoukens then no, that was never hinted as to where it was heading.

The sword is just a sword. Why would anyone have a problem with the sword itself?

In any case, your argument isn't really fair. Shenmue IV could descend into a complete fantasy story and you could still defend it with "this was hinted at the beginning." That doesn't necessarily mean you can't critique, and given Shenmue's high penchant for being highly realistic, makes your argument even more lopsided.

Essentially, Shenmue can be anything you want. It had a highly realistic world but also hints behind the curtain of mystical forces. Saying that people should accept the mysticism at face value isn't really helpful because Shenmue means different things to different people.

Personally, I'm in it for the pathos and Ryo coming to terms with the death of his father. I'm in it for the adventure and intrigue and mystery. The last thing I'm in it for is Ryo shooting a hadouken.

Yu Suzuki could justify Ryo morphing into a literal tiger and just because it was hinted doesn't mean it'd be actually good .

It was my idea to send Yu a fruit basket. I also floated the idea of sending wine but Yu seems to have the alcohol covered.

In order to send the basket we need to contact someone who works on the project. I was thinking we could ask Alimn if we could send the team to say thanks for the hard work. Who can get into contact with Alimn?

Hazuki00 wrote: The easiest way wouldn't be contact Cedric and tell him our idea?

Well I also want to surprise and gift Cedric too. The man is half the reason Shenmue III even exists right now.

We've been talking about this off and on. We've had the idea of thanking the team for their hard work. This includes Shibuya Productions and YS Net. I think in the final or so year of development, it would really give a boost of morale for the team. They truly deserved to be thanked in a real, authentic manner that is deserving of the Shenmue fanbase.

This thread is for ideas. ShenGCH had the idea of a massive card that is signed by various Shenmue fans around the world. I had the idea of giving the team a fruit basket.

Any idea would be nice. We are currently coordinating teaming up with Shenmue 500k and possibly Team Yu to see what we can get off the ground because the team deserves support and thanks, and if the industry won't do it, like always we'll carry this by ourselves.

I don't care about a delay so long as it's communicated effectively and they can show some footage to help people actually want to wait for the delay. I worry they'll delay it without showing anything to make non-fans give a crap.

Like flowers saying "From Nozomi's Flower shop, by the fans of Shenmue Dojo"

This is really cute. By the way, the name is Aida Florist. I like the idea of a fruit basket, flowers, some beer for the whole team (Spag's can verify how many they have on the team), and a card.

I would like to do the same for Shibuya Productions, who has backed Shenmue III at a significant risk - there would be no Shenmue III without them. And, although people haven't been eye to eye with them, Awesome Japan as well.

Guys I am too hyped and my tits cannot contain this excitement

Hold on to your butts.

I like that. We could make a concession due to expense.

Ideally I'd like to:

- buy the fruit basket AND the flowers from there
- card addressed to BOTH Ys Net and Awesome Japan
- wine but not from there

We should pool our money together. I want to make a gofundme so we can make this really be a Shenmue fan effort. It'll be easier to pool our money too.

How about,"To the Shenmue III team and Awesome Japan, thank you for all of your effort, love, and everything you do. We recognize the team is working hard and sacrificing much to bring us their best. You have our full support and love. From your friends at Shenmue Dojo"?

We still need to do something nice for Cedric. We would not be getting this game if not for Shibuya and they have done this at a great risk. Do they have offices in Japan or just in France? If they have offices in Japan, we can add them to the card. We can ask Cedric when the next time he'll be in Japan to check in on YS Net will be and have it shipped during that time frame.

I never said anything about Shenmue being at E3. My post is related to the status of the IP, not Shenmue's appearance at E3. It could be at E3, it might not be at E3. At this point, it doesn't matter. What I'm most convinced of is that there is movement within the series IP which is not related to III.

Hey everyone, just checking in an... holy mother-chedding smokes! I was only gone for 24hrs! :p

But a few things come to mind (warning: heavy speculation): How would this CEO know of this sweet intel? Let's think of his connections shall we: he ports games, therefore may know of other independent port-houses in the UK. If we look at that list of those untitled E3 games at SEGA's booth from a few weeks ago, one stood out from SEGA Europe. It was listed as 'adventure' (or 'rpg', doing this off the top of my head) for PS4, Xbox One and PC. These platforms in particular stood out as sega europe rarely produces anything outside of of PC and strategy/simulation games.

May be a stretch for some, but I think those two can be linked. Which potentially means this 'port' or 'remaster' (depending on what they're actually doing) is happening in the UK or Europe by one and/or a combination of these studios:

- Blitworks (Jet Set Radio)
- Modern Dreams Games UK (House of the Dead Overkill)
- That other UK dev that ported Valkyria Chronicles and possibly Bayonetta/Vanquish to PC (forgotten their name; can't find their website)

I think he would have likely have known about it from them. Anyone noticed how a lot of these publications/rumour sources (RICE digital, that gameblog.fr journalist, this CEO from Just add water) are all within proximity of the UK? I'm starting to think it's less likely that bluepoint's project is in relation to Shenmue HD.

Sorry if this seems like useless fodder, it's just the first thing that came to my mind hearing all this, as the picture gets clearer and the dots connect. As someone pointed out earlier, it could also very much be a case of my cognitive bias especially with everything that's out there xD so let's remain cautious as always. As Shenhua says: I'll await whilst praying...

http://cdn.interestingengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Number-23-Jim-Carrey.jpg

I think it's highly likely to be Blit. Jet Set Radio HD was fantastic and they've expressed a lot of interest doing an HD version of Shenmue. I think most of us wanted Blit anyways, if Bluepoint couldn't make it Blit was always considered the number 1 or 2 pick to do it. I know for me at least, I always wanted Blit to work on it.

No absolutely. Inside I am wanting to scream out loud, both with what I know publically and privately. But until I see something in my TV screen, I have disciplined my head to think that nothing will be shown. That way, I can handle my emotions better and despite feeling a wide range of negative emotions inside if there is another no show, I can up on a brave face, and handle it with dignity and respect for YSNET. That's what I am asking. PSX was a learning experience so let's learn from it.

It's also good to hear you have changed also. :nice!:

We must have strength, discipline, and patience.

Group hug.

http://i.imgur.com/rkTVnhe.gif

shredingskin wrote: Fruit is pretty damn expensive in japan.

Fruit in itself is considered a luxury item in Japan.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 05105.html

Combined with the wine and it's the perfect gift.

By modern standards, how likely would a Yakuza Kiwami situation be? The games were ahead of their time at the time, but would a remake of 1 and 2 be remotely possible? Someone like Kidnocon recreated the environments with modern tech pretty easily, at least for 1.

Hmmm. So a remaster would be the best thing to get. Not that I'm complaining.

The Guilin section of Shenmue II is my favorite section of a game ever made. It's so beautiful in its contrast to the rest of the series with its sights AND sounds. The fateful meeting, the ambient music, the conversations, the easy-going tone of it, the mystery of the stone cave. I just love it so much. Watching the Game Informer video of it has been a big reminder of that. Anyone else feel similarly?

Shenmue II is easily my favorite game of all time. When I list my favorite game I say Shenmue I+II or the Shenmue series. But really, the only reason I is there is because it's tied to II and makes II even better. I consider 1 to be garnish and II to be the actual meal. Not to say I isn't great, because it is. But my passion and love for I doesn't nearly touch my love for II. And yet they wouldn't work with the other. Such a beautiful complimentary duo of games. With III, I believe I'll finally be able say Shenmue trilogy as my favorite game. :)

Since it seems like Shenmue 3 will start at the beginning of the Guilin section of Shenmue 2, are you guys gonna rush through it to find out as quickly as possible what happens after the cave or will you take your time to take in all of the sights remade in modern graphics?

The second one EASILY. The Shenhua house video made me tear up because I was so happy. It was like seeing an old friend again, except this time they've grown up. I am going to fully explore Shenhua's house again, every nook and cranny!

There's no guarantee they're even remaking the sections from Shenmue II. Yu said they'll start the game sometime after the ending of II. I think you are doing yourself a disservice as disc 4 is an amazing preview for III, and there's no possible way or reason the team would remake the entire disc just for III. Where did you get that they're remaking the stuff from Shenmue II? From the rock jumping QTE and the fireflies cutscene? It seems to me those were made for conceptual basis rather being something that'll be in the final product. There's a high chance you will have skipped the best preview for Shenmue III, go into Shenmue III and not have it. Then you'll be mad you didn't do it.

I like how you make the x's thicker each new day as if you're growing more and more impatient as each day goes by. Expecting the last day to have the entire calendar x'd out at this point.

You also missed an opportunity to draw a Dreamcast logo as the target there.

I don't think it's a contest. Without Guilin Shenmue would be dead. If the game ended at Kowloon, who literally gives a shit what happens next. It's just a game where dude conquered and doesn't look inside himself, at all, and then rides into the sunset in the search for treasure. Pretty much every mystery in the series is grounded in Guilin. Who is Shenhua? What are the big stone mirrors for? What about the sword? What's with the cave? What's with Shenhua's powers? Ryo doing tai chi? A hint of him looking inside of himself and reconsidering his revenge? Who made camp before them, Lan Di? What about the Shenmie tree? It must have a significant role. Why does Ryo feel like he knows it? Are they siblings? Are they lovers? Is Shenhua a mystical being that has been reincarnated? Or is she hundreds of years old?

These mysteries and more, from three to four hours of one gameplay section.

No Guilin, no Shenmue III. Without Guilin who gives a fuck. It's just a generic - although fantastic - game where the hero wins at the end. Yawn.

Shenmue Dojo would have been dead by at least 2010 if Guilin weren't in II. What's there to talk about? Ryo beating Dou Niu? Without Guilin, if you beat disc 3 and it was the end of the game you'd probably think,"ah, I know how it ends. Ryo will beat Lan Di in the end, who cares." But Guilin changes the map, the stakes, and resets the board.

Without Guilin I don't see the fanbase give nearly as much of a shit about Shenmue. It'd have its fans and everything but it wouldn't have a fanbase grasping for something new as much as does now. It would have been a dead series like Suikoden or something.

I think most atheist arguments are poor.

It's a simple burden of proof, and let me say this straight, most of the time the real reason is "because I want to". At a personality level both the believe of god and the lack of it, gives the person the sense of "knowing", and with that notion is easier to travel the path of living. Some people find the lack of a god comforting in the meaning that we are what we are and we get what we get. Some religious people also feel the same, but think of a non interventionist god that is so interventionist that is basically the same if it didn't exist. And some people find the believe in a god comforting.

For me is very simple to be atheist, simply because "god" is such a bullshit term that encompass "everything" and means nothing (and needs to be painstaking-timeconsuming endeavor to address in individual matters).

We are fucking thrown into the world that is full of danger, and aware of our mortality, different people cope with it by different means.


Oh ok, yeah I was more thinking in the context of the big ol image of "imagine no religion" in my face scrolling down the page.

I do think that no religious societies can exist, look at countries, you follow the rules (law) not because there's a god, but because it's tacitally agreed that they're in place to benefit you while not benefitting any/everybody else. Even if you don't believe that the state can/will guarantee that, there are institutions set in place to enforce those rules, and you can take a gamble on it.

Saying burden of proof is all you need is an example of the lack of humanization in many atheist circles. They just see theists as a target to show their intellectual superiority. In reality, leaving it to burden of proof and not creating a foundational layer for your worldview is intellectually dishonest as it is lazy.

But you're right. The burden of proof does lay upon us. This doesn't excuse bad, emotional arguments - from either side, I may add. But the burden of proof doesn't mean you've "won" the argument and even that you're right. It just makes the debate more lop-sided.

But it's funny you mention the burden of proof when humans have a natural capacity to search and seek God. Even atheists do this. I'm not even talking about this from a religious perspective. It was mentioned earlier how many atheists still have views that clash with their lack of belief. It's almost like we as a species are driven to seek this entity - whatever it is.

It's also funny you mention how we're thrown in to a harsh world. This is in no way an argument against religion, especially since it remains the core of so many religions, especially Christianity. And no, I disagree about our morals. We tend to know what is moral and betray our own morality. We know it's wrong to hate, but it's easy to hate. Humanity is completely inconsistent regarding its morals, and most of that cruelty you mentioned is man-made: war, rape, abuse, poverty. We could solve world hunger and poverty right now if we wanted to, but we won't. Because man is broken and betrays his universal morality. This is the core of Christianity.

As for your response to Unholy Bible, I'm not sure what good you think a society without religion would do. Only 7% of the worlds wars are started due to religion. It would be naive, especially after the 20th century, to think that getting rid of religion would solve anything, especially since that very century showed how powerful and good a force religion is and can be (civil rights movement for instance). Today's social movements are predicated upon a foundation of secularism and yet they treat humanity as nothing more than labels. You're a snowflake if you're a Trump supporter; you're a racist/misogynist/whatever if you're not. In all of this, we have forgotten the Golden Rule and this truly shows what a secular society can achieve: a society where everyone is all about getting theirs and nothing more. I personally find the shallowness of today's society to be endemic to its secularism; religion stands as the one alternative.

It's still a bad example because that's just Pacman character art. In actual Pacman games he still looks like the one on the left. And as said, the one on the right has been represented in Pacman character art for 30 years.

Here's how Pacman looks in a modern Pacman game.

https://www.technobuffalo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/pacman-ce-2-03.jpg

I'm not seeing it. Pacman is Pacman. He says the character for Pacman has changed but within gameplay it hasn't at all.

Even then, the comparison doesn't apply since Shenmue wasn't made with pixel art and we have examples both in this thread and via Kid NoCon's HD work that Ryo translates to modern graphics.

Essentially, the point makes no sense within the context of Shenmue and the character model of Ryo. The conclusion that old game characters don't translate as technology grows seems to be reaching at best especially for Shenmue.

I really liked the latest episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8hp91ItrnU

Dev Room Progress Report Vol. 3
Posted by Ys Net (Creator)
Greetings Everyone,

In this month’s update we present to you our third development report!
Who’s this new face…? Please check it out!


Thank you for watching and we hope you enjoyed it!
We have also been receiving questions from our backers regarding our plans to participate in upcoming game shows. While our schedule has yet to be finalized, we will be devoting June to game development and as a result, will unfortunately not be participating in any game shows. On the other hand, we look forward to bringing you our monthly updates and hope you do too!
Thank you!
From the Shenmue III Team


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ysnet/shenmue-3/posts/1895449

I had a problem with it looking cartoony as well, but then I realized that there's no lighting or detail at all on the model. Also, characters like the yakuza boss and Goro also looked somewhat cartoony despite the realistic aesthetic.

That blue text is making me blind. Make it stop, please.

Again, I'm fine with this model. But if they make it entirely like a stylized manga like Spaghetti is proposing...

I'm not expecting to reach December 2017 now. But I hope we get to see some thing before then. Unfortunate, but I can deal.

Mine is the best.

I'd have to be dead before I don't play this game.

Lurking for now, but I have not seen a single piece of this thread have anything remotely worth moderating? Why is what ChiefNeo and Darksniper says considered to be hostile and not Dojo worthy but Peter is allowed to call pieces of the conversation bullshit? I thought we were supposed to be talking about this topic without emotion, but Peter is allowed to call it bullshit. Pardon me for asking, but I'm really confused on what the line is?

So then your rationale as a mod is to make the situation worse by calling posts in an already tense thread bullshit? Under your own rules you should get that 30 day ban. You have made the situation worse by threatening bans without justification when you're just as emotional as the people you threaten. If you're going to make threats and ultimatums state the base line. If you're going to moderate then don't call posts bullshit without stating what you find to be bullshit. You talk about how people aren't comprehending people's posts, but you are doing an awful job explaining your posts, making them easy to be misinterpreted. As a staff member you can and should do better.

Himuro,
it's surprising, yet inspiring, to see your love for Guilin. Here are the main reasons you said you love it:

It's so beautiful in its contrast to the rest of the series with its sights AND sounds. The fateful meeting, the ambient music, the conversations, the easy-going tone of it, the mystery of the stone cave.

Urban vs rural; the physical vs mystical; patience vs impatience.

The music is probably the most staying part for me.
The hawk scene still gives me chills when I see it.

Pretty much every mystery in the series is grounded in Guilin.

Which of those reasons (or another) is the cherry-on-top of your love of Guilin?
Did you love Guilin that much 10 years ago?
Have you visited Guilin IRL?

I think the urban vs rural and material vs immaterial is my favorite. It really changed my perspective on how I viewed things, such as rural life which I considered inferior to my suburban living when I played it. It literally changed my world view and made me hope for something more in nature and in this world. I remember one part where they're talking about cows and how in Japan, they eat cows. I thought that was natural because I was American and hey, we eat burgers. But Shenhua talked about how they couldn't eat cows because otherwise they'd have nothing to fertilize or help till their land. It truly showed the disparity between lifestyles Ryo (me as a stand in) had in contrast to Shenhua. And while it seems obvious, it really opened the mind of a naive 20 year old city kid's mind to a different way of living. I learned that there's some things that the city doesn't and can't offer. It has inspired me to want to go camping out in nature and just look at the stars some time. I've been planning on doing that once a year, actually.

Yes I have felt the same exact way about Guilin since I first played it in 2006.

I have not visited Guilin but it is one of my goals to do so someday.

Why is it surprising I love Guilin so much? Almost all of my Shenmue related avatars are Shenhua doing something rural in Guilin and it's deliberate - I am in love with the area so much and I cannot wait to explore it in III.