I explained this last night during the stream, but at the time, I wasn't totally sure of myself.

The "MJQ" in MJQ Jazz Bar stands for Modern Jazz Quartet, which was a very popular band in the 50's. Therefore, the full name would be "Modern Jazz Quartet Jazz Bar," which is obviously quite redundant.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d0/6f/22/d06f22ed99a6928e9ba2bbd79a4378a6.jpg

BlueMue uploaded a fantastic day-to-night time-lapse of Dobuita, complete with the "Hey, mister! Wanna play with me?" kid doing his best Slender Man impersonation from 3:48

https://s11.postimg.cc/mrnv69237/survey-may2017-dojo.png

Sega is conducting research for its mobile division with a survey about the franchises players are familiar with and enjoy.

Amongst the many listed options is Shenmue, so regardless of platform, it's another opportunity for fans to keep that name at the front of Sega's mind.

You can take the survey by clicking here .

I just submitted my vote in the poll. It was an easy choice

June 2017 update: RESULTS

The poll results are out now with Shenmue II ranking 6th and Shenmue ranking 2nd! Read the write-up here with bonus messages of thanks from the voice talent for Nozomi & Ryo from the Japanese dub, as well as Yu Suzuki.

http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/06/results-of-famitsu-poll-action.html


Original post:

Help give the Shenmue series some extra publicity in this new poll being run by Famitsu in Japan for best Action-Adventure game.

http://i.imgur.com/xCSxZv5l.jpg

It's very straight-forward and will only take a minute - just a matter of giving up to 3 game titles.

[Poll link now expired]

Looks like Shenmue and Shenmue II did fairly well...

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

And Bluemue said it again lol.

'mue II is still, far and away, the greatest game and achievement in gaming, ever, IMO; for a game from 2001, there is a microscopic amount of things that could be improved upon...

...

... and nothing's coming to me off the top of my head, at the moment.

- Arguably the best graphics ever in a game, at the time of release
- Among the best (and most iconic, in many circles) soundtracks ever
- Improvements on everything that was lacking the in the first title (better fight system, wait times, etc.)

I can go on. The whole experience from, "Hong Kong, February, 1986," to the end, is the best in gaming history.

Exposition is fantastic, as more and more of the story is revealed, Xiuying is one of the best video game characters ever conceptualised and I still maintain to this day, that the Yellowhead Building is the best hour (and a bit!) in video game history: it's a wild ride and even my fiancée enjoyed it immensely.

Like in the first game, Five Stars Corp is my favourite part of Shenmue II: the story unfolds significantly and you realise that there is an exponential amount of information and story that you haven't even scratched the surface of: that to me, is excitement AMD enthrallment to the 'nth degree.

And then it all calms down and is amazing, in the form of Guilin: more story is revealed, more wonderful music, you learn a lot about Ryo that you didn't know before and the Phoenix Mirror <3<3<3.

I dare you to find a better work of art from the video game industry, dare you!

Over 10 years it took, but my collection is finally.... Finally complete. The unboxing I did live on episode 14 of the Dojos Shenmue 2 playthrough, which is on our YouTube channel.

https://68.media.tumblr.com/6bb36678b7e5b4efd84527a1ee782859/tumblr_oram1fq9fZ1vilcqco3_500.jpg

https://68.media.tumblr.com/605a113ea86951913d66b68708e6c3b0/tumblr_oram1fq9fZ1vilcqco2_250.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/PeterC2005/fpBZJq9_zpshovs0qau.jpg




GameFAQ Online Guide - HERE






Microsoft Word Download - Shenmue II 100% COMPLETE NOTEBOOK GUIDE.doc






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



STORY COMPLETION
|----------|----------|----------|----------|


MONEY INFORMATION COMPLETION
|----------|----------|----------|



TOTAL COMPLETION - 100%

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------






~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INTRODUCTION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many have tried, all have failed. Since its release, the Shenmue community has STILL to get a full 100% complete notebook guide for Shenmue II. All we have had so far are failed attempts, disappearing acts and a very incomplete notebook with no guide how to complete the entries by Julian McKenzie, which was attempted over 10 years ago. I cannot believe that no one has followed through with completing this project and over the past months I've been itching for a new Shenmue Project to work on. I chatted with Yama briefly, trying to come up with ideas, and whilst some are really good and may be seen in the future, with my technical limitations as well as my time limitations, this seemed fitting for this point in time. I've been researching all attempts gone before for the past month now, and also chatting to some people to gather resources to make sure the necessary ground work has been done before even firing up the game. To ensure the finished document will be absolutely verified, i attained the binary files of the notebook entries, both to aid me fill the notebook, and also to make sure nothing is missing or out of place. So, with that out of the way, lets start the path to completing this!




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
100% COMPLETION?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


OK, lets get something out of the way to begin with. Firstly i have never been 100% sure on this but since starting this project i have gotten my answer. The question i have always wondered is:

"Can the Shenmue II notebook be 100% filled?".

Well, it depends what way you look at it. If you mean a notebook with every page filled and no missing entries in your story, then YES it can be 100% filled. You can get entries which skip and block other entries if you are just casually playing through the story-mode, but if you follow my guide you will not miss an entry. However, in terms of EVERY notebook entry being activated then the answer is NO, it cannot be 100% completed. The simple reason for that is because there are instances where there is more than one way to get to a story point. I have called these instances, "VARIABLES", and they occur around 4 or 5 times throughout the game. So, if this is the case, then how can i call this a 100% COMPLETE WALKTHROUGH? Well, that's because i have spent hours and hours of taking notes, and testing out every variable to get their total entries. It may not seem like a big consumption of time that's needed for them, but it is. From failing each button in a QTE sequence to see where it leads, passing a QTE sequence, visiting locations in order to get a complete set of entries, meeting requirements before an event, and not having met those requirments...Its a hugely painstaking process.

Here, take a look:

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/PeterC2005/Mobile%20Uploads/20150522_011528_zpshiuvkxiy.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/PeterC2005/Mobile%20Uploads/20150522_011603_zpsp5prj050.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j290/PeterC2005/Mobile%20Uploads/20150522_011659_zpscmggyo5o_edit_1432175892191_zpsvpvvk4pz_edit_1432175932260_zpsnzri1uzz.jpg

Not only do i have scrap pages of notes, i have an enlarged replica diary to capture every detail i can. Any time there has been a variable in the storyline, ive had to get the scrap paper out and begin the flow charts. What leads to where, what happens if you do this, what happens in this order or that order, what happens if you have spoken to this person or not.... you get the picture. From the scrap notes, then i have fully written out notes on each variable and what to do if you want to take one path or the other. The notebook entries that appear are usually the same size in terms of their entries to their counterpart variable. What i mean by that, if you take one route that covers 4 lines on one page, then the other will also take up the same page with 4 lines filled. It doesnt affect the overall storyline, but you do get to see some different cutscenes, which may be of interest to some of you who havent experienced all that Shenmue II has to offer.
Another reason that its a painstaking task is because there is one event ive encountered so far where there is a variable within a variable!! So the possibilities that i had to figure out were multiplied. I completed all of those tonight so thankfully thats out of the way. Thats the main piece of information i wanted to address from the beginning, and as the project goes on, i will be adding more notes to this section.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHAT TYPE OF GUIDE WILL THIS BE?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


This is NOT a complete Shenmue II guide. There are plenty of those out there. There will be no walkthroughs to unlock Fagmeis birthday, or how to get up to the 3rd floor of the Pine Arcade etc. This is a no BS, straight to the point completion of the notebook. Where to go, who to speak to, what to do, and here is the entry. This will be very much like Force Vectors original Shenmue notebook walkthrough which you can check out HERE , but i should point out that i will not name EVERY person who will reveal a notebook entry like he did. There are just far too many NCPs in Shenmue II, and to be honest, you are just grateful to find the right person to speak to in the first place. As i mentioned above, when it comes to a variable, i will outline each option, and what to do when you have chosen the path you want to take.
Some entries may appear in the notebook ahead of where you are, but thats not something to worry about. You just move onto the next entry and follow its instruction unless i will have told you otherwise.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COMPLETION TIMEFRAME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


With the foundations laid with the prep work, things have been going smoothly as they can for 2 weeks. I work 2 jobs so its been mostly a few hours late at night and documenting everything in my physical notebook. The pace was picked up on Monday just gone, when i had a minor operation and now have a full 2 weeks off both jobs to recover. That means bored days sitting on the sofa day and night, not even allowed to leave the house since it rains constantly in Ireland and i cant get my dressings wet. That was another reason the timing of the project was perfect. This will stop me going crazy! I am cleared next Wednesday and head to a weekend festival next weekend (29th-31st May) so my aim is to have the project completed, tested and typed up before then. I am putting in 16 hour shifts in on this, and i hope it will come through in time. I cam currently playing 3 save files on the Dreamcast version of Shenmue II, and once i have reached 100%, i will be doing a full speed test run on the Xbox version to make sure everything checks out. I also want to check and make sure the entries are unlocked on a person/location based action, and not amounts of negative comments received beforehand etc. Just basic QA to make sure everything checks out ok on a separate walkthrough, but also as well as on the Xbox.

-------------------------------------------------------------


And thats it folks! I appreciate any comments, and feel free to discuss anything you have wondered about Shenmue II because i feel like i have seen everything so far, that the game has to offer. Its awesomeness was already at high levels, but with doing this project and seeing how much effort that the development team have put into this game has made it reach favourite game ever levels. I am off to get a few hours sleep before diving back into Kowloon in the morning :P

Hey Switch, have you ever looked at this picture that's hanging on the wall at Nagai Industries?
I wonder what it says, if it's even related to that place.

http://i.imgur.com/zpcbAhy.jpg
It's the kanji for "kiwami" 極 which means extremity / extreme.

You might have seen it somewhere else recently:
http://i.imgur.com/m2rqN0gm.png

Yes, the interview with Eric Kelso is now out! Eric really has passion for the Shenmue series, and is so generous with his time for the community. Thanks to everyone on the Dojo & elsewhere who contributed great questions.

http://i.imgur.com/XpnYl3jm.jpg

Link to Full Interview:

http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/06/eric-kelso-answers-community-questions.html

Also please enjoy this audio compilation of a selection of the questions from the interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXw3iEc4PzQ

Seeing Chai munch down on a Hong Kong ticket this stream inspired me to create this monstrosity:

Hi there people, I´m Sebastian Riera, aka SebasRD82 in the social media, and I´m working on a Shenmue manga. Just opened a Patreon to help make this possible. Maybe some of you may be interested, or not. Just in case, I´m sharing the info ;)
This is the Patreon link: https://patreon.com/user?u=695795&utm

Here you have some of the manga pages:

http://i.imgur.com/wzCbjM5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/t9GHLPp.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VG40VR9.jpg

The two motorcycle riding thugs who hang out in Dobuita have different seating positions at the arcade depending on whether you're playing the Japanese or US/EU version of the game.

Japanese



US/EU

Update! I've managed to make a small hack of the 1ST_READ.BIN file to skip the dial-up check on the Passport disc.

Now the various Passport disc screens can be accessed from the main menu, without needing to simulate dial-up.

Most of the screens display at least some images and other data, although there's obviously no online data displayed.

I'll put a post soon on the Phantom River Stone blog with the details.

Before hack:
http://i.imgur.com/FkN6sMsm.png

After hack:
http://i.imgur.com/XfcmYBjm.png http://i.imgur.com/YPVknIum.png

Wooo! Just pledged another $160 to this bad boy!

It looks like Ryo is fighting that muscly man in at the center of the bridge, inside the walled section. http://i.imgur.com/KDyTJ6K.jpg
https://my.mixtape.moe/rohwlt.gif
In addition to the walls, the door ways have the same arches, and the cobblestone floor is the same

As the tittle says.

I've been toying exporting the 3D model I use for my renders into Unreal engine 4 testing some animation and learning how the engine works,

It is a very Basic test, but it shows how passport Ryo would look in a modern engine, I did it just for fun, and prove the the model can actually look quite good when thrown in to a modern engine, it lacks facial riggin or animation ( that reminds me of something ... xD)

I had some problem importing materials to UE4, so you will see some jankiness in some speculars but whatever.
http://i.imgur.com/7iK3vZS.png

http://i.imgur.com/bJdQHks.png
http://i.imgur.com/oYqAIuh.png


Somehow it ended up looking like that Mario 128 tech demo for the Nintendo Gamecube. :rotflmao:

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

http://i.imgur.com/du1V08o.png

We did it!

Did anyone find some higher resolution versions of those gorgeous new images?

Found them
http://shenmue.link/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/S3_Ctsn_0831_01.jpg
http://shenmue.link/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/S3_Ctsn_0831_02.jpg
http://shenmue.link/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/S3_Ctsn_0831_03.jpg

https://68.media.tumblr.com/c76cd8e09ccbe5c284a877f39c982a54/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco1_400.jpg

At the Gamescom 2017 event, we were very lucky to have a quick interview with Shenmue 3 director Yu Suzuki. Unfortunately, over the 3 days available with Suzuki-san, it was very hard to secure an interview with the team due to the general media already having pre-booked all of the time slots available with Suzuki-san through their new publishing partner, Koch Media. But thanks to a few people behind the scenes (especially the community's own Shenmue Ambassador Ali Novin!), we were able to be squeezed in for some quick interviews at the end of the final day, and got to experience the Deep Silver media area! (and rub shoulders with other developers in the area. 5 points to who can guess the developer in the chequed shirt.) Possibly a happy accident, but quite hilarious that Shenmue 3 was allocated Wareho...errr room number .08!

https://68.media.tumblr.com/e10f0bec5012af5650278ed6617f3ea1/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco2_500.jpg

For this interview, we are unbelievably thankful, as both Suzuki-san and Harry-san were understandably extremely tired, and in light of that, our time with them was very short. Despite having upwards of 20+ questions prepared, i only had time to ask a very short number so apologies in advance that i did not get an opportunity to ask a lot of gameplay based questions. I didnt get to that stage, and before i was out of the "introductory" questions stage, it was time to wrap up the interview! Either way, its always an honour to be in the company of Suzuki-san, and we are so grateful for his time at Gamescom. Enjoy :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SD. So hello Suzuki-san. Welcome to Germany! Have you been to Germany before? Have you been to Gamescom before?

YS. It’s my first Gamescom, but however, for Germany, I don’t remember… 2 or 3… around 3 times. I have a feeling the number grows with each interview (laughs)! It’s around 5 times… I think. Although, just before when you asked the question, I said twice! But I think 5 times is the right number.

SD. So we know you are in Cologne for Shenmue, but I know you have a love for art and architecture. Do you have any plans to do any sight-seeing whilst you are here?

YS. On the day we arrived, or maybe the day after, I went to see the Dom (Cathedral). It’s splendid! I also walked around the Old Town. Yes, it was amazing. It was more impressive than the Tokyo Tower (laughs). I am joking! But it was amazing. I could say amazing over and over.


https://68.media.tumblr.com/d9b32515d8c7f5ffadb78bf509d9ff0c/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco3_500.jpg

SD. We are at Gamescom for Shenmue 3. But I have to ask, why Gamescom? We just had E3, and Gamescom is a little bit after, so did it just feel right?

YS. The reason for the timing was that I wanted to make the announcement in conjunction with the forming of the contract with Deep Silver. The agreement, to put it simply, was not ready in time for E3.

SD. Ok, so I just want to bring it back a bit, to the Kickstarter update where you announced that you had to delay the game. How hard was that decision, and were you worried about disappointing the backers?

YS. Hmmm, yes of course. I was most concerned about the backers. At the time, we had already made progress in our partnership talks with Deep Silver. So for us, being able to aim for something above what had been the plan with the original Kickstarter, it would have been extremely difficult to implement an open world with the initial plan we had at the time of the Kickstarter. So I continued to look for a partner after that. I really wanted to create an open world somehow. So I kept searching, and eventually we were able to form a partnership with Deep Silver which enabled us to upwardly revise the plan.
So at that time, I took into account what we would be able to achieve with Deep Silver. I felt positive we would be able to achieve a “scaled-up” Shenmue 3. If conditions improved after forming a partnership with Deep Silver, we would be able to expand our plans. That would bring along with it more tasks to complete, and I hoped to announce the good news to everyone along with the schedule change. But at that point the contract with Deep Silver hasn’t been finalized, so I wasn’t able to mention it. That was the situation.

https://68.media.tumblr.com/02ed8d4d4c19b506b54b42ccf5da6441/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco4_500.jpg

SD. In the same video, you mentioned “new technologies, possibilities and new expressions” for Shenmue 3. Could you tell us more about those, and have they changed what you originally thought Shenmue 3 would be like?

YS. We have a complete set of basic shaders, although these need to be tuned for Shenmue. But having a full set of basic shaders is one of its (Unreal 4 Engine) advantages. Also it’s an engine designed for games, so there are all sorts of libraries for 3D games. So when you’re at the prototype/building stage, it’s very quick and efficient. That’s another benefit.
With Shenmue 1 and 2, my program forms the base, so I understand all parts of the program. However this time, the innermost working are a “black box” so I can’t obtain a full understanding of every part, and that can sometimes be a problem. From an overall perspective, it’s a really marvellous engine, especially when it’s used by multiple people. For example, we take the case of 30 or 40 people, or more, are developing the game simultaneously. It can handle management and so on, and do things like analysing the workload, rendering load, CPU usage and various others. Product management has also been made easier too, so overall, I think it’s a superb engine.


SD. I’m glad you mentioned shaders because I remember a conversation we once had about how important the colours of Shenmue were important to you. How difficult has it been to achieve the “look” and “colour” of Shenmue with Unreal 4?

YS. The basic attractive colours in Unreal 4 are formed with High Dynamic Range, and there is a wide range of colours from light to dark which can produce images where you can really feel the light and shade. This was the key deciding factor for my selection of the Unreal Engine. For me, the light and the shade are the most important part. For Shenmue, there are 2 things which are necessary to add. The next stage is there has to be a feeling of humidity. Shenmue has to have a slightly “wet” feeling to it. A damp kind of feeling in the air. I don’t mean actual rain, but the air should have a kind of moist feeling to it.
It’s difficult to achieve this with the standard Unreal 4 shaders, so I think we will have to write our own. The Shenmue teaser we have shown has achieved that look of “wetness” I think. We have now reached the second step. We are not yet at the third stage, but that will be images that you can smell. For example, in China they may chop up a pig like this, and then, without storing it in a refrigerator, sell it under the hot sun. It has that kind of raw stink, and that’s something I think we managed to achieve in Shenmue 2. Shenmue 3 will also be going onto this stage next. A “smell shader”, or a “stinky shader”! (laughs).

https://68.media.tumblr.com/9d51b582086d5bd4cb64552253c54f48/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco5_400.jpg

SD. I have a lot of questions to ask, but I know time is very short, so I will ask my final question. With being president of your own company, you have hired new staff members to work on Shenmue 3. How does it feel to pass on all those years of knowledge and experience to young new developers? Have you had any difficulties managing a team like this?

YS. Well not all of our staff are young, there is someone who is 50 years old… all ages really. But management is the most difficult part. They have entered the company going through interviews, and it’s hard to get to know someone properly at the interview stage. So after that process it turns out there are some people who speak extremely little, for example, so yes it can be pretty difficult. Various strategies are needed in order for each person’s performance level to reach 100%, and that’s the part that’s most difficult. I would prefer to lose myself in the creative work, but quite a bit of time is used up on management.

SD. Suzuki-san, thank you.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


...and in the blink of an eye, it was all over! Apologies again that we could not have had more time to ask more questions, but there maybe more inverviews coming out from the Shenmue Online Community in the near future with lots more questions so stay tuned for that! ;-)

But before we left, as always, we had to surprise Suzuki-san with a gift! Thanks to a fantastic idea from 500k owner Aaron Barstow, we decided to try and somehow put Suzuki-san into one of his favourite bands, Van Halen. So working together, we came up with the idea of having an artist design an image of the band members but also insert Yu Suzuki in amongst them! After contacting one of our contributors to the Instagram page, @r_wuying, he understood the concept, and very quickly came though with an awesome piece of work!

https://68.media.tumblr.com/0909930dd8da47c5b51aaf4011880926/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco6_400.jpg

Of course, we couldnt give Suzuki-san an image on a PC, so we had it framed and brought it to Germany to present it to him from all of the Shenmue Community, for which he was extremely surprised and thankful (as always!)

https://68.media.tumblr.com/2e40913861ed15c10f8431df35f79231/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco7_500.jpg

https://68.media.tumblr.com/5d4165cea5becd3cdfd3c367fa97797f/tumblr_ovog4lS9W61vilcqco1_400.jpg

My Gamescom experience was one i will always remember, and i have to say thank you to so many people including David and Kenji from Shenmue Master, Aaron and James from 500K/Team Yu, Silvia from 500k, Chao from the community and of course Ali Novin for all his hard work behind the scenes to make the interview happen. On a personal note, it was fantastic to meet long time Dojo members YS, Snoopbob, B-Ren and Bluemue at the event too!! Its a shame we couldnt have all spent more time together! Also, of course how could I forget (which I did :oops: ) the amazing Switch for being on point with translating duties as always!

But with that, another event has ended, and the long journey continues! See you all again soon :D

https://68.media.tumblr.com/b234f70ac010c1b6abbdc429c3014c6e/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco8_500.jpg

https://ibb.co/mTFqPF

I got this email today that there's a Shenmue sale happening for only the next 24hrs here at Insert Coin , with the bomber jacket costing £20 and the t-shirts costing £8! Some of the sizes for the t-shirts are unavailable but all jacket sizes are available atm.

Do you know what's the best thing is? I only just found out I have £20+ worth of credit (from all the previous shenmue jackets I bought) in insert coin points and only had to pay P&P! I didn't even know they had a point system lol it's made my day!

I remember deciding to not buy the bomber jacket when it came out because I had already bought the other two and I instead decided to commit what I spend onswards should go towards supporting Sipione's Documentary campaign + Shenmue 3 stuff now that it's officially a reality (unlike when purchasing the prior 2 jackets, which I believe was prior to the news of shenmue 3 so it felt like I had to purchase them for recognition/supporting the brand in sega's eye). Thank goodness Shenmue is very much alive, well and under construction!

As someone mentioned earlier though, I probably won't purchase any additional copies of shenmue 3 via the slacker backer and instead go all out when shen3 comes out and if shenHD is a thing.

The latest post on Phantom River Stone looks into the difference in the naming of certain characters between the first and second Shenmue games when playing the English versions, and how these relate to the native ordering in Japan & China.

https://i.imgur.com/DrOwE3pl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wfgJtU0l.jpg

Read the analysis here:

http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/09/zhu-yuan-da-or-yuanda-zhu-characters.html

New post: The Black Car
I always thought it was some sort of Mercedes since I saw a documentary about Japanese mobsters and the bosses all favoured high class Mercedes models. I can't find any exact replica but a few come pretty close in design.

1980 Mercedes-Benz 300D
https://assets.hemmings.com/uimage/54066938-770-0@2X.jpg?rev=1

1980 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL
http://www.imcdb.org/i607669.jpg

1980 Mercedes W123 AMG
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_suiHYNm_lag/TK98a1pM8EI/AAAAAAAACXQ/xlkSKoMrYrc/s1600/08Exterior.jpg

Four new posts!

https://i.imgur.com/AAehVDUs.jpg Evolution of the Shenmue Undub Part 2: The Kogami Release

https://i.imgur.com/38BKFq9s.png 2 New Additions to the Shenmue Community | Shenmue Blog & Shenmue Lounge

https://i.imgur.com/lOlXGgis.png Cédric Biscay in Tokyo | Photo

https://i.imgur.com/VY5IsLls.png Evolution of the Shenmue Undub Part 3: Translating the Last 3%

In celebration of Shenmue III coming out next year, I'll be starting my catch up playthrough of both Shenmue I and Shenmue II. However, this time I'll only be playing an in-game day each day, no more, no less. If time skips forward for Ryo, then I am not allowed to play Shenmue until the realtime day and ingame day sync up again. Anyone wanting to join me is welcome--although I understand why it may not be super appealing of a playthrough.

Since today is the day that Iwao Hazuki died, I'll be starting today. (although there's not much to play today haha)

I'll also be keeping a personal journal entry of everything that happens in game.

"live for one's convictions, die for one's convictions"

BlueMue recently uploaded the fourth entry in his "Random Dialogue" series. Nice couple of tidbits I'd never encountered before

I've always wanted an HD version of the "Shenmue II Special Trailer" that Sega released at some point in the middle of 2001. I remember back then IGN usually had 640x480 versions of most of the trailers, but those have been lost to time. The only remaining copy that I can find is the low res-version on Disc 4 when you place it in a PC. This project was to remaster the trailer in HD.

Version 1 completed trailer:
https://youtu.be/oRhlxgtr1ps

My primary video source has been Mr357's Shenmue 2 movie, but there are several clips that are either from the wrong time of day, different in the final game (the lighthouse scene in Beverly Hills Wharf for example), or just aren't part of the 9 hours that Mr357 recorded. (7pm night transitions, Fengmei scene in the diner, etc.) Also, the font used in the trailer doesn't appear to be publicly available. A font search engine found me one that's close, but as you can see some letters are slightly different.

There are also some interesting differences to be noted in the scenes that do match. For example, the scene with Yuan and Duck Race Man in the basement of the warehouse, one of the random henchmen is different in the trailer. In some cases characters blink at different times.

This project has given me new appreciation for the time and effort required to produce a trailer, and it make sense now how time consuming it would've been for YSnet to produce a Shenmue 3 trailer for MAGIC this year. Putting together what you've seen so far took over 8 hours, and it's less than 2 minutes long. There are several scenes where things are chopped together not only in small bits, but out of order that they appear in the game. I wouldn't be surprised if the original version of this trailer took someone a few weeks to make.

I'm hoping to have a finished "draft" of the base trailer using the clips I have already have finished in a few weeks, then I can go back and replace some of the stuff that's inaccurate. I might also consider using something like SVP to interpolate the source footage to 60fps, but my current video editor actually only does 30. (There's a newer version that does 60, I just haven't had a reason to buy it yet.) I wanted to post the WIP here in case anyone's interested in helping to improve the accuracy at all. I can replace the font for example, if someone either finds the original or wants to recreate the existing text as vectors. Or if someone is interested in recording more 1080p source footage, it would save me time. Either way, I plan to finish this since it's over half way done.

What do you think?

Hello everyone,

I'm doing a remake of Ryo's room, everything is done from scratch, I don't reuse models and textures of original game, I used models only to respect the proportions

Do not hesitate to tell me what you think or if you have suggestions to improve my work.

Work in Progress ! ;-)

Render 04/17/2018:

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

https://i.imgur.com/RtdNlG7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Pu7jk78.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/x6hM2uL.jpg

Nice to see you still show Ryo's Room some love. Great work on the models and textures, only the lighting seems off.
How did you recreate the texture for the carpet or where did you find it, when it isn't taken from the game?

I redraw the carpet. :mrgreen:

https://i.imgur.com/LEjW9C5.jpg

And I add some effect on it. ;-)

70 person battle leaderboards will get intense.

I’m sorry but I’m still unsure as to what we’ll be getting with the re-release as far as the cosmetic improvements of the games goes. I don’t mean to be a pain but could someone please clarify that what we’ll be getting will be something like the Shenmue videos that kid nocon made and uploaded on YouTube.

That’s what I’m hoping for as I’m sure many of you are. But I don’t think that’s what we’ll be getting going on the trailer that sega have released.
It's not a remake so cosmetic improvements won't be anything massive. You can expect 16:9 aspect ratio and HD resolution as well as possibly some new lighting and post-processing. That trailer is work in process so things will definitely improve further before release.

However, I think we should look at the bigger picture. Whilst we may not be getting super improved 'remake quality' graphics from this remaster, what we are getting is an easy and convenient way for people to access Shenmue as well as the preservation of the first two games. These are two of the best features of any possible Shenmue remaster I'd say.

Dojo : "SEGA, while your executives are still sleeping in bed, moderators are working hard on these forums, carefully curating even the thinnest Shenmue HD rumors one by one. So, how can you waste them like that?"

SEGA : "Okaaayyy... I'll publish them." *ewww yuck*

Dojo : Ho ho ho. Goood. That's my multinational video game corporation. *smiles proudly*

"Hey, don't use that move!"
- Perform the full Arm Break Fire on Fuku-san

I posted my own Achievements/Trophies list for the first game a few years back, so I may as well paste it here with a few spur-of-the-moment updates :)

Story-related:

"THAT DRIVER WAS INSANE" - Speak to Yamagashi-san and gain access to Dobuita
"BAR FIGHT" - Throw down in the Heartbeats Bar
"SHOW ME YOUR TATS" - Find out about the tattoo parlour
"THE WRONG ONE" - Find Charlie
"DISC 2?!" - Catch the bus to the harbour
"THE PLOT THICKENS" - Meet Master Chen
"THINK IT MIGHT BE CURSED?" - Find the Phoenix Mirror
"1... 2... 3... 39,634 YEN!" - Receive some help from Fuku-san
"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!" - Chase down Jimmy
"I GOT YOU A JOB, MAN!" - Get a job
"MY LUNCH!" - Deal with the Mad Angels at lunchtime
"THANK YOU, RYO" - Rescue Mark and learn about his missing brother
"LONG TIME NO SEE!" - Teach Charlie another lesson
"LONG ZHA"- Find out about the Mad Angels' deal
"IT'S T-T-TERRY!" - Find out about the leader of the Mad Angels
"I WON'T LET THIS GO..." - Rescue Nozomi
"WHO'S MAD NOW?" - Emerge victorious from the 70-man battle
"HE SHALL APPEAR FROM A FAR EASTERN LAND..." - Set sail for Hong Kong

Optional:

"...BUT MY EYESIGHT IS BAD, SO..." - Help the old lady find the Yamamoto residence
"I'M SO THIRSTY!" - Buy the delivery boy a drink
"HEY, HAZUKI!" - Take part in all Free Battles with Enoki
"IT'S SO WARM..." - Buy the homeless man a coffee
"SO SOLID" - Make it to Old Warehouse No. 8 without being spotted by the guards
"URGHCADE" - Beat Chai in You Arcade
"MEOW!" - Name the kitten
"STUFFED PUSSY" - Feed the kitten one of every possible food item
"TRAVELLER'S TAIL" - Return the kitten to the shrine
"ANCIENT HISTORY" - Learn the legends of the Phoenix Mirror
"WOULD YOU LIKE TO PRACTICE SOME MORE?" - Learn all moves from instructors
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" - Head through Yokosuka on New Year's Day
"I WISH TIME... WOULD JUST STAND STILL..." - Meet Nozomi in Sakuragaoka Park
"FRIENDZONED" - Confess your true feelings to a certain someone... almost...

Miscellaneous:

"ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU BOUGHT MERCHANDISE" - Won 1st prize in any raffle
"PRETTY DAMN GOOD FOR A ROOKIE!" - Place 1st in the forklift race
"SPRING CLEANING" - Collect all items in the Hazuki Residence
"MEMORIES" - View all flashbacks in the Hazuki Residence
"MASTERED!" - Master all default moves
"YOU'VE DONE THIS BEFORE, HAVEN'T YOU?" - Master a move on the first attempt
"PAY2WIN" - Acquire all move scrolls
"SO VERY SWEATY" - Spend a total of one real-time hour training your moves
"HEY, I KNOW THIS..." - Buy fifty capsule toys
"LOOK AT THE TIME!" - Stay up past curfew
"MERRY CHRISTMAS! HO, HO, HO!" - Speak to Santa
"WOW, MAN, YOU'RE PRETTY GOOD!" - Beat the high score in an arcade game
"AH, GOOD!" - Buy yourself a drink
"THIS ISN'T WHAT I ORDERED!" - Bag yourself a winning can

It's been a few weeks since the last update, and now we have the HUGE news of the Shenmue I & II announcement so what better time than to update with the latest articles!

https://i.imgur.com/588g6HMs.png Erhu Concert by Ryuji Iuchi & Hiroko Suzuki

https://i.imgur.com/q3bD58ts.png A Survey of Red TVs in Shenmue | Guest Post

https://i.imgur.com/pdnBWxps.png Diorama of the You Arcade: Interview with its Creator

https://i.imgur.com/vmDZhRJs.png New Series: Learning Japanese through Shenmue

https://i.imgur.com/1ssI0r0s.png Shenmue 1 Start of Game Flowchart | Early Design Document Translation

https://i.imgur.com/yRTsL4Js.png SEGA Fes 2018 English Schedule & Information | 14-15 April 2018

https://i.imgur.com/ADUfMyJs.png "HUGE announcement" to be made at SEGA FES

https://i.imgur.com/LcAlMCys.png It's Really Happening! Shenmue I & II Coming to Modern Platforms in 2018

https://i.imgur.com/5eoHZRXs.png Masaya Matsukaze Prepares to Reprise Role as Ryo Hazuki

A great read BlueMue. (You should post your blog links on Twitter too. We've got our fingers hovering over the retweet button. )

Alright, just registered to bring my input on that. BlueMue is 100% right. Stop spreading false information about the aspect ratio. Yes, the remaster is "stretched" because this is HOW the game is supposed to look. Back then, the game was developped with CRT in mind and was meant to be stretched. What evidences do I have ? Pretty simple.
Here's an official screenshot of Shenmue from SEGA:
http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2018/16/5/1524237875-forklift.jpg
As you can see, it's at 640x480 but with black bars. Which according to people here, is how the game is supposed to be display. It's true, it's the native resolution of the game. BUT pay attention to the watch. It's not round:
http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2018/16/5/1524236067-corrected2.jpg
As you can see, the watch on the HUD is 69*78 pixels.
But if you take the picture inside the black bars and stretch it at 640*480 like the remaster does...
http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2018/16/5/1524236068-corrected3.jpg
TADA ! It's now perfectly round at 78*78 pixels.

You don't believe me yet ? Well, take a look at the game on Dreamcast when captured with a capture device, so displaying the game how the Dreamcast intend to display it and not how the Dreamcast process it...
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YbCRlCMonJs/V0MItsL40KI/AAAAAAAAQqo/j4RNPGOCMgsK8spdoJVduq9l5YhsuTxRACLcB/s1600/shenmue%2Bsnow.jpg
As you can see, round again. And the proportion of Ryo match.

More simple, here's a screen capture from the Xbox version of Shenmue II, so without any dreamcast internal resolution shenanigans...
http://shenmuedb.com/wp-content/gallery/shenmue-ii/183554-shenmue2_001_large.jpg
The watch is round again and Ryo has the same body proportions. And the watch is again 78*78 pixels.

Now here's the remaster screenshot:
http://shenmue1-2.sega.jp/img/ss/shenmue03.jpg

As you can see, Ryo's body match. I even made a gif to prove it:
http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/2018/16/5/1524235572-comparison.gif

So please, don't spread false information that may mislead d3t ltd's work. I seen bad stuff said about them already, so please don't spread misinformation.

As per Gameblog's Romain, who noticed Shenmue III also now had a retail listing on Amazon FR; https://twitter.com/RomainMahut/status/988419535014367233

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dbetx48WAAI_7FG.jpg

Pretty sure the white on black placeholder cover has appeared before, but what appears to be new is the provisional PEGI rating.

In order to get a provisional rating, the publisher has to pay a fee, fill out a questionnaire about the game's content, and allow PEGI to play a portion of the game and review video sequences. From what I can gather, this happens when the publisher is moving forwards with the retail process (pre-orders, etc) and looking to get games certified by platform holders.

Not that it means a whole lot, but I've gone back through a few games Deep Silver have distributed and saw they had a provisional rating within 6-8 months of release.

Safe to say the wheels are turning in the background, though.

I don't care that they've already been leaked or whatever...

Shenmue

Disc 1: Complete (SI) - 25G
No need to open your disc tray.

Disc 2: Complete (SI) - 25G
Almost there.

Disc 3: Complete (SI) - 25G
The journey begins.

Message from beyond the grave - 5G
Find Iwao's letter to Ryo.

Knowledge is power - 5G
Learn a new move.

Thailors! - 10G
Now you understand the "in-joke"!

What do cows drink? - 10G
No, they don't drink milk. Neither does Ryo.

"Especially since you bought merchandise!" - 20G
Win a prize in the raffle.

Punchbag - 10G
Spar with Fuku-san three times.

Goalkeeper - 20G
Catch the football.

Defender - 10G
Save somebody in peril. [Nozomi, kid, Mark, etc.]

Striker - 20G
Prove your goalscoring skills. [Hit Charlie in the face with the football.]

We'll call her... - 5G
Name the kitten.

YOU are a champion! - 50G
Defeat Chai at the arcade.

Call me Senna - 20G
Come first in a forklift race.

Burning the midnight oil - 5G
Train after finishing work.

Sayonara Dobuita - 20G
Say goodbye to three people.

Setting a good example - 10G
Never break your curfew.

Collector - 20G
Complete a toy collection.

Father's Son - 50G
Master 50% of moves.

Detective Hazuki - 50G
Obtain 90% of notebook entries (excludes hints and tips)

QTE Champion - 50G
Get (X) points on QTE Title.

You're pathetic! - 5G
Get 0 points on QTE Title.

Employee of the Month - 10G
Exceed the crate shifting quota every working day.

Reflexes of a cat - 20G
Successfully execute 100 QTE prompts.


Shenmue II

Disc 1: Complete (SII) - 25G
Stop staring.

Disc 2: Complete (SII) - 25G
On the road to Kowloon.

Disc 3: Complete (SII) - 25G
Take a breather.

Disc 4: Complete (SII) - 25G
The story WILL go on.

GON - 10G
Every day, without neglect, keep training. [Learn Wude from Jianmin]

DAN - 10G
Be brave and stay calm to make the right decision. [Learn Wude from Zhangyu]

JIE - 10G
Judge yourself without conceit and do not show moves thoughtlessly. [Learn Wude from Zongquan]

YI - 10G
To act without hesitation, to do what is right. [Save Shenhua.]

Surely there's a faster way? - 5G
Work a shift moving crates.

You look like... - 5G
Meet Wang's brother.

Come on Eileen! - 50G
Defeat Eileen.

Happy Birthday! - 50G
Get Fangmei a birthday gift.

Can't win 'em all... - 5G
The story required you to lose that fight.

The Great Escape - 15G
Break free from imprisonment.

Punisher - 50G
Get from the bottom to the top of the Ghost Hall Building without failing a QTE or saving in between.

Detective Hazuki II - 50G
Listen to all cassette tape recordings.

No Mayweathers - 20G
Defeat the three elite street fighters.

"I make my own luck" - 10G
Learn Ren's secret.

Don't call it a comeback! - 20G
Defeat Dou Niu.

Great listener - 20G
Don't skip Shenhua dialgoue.

You got lucky - 5G
Win a game of Lucky Hit!

When the fun stops STOP - 5G
Lose at gambling.

N-Ice! - 5G
Successfully execute a Freeze QTE.

Collector II - 20G
Complete another toy collection.

Like the back of my hand - 25G
Complete the game without purchasing a map.

The ue4 model for the hazuki dojo remake looks like Ryo. The latest images of Shenmue 3's Ryo just doesn't. I mean he hardly looks Japanese. If they weren't gonna use the hazuki dojo remake model, well that's fine, but why not use it as a starting point?

I guess we can keep reposting this image.


https://abload.de/img/shen3ryocompositebvs8c.jpg

It was the lighting but even in the shot that Jibby posted, he still looks great. You just need to ask two questions when it comes to the character model of Ryo. 1) How badass/cool does he look (which may sound weird, but it fits with the rest of Ryo's features. E.g. the spiky hair, his clothing)? 2) Does he look Ryo-like?

Now when I see the Shenmue III Ryo, it does not give the impression that he is a fighter/martial artist. To be honest, he looks more like a tourist (with Shenhua being his tour guide!).
But it has the same problem even in different lighting conditions, that part was exactly in my post.

See:

http://archive.videogamesdaily.com/media/shenmueonline/01.jpg

Same scrunchface as in Jibby's shot. Really highlights how unusually narrow his face is too, now that it comes to it.

I don't really get the rest of your criteria. It's a bit funny calling him a tourist when he basically is and one of the core pillars of the story is Ryo exploring a foreign land. Same with the fighter part, Ryo isn't meant to be intimidating and that's 99% of why so many street punks think they can take him.

--------------

Anyway, sort of back on topic, I had a shot working on the image Jibby posted above (trying to prove the theory a few tweaks really tie the model together):

https://abload.de/img/ryocontour2v8rbi.gif

Apart from the minor proportional changes, I'm starting to think that little bit of contouring on Ryo's cheek makes a nice difference, and helps break up that cheekbone/jaw space that makes his head look a little too big for his face.

Hazuki00 wrote: I'm curious if they'll remake the scene where we enter in the cave and place the phoenix mirror in its place to make it playable or only as a flashback

It could be Ryo retrieving the mirror from the device, rather than placing it.