Shenmue Dojo

Looking good. Closer to how I imagined the character models to look. Like a real evolution of the Dreamcast aesthetics.

Definitely the best looking model yet. Kickstarter comments don't realise that outsourcing has been a thing in game development for decades and decades. They won't be the only development team Shenmue 3 will be outsourced to. ResetEra forums brought along some of the nuts people from GAF along with it who don't realise the budget isn't astronomical and actually looks good for a mid tier game made on an indie budget (environments are stunning so far).

This is one of the best updates yet for me. Haters gonna hate.

pretty wise choice, the new character looks better than most of what we have seen (it's the same girl from the end of the last trailer right ? I already said she looked awesome), the guys seem very focused and with a lot of experience (and hopefully they're cheap/cost effective).

I'm still not on board with the "cartoony" look the game has going on for the characters, but I'm sure I'll grow fonder of it (and I'll try to stop saying this because it's beating a dead horse).

Don't know what people can be complaining about, but whatever.

EDIT: looked at it again, the last girl from the face trailer wasn't her, still looked good though.

EDIT2: just put a hat and a ponytail and you have Shenhua (it looks better than the new one IMO).

This is great news. Their resume shows an extensive line of visually pleasing titles(Bloodborne, etc.)

And let's be honest--outside of the largest developers out there, outsourcing work has been going on for many years.

One of the latest examples was CyberConnect 2 for the FFVIIR, which didn't end well but that's beside the point. The point is it exists on even the largest of games and budgets.

And there was logically no way that Yu and team could be devoted to intricately crafting 200 NPCs or more with the expanded budget without help and STILL make the late 2018 release, which I'm still on the fence about.

Kingdom Come will hit next year after over four years in development and it began as a Kickstarter as well. I think 2019 may be most reasonable for a fully fleshed Shenmue III and I'm okay with that.

shredingskin wrote: pretty wise choice, the new character looks better than most of what we have seen (it's the same girl from the end of the last trailer right ? I already said she looked awesome), the guys seem very focused and with a lot of experience (and hopefully they're cheap/cost effective).

I'm still not on board with the "cartoony" look the game has going on for the characters, but I'm sure I'll grow fonder of it (and I'll try to stop saying this because it's beating a dead horse).

Don't know what people can be complaining about, but whatever.

EDIT: looked at it again, the last girl from the face trailer wasn't her, still looked good though.

This is the best character model of Shenhua and it can be described as being "cartoony". I think it's exactly the direction that Shenmue should take.

It's about the skin/plastic feel, but I really don't want to keep ranting about it.

shredingskin wrote: It's about the skin/plastic feel, but I really don't want to keep ranting about it.

Ok. But if we can get models like the Shenhua one I posted, I believe that would be the best path. Rather than going for hyper realism which isn't really a unique direction to take, Shenmue should go for its own interesting and unique look to set it apart from the rest of the crowd. Though I'm definitely curious as to how a hyper realistic Ryo would look like! But I still believe that the colourful and vibrant path is the one to take.

Everyone would love a similar shenhua/ryo like the promotional images. Ryo is getting a little closer, Shenhua seems like going backwards.

shredingskin wrote: Everyone would love a similar shenhua/ryo like the promotional trailers. Ryo is getting a little closer, Shenhua seems like going backwards.

Absolutely. I'm actually curious as to why they're starting from scratch. Those promo models are perfect and can't get any better really! Still, I'm hoping that they have them in mind for their final look. The current Shenhua I would say looks cute, but nothing at all like how she should.

I think most people will flip the fuck out when we see the actual game in movement.

Fuck, this picture still gives me chills

This is great news, but not really news- this is how games are made. Do you want Yu Suzuki sitting at a desk detailing characters for the next 10 years? No, you get a team of experienced pros to do the work, While the boss directs. This doesn't mean quality will suffer- its just hiring muscle, because they're at the point where work is ready to get done.
I think the scary part is the term "design"- it could sound like control of our beloved Shenmue is being handed to non-fans who are going to butcher it. ("Oh no, they're in India!" Look up your favorite games, movies- except for the smallest of projects, you'll see outsourcing. Also note they're in Seattle and I forget where else... also see their history- Nier, Metal Gear Solid V Phantom Pain, GTAV... no one complaining those games were ruined by outsourcing)
Giving control of Shenmue characters to strangers isn't what's happening. Do you think Yu Suzuki personally built every shoelace, detail, hair, even face of characters in Shenmue 1 & 2? No, but he built the world and characters right? The same process is happening here.
The compromises compared to 1 & 2 are in the resources like budget and in-house team- this is true. But working for us is technology being advanced, and the way I see it, community! The fan support and input IS making Shenmue 3 a living thing, a "more-than-just-a-game" experience. *fanboying intensifies*

Suzuki and team are making Shenmue 3, a good team has been hired, a good character model has been shown. Criticism I've seen about the project looks like people misunderstanding game development (along with some previous updates being kinda sloppy/not making it clear what phase of dev was going on/easy to misinterpret)

Can't wait to play 3 and support 4

WildManofBorneo wrote: The fact that a 3rd party company has been brought in just now signals to me two things:

A) There has been a recent injection of cashflow, affording the extra manpower.
B) This game isn't seeing the light of day before 2019.

They saw that most people weren't happy with the quality of the character models and decided to invest in it after the deep silver partnership.

killthesagabeforeitkillsu wrote:

WildManofBorneo wrote: The fact that a 3rd party company has been brought in just now signals to me two things:

A) There has been a recent injection of cashflow, affording the extra manpower.
B) This game isn't seeing the light of day before 2019.

They saw that most people weren't happy with the quality of the character models and decided to invest in it after the deep silver partnership.

And this is what separates Yu Suzuki and his team from modern developers. They genuinely want to create the best game possible for the fans and they listen to their feedback. Unlike today, where most of them are only concerned with how much money they can make so the quality of the game isn't even their main priority, it's all about the money.

shredingskin wrote: I think most people will flip the fuck out when we see the actual game in movement.

Fuck, this picture still gives me chills

Instant hype everytime! As soon as I boot up Shenmue III and I see the the words "Shenmue III" on the title screen, I'm going to get very emotional. Combined with the (hopefully) returning iconic menu theme, that's going to be a day I will never, ever forget.