Shenmue Dojo

Just thought I'd make a separate thread in case the info got buried in the "No Shenmue III until E3 2017!!!" topic, but also to take a positive look ahead at the near future.

Basically politely* asking the Shenmue III support team via the Kickstarter yielded these answers R.E the December update:

Thank you very much for your candor. We will certainly be doing our best to keep everyone interested and in faith.

There should be something in terms of screen shots coming up this month.

Please keep your hopes up! This is a long process, but please trust Yu-san and everyone else involved has Shenmue's best interests at heart!

All our best,
Joel & the Shenmue III Team

We are glad to give all we can.

There should be an update before Christmas, likely within two weeks time.

Thank you again for your support and feedback.

Kindest Regards,
Joel & the Shenmue III Team

*politely is emphasised because that's probably the attitude you should go with if you're going to message them too, but I'm sure you all know that. You're all a well behaved bunch... mostly.

Personally, I think the update will drop on, or before December 22nd, as the 23rd is a public holiday in Japan.

FAQ:

"Can we trust this information?"

IMO, yeah. I know we've gotten into a mess recently over who to listen to about the project, but Joel and the rest of the support team are a lot closer to the project day-in day-out than Cedric, and their job is effectively communications, including planning and helping determine what goes into KS updates.

"Will it just be screens?"

Until we hear otherwise from a strong source, then just assume screens. I expect some written information with the screens, but whether it'll be worthwhile is unknown.

"Will the screens have the new character models?"

Nobody knows. That may not be the priority for the development right now, but the environments should be quite a bit further along than when we saw them in February.

UPDATE:

If you read down the thread a little you'll see a tease from Yu with a blown out photo on a phone screen seemingly showing Shenhua face-on. Considering the last time they officially showed Shenhua or Ryo they had them literally facing away from the camera, I think a face-on shot implies it could be the new model.

Similarly, Shenhua's outfit looks different from E3 2015 to me. The scarf (snood... thing) looks smaller and exposes more of the shoulder, and generally the outfit looks less baggy the best I can tell. If we could see the sleeve colour we'd know for sure if it's a new model or not, but the colours are too blown out.

Personally? I think we might be seeing new models.

"When's the US $10K Backer dinner?"

Soon. Imminent, even. Yu Suzuki is in the US and has already dropped in on Gio Corsi from Sony. It should happen over the weekend and put Yu back in Japan by mid-week. Nobody really knows who the dinner backers are, and nobody is expecting any information to leak; so sit back and put it out of your mind for now if possible.

With Suzuki having visited Gio Corsi today it seems the wheels may be turning for another marketing collaboration of sorts too.

It's certainly possible. I think we'll see a repeat of MAGIC where PlayStation's Twitter account releases the new screens alongside the update, and perhaps something goes up on their blog.

Gio and Yu probably talked strategy, but we shouldn't take them meeting right now as any great indicator for the future.

I wish I had followed your advice on being polite.

I threatened and insulted them and they gave me an alpha of the game, basically spoiled it all.

sand4fish wrote: This is all good, just please remember to keep your expectations in check, and I hope we all don't fall into the same old arguments again. Being positive for a community that carries the Shenmue name on its front is the same as showing confidence on this project to future backers and the rest of the world. It's simply more than fanboyism, and a lot at stake might be riding on this sentiment as a group.

Mm. Exactly.

We should probably expect an update on a similar scale to February's for MAGIC. I mean the actual KS update, which notably didn't feature the videos that came out of the event itself. That seems like a reasonable expectation.

That said... maybe it's time for a little bit of speculation?

I think we're going to see either Choubu or Baisha, or both. I wouldn't be disappointed to see an improved Bailu again, though. I thought it looked way improved from January/February when we got that single new screen from the recruitment leaflet in early October.

For example:

Ooooo shit.



https://twitter.com/NovinWorksPlus/status/807444287499681792

EDIT:

Did some botched CSI-ing to get a closer look.



I'm kinda sure that's a Tulou in the background? I can't tell if they've literally whited out Shenhua's face or if that's a blown highlight. I don't believe it's the completed new model (sleeves don't look the right colour), but you'd hope if they're showing them again that work's been done. Shenhua's hair looks different from what I can tell so far, however.

That image is going to be the whole december update.

Is it safe to assume that we now know who one of the US $10K backers is? I seem to recall seeing his name somewhere before though...

Spaghetti wrote:I can't tell if they've literally whited out Shenhua's face or if that's a blown highlight

If you look at the top of the full photo in the background, a lot of the image is too bright. I think the problem is with that photo as a whole, rather than the screenshot on the phone itself.

Sappharad wrote: Is it safe to assume that we now know who one of the US $10K backers is? I seem to recall seeing his name somewhere before though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlG-wmQ1CMI

That's probably where you recognise him from. He might be a 10K backer, but he's officially involved with the project in some capacity.

EDIT: Just got confirmation he's not a 10K backer.

Spaghetti wrote:I'm kinda sure that's a Tulou in the background? I can't tell if they've literally whited out Shenhua's face or if that's a blown highlight. I don't believe it's the completed new model (sleeves don't look the right colour), but you'd hope if they're showing them again that work's been done. Shenhua's hair looks different from what I can tell so far, however.

You have a very vivid imagination lol

The model that they showed in E3 of shenhua was kinda whited though.

shredingskin wrote:You have a very vivid imagination lol

The model that they showed in E3 of shenhua was kinda whited though.

Haha. Like I said, it's really hard to tell because it's a blown out photo of a tiny phone screen, but the hair does look different from last year's model from what I can tell.

I can also see a few differences in the neck scarf (it looks smaller), and Shenhua's shoulders look more like they do in the "fixed" photoshop render they did way back last year (more exposed, kinda more angular?). In general the model seems to resemble the photoshop render in silhouette.



DISCLAIMER: It could totally be the old model at a slightly different angle, there's no way of knowing right now but I personally think there are some changes compared to 2015.

EDIT:

Created a comparison to show what I mean about the scarf.



Am I being nuts? I really feel that looks seriously different.

Spaghetti wrote: Ooooo shit.



https://twitter.com/NovinWorksPlus/status/807444287499681792

EDIT:

Did some botched CSI-ing to get a closer look.



I'm kinda sure that's a Tulou in the background? I can't tell if they've literally whited out Shenhua's face or if that's a blown highlight. I don't believe it's the completed new model (sleeves don't look the right colour), but you'd hope if they're showing them again that work's been done. Shenhua's hair looks different from what I can tell so far, however.

Note to self.

Do not get your hopes up. Do not get your hopes up. Do not get your hopes up.

Although it's has been said we could have a trailer in this update I think they'll release some pics of bailu and maybe the new locations. Maybe some new info about how the game is going and so. I don't get my hope too high just in case...

Spaghetti wrote: Ooooo shit.



https://twitter.com/NovinWorksPlus/status/807444287499681792

EDIT:

Did some botched CSI-ing to get a closer look.



I'm kinda sure that's a Tulou in the background? I can't tell if they've literally whited out Shenhua's face or if that's a blown highlight. I don't believe it's the completed new model (sleeves don't look the right colour), but you'd hope if they're showing them again that work's been done. Shenhua's hair looks different from what I can tell so far, however.

It's nearly impossible to make something out with this pic, but what I do see it's the hair, it seems more short than old pictures.

The big question is how does Ryo look today?