Shenmue III Update #67: Developer Room Update 3

[fittersau]

This doesn't look "anime" to me, personally. Honestly, it looks like Shenmue, brought into an contemporary engine and art direction.
....

(If people think the uproar about this is bad, wait until they reveal the final Ryo model. I can already predict I'll probably be fine with it, and many people will be outright enraged.)

Such is life.

Yep, it does look great.

And yes. Shenmue Dojo is a really tough crowd of ultras that's hard to please.

People will complain because for many, they can't see the forest for the trees.

[jasonorme666]

I like the model, I think some people forget that people in real life can look pretty cartoonish.

[SheepheadCG]

Woke up this morning and saw the update on my phone. Quickly ran to the PC to see it full screen .
My first response to the video was the length. I always watch the video from the Shenmue.link site, as it is better quality there (but takes ages to load), so before the video even loaded I saw the 57 second length. This is by far (from what I can remember off the top of my head), the shortest update we have had and it kinda seems strange to be when coupled with the we will not be at any game shows.

Firstly, they surely know that there must be a bit of a backlash from the Fans when they make a statement like that. I thought with the announcement of a no-show, they would at least try to soften the blow with a big old meaty update but maybe not (maybe they know that Shenmue 1 and 2 are coming at E3 - something that will lighten the blow). I mean, this update is "meaty" but they must know that people were expecting trailer at E3.

On the the update, on first watch I was a bit taken back by the stylistic aspect of the character model, but after watching a couple of times it started to grow on me which has now turned into full on hype. I see a lot of people saying that they do not like how this model looks, but we have to remember that this model is nowhere near complete and everything can/probably will change. This is re-enforced by the fact that we will not be seeing Shenmue 3 at E3 this year (at least from what they say, unless they are trolling us;)). Yu or Sony are not choosing to show the game, and that means that there is either, not enough to show yet, or that either party is not happy with it yet. This can change, and things will change.

For those who are upset/disappointed, try and hold back on the rage and sadness until we see the First Official Shenmue 3 Trailer. This will give us a much better representation of what the final game and game assets will look like. (Even then they can still be changed before release:P).

TL:DR - Shenmue 3 isn't being shown at E3 for a reason. There is either, not enough content or Sony/Yu is not happy with the current state. People who are upset with the current aesthetic remember that things will be changing and our first "real" look at the game and it's assets will be the first trailer.

P.s: It's also strange to me that they mention their current schedule in the update:
"While our schedule has yet to be finalized, we will be devoting June".
Just seems a bit forward to comment on the above. Only other worthwhile events this year are TGS and then PSX in December. Honestly, I hope it gets delayed a year so it can hit next years E3 for maximum exposure, but PSX is a good second place and if we don't have an Official delay before December (which I expect we will hear about soon), then we will get one at PSX.

Still hoping for S1 and S2 at E3 ;)!

[Yokosuka]

@ killthesagabeforeitkillsu: I admit you made a point.

It's quite odd but while the 3D model seems to fully respect the original model, the proportion of the latter seems way more realistic:

[Amir]

I don't think that's a Miyawaki design, doesn't look like his style. He's not the only character artist working on Shenmue III (though I don't know who the others are).

[FlagshipFighter]

All I know about this model is that I want to kick it in the face. Which, assuming it plays a villain for at least part of the game, means it's accomplished its job already.

[ShenSun]

its odd. The models don't match the backgrounds at all. The backgrounds that we've seen thus far are very realistic. This model looks cartoon like, similar to street fighter 4. I can't see how they'd compliment each other?

Im sure improvements will be made in the long run though.

[Shenhua-Nani?]

Aren't characters models usually one of the last things that get refined during development? I would assume game mechanics and game sequence take precedence. That would explain why we still haven't seen Ryo's new face.

[shenhaZ]

Aren't characters models usually one of the last things that get refined during development? I would assume game mechanics and game sequence take precedence. That would explain why we still haven't seen Ryo's new face.

No

[Yokosuka]

Aren't characters models usually one of the last things that get refined during development? I would assume game mechanics and game sequence take precedence. That would explain why we still haven't seen Ryo's new face.

No

Faces, textures, hair yes. Terry and Xiuying are the best known examples regarding Shenmue. But radical proportion change? I never seen that in any game development.

But with some tweaks, good lighting and correct context, I think they still get it.

[Kiske]

I'm going to say here the same exact thing I said in the Kickstarter updates comments section.

I love the look of this character and how close it looks compared to the concept model! The animation looks smooth too! As for E3, it would have been cool to have a trailer, but I prefer to know the team is at work on the game rather than spending time, money and energy to prepare something for such a big event like E3.
When the game will be ready to be shown, Ysnet will please fans and gamers!

PS: The new character embedded in a Shenmue 3 environment gives me the chill...

[Verderame]

I guess that at this point an official 2018 delay announcement it's only matter of time. Unless they decided to ditch E3 to fully respect their schedule? That wouldn't be so smart thought.
This is so disappointing anyway. Oh well, maybe we'll hear something about the HD remasters at least.
But man, what a joy-killer.

Anyway, i think this is basically the first time we've seen a professional-looking character model from YsNet, and at least this is a bit reassuring for me. I agree that it looks more like something that should belong to the Street Fighter V roster, but i think it's mostly because there is no proper skin shader applied on it.
I'm curious to see what kind of compromise they will find between realism and cartoon this time, Shenmue always had some kind of unique stylization, i think the real problem here is that this looks too plastic-ish, like an action figure or something like that, while the original games looked maybe more "gritty", mostly due to their low quality textures i guess. But again, i don't think this how it will actually look in game.

[killthesagabeforeitkillsu]

I'm going to say here the same exact thing I said in the Kickstarter updates comments section.

PS: The new character embedded in a Shenmue 3 environment gives me the chill...

That looks so weird... I'm also having chills but probably not the right kind. Can anyone with photoshop skills try to tone down the muscle mass of the 3D model to match the concept art a bit more?

[JohnBlack]

I guess that at this point an official 2018 delay announcement it's only matter of time. Unless they decided to ditch E3 to fully respect their schedule? That wouldn't be so smart thought.
This is so disappointing anyway. Oh well, maybe we'll hear something about the HD remasters at least.
But man, what a joy-killer.

Anyway, i think this is basically the first time we've seen a professional-looking character model from YsNet, and at least this is a bit reassuring for me. I agree that it looks more like something that should belong to the Street Fighter V roster, but i think it's mostly because there is no proper skin shader applied on it.
I'm curious to see what kind of compromise they will find between realism and cartoon this time, Shenmue always had some kind of unique stylization, i think the real problem here is that this looks too plastic-ish, like an action figure or something like that, while the original games looked maybe more "gritty", mostly due to their low quality textures i guess. But again, i don't think this how it will actually look in game.

Its gonna be surprising to see Shenmue III in the same style like first two. Just because right now realistic design is super complicated. Nathan Drake face in Uncharted 4 is just crazy compared to even U3.

[Rikitatsu]

I'm usually the pessimist who's the first to criticise anything I dislike in those updates, but damn, that model is fantastic. Yes, the skin shader is a little plasticity, giving it a more cartoony look, but otherwise it's great. A great mix between the realistic and the stylized, basically what Shenmue is all about.

Not surprised at the E3 no show, the development isn't going according to schedule, that much is clear. Otherwise we'd already be playing the trial version, let alone not seeing any proper trailer.