Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

(Chapter 7 and beyond)

Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby ShenGCH » Mon Dec 25, 2017 5:49 am

Dear Backers,

On June 16th, 2015 this project began on Kickstarter. It has been two and a half years, but at the top of 2016 we were able to bring our team together to begin development in earnest, so it has been about two years now since things have really started moving.

For the development team that time has flown by, although with the many comments and questions we have received from you, the time may have felt more drawn out for some backers.

Next year is a very important year for Shenmue, so with that, we would like to bring you a conversation with Yu Suzuki and Hiroaki Takeuchi on how far we have come and where we are going from here.

About Hiroaki Takeuchi As an animation producer, he has contributed to an abundance of works that have helped bridge Japan with the rest of the world. His exemplary works include “The Animatrix”, “Tekkon Kinkreet” and “Berserk”. He acts as the CG animation producer for the Shenmue series. For more information on Hiroaki Takeuchi and his work, we invite you to his website.

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Thank you for all of your support here on the updates and at the events throughout the year!

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Have a wonderful holiday season and New Year!

https://shenmue.link/post_en/833/?en

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ysnet/shenmue-3/posts/2070230

(Merry Christmas, motherfuckers!)

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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby Kintor » Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:13 am

Some tantalizing hints about a new (and better) Shenhua model. A pity they didn't show any images but I guess the design still hasn't been finalised yet.

Although, the most interesting information for me was the bit about the new combat mechanics. Confirming that it will be a departure from the Virtua Fighter style of previous games. A greater emphasis on movement over timing, influenced by items might collect throughout the story.

I'm not quite sure what Yu Suzuki means by all that but it should all become clear once we see the new combat mechanics in motion.
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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby BlueMue » Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:14 am

Ah, finally an update that was expected.

This one gave me mixed feelings. It was nice to see Yu Suzuki talk in his place again and that he has the Gamescom gifts on display but I wish there was some content to go along with it. Sounds like Shenhua's model is final by now so why not show it? Guess they really don't want to come forth with a whole lot not to feed the haters.

The fact that the voice recordings are almost ready to be started is a good sign that the game has come a long way and is reaching the final stages but it's sad to learn that Shenhua's actress won't be returning apparently.

The stuff about the fight system gives me the strangest vibes again. YS says "little bit" when it comes to changes but ditching timing entirely for a puzzle based system? Doesn't sounds a whole lot like a fighting game, like it used to and should be but it definately sounds interesting. Right now I have no idea how a puzzle based mechanic would look and feel at all so I'm anxious to see what they deliver.
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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby sutoji » Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:29 am

Great interview! Really excited to hear that Yu Suzuki is confident with an almost final Shenhua model and that voice acting for her starts in 2018. Very happy! just one year left hopefully it's been a ride!
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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby b_ren » Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:01 am

Great interview! I'm a bit worried about how the combat will turn out but I there is no way they could re-create the VF engine with the budget. I'm sure it will turn out fine in the end though. Hyped!
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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby KidMarine » Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:11 am

Little bit confused by the number of characters in the game, here Yu says it's 100 but a few months ago he said it was 200 in Choubu alone?

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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby The_Intruder » Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:23 am

I like the interview but they didn't show any footage of the game. The wait for Magic Monaco to see Shenmue III gameplay seems so far away . It would be nice if we get another update on New Year's.
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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby Hazuki00 » Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:24 am

I'm curious to see how the new fighting style turns out, sounds more cinematic and less free but it could be very spectacular to watch.

About the amount of characters, I'm a bit confused too. I think he is referring to the new bunch of characters they are going to add.

I hope they will get to release it in second half 18 add he said!
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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby Suzuki Yu » Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:31 am

Hazuki00 wrote:
About the amount of characters, I'm a bit confused too. I think he is referring to the new bunch of characters they are going to add.

this is also my guess.

all in all great interview to wrap up this year.
2018 sound like it will be a real treat.

i can't wait for Monaco Magic.
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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby ShenGCH » Mon Dec 25, 2017 8:11 am

KidMarine wrote:Little bit confused by the number of characters in the game, here Yu says it's 100 but a few months ago he said it was 200 in Choubu alone?

Hazuki00 wrote:About the amount of characters, I'm a bit confused too. I think he is referring to the new bunch of characters they are going to add.

He says, "[...] so this month it looks like we'll be really upping the count," and, "It will go up to around 100 characters," so he is absolutely referring to the latest batch of characters they're adding to the current build. One-hundred is actually quite an impressive amount, and there's plenty more to come.
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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby O Rei do Frango Assado » Mon Dec 25, 2017 8:14 am

I always appreciate that they do something to have these regular KS updates, and I don't want to sound like an ungrateful ass, but, to be honest, this was, once again, pretty pointless. Not to mention that this "conversation" was nothing but an obviously scripted interview. I mean, they made it look like "Look, we got Hiroaki Takeuchi (here's his bio, by the way) for a chat with Yu Suzuki. It's gonna be interesting!", but, in fact, any random person could have asked those questions.

Anyway, all this interview did was leaving me a bit worried about the battle system. Yu Suzuki has been (vaguely) talking about his ideas for the game's battle system in several interviews and it seems to me that that will be the biggest change we see in the game, when compared to Shenmue 1 and 2, so I've always been intrigued by what Suzuki-san has in mind, but, this time around, more than intrigued, I'm a bit worried, as he made it sound like the whole thing would be akin to a fight in a point-'n-click game or something...
But I'm hoping he's just having a hard time explaining it (or simply doesn't want to go into too much detail right now, as it's still too early and a lot can change).
Shenmue had a great battle system, which in my opinion, should be refined, not ditched. I mean, in a game which revolves a lot around martial arts, a proper fighting system is paramount, in my opinion. But, of course, this is Suzuki-san's work, not mine, so it's up to him. At the end of the day, I just hope it turns out to be something fun, no matter how different. And, since, so far, Suzuki-san has given me no reason not to trust him, I'll trust him.

Also, once again, I get a strong feeling that there's no way the game won't be delayed once again.

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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby KidMarine » Mon Dec 25, 2017 8:29 am

ShenGCH wrote:
KidMarine wrote:Little bit confused by the number of characters in the game, here Yu says it's 100 but a few months ago he said it was 200 in Choubu alone?

Hazuki00 wrote:About the amount of characters, I'm a bit confused too. I think he is referring to the new bunch of characters they are going to add.

He says, "[...] so this month it looks like we'll be really upping the count," and, "It will go up to around 100 characters," so he is absolutely referring to the latest batch of characters they're adding to the current build. One-hundred is actually quite an impressive amount, and there's plenty more to come.

Yeah you're probably right. It's worded a little bit vaguely but your interpretation makes the most sense. I'm glad Yu seems to be happy with the quality of the characters too.
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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby ShenGCH » Mon Dec 25, 2017 8:38 am

KidMarine wrote:
ShenGCH wrote:
KidMarine wrote:Little bit confused by the number of characters in the game, here Yu says it's 100 but a few months ago he said it was 200 in Choubu alone?

Hazuki00 wrote:About the amount of characters, I'm a bit confused too. I think he is referring to the new bunch of characters they are going to add.

He says, "[...] so this month it looks like we'll be really upping the count," and, "It will go up to around 100 characters," so he is absolutely referring to the latest batch of characters they're adding to the current build. One-hundred is actually quite an impressive amount, and there's plenty more to come.

Yeah you're probably right. It's worded a little bit vaguely but your interpretation makes the most sense. I'm glad Yu seems to be happy with the quality of the characters too.

Had he said, "It will go up by around 100 characters," it would have changed the context completely.
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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby Abraham_1 » Mon Dec 25, 2017 8:39 am

BlueMue wrote:The stuff about the fight system gives me the strangest vibes again. YS says "little bit" when it comes to changes but ditching timing entirely for a puzzle based system? Doesn't sounds a whole lot like a fighting game, like it used to and should be but it definately sounds interesting. Right now I have no idea how a puzzle based mechanic would look and feel at all so I'm anxious to see what they deliver.

Yeah, but I’m thinking ‘puzzle-based’ may be a translation issue. Maybe Switch will translate the interview?

Either way, Yu Suzuki has been vague about gameplay differences. Similarly to QTEs, he hasn’t actually gone into detail about what those differences will be yet. So we’ll just have to wait and see. Would be cool if he could do something innovative again after all this time.
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Re: Update #78: Then, Now and Tomorrow

Postby Technophilz » Mon Dec 25, 2017 8:50 am

Although everything in this new "update" tells us backers to lower our expectation even more, the dreamy people (as usual) are excited and happy with that ....

In short, what we've just been told is : graphics won't be comparable to AAA titles, it took almost two years to make "acceptable" models of the two main characters, facial expressions and animations are not done yet, we now have fewer characters than what's been initially announced, the new fighting system will be puzzle-based and more aimed towards causal players so we can kiss anything close to the decent fighting system of Shenmue and Shenmue II goodbye, and finally another delay is highly expected.

btw, can someone remind whoever subtitled the video that we're still in 2017 ?

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