Rig, I know I often pick up on your funding posts (like the other day when you predicted $25K and we got $50K+) and I'm not trying to be an arse. But we're going to make it. IT WILL pass $5M, so good God man, stop worrying about $4.9!


lol I don't mind people challenging my posts, I'm sure subconsciously I post my pessimistic views in the hopes that someone will say something which makes me change my mind (and make me feel better!) because I want the opposite of what I say to happen. so by all means, challenge my pessimism at any opportunity.. prove me wrong so I can do a little Irish jig when it funds past 5 million and I have to eat my own words :) would make me very happy \:D/

shredingskin wrote: There's a BIG stretch now from 5.1 to 6 million :(

1 million in two days, this is going to be very stressful... and I love that.

Peter wrote:Pledges made within 24 hours of the deadline cannot be cancelled, and contact has to be made with the developer to do so.

Some little troll's gonna have some explaining to do after he's maxed out his mom's credit card

I'd like to thank everyone for donating on behalf of wude. He's helped me and many others in our community.

You are not authorised to read this forum.

They deserve a tap on the shoulder for putting their best effort into acting on the advice from the community, but that doesn't absolve them from being incompetent. I wish they had had that learning experience with another project, not the revival of a fan favorite classic 14 years after its untimely death.

Exactly, I love people trying to defend their performance by saying they learnt and improved as the campaign went on like this was some type of educational endeavour. And when they cite these so called improvements, you can find out this was only due to the community having to back channel the co-producer of the game and demand improvements be made.

The fact that Cedric became more of a mouth piece and engaged the community more than AJ themselves I think speaks volumes to their effort.

I find it somewhat humorous, suddenly the same people that discuss topics ad nauseam about a videogame they've completed hundreds of times over the years suddenly rule certain topics don't bear further analysis or discussion. I guess some people really do like pleading ignorance...

You are thinking this over too much. I'm not necessarily defending them, because they don't need defending: they weren't that good. However, it feels like a lot of people can't let it go and are continuing to harp on it. That's not bad in itself, but the tone of the thread is unnecessarily toxic given the record we just made. That doesn't mean I'm excusing AJ - i was one of their most ardent critics.

Some more translation:
http://i.imgur.com/NkPa9ua.png

The complete Shenhua & Ryo sketches from this mornings conference:

http://i.imgur.com/SXlXbo0.jpg
If you observe carefully this particular sketch that Shenhua is holding Ryo's hand it looks like he hurted his left foot.

That's not necessarily true, he looks off balance to me because Shenhua is so sure footed and determined to go somewhere.
If you look closely to Ryo's left foot it shows like a stain on his pants. I'm convinced that Ryo is injured.

That's a shadow.

Mentioning what? That people shouldn't get excited? How is that betraying trust? Whatever man.
It wasn't really dramatic until people pressed me for more, all I wanted was to not let people go wild with their hopes, especially with MAGIC coming... If you think that's attention whoring, I can't do anything to sway your opinion... I guess it would piss me off If I saw someone withholding information after 'teasing' it. But really, I only had the best intentions at heart. Guess I was too naive?

If I had to clarify, I would say the game is NOT in trouble or anything. It's just... It seems it's way earlier in development than any of us even thought, even the skeptics.
C'mon, you knew what you were doing posting this:

Anyway, I just heard something from someone that crashed my hype to the lowest degree, and I'm pretty thankful for that. It's always best to lower expectations and play it safe.

Dropping that hot nugget is not best intentions. You know people can't openly talk about that stuff, and coating it in a fearful message, just like you even do at the end of the post I'm quoting, is bullshit and manipulative of people.

Have you guys been reading too much IGN or something? Why is there such a trend of hating Yu Suzuki and Shenmue III on here lately? So what if they're not as far into development as planned. It just means the game gets delayed (which a lot of people want anyway).

If what Rikitatsu says is to be believed, it's no wonder that we're not seeing super impressive material yet. However so many people pressure the studio to show us new material, they buckle to the pressure and release disappointing screenshots (with photoshoped elements), people see them and become even further disappointed and the cycle of hate continues.

Guys, Yu Suzuki literally said in this update that he's staying in his office overnight because he cares so much about Shenmue III. It's shameful to call Shenmue III 'humiliating' after seeing screenshots that we probably pressured the team to release with our constant messages after PSX. If the team are behind, we need to be understanding and supportive instead of going 'Games Media' mode. Shenmue III will be a great game, even if we have to wait a while longer for the good stuff to come to light.

Remember guys:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Czs9TT9W8AARw_n.jpg

Fuck the haters and the negativity.

Merry Christmas Yu, make the best game you can.

Whoever thinks 10/10 is being a complete Pollyanna especially after the whole PSX Experience train wreck that left us all wretched shadows of our former selfs bereft of hopes and dreams.

Sure, there is a 10/10 chance that SOMEDAY (like in 500 years) there will be remaster but not in time for Shenmue 3.

I'd give it a 2 maybe a 3 if I want to throw a little Christmas charity out there.

http://guyanachronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/CHARITY.jpg

Marching along into 2017...

NEXT MAJOR UPDATE CONFIRMED FOR MARCH

Valascaziel wrote: I am curious--what will the reaction of us stalwarts be if, for some inexplicable reason, Shenmue III is no-show in June?

Civil War.

Forget it.

I'm being a cunt to both KLM and Anon. I was making the point of it not being a good idea to message YSNET over something small, but it's came out venomously for reasons not to do with Shenmue or the forums.

I'm gonna be gone for a while, and the Twitch streams may be stopping too. Take care folks.

It's okay Peter, we all have bad days and none of us are perfect. You are a valued and respected member of this community, and I am someone who forgives instantly once conflict abates FWIW. *Shakes your virtual hand.*

I'm sorry for challenging what you said, I just felt it was unnecessary was all.

It's still a bad example because that's just Pacman character art. In actual Pacman games he still looks like the one on the left. And as said, the one on the right has been represented in Pacman character art for 30 years.

Here's how Pacman looks in a modern Pacman game.

https://www.technobuffalo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/pacman-ce-2-03.jpg

I'm not seeing it. Pacman is Pacman. He says the character for Pacman has changed but within gameplay it hasn't at all.

Even then, the comparison doesn't apply since Shenmue wasn't made with pixel art and we have examples both in this thread and via Kid NoCon's HD work that Ryo translates to modern graphics.

Essentially, the point makes no sense within the context of Shenmue and the character model of Ryo. The conclusion that old game characters don't translate as technology grows seems to be reaching at best especially for Shenmue.

It's such a departure from the photorealistic style we all remember.

Listen. We can all accept bright blue text or not. It is Bluecast's vision. I, personally, do not want my Shenmue Dojo with bright blue text. So I'm opting out of reading it from now on. But I am only one person.

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!

Yes, it is the best part of any game I've ever played, to me as well. Also, imho, "Disc 4" is what makes the difference for S2 from being just a fantastic game to the single best game of all time. Don't get me wrong, S2 would have been one incredible, outstanding, legendary game even without it but the Guilin part is really what makes it my personal best game of all time. It just puts it a cut above anything I've ever seen, and probably ever will see.

In fact, S2 made the rest of gaming kind of "sour" to me for many years, which is part of why I had also quit gaming for like 10 years. S3's announcement brought me back to gaming again. But for many years, I just didn't find any game even remotely as captivating, beautiful and entertaining as S2, except for S1. So I didn't like gaming very much anymore.

I guess the announcement of S3 gave me new "hope" for gaming and as I have grown older I have kind of grown to accept that no game will probably be as good (to me personally) as S1 and S2 but I figured I could still have fun with other games. Still, nothing can touch S2. In fact, nothing can touch S1 , except for S2 which surpassed it. :)

Will S3 surpass S2? I don't expect it to and I don't need it to. I hope it'll be a great game in its own right, but frankly I don't think it will be as great as S2.

Part of what made S2 great was the sheer scope it covered. The bustling streets of Wan Chai, the lively harbor are of Aberdeen with the sketchy Beverly Hills wharf, the maze-like Kowloon with its sinister skyscrapers and street fighting spots, combined with Guilin's breathtaking landscape.

Yu never intended S3 to have that scope. I think it can be more like S1, covering a relatively small area while offering great depth.

I don't think it's a contest. Without Guilin Shenmue would be dead. If the game ended at Kowloon, who literally gives a shit what happens next. It's just a game where dude conquered and doesn't look inside himself, at all, and then rides into the sunset in the search for treasure. Pretty much every mystery in the series is grounded in Guilin. Who is Shenhua? What are the big stone mirrors for? What about the sword? What's with the cave? What's with Shenhua's powers? Ryo doing tai chi? A hint of him looking inside of himself and reconsidering his revenge? Who made camp before them, Lan Di? What about the Shenmie tree? It must have a significant role. Why does Ryo feel like he knows it? Are they siblings? Are they lovers? Is Shenhua a mystical being that has been reincarnated? Or is she hundreds of years old?

These mysteries and more, from three to four hours of one gameplay section.

No Guilin, no Shenmue III. Without Guilin who gives a fuck. It's just a generic - although fantastic - game where the hero wins at the end. Yawn.

Shenmue Dojo would have been dead by at least 2010 if Guilin weren't in II. What's there to talk about? Ryo beating Dou Niu? Without Guilin, if you beat disc 3 and it was the end of the game you'd probably think,"ah, I know how it ends. Ryo will beat Lan Di in the end, who cares." But Guilin changes the map, the stakes, and resets the board.

Without Guilin I don't see the fanbase give nearly as much of a shit about Shenmue. It'd have its fans and everything but it wouldn't have a fanbase grasping for something new as much as does now. It would have been a dead series like Suikoden or something.

Himuro,
it's surprising, yet inspiring, to see your love for Guilin. Here are the main reasons you said you love it:

It's so beautiful in its contrast to the rest of the series with its sights AND sounds. The fateful meeting, the ambient music, the conversations, the easy-going tone of it, the mystery of the stone cave.

Urban vs rural; the physical vs mystical; patience vs impatience.

The music is probably the most staying part for me.
The hawk scene still gives me chills when I see it.

Pretty much every mystery in the series is grounded in Guilin.

Which of those reasons (or another) is the cherry-on-top of your love of Guilin?
Did you love Guilin that much 10 years ago?
Have you visited Guilin IRL?

I think the urban vs rural and material vs immaterial is my favorite. It really changed my perspective on how I viewed things, such as rural life which I considered inferior to my suburban living when I played it. It literally changed my world view and made me hope for something more in nature and in this world. I remember one part where they're talking about cows and how in Japan, they eat cows. I thought that was natural because I was American and hey, we eat burgers. But Shenhua talked about how they couldn't eat cows because otherwise they'd have nothing to fertilize or help till their land. It truly showed the disparity between lifestyles Ryo (me as a stand in) had in contrast to Shenhua. And while it seems obvious, it really opened the mind of a naive 20 year old city kid's mind to a different way of living. I learned that there's some things that the city doesn't and can't offer. It has inspired me to want to go camping out in nature and just look at the stars some time. I've been planning on doing that once a year, actually.

Yes I have felt the same exact way about Guilin since I first played it in 2006.

I have not visited Guilin but it is one of my goals to do so someday.

Why is it surprising I love Guilin so much? Almost all of my Shenmue related avatars are Shenhua doing something rural in Guilin and it's deliberate - I am in love with the area so much and I cannot wait to explore it in III.

I find the models very ugly from an aesthetic standpoint. Compared to the original series and compared to modern games. Im not sure why matching the passport models should be such a fantasy.

I have done a few very very minor change to the new model.
(the face is more thin and long now, jaw shape is slightly softer and eyes smaller but you need to compare them to really see a difference)

http://i.imgur.com/CAvBSZ3.jpg

Maybe I'm getting used to this new Ryo, but I find it very good and definitely close to how I imagined him for Shenmue 3.

Complaints, for example, about his eyes are kind of redundant when you consider that 3D graphics capability has gotten to the point where modellers can make Ryo's eyes look like they would if actually sitting inside an eye socket
(causing the "bags", or more accurately the skin fold of the lower eyelid)


You can still make Ryo's eyes look like they would if actually sitting inside an eye socket but without loosing the asian look (Yakuza!). Ryo is not a guy with the typical japanese features but you can definitly see that he is asian not indian or fillipino. So its is a question of (bad) design and not "3D graphics capability".
Also in Dreamcast era it would possible use skin fold of the lower eyelid for characters by using textures. For exmaple chai: (who do not look chinese to me)

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DeuW0jHS9Z8/hqdefault.jpg

..but they didn't use a fold of the lower eyelid on Ryo. Why? Because most of japanese/korean/chinese does not have these lower eyelid (or much smaller/less significant) fold in case the face is in a neutral position: (I am not refering to the eyebags!):

http://www.asianscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/bfi_thumb/Chinese-Eyes-Move-Faster-2wiij8l2fg1chlmvmb4t8g.jpg

The lower eye lid does not stand out that strong. Also the transition between the lower eyelid and the skin is more smoth compared to western or people from india.

The point is, just because something may make the character "more Asian", that's not necessarily in-keeping with the character design

Its the combination of missing some of the significant Ryos face features and don't fit the race. Original Ryo is not the typical asian guy (as you mentioned) but he still looks on the picture and your shenmue 1 promo pic more asian compared to shenmue 3 ryo.
Its not enough splitting ryos face in only two parts. You need to take a closer look on his face features to see why they don't fit from his original face:

Some of these ryos shenmue 1,2 and 3 features which should be stay the same like the nose, eyes, skin or forehead does not look the same:

1. Forehead (Hairline): Looks on original Ryo more smother and wider.

http://fs5.directupload.net/images/170820/eukr88t6.png

2. Nose: cleary difference form of the nose trils:
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/170820/rlpyjy56.png

3. Lips: Small detail but the upperlip is thiner:
http://fs5.directupload.net/images/170820/mxp4gmle.png

4. Jaw: Different jawline but this could be also due to lower poly from the dreamcast version.

http://fs5.directupload.net/images/170820/7xlyu7sm.jpg

Lets move to the main reason why ryo does not look asian ot at least mixed:

1. Skin color fits more of an indian/fillipino guy.
2. The eyes:

http://fs5.directupload.net/images/170821/g6plrxh4.png

I hope you can clearly see the difference? ;) As mentioned above the asian/japanese eyes have rarely a lower eye lid fold and more smother transition to the lower lid. Also the lower lid does not stand out this strong on asian eyes. When you compare my Ryo (or the promo Ryo from your pic) you will see that his upper eye lid fold is much lower compared to shenmue 3.
When we take a closer look at the people from india or pakistan you will see many of these features:

http://fs5.directupload.net/images/170820/rg24sk63.png

- lower eye lid stands more out
- fold of the lower eyelid
- and most important dark circles around and under the eyes which are more common in india compared to the western world or asia.

The form of the shenmue 3 ryos eyes does indeed look more asian but overall they don't look asian (or like ryos eyes) to me because of the combination above.

So the June update on the logo was moot?

I mean how hard is it to give fans the proper logo?

You are a great poster Spaghetti but you've knee jerk defense of every aspect of Shenmue 3 and its related development continues to stifle real or constructive criticism. And trust me there's been a lot to criticize.

You and others may think a logo isn't a large thing in the overarching development of the title but I think it speaks to the messy and frankly disjointed nature of the way many things have been rolled out during the KS campaign. The majority of the fans clearly spoke out and stated their clear preference a long time ago. It appeared the team and Yu-San finally came to their senses and provided us the June KS update.

The fact they've gone back on this and provided frankly a logo that many derided before knowing Yu-San was behind it, I think speaks volumes. Cursive is going to win out? It doesn't explain the insentient back and forth when this should have been finalized as it appeared to be in June and Yu's attention is concentrated on frankly more important matters.

Also piece of advice, don't tell backers who have spent their hard earned dollars and have been life-long fans of the series how to react or behave.

I appreciate the reply man, thank you.

After reading all that it really sounds like Arkham and Sleeping Dogs like combat, yeah the combat in Sleeping Dogs is pretty but Shenmue had you feeling tense. It made you want to learn moves and practise so you can get better and utilize those moves in combat to make it easier. Catering to the Kyle Hilliard's (See Game Informer Shenmue/II Let's Play) of gamers sounds like a mistake, the people that just want to beat the bad guy instantaneously without any skill or training. Yes games should be fun but part of the thrill, part of that fun is that feeling you get when you put in the work, trained learned some combo's and use it to beat that difficult boss finally, that's all part of the fun. It gives you an amazing feeling of accomplishment and let's you feel more immersed in the world especially when it's not a retry and you have to find those bad guys again as a result of your failure and Shenmue is all about that kind of immersion.

The best way to cater to the Kyle Hilliards is scaling difficulty. If you suck, the game drops down in difficulty and button mashing can work. If you're awesome the game will level up and more complex combinations and dodging will be required. The "cinematic and smooth" fighting is your reward for the time you put into the game. That was a perfect system so anyone can play. I don't want Uncharted cinematic predetermined animations, this is what's killing gaming. Older games may not have looked very cinematic but they made you feel like you were doing things yourself, using your own skill rather than "Press A to win".

https://www.gamekult.com/actualite/yu-suzuki-le-plus-difficile-est-de-creer-de-bons-personnages-3050797909.html

Interview context: Gamekult is shown an extended version of the trailer with additional scenes and QTEs with "work in progress" mark. Then the interview begins with Suzuki and his English translator.

https://i.imgur.com/jseQm8Q.jpg

Gamekult: First of all, I would like to know why you decided to publicly publish a short version of what you just showed us privately? Is it for marketing purpose or a future backer exclusivity?

(Suzuki begins to talk to his translator who is also in charge of the business side of YSnet. The latter takes the floor.)

YSnet businessman: That's a good question! Honestly, there's no specific reason but some people think showing the extended version is too early. The idea behind the trailer was to announce our partnership with Deep Silver. We aimed to reveal that we got a better financial support. We have been silent for too long so it was important to show something at Gamescom while it's not a real marketing strategy.

Yu Suzuki: We may create an improved and longer version of the video for the end of the year. A true promotional trailer.

GK: After watching the video, I now wonder how you proceed with animation in Shenmue 3. Do you use motion capture, handmade animation or both? Are you working with an outsourcing studio or do you have your own motion capture studio?

YS: We use motion capture as working base then we make adjustments. Everything is captured internally although we do not have a true motion capture studio. We're using a magnetic capture tool because it needs less space to work so we can easily proceed in an open space. However, we are certainly going to use a real motion capture studio for the most important action scenes.

GK: Are you working with outsourcing studios? For instance, TOSE or Virtuous.

YS: We have our own team where people from various companies are working. In general, everything is made internally. The goal is to avoid outsourcing.

GK: How many people are working in the team?

YS: Sorry but I can't tell you any figure.

GK: How will your partnership with Deep Silver benefit Shenmue III? Is the original project going to evolve?

YS: To be honest, we just signed the contract. We have yet to know what Deep Silver can bring us exactly but we hope it's significant (laughs). From a business point of view, we should take advantage of their international network and their communication expertise since they have a great record with Japanese studios.

GK: How will you proceed to make the game interesting for the fans as much for the newcomers? Can we start Shenmue III without having played the previous episodes?

YS: We plan to insert images and videos from previous episodes in ingame situations, something like memories. One of the ideas consists of inserting visuals when you're phoning characters from Shenmue I & II.

GK: Yakuza 3 proceeded differently with cinematic buildups to summarize the story of Yakuza 1&2. I wonder if Shenmue 3 can proceed the same way but the visual contrast between cinematics and the gameplay would be obviously significant.

YS: I still don't know how it may look on screen but it's a possibility. Anyway, we'll decide our own way to proceed.

GK: What will the Shenmue III main themes be? Storywise, is there any particular event or topic you're willing to set up?

YS: It's faster to show you. (Suzuki starts his PC and launches a slideshow) Here we go, the three key points of the game are romance, characters' life and martial arts. Then my main goal is to use the latest advancements in technologies to express feelings through gaming situation. Today there are even more ways of expression but also more challenge with the modern tools. With Unreal Engine 4, the most challenging part is to create good characters.

GK: You mean, using your own engine when you're working on Shenmue I&II was easier than using a foreign third-party engine?

YS: Yes, absolutely!

GK: So far, have you programmed with your own hands?

YS: I created some algorithms and little prototypes but I'm not working at the heart of coding. I worked on an artist's AI who appears in the game, NPC behaviors and some combat scenes. But my main job is research. The final code is written by people who are more skilled than me.

GK: About visuals, how far do you think you are from the final state?

YS: First of all, I confirm that everything related to the characters is temporary. Then I would like to say that, in order to reach the best possible result from a technical point of view, we need a lot of resources, way more than we currently have today. That's why I'm trying to find a balance between visual quality and the other key points of the game, especially what makes the gameplay singular and different from the other productions.

GK: About environment size and interaction volume, how would you rate Shenmue 3 compared to the Dreamcast episodes?

YS: I would say that the game is as wide and dense as Shenmue 1&2... On further consideration, it will even be richer. The time of play is more difficult to estimate since each player has his own pace and may progress differently with all the side quests available. I think more than 20 hours will be needed.

GK: In order to make Shenmue 1&2, you traveled several times in China. Did you travel again for Shenmue III or are you using mainly archives and memories?

YS: I went back to China two years ago, when the project did start. (Suzuki is searching his PC folders to find photos of mountain landscapes, old buildings and busy streets) As you can see, we reproduced some roofs of tiles in the last video. I really would like to display as much characters as those you can see in these photos! (laughs)

GK: If you were going to leave Japan to live in another country, would you choose China?

YS: Not China, no. (laughs)

END OF INTERVIEW

YSnet doesn't consider it a promotional effort, so I can't fathom why we keep going in circles about it supposedly being an "ad". Their word is the end of it. They know what they made.

YSnet's own language on the Kickstarter is that it's a progress video. Even the Playstation YouTube video (which apparently was meant to launch at the same time as the KS video) hedges its bets as "1st teaser" and a video description of "The first teaser of Shenmue III is built from a small slice of an in-development build of the game, and it delivers small peeks in new look of main characters, new characters, and feels of Shenmue world."

It doesn't even say what year the game is supposed to release FFS.

Trying to convince people that something that clearly wasn't an ad was an ad, and should have looked like an ad, but in the same breath making excuses for people who won't read a video description barely over 35 words... just... what?

It doesn't matter what Ysnet call it, it's an advertisement of the game they're making. We're going around in circles because you're not accepting that. They can call it a progress video all they like but it's cut like a trailer therefore it's a trailer.

I don't really get what point you're trying to make about the year it's being released not being on the trailer. I could point to many trailers that don't have the release date on it. It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't put it the date on the end out of stupidity as the marketing team clearly don't know what they're doing.

Yes, asking people to read a description is too much. I went and see IT the other day and saw trailers before the film, should I have to go home and read the description of each trailer before I decide if I like what I saw? If you're making a 2 minute video you've got to sell your product in those 2 minutes. You've got to hook people in with what you're showing from the off, if it makes your product look bad then you don't show it.

The sad thing is that having a half hour meeting in a room with just some people with an ounce of common sense could have made this trailer and releasing it a massive win for the game in the public eye.

Why's it become such a seemingly negative thing to raise genuine concerns about a franchise you want to succeed? I waited my entire life for a Batman/Superman film and was pretty happy to debate why I reckon it's great with those who thought it was a trainwreck. I don't seem to recall telling anyone to shut up about it.

There seems to be some growing mentality amongst Shenmue fans that we should shut our eyes and ears to anything bad and just repeat the mantra of "la la la, not listening, it's gonna be great, they know what they're doin, waited ages for it, just be grateful, la la la!"

Can you imagine if it doesn't end up being good? If it's poorly received by both the public and media? Who's gonna buy it? We've already got copies reserved. Where are they gonna make the money needed for the follow-up? It's simply not a case of "anything will do". Yeah, we waited fifteen years for this. So it better be fuckin worth the wait. And the money.

As for Spaghetti, how are you not getting this? Why does any studio show something off? No, why does anyone show anything off? Honestly, just think about it. Maybe English isn't your first language, in that case it'd be slightly more understandable, but c'mon... showing off concept art is promotional material. "Checking in" on Facebook to a hotel in an area where there's a relevant event: promotional material. Appearing on a chat show. That's promotional. A video, work in progress or not, is promotional.

Shenmue fans are such a cry babies nowadays. Defending their thoughts like they are absolute. Riku was right. The trailer was awkward and doesnt sell the game for the new players. Why bother releasing something what isnt even relatively ready? "Well they had to show something". Well show something which looks good for god sake. They could have directed the trailer way better. Leaving the awkward bits away. Atleast the environments looked cool.
All this ignorance from the fans is just damn funny. Defending and creating these false illusions about things shenmue team probably havent even thought about. Good example is the S1 and S2 release. Last time I was here I saw bunch of guys overexcited about how S1 and S2 will be announced next. Then Yu completely shits on the idea in the latest interview.

Its just mind boggling how some people here start crying immidiately after someone brings up a question little bit different than where can I buy my newest shenmue fan goggles.

There is fans who wants the game to succeed and looks stuff more critically but somehow most of the shenmue fans get offended by it? :rotflmao:

Everyone keeps saying 1, 2 and 4 are the same model, but isn't 4 the Shenmue Online model? I get that it's derived from the promotional art model but anyway, for all Shenmue Online's shortcomings as a concept, Ryo looked awesome in that trailer.

IMO it's by far and away the best model to date because it put the "promotional Ryo" in motion. Promotional model is always how I envisioned Ryo would look if not for the hardware limitations of the Dreamcast.

Oops, sorry for the confusion! It is now 1, 3 and 5 because I added the 2nd model recently so the order has been switched up due to that. I agree. Many here want the Shenmue I and II models of Ryo but I believe they can aim above and beyond even them (don't get me wrong, the Dreamcast models are still amazing so it's not like I dislike them or anything, it's the exact opposite in fact) by using the promo models. I mean, they were always of an even higher quality than the originals so I think one of them should be the aim. I personally think it's either the 3rd or 2nd one but I like the SO Ryo too so you can't really go wrong with either of them.

The game is being made by a guy who hasn’t released a game not on a mobile phone since 2001.

Right now, I don't remember Yu's exact involvement in Beach Spikers and Outrun 2 and its numerous iterations but there are at least two post-S2 releases I can think of from the top of my mind.

VF 4 Evolution (2002 or 2003) which came out on Naomi if my memory is right and was ported to PS2 and also Sega Race TV (2008) which came out on Lindbergh. But it's been nine years since 2008 so I kind of get what you're getting at.

Although I still can’t wait for the review thread here and watching everyone cry when someone dislikes the game.
It seems kind of entertaining sometimes, reading salty comments from gamers about negative reviews for their beloved franchises but I think we should be careful with that edge. Some people don't know when to stop and that could make the Shenmue fan base look bad as a whole.

I hope nobody will take it to the Zelda fan level with S3. When Jim Sterling gave Zelda Breath of the Wild a 7/10, some idiot fanboys threatened his life and others ddosed his website. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against criticizing reviewers and if someone can point out how and where a review is wrong, I even appreciate when people confront reviewers with that. But sending death threats to people and attacking websites? That's where I draw the line and in such cases I personally always take the reviewer's/journalist's side and am never on the side of the game or the fans who do such things.

And what's more, to strike back, Jim Sterling has now turned BotW into some kind of running gag for his YT channel and his articles and occasionally knocks BotW or the Zelda fan base even in articles or videos which aren't even related to Zelda. And I get it, it's entertaining as a non-fan. I couldn't stop myself from chuckling when I saw Jim Sterling's review about Sonic Forces titled "I'm not SAYING this is better than Breath of the Wild, BUT..." last week, but I still don't want this to happen to Shenmue.

The best way to prevent this from happening would obviously be for Yu to release a game so good, it won't receive a lot of criticism.

That said, I personally think some "crying" as you called it, should be allowed, as long as they keep it to Shenmue-related websites and don't go over the top.


QTEs are so obsolete by now as cinematic action moments can be done in gaming without them (see the Uncharted series) and fighting in 3D space has gone such a long way since Shenmue (see For Honor). It would be such a downgrade in vision by Yu Suzuki, a designer known to always innovate with each creation, to just follow the old mechanics of the previous titles to a tee.

Actually Uncharted uses QTE's quite a lot, mostly in set pieces and I think Shenmue can learn a lot from it. It mostly does it in a more subtle fashion than Shenmue did and the commands don't always pop up on your screen, but still there are a lot of momemnts where you are on some kind of battlefield having a shootout with the bad guys but no matter what you do, you'll always have to pass one specific point on the map and once you pass that point, this huge guy appears out of nowhere and starts choking Drake and you have to repaetedly tap the button displayed on screen. If you fail to register x amount of button presses during a set time frame, you die.

Or there are a lot of moments, where for example only throwing your rope at that passing truck can save you. The L1 button does not appear on screen but those are QTEs if I've ever seen one. Only that one button, pressed during a specific time frame can save you and if you fail, the sequence repeats itself.

Or remember the „Cruisin for a Bruisin“ level in Uncharted 3? That level is rife with scripted events. It's just done in a very crafty and again subtle way and blends in so smoothly with the real action, it actually gives the player the feeling of making their way off the sinking ship freely.

And I think this is where Yu can learn from modern „AAA“ games. More subtle QTEs, better camera, smoother controls.

However, I hope he also won't follow „modern“ games blindly and fall for the typical weaknesses of a lot of modern-day „AAA“ games such as big, empty maps, microtransactions, repetitive mission structure, unfinished releases which need patches to make them worth playing, sometimes even months after release, cut out content being passed off as „dlc“ and so forth.

So, in short, I hope Yu will take from modern gaming what's good and discard what's bad.

Rest assured however, Yu already said, he plans innovating on QTEs, such as using sounds or colors, or just the situation presented on screen to give the player a hint at what to press. Also every time he has talked about free battle, he never said he'd just continue the old fighting system but he wants to give the game something fresh and fun to play, especially when it comes to fighting multiple enemies at the same time.

Nahovil wrote: It's the darnedest thing, appealing to what is essentially, nowadays, a multimillionaire philanthropist to fund some videogame. Are you people for real?

What's great about the shenmue community is that even as it ages, it never matures.

In the 70s. Same as every game that doesn't have a $100 million ad campaign behind it/the reviewer isn't personal friends with the developers. Take some points off for being Japanese too.
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/weirdalfoil_2322.jpg
Oh please. To deny that the gaming media isn't massively corrupt and in bed with certain publishers is wilful ignorance.
I would love for you to bring up any evidence you have, but I'm sure you don't have any. enjoy your tinfoil hat.
Off the top of my head:

Polygon accepts $750,000 from Microsoft before they even launch: http://rebrn.com/re/polygon-accepted-from-microsoft-to-create-a-promotional-document-367703/

Polygon writer gives positive coverage to developer he is not only friends with, but supports financially via Patreon: https://archive.is/kLRaf

Kotaku claim that anyone who complains about Call of Duty is "stupid", "idiots", "obnoxious elitists" and "assholes" whilst also running an extensive Call of Duty ad campaign on their site - https://archive.is/KntqD

Kotaku and Polygon both extensively defended Diablo III's always online DRM, going as far as to attack anyone who criticised it as "ignorant" whilst also running extensive ads for the game - https://imgur.com/Rka05H1

Journalist is flown to resort by Activision, later whilst other reviewers marked the latest Call of Duty down for poor AI, linear gameplay, and uneven pacing, he praised it as the “ultimate refinement of the franchise formula” and “the best Call of Duty ever.”

Ubisoft hands out free $200 Tablets to reviewers at Watch_Dogs event. Coincidentally it's critical score is almost double the user score on Metacritic - https://wolfsgamingblog.com/2014/04/15/ubisoft-handed-out-free-nexus-7-tablets-to-watch-dogs-preview-event-attendees/

Oh and remember when review copies of Dante's Inferno came with $200 in cash? There's something to be said for bluntness - https://www.engadget.com/2009/09/09/ea-marketers-send-joystiq-a-200-check-and-we-save-their-souls/

And let's not even get into the big ones like the Driv3r debacle. Or the Kane & Lynch controversy. Or DoritoGate.

The idea that games journalism isn't massively corrupt and incompetent is just insanity. All journalism is rotten, I've worked in 2 different fields of journalism, but games journalism is the worst of the worst. I cannot fathom why anyone would ever defend it (unless they're a games journalist).

shmoozip wrote: .

funny how things changed

I wish I had waited to submit my votes for the worst members of the forums.

lol.

Next time don't post when you're high. Also, when you come back (7 day timeout) please do something about your awful signatures. Cheers.

Corey Marshall is extremely liberal and hates Trump. So many Shenmue fans are... inexplicably (to me) Trump supporters. The vast majority of Shenmue fans support and are glad that Corey Marshall is revising his role as the voice actor of Ryo Hazuki. Furthermore, the character Ryo Hazuki himself would be considered pretty damn liberal himself, outside of his whole revenge quest thing which he is honestly expected to give up on at some point and focus on the greater picture of Shenmue world which hasn't really been revealed yet but is probably more important than a few peoples deaths in the grand scheme of things.

And no I am not looking to start a conversation or an argument, I'm just pointing out how I find it quite ironic that so many peoples hero, in real life and in-game they would call a snowflake or a cuck if they personally knew them outside of gaming.

When did Ryo Hazuki being "pretty damn liberal" become apparent to you? Was it when he assumed Lishao Tao was a man, or was it when he beat up that transvestite in the zebra pants?

Best post ever.

Have a 7 day time out. When you come back, try to be less annoying.

What I don't understand is, how come, if the cutscenes are really going to be in the original 4:3 ratio that this screen capture from a Shenmue 2 cutscene in the announcement trailer is in 16:9 ratio?
The little box in the lower right of the first page of the article has a list of changes. The 2nd bullet point says:

●操作可能なシーンでは、画面比率が16：9に変更
（イベントシーンなどは4：3)

Which, you can copy/paste into Google translate yourself and it confirms what the german article claims. I think the article is accurate. I'm going to re-post this screenshot again:
http://www.sappharad.com/images/shenmue2_sidebyside.jpg
The Shenmue 2 cutscenes were already widescreen, just letterboxed. After we got the letterboxed Yuan shot, my opinion on this is that it's probably going to be selectable, but we're going to be stuck with 4x3 in Shenmue 1 because they don't want to manually fix every cutscene with problems outside of the safety area.

Careful what you wish for...

With some users emailing the developer and the board having already bombarded that d3t user with the issue, it's possible the devs will end up implementing a "halfway" solution and simply zoom in cutscenes to fill a 16:9 ratio, like the Final Fantasy X Remaster, or Resident Evil HD.

Cropping is the easiest way to check that 16:9 box, if d3t become convinced that it's a burning issue because of some vociferous whining on here.

D3t aren't gonna be fucking with alternate camera angles without SEGA's permission, which they clearly don't have or we wouldnt be here. And spare me ridiculous suggestions like a mix of 4:3 and 16:9 cutscenes to mask the frozen animations problem. Presentation that unbalanced wouldn't even fly with SEGA.

THANK YOU. I swear to god, if they end up zooming and cropping the image to create the 'illusion' of a 16:9 resolution, they better offer a 4:3 option. If they don't, I will be so pissed off. I can't believe people actually think zooming and cropping the image is acceptable. I'd take a full uncropped 4:3 image any day of the week.