A look at the Neilo office interior:

http://i.imgur.com/wh8cXtM.jpg

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

http://i.imgur.com/umGkKX0.jpg

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


More Here:
http://retaildesignblog.tumblr.com/post/109669250354/neilo-inc-office-by-canuch-inc-tokyo-japan

With regards to the appearance of Shenmue 3, it is evident that the art direction is one aimed towards a continuance of the past games with a highly stylized aesthetic, as opposed to the more prevalent hyper-realism focus.

Hyper realism is well achievable within the budget and manpower resources of Shenmue 3, as Ninja Theory has demonstrated with their recent 'Budget AAA' game Hellblade.

Hell Blade
Team Size: 50 Members
Engine: Unreal 4
Budget: Estimated $9 Million USD

http://i.imgur.com/LKddM1g.jpg


This visual style however is not the intended aim for Shenmue 3 as Yu Suzuki has stated in recent interviews.


Gamespark Interview, August 23

HM: There are also things like tuning the game engine.

YS: Right. In order to use the game engine properly, it has to be maintained. In addition, to make it feel like Shenmue, we have to write a lot of shaders and so on.

I'd be very curious to learn the amount of funding YS Net has been able to secure from Deep SIlver.

When you look at Deep Silver as a publisher and their success with the Metro series, they have certainly demonstrated themselves to be a company who is willing to provide the full commitment needed to bring AAA titles to the market.

Take for example Metro: Last Light, a 135 member development team (100 core developers and 2 outsourced teams spread across 35 members), who was provided the full financial support to create a game over a 3 year time frame. This was by no means a cheap investment from Deep Silver. If anything, it can be taken as a sign that Shenmue 3 is good hands.

Here's the thing people, 0 is a 2015 game, developed in 2014.

To compare the two to that title, isn't quite apt, as it was still on the Yakuza 5 engine as well (whichever engine that was).

Compare it to RGG 6, THEN we'll see what's better, as that is the most recent game in the series; Hell, Kiwami is a 2016 game, developed in 2015, so even that is closer to where we're at.

That being said, I could care less; as many others have said, I'll take a walking pile of turd as the model and still be happy :D

That first pic is indeed gorgeous, I had a huge smile on my face when I saw it :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:


I agree that if we are to draw a comparison between the Shenmue and Yakuza series, it is only fair to maintain an equal playing field by presenting the latest iterations of each game.

One point to take note of however is that comparing specific development years is somewhat erroneous because although Shenmue 3 is a newer game than Yakuza 6, the Unreal 4 engine is technically an older engine Yakuza's Dragon engine which debuted in 2015.


Shenmue 3
Unreal 4 Engine

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


Yakuza 6
Dragon Engine

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


Shenmue 3
Unreal 4 Engine

http://i.imgur.com/nfdX5Nv.jpg


Yakuza 6
Dragon Engine

http://i.imgur.com/pX994EN.jpg

Tetsunari Iwasaki was the lead 3D character designer for both Shenmue and Shenmue 2.

For those of you who are wanting this game to feature identical character models to the first two games, I'd suggest that you try contacting YSNet, Shibuya Productions, Deep Silver, etc and request that they hire him for this project.

With the publishing deal just recently finalized and the knowledge that the game will now be expanded into a broader open world, I think it's safe to assume that we won't be seeing a Shenmue 3 release for at least a year's time - though I'd personally be leaning towards a November/December release.

I don't care what they call it. It is what they are choosing to show us, and I am gonna call it out for what it is. I really hope they make the models better, but as it is right now, I think they are terrible for this day and age.

I think that your assessment of the character models is one held to a different standard than what Shenmue 3 is attempting to achieve visually. Yu Suzuki has stated numerous times that Shenmue 3 is not in pursuit of realism but of a more stylized aesthetic.


From the recent 4gamer Interview:

4 Gamer:
Do you mean to aim for realism?

Mr. Suzuki:
For example, real face expression etc. can be realized immediately by face capture.
However, we can only express people who are actually present. If we aim for entertainment as entertainment, we believe that we should exaggerate to some extent rather than expressing real things as they are.



Take for comparison the following games, Star Wars: Battlefront II and Dead or Alive Xtreme 3. Both are visually beautiful, but their art styles are very different. Perhaps this is something to bear in mind when comparing Shenmue 3 to other games.


Star Wars: Battlefront II
http://i.imgur.com/Lj8qkGN.jpg


Dead or Alive Xtreme 3
http://i.imgur.com/GcFeish.jpg

I feel as though as great as this engine seems to be, it is not right for Shenmue...

When a star developer like Square Enix abandons its own internal game engine (after years of development and countless dollars invested) in favor of Unreal 4 to deliver two of its most highly prized franchises, you know that Suzuki-San chose well.

https://youtu.be/_Ix4muaZj1s?t=57s


The same could be said for other esteemed Japanese franchises which have all made the switch to Unreal 4.

Shin Megami Tensei, Tekken, Street Fighter, Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter, etc


Further to this point, Epic has recently announced the development of over 20 Japanese made games using Unreal 4 for Nintendo Switch.

https://www.vg247.com/2017/05/05/epic-games-japan-says-there-are-20-unreal-engine-4-games-currently-in-development-on-switch/

Nice article! It's clear though that Shenmue 3 still has a long ways to go.

The partnership with Deep Silver was forged at the end of June, meaning that additional funding would have been provided thereafter. Recruitment of additional staff would then have followed over the next two months, which brings us up to September.

The game has finally reached full production status after two years of being undermanned and underfunded. I'd surmise that Shenmue 3 at full production capacity will not see a release for at least 14-16 months, depending on team size. This would bring us into a November 2018 - January 2019 time period.

I've been saying from the start that Sega are clearly backing the project, nice to have it confirmed.

To what extent is perhaps the more pertinent question.

As a financial backer? I highly doubt it.

More than likely Sega's role is limited to supplying YSNet with any of the required assets (musical scores, etc) and rights from the first two games.

Lakshya Digital past work:

Games
Full Throttle: Remastered (2017)
NieR: Automata (2017)
WWE 2K16 (2016)
Gemini: Heroes Reborn (2016)
Just Cause 3 (2015)
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)
WWE 2K15 (2015)
Bloodborne (2015)
Murdered: Soul Suspect (2014)
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (2014)
Grand Theft Auto V (2013)
Divekick: Addition Edition (2013)
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two (2012)
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (2012)
Starhawk (2012)
NeverDead (2012)
ArcaniA: Fall of Setarrif (2011)
Kinect Adventures! (2010)
ArcaniA: Gothic 4 (2010)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
Saw (2009)
On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode Two (2008)
On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One (2008)
Crash of the Titans (2007)

shmoozip wrote:

WildManofBorneo wrote: Lakshya is also currently providing art support for Rare's Sea of Thieves.

People are so racist when it comes to overseas countries. Look at their achievements in several games. Big games. Still we see some whine over nothing.

Who is whining?

Source:
https://twitter.com/ShenmueForever/media

Predicting a late April 2019 release. It won't be out any sooner.

Lakshya was brought in to help with the expanded scope in NPCs and characters. I seem to recall a small snippet where the development team has increased.

It could be larger than we think now.

The Shenmue 3 Lakysha team consists of approximately 30 game artists, namely 3D character art. In Japan I would estimate another 50-55 staff comprised primarily from YSNEt and Neilo staff, as well as various local contractors. This would would bring the team size to approximately 80-85 members, far smaller than the 175 member Shenmue 2 team, but still very capable at that. As an example, the highly acclaimed Shadow of the Colossus PS4 remake was achieved by a team of 80 staff spread between Bluepoint Studios and SIE Japan Studio.

As far quality is concerned, my sense from Yu Suzuki based on past interviews is that Shenmue 3 will be his most personal and intimate game in the series. I believe that we are in for something quite special.

As of May 17, 2018 12:00 JST

Total Amount Pledged
$6,891,136
Total Backers
75,957 backers



Only $109k to go!!

In reference to the logo on page 6 of the comments, I'm hoping for the return of the original logo. I still really don't like the Yu Suzuki drawn logo.

Nice to see everybody is so positive. I saw the IGN video and they said it will be delayed as a negative.


IGN paints every delay as a negative. It doesn't matter which game it is. They value not impeding on their impatience more than the quality of the product.


Granted more development time does not always equate to a better game, however YSNet had received a substantial injection of funds midway through development (which is rare in game development as the budget is established upon the initiation of the publishing deal - however Shenmue 3 was without one until August 2017) which allowed Yu to broaden the game beyond was initially envisioned.

When you look at the average game development cycle, 36-48 months is typically the norm. If anything, it was premature of Yu to target a 2017 release.

An example of various game development periods:

Shenmue I - 48 Months
The Last of Us - 44 Months
Until Dawn - 42 Months
Ico - 44 Months
Uncharted 4 - 42 Months
Heavy Rain - 48 Months
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) - 49 Months
Resident Evil 5 - 50 Months
Max Payne 3 - 58 Months
Killzone 2 - 51 Months
Beyond: Two Souls - 43 Months
Resident Evil 6 - 43 Months



It's likely that Shenmue 3 will fall between a 46-48 month cycle for a May - July 2019 release. Contrary to the popular opinion of IGN editors this shouldn't be a cause for concern.

Edit: Added additional game titles.

I don't get why they went with the cartoon-like approach with Shenmue 3's graphics. I much prefer the old Shenmue 1 and 2's realistic graphics. I'm not sure if it's to cut cost, but Shenmue 3 doesn't look anything like previous games.

Any thoughts?


The look of Shenmue 3 has nothing to do with its current budget, rather it is a deliberate aesthetic choice. The Unreal 4 engine in its very nature is designed for achieving realism, its lighting, its shaders, etc

This is an out of box UE4 rendering by a single individual:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaA2ZYhs-7I

Further to the budget issue, Hellblade was completed for 'way below $10 milion' using the Unreal 4 Engine.
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2015/09/16/ninja-theory-hellblade-indie-game/


Example:

https://i.imgur.com/Wh2bxIA.jpg

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

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


Yu Suzuki has stated in many previous interviews that the aim (for Shenmue 3) is "reality", not "realistic". YSNet has created a completely customized set of shaders to achieve this objective.

I always respond to this question with this:

So, personally, my answer is no. Shenmue has always been highly stylized imo, and I believe it's just the difference in fidelity and graphical tech between a 20 yo game and an UE4 game that is causing the perceived dissonance between the old games and 3. Just my personal opinion, though.

Agreed. Shenmue has always been a bit exaggerated, the colors always a bit saturated.

The unknown grandma in SIII looks to be a perfect continuation of this art style.

https://i.imgur.com/ltV1Mkn.jpg

The Shenmue III art style is fairly characteristic of Japanese video games, namely an idealized or exaggerated aesthetic. This is in largely in contrast to western video game developers who tend to favor a photorealistic approach. (Note: This is a sweeping generalization and there are obvious exceptions to both)

I happen to prefer the former, but ultimately it all comes down to personal preference.


Exaggeration

https://i.imgur.com/sB4yFMB.png


Photorealism (Ultimately any game which employs face capture technology)

https://i.imgur.com/Fn0CnK9.png


Photorealism isn't really an art style per se, but it is the direction video games seem to be heading.

Yu Suzuki emphasizes the "humidity" word to define Shenmue. He actually thinks that modern technologies make possible the feel of this humidity to recreate some reality. According to him, being only realistic is not interesting because realism is not an end in itself. The Suzuki's intention is to offer something more attractive, more aesthetic than the reality, to embellish it.

Source: https://shenmuemaster.fr/page.php?cat=shenmue3&page=gamescom-2017-the-recap

The art style hasn't really changed from the first two games except this guy has grown a mullet and now appears to be covered in a layer of grease.

The_Intruder wrote: Do you guys think they will announce Shenmue III release date at Gamescom August 21st because I can't wait any longer to play this game. Im really hoping for the game to come out before summer 2019.

The release is most likely going to occur sometime between May - September.