paypal not being up immediately after the kickstarter ended was a huge opportunity missed.

the kickstarter was raising by 1000's even at the very end. at least some portion of those would have hopped straight onto paypal.

shenmue is trending huge on twitter today and there is still no paypal for people who might only be finding out about the kickstarter now.

Well, Cedric Biscay retweeted me, so...

Cedric Biscay retweeted you
6h: Fans backed Shenmue 3 to see YOUR vision Yu! @yu_suzuki_jp @CedricBiscay

Thank god for Cedric.

This gave me an idea:

We contact Cedric and ask him to suggest to Suzuki a Backer-Poll, the poll would ask something along these lines: "Do you prefer if I shape Shenmue 3's around the fans' ideas and feedback, or would you rather have me go with my original vision for the game?"

Should make Suzuki understand what the fans want from him... We want Suzuki's Shenmue 3.

It doesn't have to do with "fees" any middleware will take a cut from the money, it was about riding the wave of the KS record, so it could be on the news and get people that were hyped but haven't backed could get on the train.

It's just stupid, really bad management. What's the point of cutting momentum ? NONE.

shredingskin wrote:

NeoShredder wrote: Perhaps they're holding out until they've collected the money from this round?

For what ? Also most kickstarters have paypal even before finishing it.

Exactly. There's absolutely no reasonable excuse why this isn't available yet. Chalk up another blunder for a poorly run campaign.

That post made me went into meditation,

Like really deep.

Came from nirvana and still no paypal.

There is nothing worse than fan-service. I absolutely loathe it.

I'm a big proponent of the auteur theory and whether it matches our expectations I strongly believe Suzuki should follow his original vision and blue-print with Shenmue III. I do not want fans having input on the story, characters or narrative. Community input can be used in other elements but I hope Suzuki stays true to his intended designs and mechanics he wants to see.

Designing by community is always an awful idea in media entertainment and you get a watered down, middle of the road product. I would hate to see something similar with Shenmue III.

At this point I don't care. It's past (thank God!).
We've had the best kickstarter campaign and now we can focus on the actual game content and not some marketing campaign.

If they're in charge of sending out all the rewards do you really think people are getting the game on time? I can picture in a few years the game being available to buy and everyone who pledged will be without their copy. It will be a combination of shocking and hilarious to watch the meltdown.

If they're in charge of that stuff I seriously think we haven't seen the tip of the iceberg of hate for Awesome Japan.

People said AJ couldn't be trusted with charging us because they'd ruin things because they were "taking the weekend" off but they ended up charging us yesterday. The last Twitch stream was a success despite the power outage, AJ turned it around after the Twitch stream for the most part. Even I, one of AJ's biggest critics on this forum is giving them slack because they showed that they up to stepping up to the plate. Despite all of this evidence, you guys still are giving AJ a hard time. Get over it.

Uhh, no. The charging process is automatically handled by Kickstarter. AJ has nothing to do with this. They are taking the weekend off, again. They will write their 5 minute thank you message on Monday.

And although the second stream was a lot better, it did not make much sense to me to explain the rewards 20 minutes before the end (especially the busts that were priced way too low and were long gone). And presenting the poll results they already published in an update before? #-o

At this point I don't care. It's past (thank God!).
We've had the best kickstarter campaign and now we can focus on the actual game content and not some marketing campaign.

What if they get to run the long term funding through Paypal? It will be a disaster. The coming 6 months will be crucial for funding, while at the same time the development team will have little to show. Marketing and transparency in communication will continue to play an important role. Things AJ can't be trusted with.

Great post. I really hope they are able to build enough capacity within Ysnet to run this by themselves but I frankly don't expect communication to be a whole lot better. Getting a community manager to channel the passion and dedication of the fanbase would be a good start.

The last Twitch stream was a success despite the power outage, AJ turned it around after the Twitch stream for the most part. Even I, one of AJ's biggest critics on this forum is giving them slack because they showed that they up to stepping up to the plate.

What is your definition of success regarding the Twitch stream? The fact even after a catastrophic first Twitch stream they still had technical problems and there was echo for the first 10-15 minutes of the stream. The supposed power outage was magnified by a computer problem they had on their end. During fan segment the audio wasn't working. Instead of pitching the last few higher tier items they spent 30 minutes talking about a public poll they took, the results which were released weeks earlier.

You're a good poster but tell me how exactly did AJ step it up. Seriously what ideas did they implement (Which the community didn't pester and ask for repeatedly) did they include in the KS campaign?

The campaign was not good. PR was poor.

And yet, we will; still get Shenmue 3.

I don't know if the PR was poor, we did break records but I think it's very apparent the campaign didn't come close to realizing its full potential due to mismanagement.

If they wanted to play fast and loose with the authenticity of what machines you'd find in an arcade, not only do i think there should be a smaller range of time than a decade, but also that if that's what they wanted they would have done it in the beginning but that's not what they made, so to mess with it now would be jarring.

I'm sorry, i might be misinterpreting your point. Are you saying if they wanted, they would incorporate VF (i say VF because it's the most discussed game)? I'm a layman in everything programming and game development (i'm talking out of my ass so take everything i say with a pinch of salt), but i don't think they could have a VF inside Shenmue on the Dreamcast. But there's something else...

Part of the point of the game is to create a sort of emotional/nostalgic connection to the past.

There's also context. In this case, you're talking about a game releasing in 2018(?), taking place in 1988(?) that MIGHT include an arcade game from 1993. If Shenmue 3 was released in 2003 it would be a different case, VF wouldn't have that nostalgia factor associated, which i think it does now.

The arcades are a bigger part of the open world than chocolate bars. The arcade's visible, the machine's visible.

Are VF arcades different than the regular arcades?(honest question)
I think they are standard looking, i couldn't differentiate them without looking up close, so i don't understand how a VF arcade would stand out that much

To compare it to having Shenhua appear on drink cans, that's really kind of a wink to the players from the developers, on a drink can and a chocolate bar, but these weren't fundamentally ruining the experience.

Well, the "problem" lays there. For you, the Shenhua and VF posters in S1 don't break immersion, but VF arcade does. To other people, those same posters can be off putting... I guess it's in the eye of the beholder, so there's no way to ever please everybody

... it's an incredibly detailed time capsule.

... that features a Sega Saturn (and maybe other stuff that i'm missing). A lot of movies have tried to go for the most realistic approach in this regard, but there's always that little something that does'nt quite belong there.

My final thoughts on this whole VF affair is that's really kind of a wink to the creators legacy, and to the origin of Shenmue itself, so i'm pretty fine with it. (hell, we don't even know if it will really be included)

Anyone else picture the members of AJ slowly typing "what is paypal?" into their Bing search window as soon as the Twitch stream was over?

Deleted my previous post.
I have no idea what this guy is freaking out about at this point, or what points he was ever trying to make to begin with, if you watched the post mortem already and know the general story and chapter structure of the Shenmue series, and KNOW that the story portion is completed and has been for some time. I dont get what the fuss is about.
Just because the story is completed doesn't mean it's set in stone... For example, maybe Suzuki planned for Ren or a fan-favorite character to die in Shenmue 3, but after polling the backers he decided against that.

Do I think Suzuki will make a drastic move such as that? No, I don't.
But there is a chance he might, especially since he has gone out of his way to say that he will abandon his old design philosophy of strictly following his vision and not be influenced by what others think.

I thought he was saying that "the bomb" shouldn't be related to further funding.

Yeah, my point stands.
Just because there's a VF arcade game doesn't mean they have to go out of their way to explain why there are 3d games there- who cares? It's a mini game, it doesn't matter. It's exactly the same as Ryo possessing CDs in 87, and it's exactly the same as there being VF toy capsules (or Nights into Dreams, for that matter).
I'm not saying I want VF in there, I honestly don't care either way, and actually, I agree with the people who are saying that there shouldn't be any arcades in S3 due to the game's location.
But it's a bad argument to say that VF shouldn't be in the game BECAUSE they didn't have 3D games back then.

-

Or it could just be that around a week ago, we all threw a combined total of 6.3 mil at them, and they are in no real hurry to get the Paypal page up because they know we're all currently broke :)

Speak for yourself. I'm sitting on millions. I just want them to work for it.
YS NET Behind the scenes
https://youtu.be/7bXjWRXDFV8?t=11s

Yeah, after all these years the last thing I want is a taste, I want the full course. Also, I don't want the first moments spoiled in any way. I've waited forever to see them, I want to see them proper. The only thing I could see working would be a What's Shenmue approach, something irrelevant, yet gives us a taste of the engine, etc.

Honestly, I'll prolly not love spending the whole game in China. Big fan of Japanese culture here, rural China just ain't my favorite, I'm more of a Yokosuka boy i guess. But i knew that anyways and still sold the family treasure to fund the game. True love eh?

Oh well the family treasure was just a pair of rare snakers and thus 100 Dollars. But hey I'm not Bill Gates, mmm-kay?

Thief wrote: Don't be posting fake nonsense news about how Shenmue III is gunna be announced at e3 or nothin'. That shit will get you banned real quick.

Get your facts straight. It's Half Life 3. That's why Yu posted the forklift. Forklifts will be necessary to move crates of Half Life 3 copies.

I don't get people say "by today's standards" at the time smooth analogue controls had existed for quite some time and the only reason why shenmue's controls are clunky is because they purposely made them that way for the experience.

Wherever they're good or bad is purely subjective as they achieve their purpose just fine and it all depends on wherever the user likes the way they achieve that purpose or not. Really there's no right or wrong answer here...

End of discussion.

I'm surprised that people are questioning how important the line is considering....

how much weight those words carry if he really was Zhao Sun Ming's killer (or if he was somehow responsible or involved with what did happen to him.) Being killed by your best friend's son may send some thoughts running through your head about how you treat others.

.

If the PayPal funding does get canned I doubt it'll be due to Yu having everything he needs (he wanted $11m after all) and more around these issues they had.

Yea it's possible the additional funding has been sourced but the investor(s) would be looking for a return on that investment whereas the only return the fans would expect are the rewards they pledge for.

Either way there really should be an update- even if it's to say theres no update!

Biscay has stated he doesn’t foresee another KS campaign in the future; then again, if Shenmue 3 were to only sell 100K copies at launch, he might suddenly feel the need to eat those words… assuming part 4 would still be an option.

Personally, I’m optimistic in regards to Sony’s backing…though at this point we don’t have much to go on. Sega’s past marketing campaigns from the Shenmue 1 & 2 days weren’t exactly stellar considering they were promoting one of the Dreamcast’s flagship franchises, and…let’s face it, back then, Shenmue’s graphics were amazing enough to sell quite a few of those copies to begin with (there was no competition; graphics-wise, the game looked like it came straight out of the 21st century. Not the case anymore).

-Shenmue 1 sold about 1.2M copies;
-Shenmue 2 (DC/ Xbox), roughly 500K units.
http://www.vgchartz.com/gamedb/?name=shenmue

I’m curious to see where part 3 will stand. One thing’s certain: the game won’t sell nearly as well without an HD collection. It should only be a matter of time until that’s announced, IMO.

I think the lack of marketing was a huge reason for I & II doing poorly. Shenmue IIx was a joke marketing-wise as well.

lol no, Ren sounds like a pussy, I laughed my ass off the first time I heard him in English. Even Ryo sounds more bored than in S1. I'd also rather avoid a Fuku san that sounds like a clown, among other things. Ugh, what a shitty, terrible dub.

Ren sounds like a whiny smartass, which he is. The game will never be nominated for any awards, but I think the only reason that you think the Japanese VA is that much better is because you can't understand them. I don't think it's all that great either.

And I don't remember Fuku-san being in Shenmue 2.
well you're wrong. the japanese va is really good with very good high calibre voice actors well known for other movies and projects. the american va is TERRIBLE. this has even been admitted by guys like jeremy blaustein who worked on the dub. it was terrible because yu suzuki didn't understand a single word of english and was the one responsible for hiring non actors for this only because they were either befriended with his cousin or because they were the only one willing to travel to japan to do the voices there

It sounded great when I couldn't understand them, and still sounds great 14 years later now that I can, though that's irrelevant. English Ren is a huge pussy, and I was referring to Shenmue 1 when I mentioned Fukusan, obviously since he isn't in 2.

Your carrots.......keep....carrots....th-those you eat.....close to you.

Does this mean.......






..... Comix Zone HD???!!!

you could even argue that the release wasn't even complete without the inclusion of English dubbed voice acting.

More like the U.S. Audience got f*cked because they didn't get to play the game with the superior original voices.

Relevant part from the recent Famitsu interview . Seemingly still alive.

Q: Do you have plans for other ways to accept funding?

YS: I'm planning on accepting funding via PayPal. It is still being coordinated so I can't give details at the moment, but progress is being made on getting it ready.

Q: Depending on the amount of further funding, is there a possibility that stretch goals not reached during the Kickstarter campaign will be included?

YS: I would like to add them if possible. Kickstarter is a non-Japanese site and so I think it may have been hard for Japanese people to use. Even for the mailing address entry, people may have worried that making a slight mistake might result in their rewards not being delivered. So when accepting funding through PayPal, I'd like to ensure it supports Japanese language.

Q: That makes sense. With Japanese support, fans in Japan will feel relieved, won't they.

From the interview seems that fishing will be the only "stable" job Ryo can have.

He should make it 2 or 3 part time jobs. In SII if you didn't use the reset/try again gambling carrying crates was boredom, lucky hit was fun, but then you only made very little money and a lot of time.

He should make a really hard job paying a good ammount and an easy/fun for little (or/and also an average one).

I am ok with photos, but I don't want to watch a game play video. Pictures we can look at every little detail and have fun with our own imaginations, but seeing videos of something we will actually play is something that I will avoid. I will say as time goes on, we may have to have a global announcement written up regarding spoilers, and be harsh with making sure topics are clearly labelled, and/or spoiler tags used when necessary.

That's absolutely brilliant. I think many of us agree that he absolutely nailed the aesthetics of what we would like to see with a HD remaster.

Happy to see him involved.

Wow that's the flashback shorts taken care of!

Great news!

Honestly I'm going to buy the two versions, I just can't chose. The two have their drawbacks.

I don't really see any drawbacks with the PC version, it'll (hopefully) be graphically superior and support PS4 controller (though I'm hoping for 360 controller support as well). Been meaning to have a proper gaming PC for years, will save up and build one just before Shenmue III comes out.

Interview coming soon (this week).

Journalism isn't journalism anymore.

It's blogging with a paycheck.

That's why these people insert their crappy opinions like it's fact.

Yeah, even if I'm not a fan, I'm sorry to hear the line of fiction you were reading isn't going to continue. I think all of us Shenmue fans can relate to how that feels.

yep, also these people that think a non commercial fan project can be easily crushed have no idea what they're talking about and obviously haven't heard of the Streisand effect either.

maybe people with poor reading comprehension skills can't get past their assumption that we're saying it's more to kill his fan project than because he's talented, when really no one is claiming that they would hire him if he weren't talented, if not for his talent none of us would even know who he is.

You're not going to run into major spoilers when reading the interview HOWEVER, DO NOT read the question 14 if you don't want to know bosses that are going to be in the game. You've been warned ! ;-)

Thanks for warning us, please may you put question 14 in a spoiler tag when you post the interview? I'm looking forward to hearing more about the game but I still want to leave the story itself unspoiled :)

Hello guys,

As promised, I've received Yu Suzuki's approval to publish it, so here it is !

Meeting Yu Suzuki in Japan once again was awesome. I had the opportunity to meet with the development team and saw some footage and can say that Shenmue is definetly in good hands.

This interview do not contain major spoilers, however, DO NOT read the question/answer #14 if you do not wish to know about Shenmue III's bosses.

Enough said, here you go !

English version / 英語版 :

PDF version : coming soon

Yu Suzuki's interview : A New Shenmue (2015)

1) David : Hello Yu Suzuki. Today is September 14th and 2 months have passed since the end of the Kickstarter's campaign. Could you tell us how you've felt during the campaign ?

Yu Suzuki : Many people asked me how it was during E3 so I'd rather talk about what happened after that, the development and so on. That's what is the most interesting to me. The game's budget has been decided with the Kickstarter and we're working on it accordingly. We're currently testing the Unreal Engine 4.

http://s20.postimg.org/3q8adrch9/image.jpg

2) David : 14 years have passed since the release of Shenmue II. If you had to think about it, was there anything that could have been improved in the previous games ?

Yu Suzuki : When I was making Shenmue II, my goal was to make it better than the first one. Of course, there are many things that could have been better. If I had to provide an example, that'd be the use of time. How long you had to wait until the next event.

In Shenmue Yokosuka, the player had no other choice but to wait until the next event occured. The concept was to add many different features for the player to enjoy while waiting for the said rendezvous. After the first Shenmue was done, people provided their feedback and many of them were frustrated having to wait, that's why I've decided to add the « Skip Time » feature in Shenmue II. By using it, you could skip time and jump to the next scene.

3) David : During the trailer of Shenmue Online, we could see Shenhua summoning a Phoenix to fight Lan Di. Is it linked to the original story of Shenmue ?

Yu Suzuki : This is a story I made up specially for Shenmue Online. So no, It has no link to the original story.

http://s20.postimg.org/v4nf1xkvh/image.jpg

I would like to ask you some questions regarding Shenmue III and the Kickstarter campaign if you don't mind.

4) David : You've planned to add scenes from the first 2 games « Story Digest » in Shenmue III to describe the story. Are you going to use the previous games original scenes or do you plan to recreate them under the Unreal Engine 4 ? Is there any chance you're going to add Chapter 2 « the boat » in it ?

Yu Suzuki : The boat chapter won't be added. Regarding the « Story Digest » we're thinking about the best way to add it.

5) David : A fan has made a suggestion and wanted you to hear it. Is it possible for Ryo to hold a camera and take some pictures that the player could save in the inventory ?

Yu Suzuki : Ryo holding a camera doesn't match with his style and the way he is. However, the fact that the «player» himself is taking the pictures sounds like a nice idea. To be honest, I already thought about it before, so if that's possible, I would like to make this possibility happen.

6) David : In your previous interviews, you've mentioned that Shenmue III's size would be around the size of Shenmue's Dobuita. Each village will be around the same size as Dobuita or where you talking about the full game ?

Yu Suzuki : I want to make Choubu as large as Dobuita. Now, about the remaining villages, we're thinking about it.

http://s20.postimg.org/ua0vfwd0t/image.jpg

7) David : Characters will be linked to Ryo through the « Rapport System ». But is it going to change the main story and why not, make some of the characters disappear at some point ?

Yu Suzuki : This system has been built for Ryo and Shenhua. We are thinking about the possibility to make it work with other characters but that's undecided. Regarding the impact that it's going to have on the story and the game itself, that is currently under experimentation.

8 ) David : The exclusive Kickstarter content « S3World telecom» will provide the possibility to call some characters of the previous games. But are the conversations going to be limited to some lines only or will they offer some variations ?

Yu Suzuki : No, It won't be limited to a single conversation.

9) David  : The Stretch Goals «AI Battling», «Ragdoll Reaction» and «High Ground Battle System» have yet to be reached, but is there anything we could learn about these Stretch Goals ?

Yu Suzuki : Some of you may know what the Ragdoll physics is. If you release the strength of the body, it becomes like a doll, that's not really natural. That's why we're working on the «Motion Blending», adding some resistance to the muscles for example, to obtain realistic moves.

In a Virtua Fighter scene, patterns were determined by the Motion Capture, but with the Ragdoll physics, moves won't repeat over and over. If you get into something (like a wall) the reaction won't be the same. In fact, I'd like to combine the «Ragdoll Physics», the «Motion Blending» and «IK Constraint» to make the NPC and battle's reactions as real as possible.

Regarding the «AI Battling» Stretch Goal, if I had to explain this simply, that'd be, for example, when you're hitting the punch button of your pad to hit your opponent. A jab when he's close, to hit him when he's away from you and to move to hit him when he's even more far away. I would like to create a system that is taking account of the distance, conditions and the position of your rival. During normal fights, if you push a button, your character will use the same move over and over without considering your current situation. I don't really like that and would like to use the «AI Battling» to add some variations to the movements depending on your current state.

And finally, the «High Ground Battle System», is the interactivity with the surrounding environment. I want to create and add strategy and realism to the battles. For example, throwing your opponent on a barrel and making it break or hitting a wall and making it fall like a wave on your enemy. I'd like to create more complex battles using the UE4's physical phenomenon.

David : These features were not available in the first two games right ?

Yu Suzuki : To say the truth, I've already used it. You could see something like that during the «70 Man Battle». But these techniques were used 14 years ago and I am sure that the result will be more interesting if we use the actual technology.

10) David : Is Shenhua going to be with Ryo all the time or is Ryo going to be on his own from time to time as well ?

Yu Suzuki : Both. Moments where Ryo will be on his own and some where Shenhua will stand by his side.

http://s20.postimg.org/6lldkmgh9/image.jpg

11) David : Just like in Shenmue I and II, is it going to be possibile to grab the items around us and examine them ?

Yu Suzuki : I would like to make it.

12) David : Some people would like to know more about the Paypal campaign and its rewards. Is there anything you can tell us ?

Yu Suzuki : The campaign will start on September 17th. With Kickstarter, people were limited to one reward, but this time, they will be able to add other rewards. Also, I'd like Japanese users to browse this page, all details will be in Japanese. The remaining Stretch Goals are also a part of this campaign and if we reach them, as promised, they will be made. I am counting on you !

13) David : Niao Sun has been presented during the first Shenmue events but is only appearing for the first time in Shenmue III. Why did you show her so soon during the promotion of the game ? Is there a special reason behind this ?

Yu Suzuki : There's no real reason. She was attractive and I liked her, that's why I wanted to show this character to all of you as soon as possible !

http://s20.postimg.org/jr0vqqact/image.jpg

14) David : Looking at the development's schedule, 4 big bosses will be added to the game. Have you decided to cut some parts of the story and add the 4 main Chiyoumen bosses ?

Yu Suzuki : All I can tell you is that you're going to face Niao Sun of course, and also Lan Di !

http://s20.postimg.org/40fsx3r3h/image.jpg

15) David : Many players would like to have the possibility to switch between the Japanese and English voices. Do you plan to add such a feature in Shenmue III ?

Yu Suzuki : We are considering the possibility to switch between English and Japanese voices. So, many people would like Japanese voices and English subtitles ? I will probably start a poll about this to see what people are looking forward to.

Here is the last question !

16) David : Any special message that you'd like to say to the fans and why not, people who never played Shenmue until today ?

Yu Suzuki : My message towards the fans :

Thank to all of you who have been waiting for the last 14 years. I will bring with Shenmue III a new way to play and many things that were not in the first two games. I am aware that many of you are expecting Shenmue III to be the same as the first games but as a game creator, I am always challenging myself and I'd be very happy if the fans appreciated Shenmue III. Thank you for welcoming the new Shenmue !

Now the message toward players who never experienced Shenmue before :

I am developing it in the best possible way to make sure that you are going to enjoy the experience even though you have never played the first Shenmue. So even if you have no idea what the Shenmue I and II were, please do not hesitate to try it out please !

http://s20.postimg.org/ja248r8x9/DSC_0563.jpg

The interview is now over. I would like to say thank you to Yu Suzuki who allowed me to do this interview. A huge thanks to all the people working at YsNet, for their warm welcome and kindness.

I'd also like to say thank you to Cédric Biscay, french co-producer of Shenmue III. I had the opportunity to meet him and I can tell you that he's really motivated and he loves Shenmue as much as we all do ! Shenmue III is in good hands and I am really looking forward to it !

My next interview should happen during the Magic Monaco in February 2016.

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed the answers.

©David DE VILLE

**********

Japanese version / 日本語版 ：

鈴木裕さんのインタビュー : 新しいシェンムーへ

1) ダビッド ： 鈴木さん、こんにちは。本日、インタビューを行わせていただくことになり、ありがとうございます。宜しくお願い致します。それでは、はじめましょう。シェンムーⅢのKickstarterのキャンペーンが終了してから、二ヶ月ぐらい経過しました。よろしければ、キャンペーンの間の印象を教えて頂けませんか。

鈴木氏 ： 皆さんに良く聞かれたのはショーの期間中の印象でしたので、その代わりにE3（ロサンゼルスで行われるゲームショー）が終わったあとや開発について話したいと思います。バジェットが決まったので、そのバジェットに合わせてゲームのフローに従って、現在はUE4のテストに入っています。

http://s20.postimg.org/3q8adrch9/image.jpg

2) ダビッド ： シェンムーⅡが発売されてから１４年が経過しました。今、思い浮かべると、シェンムーⅠとⅡには改善点があったと思いますか。

鈴木氏 ：　シェンムーⅡを作るときはシェンムーⅠを改善して作ったので、もちろん改善点が沢山ありました。一つの例を挙げると、待ち合わせの時間です。シェンムーⅠでは待ち合わせの時間までただ待つことしか出来ませんでした。なので、シェンムーⅠでは待ち合わせの時間までに遊ぶ要素を沢山入れてあります。待っている時間に違うことをやって欲しいというのがシェンムーⅠのコンセプトでした。シェンムーⅠが終わったらそこに対してストレスが溜まると言うプレイヤーの声が高かったのでシェンムーⅡでは待つシステムを入れることに決めました。その時間まで待つというシステムを使うと、その時間と場所にジャンプすることが出来るようになりました。　

3) ダビッド ： シェンムーオンラインのトレーラーでは藍帝（らんてい）は龍を、シェンファは鳳凰を召喚して戦っているシーンがありました。このシーンはシェンムーのメインストーリーと繋がっているのでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： シェンムーオンラインのために作った外伝なので、オリジナルストーリーと繋がっていません。

http://s20.postimg.org/v4nf1xkvh/image.jpg

4) ダビッド ： まだ、シェンムーをやったことがないプレイヤーにストーリーを分かってもらうために、シェンムーⅢにシェンムーＩ＆Ⅱのストーリーダイジェストコンテンツが追加される予定があります。
それは、昔の動画（シェンムーThe Movie)か、あるいはUnreal Engine 4でリニューアルしたもので追加されるのでしょうか。そして、カットされた「二章　船」の動画版を追加されますか。

鈴木氏 ： シェンムー「二章　船」　は追加されません。ストーリーダイジェストに関してはどの形がいいかどうか検討中です。

5）　ダビッド ： シェンムーファンからのアイデアを聞いたので、お伝えさせていただきます。シェンムーⅢの涼がカメラを持って、写真を撮って、アルバムに保存できるシステムというアイデアでしたが、いかがでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： 涼がカメラを持つというと、ちょっと彼のイメージに合わないと思います。プレイヤーの方が写真を撮ったらいいと思っています。写真の機能が使えるのは以前からやりたいと考えていたので、出来ればやりたいです。

6） ダビッド ： 以前、他のインタビューを受けていたときに、鈴木さんはシェンムーⅢの世界のサイズはシェンムーのどぶ板と同じぐらいになると言いましたが、それは全部のエリアですか。それとも一つずつの村がどぶ板と同じぐらいのサイズになるということでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ：鳥舞をどぶ板くらいの大きさにしたいと思っています。他の村については検討中です。

http://s20.postimg.org/ua0vfwd0t/image.jpg

7） ダビッド ： 今回は好感度システムによって涼が他のキャラクターと繋がっていることは変わりますが、そのシステムでストーリーの変更や仲が悪いと仲間と会えなくなってしまう設定がありますか。

鈴木氏 ： 好感度システムは涼とシェンファーに向けて作ったシステムです。他のキャラに使うかどうかは検討中です。ストーリーやゲーム進行にどれくらいの影響を与えるかどうかは現在実験中です。

8） ダビッド ： キックスターター限定の国際テレホンカードで前作で出てきたキャラクターに連絡することが可能ですが、出来る会話が一つ限りなのか又はバリエーションがたくさんあるのでしょうか。

鈴木氏 : 会話は一つ限りではないです。

9） ダビッド ： 「ラグドールリアクション」や「ＡＩバトル」や「ハイグランドバトルシステム」というストレッチゴールはまだ達成していませんが、それについて詳しく説明してくださいませんか。

鈴木氏 ： 皆さんはご存知かもしれませんが、ラグドール物理演算というのがあって、人体の力を抜くと人形みたいなものになって、キャラクターがだらんとしてしまいます。これだけでやると動きが不自然になってしまいます。
そのため、これにモーションブレンディングしたり、例えば筋肉の抵抗（コンストレイン）を加えると、よりリアルな動きが出ます。バーチャファイターで攻撃をされるシーンはモーションキャプチャーで撮ったシーンでパターン化されていますが、ラグドールというのはそのときの地形やぶつかったときの動きを繰り返さないので、実際はラグドール、モーションブレンディング、ＩＫコンストレインを上手く組み合わせてバトルのリアクション・・・例えばNPCのリアクションをもっとリアルにしたいです。

AIバトルというのは、例えば簡単にいうとパンチのボタンだったら、相手が近かったらジャブ、相手が少し離れていたらストレート、もっと離れていたら移動してストレートというふうに相手との位置や距離や状況に応じて,自動的にバトルの技が出来るようにAIでコントロールしたいです。普通のバトルというのはコマンドを押せばそのコマンドの技が出るという風になっているので、その技が状況に合っていなくても出てしまいます。それは良くないなと考えているので、状況に合った技をだすためにAIでコントロールしたいと思っています。

ハイグランドバトルシステム は、キャラクターの周りのものを使って、バトルに臨場感と戦略を加えて作りたいと思っています。例えば、敵を投げたらドラム缶が崩れてきて敵をやっつけるとか、闘おうとしているときに壁を叩いたら波のように崩れてきたり・・・UE4の物理現象を連鎖させて、より複雑で楽しいバトルを作りたいと思っています。演算を使ってやりたいなと思っています。

ダビッド ： シェンムーⅠ・Ⅱではやっていなかったシステムですね？

鈴木氏 ： ちょっとやっていました。７０人バトルのときにドラム缶が崩れてきたりとか…　ですが、あれは14年前の技術でやった表現なので、現在の技術でやったらもっと楽しいものになると思います。

10） ダビッド ： シェンムーⅢではシェンファがシェンムーIIと同じように常に涼と一緒にいるのか、彼が一人になることが多くなるのでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： 彼女と一緒にいるときもありますし、一人になるときもあります。

http://s20.postimg.org/6lldkmgh9/image.jpg

11) ダビッド ： シェンムーとシェンムーⅡでアイテムを細かく観察することが出来ましたが、シェンムーⅢでも同じような動作が出来ますか。

鈴木氏 ：　出来るようにしたいです。

12) ダビッド ： Kickstarterのキャンペーン終了後、更に支援したい方がPaypalで支援出来るシステムが発表されました。それについての詳細を説明して頂けますか。

鈴木氏 ： ９月１７日からPaypalを開始対応しています。Kickstarterでは１個しか買えなかったのですが、今回は追加の購入が出来ますし、あとは特に日本のユーザーが日本語で申し込むことが出来ますので是非ページを見に来て下さい。基本的にはストレッチゴールにも対応していますので追加金額でストレッチゴールをクリアすると約束している部分が実現出来ます。皆さん、宜しくお願いします。

13) ダビッド ： 鳥隼（ちょうじゅん）は昔からプロモーションキャラクターとして使用されていて、シェンムーⅢから登場することになりましたが、どうして１４年前からそのキャラクターを紹介されましたか。特別な理由がありますか。

鈴木氏 ： 特別な理由がありません。キャラクターが魅力的だったので、僕がそのキャラクターが好きで、早く皆さんに見せたかったからです。

http://s20.postimg.org/jr0vqqact/image.jpg

14) ダビッド ： 開発の構成によって、シェンムーIIIでは4つのボスがいるということが分かってきました。つまりストーリーを短くして、四天王（らんてい、こうてい、えんてい、げんてい）を含めることにしましたか。

鈴木氏 ： 一つだけのことを言います。四天王の藍帝(蒼龍) と炎帝（鳥隼）が出てきます。

http://s20.postimg.org/40fsx3r3h/image.jpg

15) ダビッド ： 日本語と英語音声を選択するオプションが欲しい方が多いそうです。このような選択肢をシェンムーⅢに追加するつもりでしょうか。

鈴木氏 ： 日本語版と英語版の音声切り替えが可能かどうか検討してみます。海外では日本語音声で英語字幕が欲しい人が多いですか。出来たら、一回アンケートを取ってみたいですね。

それでは、最後の質問です。

16) ダビッド ： シェンムーファンや又はシェンムーを初めてプレイする方々に伝えたい特別なメッセージがありましたら、どうぞ。

鈴木氏 ： シェンムーファンの皆さんについては１４年間ぐらい待ってくれて、本当にありがとうございます。シェンムーⅢではシェンムーI＆Ⅱにない、新しい遊びをチャレンジしようと思っています。シェンムーI＆IIとか全く同じ遊びを期待している人がいるかもしれませんが、鈴木裕は常に新しいことにチャレンジするクリエイターだと思って、シェンムーⅢを応援してくれると嬉しいです。新しいシェンムーを応援して下さい。

はじめて遊ぶ人については、シェンムーIとⅡを遊んでなくても、知らなくても楽しく遊べるように、シェンムーⅢを作る予定です。はじめてのプレイでも、シェンムーの良さが伝わるようなゲームになるので、是非遊んでみてください。

http://s20.postimg.org/ja248r8x9/DSC_0563.jpg

インタビューを読んで下さった皆さん、ありがとうございます。鈴木裕さんとYSNETのスタッフの皆さんにも大変感謝しております。

シェンムーIIIは２０１７年１２月末に発売予定です。興味がある方は是非、シェンムーIIIの公式サイトのページをご覧下さい。

http://shenmue.link/　

予約購入のページはこちらです。

http://shenmue.link/order_jp/

This is exactly why I've been through double-check and approval from YsNet. I didn't want journalists to grab some parts and turn these into false rumors or clickbaits.

Glad they quickly posted on Twitter that the Xbox thing was not true !

Don't believe anything until there's an official announcement. Shenmue 1 & 2 HD is big enough for its own announcement, not some side comment.

The jacket will probably be toned down abit but it is obvious that they're still experimenting with the lighting. They're also not utilizing any Post Processing at the moment and if they are it's only for a slight color node but I don't think they're using any in the second and fourth screenshot. I think it goes without saying that this will change and right now they're experimenting with an engine that they probably never used before so it takes abit of time and energy to figure these large frameworks out.


Hey, welcome. So in your personal opinion, do you think there's plenty of time for Yu and his team to master Unreal and learn to use it to its fullest (or at least to a high degree of proficiency) before Shenmue 3 releases? I know Yu has been out of the loop a while, and I don't think refusing to play modern games helps that, but, I'm curious to ask, from someone who has experience in UE, how realistic it would be for Yu and his team to catch up fairly quickly? What do you think?

Thank you for the welcoming! Oh of course! It took me about a full year to learn everything and that was me going in with very little game development experience. Team Yu will be able to figure it out quite easily i'm sure. Even if it takes a year to learn the minute details it will still leave them with plenty of time for polish and effort.

If I had 6 months, a full animation set and the 3d models necessary and a few level designer's I could probably re-create Shenmue 1's systems entirely from the cutscenes (Minus the voice acting and lip syncing), to a combat system to the general movement and transitions in Unreal Engine 4.

Working with C++ in UE4 is great. Typically with alot of Engines you end up with some sort of... well, a high level language but a minor scripting language at that without the ability to use pointers. I won't turn this into a programming lesson but let me just say that pointers is why C++ is still around after all these years which makes everything pretty easy!

It's true Yu Suzuki has been out of the modern game market for a while... but Shenmue wasn't really like any other game was it? That could've been why it did so poorly but it was easily the best to me. Mixing RPG elements into a fighting game while taking HUGE risks on an emphasis of building an atmospheric environment (Not just the levels but the NPC's) while giving you a variety of options on how you wanted to perform. Shenmue was way ahead of it's time by a decade at least. I don't know the specifics but if I had to speculate i'd say the budget went over originally because of the technology switches from the Saturn to the Dreamcast, the re-creation of thousands of textures and hundreds of models and easily thousands of lines of code. People seem to forget that building an engine (A stable one anyways) takes years to do and is easily one of the hardest type of frameworks to make that requires huge teams.

So what is my point? If I could do this then Team Yu should have no problem. I wouldn't worry about it at all... plus we're all forgetting one important fact here. IT'S SHENMUE 3!!!