Tigrr wrote: I know it's too early to judge the games visuals based on what's been shown so far, but how important are the graphics to you?
The screenshots released in the latest Kickstarter didn't look horrendous to me, but I do think that the lighting is far too harsh (especially in the first screenshot and the firefly video they released a few months back) and certain textures look too plasticky, like Ryo's jacket.
As much as I'd love to see revolutionary graphics that we had with Shenmue 1, I don't think Yu Suzuki has the budget the produce that. Personally, I'd rather the main character models were spot on and the story and gameplay take priority.
What do you guys think? Are you pleased with how things are progressing?
Give it time, the graphics are getting better. So they will only improve. It's hard to have the same expectations of Shenmue 3 as you did with Shenmue 1 & 2. There just isn't the budget for it.
BlueMue wrote: I still have a part in me that wants Shenmue III to have the same cutting edge level graphics that Shenmue had during it's time. But I'd be happy with much less then that. The reason that Shenmue and especially Shenmue II are still pleasant to the eye is not because of its model or texture quality, it's from the overall equal degree in quality and the constant detailing on everything, the tone that the visuals have. As long as Shenmue III will have that appeal I'm happy with it.
I personally find the lighting in that one new screenshot much better then what we saw in that firefly teaser. Sure it's a bit much and one has yet to get used to this in a Shenmue game but it's much more fitting in that scene and much less over the top seeming. Also these are still pretty far from how the game will look in the end. Still just testing.
I think the lighting still needs work, not subtle enough. Too much bloom the lights if those tiled rooms are to be used as reference.
I think the real challenge is making things look worn and old. It's 80's China and not much was new back then, much of it aging. The wood in one of the fight scenes is fresh and new, just like NoconKid's Hazuki Dojo.. but that was when Japan was going through it's 80s boom. China back then was quite a contrast in fortune.
It's looking good, really good. Three months is not a long time, but I can imagine much of the work has been on planning key areas and slowly developing those.