ChiefNeo wrote:O Rei do Frango Assado wrote: Yeah... That looks hideous, in my opinion. However, I'll hold my judgement till I see an actual reveal of the game, with its finalized look (and, with the game not being at E3, who knows when that'll be?). As it is, though, I really dislike this character model, both design-wise and graphics-wise. This had better be VERY work-in-progress. For the love of God, I don't want to see Shenmue's characters' aesthetic turning into something like a Blizzard game, or Street Fighter IV. That alone would be enough to make me regret spending almost 200€ funding this game.
I do have hope, however, that, considering the fact that Shenmue has always had realistic-looking characters (yes, somewhat stylized, but still quite realistic, especially for its time) and that the screenshots of Shenmue 3's backgrounds we've seen so far are actually pretty realistic, the game will indeed keep an overall realistic aesthetic (and have some decent graphics for its characters, for Christ's sake! I don't expect Uncharted 4-quality character models, but I don't want to see Shenmue's Guilin populated by plastic action figures of Saturday morning cartoons). It just wouldn't make sense to suddenly forgo its realistic look, especially in Shenmue, which is a continuous saga, so consistency is important.
So, like I said, I'm keeping cool and waiting until they actually show a proper Shenmue 3 trailer, or just anything substantial that looks like a finished game.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about the possible cartoony (yes, that's what it is) aesthetic they might be going for the game's characters, though. Sure, I always say that Yu Suzuki knows what he's doing and that this is his baby, so he won't fuck it up with stupid, nonsensical stuff, but I used to say the same thing about Hideo Kojima and look at what he did with MGS V... Middle-age crisis can have quite an effect on some men...
As for the game skipping this E3, well, this makes it almost certain that the game will be delayed. Then again, I always found that December 2017 goal to be unrealistic.
It's a bit of a bummer that we won't see the game at E3, as obviously I'm curious to see just what Shenmue 3 will actually look like as game, since, for all intents and purposes, we still haven't really seen anything, but I can't say I mind a delay, though. In fact, from a more selfish point of view now, I even welcome it, as, by December 2017, I should still be on a several month long backpacking trip and I really wouldn't like knowing that Shenmue 3 was already at my home, waiting for me to play it, while I was travelling, and that I couldn't do it for who knows how many months more.
So, take your time, Suzuki-san! Just, at the end of it all, give us a great game that is true to Shenmue.
I think a big part of it is the lighting. Games these days insist on such strong and realistic lighting, which, under circumstances such as these, make the textures look plastic.
Excellent example is, once again, Wind Waker.
Compare the original:
vs the hd version with the new lighting. It's such a simple change but it alters everything. The palette, the feel, and the "texture" of the polygons.
If they changed the light that's hitting that model some of the sheen may come off and make it look much better.
Yeah, I guess so. I mean, this is just a polygon dent test. Besides, it would just be embarrassing to release a game with that kind of graphics, especially when the backgrounds are already looking quite good. Still, it hurts my eyes to look at it. The damn thing just looks ugly. But I guess that they had to show something just to keep their promise to give a update on KS every month...
My main concern lies with its cartoony aesthetic, really. But I have a feeling (hope) that this will just be a minor character where they simply went a bit wild and over the top with its design. That's why that, despite my concerns, I'm still fairly confident that the game will end up looking pretty good and, most importantly, looking like Shenmue (just with better graphics) and not like "Shenmue, Made by Blizzard" (nothing against Blizzard, but that kind of aesthetic just doesn't belong in Shenmue. It wasn't like that in Ryo's first chapters, so I don't see why it should start being so now).