Nah Yu isn't Inafune. He also has some encouragement in the form of Cedric Biscay and Chinese investors(IIRC) that are gonna make sure the money they put in is coming back in a reasonable time frame.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
SHENMUE 3 Kickstarter (PC/PS4) Thread 2: New KS Record at $6.3m
- Thread starter Ryo Hazuki
- Start date
Nah Yu isn't Inafune. He also has some encouragement in the form of Cedric Biscay and Chinese investors(IIRC) that are gonna make sure the money they put in is coming back in a reasonable time frame.
Actually I remember reading about some kind of waring tribes strategy game mechanic actually being part of the game IIRC. It would make the most sense on this part of the game looking at the architecture and hearing about how Tulou buildings are governed.
Marketing. So prime placement on PSN for preorders and release, money towards billboards and a like.
Yu's team would still need to finish some assets and take the time to make b roll even if the trailer is put together in Sony.
Thanks for all the info on Tulou, guys. I dont see why my idea wouldn't work if they're all villages and have tribes and such.
Anyway is it weird that one of the things im most excited in all of Shenmue 3 is how they do Shenmue 1 and 2 flashbacks?
If they're having NicoKid using his remake assets, its gonna be awesome seeing Shenmue 1 & 2 locations in HD. Also very high chance of fan Shenmue remake mod for S3.
Anyway is it weird that one of the things im most excited in all of Shenmue 3 is how they do Shenmue 1 and 2 flashbacks?
If they're having NicoKid using his remake assets, its gonna be awesome seeing Shenmue 1 & 2 locations in HD. Also very high chance of fan Shenmue remake mod for S3.
Nope. Producer of the game said no footage at E3 this year.
Shenmue 1/2 HD
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sega-investigating-shenmue-1-and-2-hd-remasters/1100-6439731/
The games had a lot of branded items in them(Coca Cola/Fanta, Timex, Sapporo, Hitachi, etc...).If it was that easy I would think they would just texture it again and call it a day. It might be a bit more complicated and actually be engine related licensing issues and it's also loaded with voice acting as well.
I think you're taking the wrong thing away from Cedric's answer. He still said "no", and with only two weeks until E3, there's little chance of them scrapping something together and finding an appropriate venue to show it.
We also don't know if they've made any actual progress on cutscenes besides the storyboarding and planning. We'd have likely seen it in a Kickstarter update if they'd actually been recording the motion capture for the cutscenes already.
I'd like to be wrong, but I'm not going to clutch at straws just for the sake of getting excited, y'know? It hasn't even been a full year since development started. We should be glad they've gotten this far so efficiently, but let's not forget that a lot of legwork is still left to make the game presentable on an E3 stage.
A Kickstarter update with new info, screens, and maybe some video would be much more likely. It'll probably get retweeted by Sony's social media too, like the MAGIC screens were, but that's likely the end of Shenmue III's actual presence at E3 2016.
It doesn't have a fixed end date anymore. You're safe for the meantime, they won't close it without adding the PC version to the campaign as promised.
Nah. The engine licencing thing is an urban myth and never substantiated outside of a forum post, it either didn't exist or has since been cleaned up. If there was any licencing issues with the engine, SEGA would have said nothing at all about any Shenmue re-release, because they could have been prohibited from releasing the game at all. Right now they seem at a crossroads for making licencing deals with the in-game branding in order to fully preserve the Dreamcast originals, and going down the path of least resistance and retexturing where needed.
potatohead
Member
Awesome.
Just saw this.
There's no evidence of any Chinese investors in the project. Yu's presentation in China was for a game development conference he was invited to, and not to attract investors.
That's too bad, on both accounts.
So, do you think a complete newbie will be able to pick up and play Shenmue III without previous knowledge? Some sort of U4 engine recap of the previous stories, at least?Laevateinn
Member
There could be some sort of recap. What did the Xbox version of 2 do? Did it just have the notebook entries?
GhostTrick
Banned
Imagine less obscure Syberia games... if they were only available on Dreamcast. And this year Syberia III comes out, not sure how that would be good, sales wise, not to have those first two games available on PC at least. Literally money on the table for Sega. I understand the dificulties, but I don't see intention either.
There should be "Cinema Shorts" in the game that help you catch up, which are apparently going to be excepts and cutscenes from the first two games rather than full recreations. Yu Suzuki said that some would be activated when you come across a familiar item, for instance.That's too bad, on both accounts.
I think they'll likely include a brief primer video before you start the game to give the gist of the story though, and then elaborate with the in-game cinema shorts.
Laevateinn
Member
Spaghetti posted a great summary a while back that should be added to the OT but the most basic gist of the story boils down to this.
Ryo Hazuki came home seeing a mysterious Chinese man kill his father. His father's dying words were to tell Ryo to keep his friends close. Ryo did the opposite of that.
Ryo Hazuki came home seeing a mysterious Chinese man kill his father. His father's dying words were to tell Ryo to keep his friends close. Ryo did the opposite of that.
You just blew my mind. I didn't even think about them doing that... can they do that?
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Shenmue IIx came with Shenmue: The Movie and watching the story like that, as a movie, was mind numbing awful. What should be done is it should be a short digest movie with Ryo narrating the events much like in Yakuza's recaps.
Shenmue II came with a digest movie and it's way better than Shenmue: The Movie. It's incredible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Co9lMmpvc
Shenmue II is about how we deal with death and loss.
Every major character in that game is an orphan.
The people who complain about Fangmei don't understand Fangmei. Fangmei's entire point to the story is to show that it's possible to get past loss and being an orphan. Fangmei literally says that because she was an orphan, she got to meet Xiuying and Ryo and all her other friends. She doesn't call it a blessing, but she lives with it, every day. Wong turned to crime and looked for surrogate role models. Ren is an orphan as well and he's a crime lord. Then there's Xiuying and how death and loss tore her family apart. Then there's the obvious looming figure of Lan Di himself - a man driven by revenge that he joined the Chinese mafia, became a martial arts master, let his anger stew for nearly 20 years, went to another country, sought out his fathers killer, and did a calculating murder in front of his victims son. Shenmue is about the many paths we can take in life, no matter the situation. This is why I'm not keen on Nozomi x Ryo for instance. I like the idea that Nozomi is the one that got away and Ryo has to live with that and his actions. Things happen; we deal with it. That's life. This ties so heavily into the Asian - particularly Chinese - philosophy that is all over the game. There's a very Buddhist, and in other ways, Daoist, way of how this story is being told. It's no coincidence that Buddhism later resonated with me. It feels like Shenmue gave a great crash course on the religion.
The most human gaming series of all time. I also think a lot of these themes are why us Shenmue fans have lasted so long. We dealt with no III, but we kept fighting on. Just like so many of the series' characters.
A digest movie has to examine all of this, IMO. Which is why I find a Ryo narration so important. The digest movie has to show the sheer stakes of Ryo's journey and what he lost, what he's gained, what he's learned. I think the game content can work by itself, but I think a strong solid narration could see it as a powerful intro to an already highly anticipated game dripping with emotions.
Shenmue II came with a digest movie and it's way better than Shenmue: The Movie. It's incredible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Co9lMmpvc
Shenmue II is about how we deal with death and loss.
Every major character in that game is an orphan.
The people who complain about Fangmei don't understand Fangmei. Fangmei's entire point to the story is to show that it's possible to get past loss and being an orphan. Fangmei literally says that because she was an orphan, she got to meet Xiuying and Ryo and all her other friends. She doesn't call it a blessing, but she lives with it, every day. Wong turned to crime and looked for surrogate role models. Ren is an orphan as well and he's a crime lord. Then there's Xiuying and how death and loss tore her family apart. Then there's the obvious looming figure of Lan Di himself - a man driven by revenge that he joined the Chinese mafia, became a martial arts master, let his anger stew for nearly 20 years, went to another country, sought out his fathers killer, and did a calculating murder in front of his victims son. Shenmue is about the many paths we can take in life, no matter the situation. This is why I'm not keen on Nozomi x Ryo for instance. I like the idea that Nozomi is the one that got away and Ryo has to live with that and his actions. Things happen; we deal with it. That's life. This ties so heavily into the Asian - particularly Chinese - philosophy that is all over the game. There's a very Buddhist, and in other ways, Daoist, way of how this story is being told. It's no coincidence that Buddhism later resonated with me. It feels like Shenmue gave a great crash course on the religion.
The most human gaming series of all time. I also think a lot of these themes are why us Shenmue fans have lasted so long. We dealt with no III, but we kept fighting on. Just like so many of the series' characters.
A digest movie has to examine all of this, IMO. Which is why I find a Ryo narration so important. The digest movie has to show the sheer stakes of Ryo's journey and what he lost, what he's gained, what he's learned. I think the game content can work by itself, but I think a strong solid narration could see it as a powerful intro to an already highly anticipated game dripping with emotions.
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Also fuck Chai.
I'm sorry Yu but he's awful and I HATE his voice. I hope to God that Chai and his embarassing mannerisms and design that do not fit Shenmue don't last long. I can't stand him. Watching the digest movie reminded me of that. 2 > 1 because of Chai.
I'm sorry Yu but he's awful and I HATE his voice. I hope to God that Chai and his embarassing mannerisms and design that do not fit Shenmue don't last long. I can't stand him. Watching the digest movie reminded me of that. 2 > 1 because of Chai.
Chai and his disgustingly unclean ears will be back and you'll LIKE IT GODDAMNIT.
If they give him his
claw weapons from the Shenmue II prequel manga, I'll be into it. Maybe have Ryo chase him across rooftops in Chobu? Or battle him on a boat heading down the rivers of Guilin? Goofy voice or not, it's quite menacing that he keeps coming back despite being beaten over and over. Kinda like The Terminator.
Laevateinn
Member
Chai also was (movie) Gollum before LotR came out.
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Eh.
Gollum's always been like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qteq21CvDRE
Chai was probably inspired by Gollum. Which makes his entire existence even more jarring because Shenmue is pretty normal.
Laevateinn
Member
Chai's a lot closer to Peter Jackson Gollum than that Gollum. It's definitely possible that's where his inspiration came from. He could've been inspired by some kind of oni or something as well. Also, I'm pretty sure he's supposed to be addicted to amphetamines. In Japanese, at least, he kind of reminds me of a more fucked up Goro Majima. If they bring him back, I hope they get his voice actor to be more like this. Chai is fine, if a bit annoying. I fully expect him to come back at some point but I hope he doesn't have as big of a part as he did in Shenmue 1.
Also, Shenmue is definitely pretty weird. One of the things I like about it is how seamlessly it hides the mystical aspects behind the mundane. Without getting into the ending of Shenmue 2, there's a lot of weirdness surrounding the mirror, Shenhua and the Chi You Men. I expect things will only get weirder from 3 on.
Also, Shenmue is definitely pretty weird. One of the things I like about it is how seamlessly it hides the mystical aspects behind the mundane. Without getting into the ending of Shenmue 2, there's a lot of weirdness surrounding the mirror, Shenhua and the Chi You Men. I expect things will only get weirder from 3 on.
bishopcruz
Member
Cindi Mayweather
Member
I wouldn't say Shenmue is weird at all. None of that stuff is weird. It's just mystical and mysterious. It's interesting. There's nothing mysterious or interesting about Chai to me. What's great about the mirror and stuff is how it fits within the more realistic guise of Shenmue's world. Chai directly conflicts with this. I will agree his Japanese voice is better, but that doesn't stop his awful laughs and grunts, which sound identical to his English voice.
Joy is an exception and she never has as big a screen presence as Fangmei, Wong, Xiuying, or Ren. Joy is barely even a character. Joy is hot chick who gets kidnapped, gets annoyed Ryo is aloof. zzz. Tom has more character development than Joy. Goro has more character development than Joy. Fuck, even Mai done. Joy is terrible.
I can't say I really agree with your position on Joy, so I'll put forward a counter-argument to try redeeming her character.
I always thought she had a cool dynamic of being a rich and well-known socialite, but being feared/respected by Hong Kong's underworld. When a pair of roughnecks like the Poison Brothers get shooed off by Joy without any arguments, you know she's got some kind of power over them. Joy's spectre looms pretty large over the opening parts of Shenmue II, and she's definitely Ryo's gateway to adjusting to life in Hong Kong.
Her character arc is pretty Ryo-centric (which is not that bad, after all, it's his story), but it's definitely there. She starts as a flirty character, intrigued by the stiff and serious Ryo, but by the time he's trying to meet Ren, Joy knows he's a man on a mission and cuts out the flirting. In Kowloon, she becomes a more serious character when it becomes obvious there's more at play than a small-time gang war between the Heavens and Yellow Heads, and is integral to helping Ryo reach his goals. After all, she's the one who determines Zhu Yuanda's location after losing him to Dou Niu and Yuan.
She's also got little intriguing story moments that are easy to miss, like establishing her connection with Guizhang and Master Chen, coming to collect any debt you've left at the Come Over Guest House, as well as being one of the few story NPCs you can find randomly around the game world to talk to and get hints from.
Yeah, she has the trope of being the "sexy lady infatuated with the hero", but that's subverted later on as she gets further embroiled in Ryo's revenge quest, and genuinely becomes his friend instead. Yeah, she also ends up the "damsel in distress", but that isn't her sole purpose in the plot, and is part of a trio of "in distress" characters, including Wong and Zhu Yuanda as Shenmue II's story reaches its climax.
While I think, say, Ren and Xiuying are better characters, I think you've sold Joy a bit short.
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Fair enough points. I don't like Zhu Yuanda much either. Making climb those planks!
*shakes fist*
*shakes fist*
ShenmueDojo
Member
Shenmue II Music: Dou Niu Rooftop Fight (Extended)
https://youtu.be/mXzUQx-UdgQ
https://youtu.be/mXzUQx-UdgQ
Oh, agreed. Zhu is a character who solely just moves the plot along. He's built up pretty well as this mysterious figure though, so they're forgiven for turning him into a McGuffin.
Shenmue is thankfully a series that doesn't have many seriously weak links in its supporting cast. Even minor characters like the two monks at Man Mo Temple have something entertaining about them. They're kind of like a comedy duo now that I think about it, one's the serious but naive type, and the other is a workshy goofball.
Yessss. My favourite arrangement of Earth and Sea.
celsowmbr
Banned
Laevateinn
Member
See that? Three !s. Trailer incoming???
IronicSonic
Member
I just want a little 2-minute in-game walktrough with final models and I'm fine
I'd be happy with just some new screens and a progress interview tbh.
To me, knowing already that they've got some form of playable build is better news than any video or trailer they can show right now. Shows they've really gotten their head down and gotten things done. With a year and a half left projected before release (which will probably slip, because everything slips now), I'm pretty eager for them to stay concentrated on making the game awesome.
To me, knowing already that they've got some form of playable build is better news than any video or trailer they can show right now. Shows they've really gotten their head down and gotten things done. With a year and a half left projected before release (which will probably slip, because everything slips now), I'm pretty eager for them to stay concentrated on making the game awesome.
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Guys.
Haha, he really is. I do hope we don't get worked up into a hype storm though, like we were during the Kickstarter when anything from Cedric was being taken as "OMG THEY'VE GOT A BOMBSHELL UP THEIR SLEEVE".
Speaking of Ryo's new model, I've been meaning to post this fan model in here that I found last week.
The face isn't right, but I'm really impressed with everything else. The jacket especially, it looks a lot better than the paper mache-looking one we saw on the Kickstarter model, but of course we know those models were made in a hurry and likely quite cheaply too.
Impressively enough, it's only 60,000 tris. I'm only a layman to game design and poly budgets and whatnot, but apparently that's a quite reasonable amount and definitely an achievable goal for actual in-game models. I hope they can touch on that level of quality in the final models, but I'll understand if they go for something more stylised.
Cindi Mayweather
Member
I don't like that Ryo model face at all!
Yeah. The head is the wrong shape, as is the brow, lips, nose, and jaw. A nice effort by a fan at least, and goddamn does the jacket look nice.
gamerforever
Banned
Is a december 2017 release realistic? I do hope we get remasters, although a movie is probably all we will get.
ajim
Member
Hopefully. But if they need to delay to make sure it's shmick then I'm all for a delay too!
It's certainly possible.
We're a good 18 months out from the projected release period and they already have some form of playable build. As of February, they said they were still on track to release December 2017. I believe Yu expressed interest in pushing the game back into 2018 for more time to add a new feature (which would blend the FREE Battle mechanics into QTEs to give the player further control), but he seems fairly determined to hit that December 2017 period, and understands that the game has to be out within a reasonable timeframe.
Everything seems to slip these days though, Kickstarter game or not, so it dipping into 2018 would not surprise me.
Cindi Mayweather
Member
Wise to remember that Suzuki has historically kept a clean production schedule for his releases and they generally are released on time. I expect a delay but I think it will probably be the only one. There won't be a Mighty No 9 situation.
This part is drastically important to say.
The core staff behind Shenmue III are a highly experienced bunch, being alumni of AM2, or coming from industries outside video games. You'll be hard pressed to find much of a resume for Mighty No. 9 director Koji Imaeda, or even game designer Naoya Tomita.
Hell, even Kenji Inafune's record isn't that impressive. Yu Suzuki's, on the other hand, speaks for itself.
Shenmue III's Kickstarter, flawed as it was, was at least structured in such a way that the stretch goals made sense for what the game had to be. It wasn't overstuffed with too many release platforms, or pointless gimmick features like cross-platform online play. Mighty No. 9 was a cynical attempt to launch a brand (merch, animated series, etc). Shenmue III is the passion project to end all passion projects.
Any assumption Shenmue III will be "the next Mighty No. 9" is premature, unfounded, and outright bullshit until proven otherwise.
Laevateinn
Member
This popped up on my recommendations list on Youtube: DF Retro: Shenmue - A Game Ahead Of Its Time. I haven't watched it yet but their work is great so I'm looking forward to it.
VistraNorrez
Member
I would love if they just release a few new screens for E3 (or around it), with Ryo's new model (with Kid Nocon's talents) as the main thing. I can't imagine that wasn't priority one with him. It would just feel weird working on Shenmue with a character model that doesn't look like Ryo. Maybe they still have to clear it with Sega?
We're likely going to have something to mark the anniversary of the Kickstarter. Whether it'll be for the launch or the end of it, who can say? YSnet have likely reached an important development milestone, seeing how both SIE and Shibuya Productions representatives have visited the studio in the last few weeks. We now also know they have a playable build of some kind, with proper gameplay and quest structures in place.
But yes, they've been working on new character models since basically when production started in earnest in August last year, and Yu said in February he hopes to show progress on them soon.
Though, I don't think Kid Nocon would be the one to do the model, seeing as his strengths lie primarily in environmental modelling. One of the original 3D modelers from Shenmue also joined the project at the end of the Kickstarter too, though I think they were immediately tasked with improving Shenhua's model, seeing how they modeled her in the original games.
I don't believe they have to go through SEGA for approval though. SEGA doesn't value the Shenmue IP at all, and ultimately they likely know it is in the best possible hands with its creator.
Thought I'd provide a little look back at the progress over the last year. Although they're playing their cards close to their chest with gameplay tests, visually there's been a significant improvement and a real move towards capturing Shenmue's aesthetic.
E3 2015 Reveal
October Update
February Update
E3 2015 Reveal
October Update
February Update
Admiral Woofington
Member
Man
Still no word on a port/updated version of the first two for consoles/PC? :'(
Still no word on a port/updated version of the first two for consoles/PC? :'(