I was talking with Adam Sipione earlier and he can relate to this more so than I can, but with the Twitch channel and plans/preparations I am putting myself under for that really takes a lot of the hype away. It's work. It's great work, but it's still work nonetheless. I am starting to understand the misconception professional streamers are placed under, in that their lives are sweet playing videogames all day etc, but it's actually a job.
And I only stream once a week! With the E3 supershow though, I am putting in a lot more work, feeling a lot more stressed, and a lot more pressure, mixed with the stress and emotion of E3/Shenmue fan also.
I can't imagine the effort and pressure Adam has with the documentary. As much as I am sure he enjoys it, travelling to all these places to interview people, it must take it's toll, and some of the hype he would experience as a fan of the series. Having to deal with the constant gripes from fans asking where is the documentary and when is it coming etc.

Sorry guys, I cant jump on the hype train as of yet. Maybe at one of the stations down the line.

Yes, it is the best part of any game I've ever played, to me as well. Also, imho, "Disc 4" is what makes the difference for S2 from being just a fantastic game to the single best game of all time. Don't get me wrong, S2 would have been one incredible, outstanding, legendary game even without it but the Guilin part is really what makes it my personal best game of all time. It just puts it a cut above anything I've ever seen, and probably ever will see.

In fact, S2 made the rest of gaming kind of "sour" to me for many years, which is part of why I had also quit gaming for like 10 years. S3's announcement brought me back to gaming again. But for many years, I just didn't find any game even remotely as captivating, beautiful and entertaining as S2, except for S1. So I didn't like gaming very much anymore.

I guess the announcement of S3 gave me new "hope" for gaming and as I have grown older I have kind of grown to accept that no game will probably be as good (to me personally) as S1 and S2 but I figured I could still have fun with other games. Still, nothing can touch S2. In fact, nothing can touch S1 , except for S2 which surpassed it. :)

Will S3 surpass S2? I don't expect it to and I don't need it to. I hope it'll be a great game in its own right, but frankly I don't think it will be as great as S2.

Part of what made S2 great was the sheer scope it covered. The bustling streets of Wan Chai, the lively harbor are of Aberdeen with the sketchy Beverly Hills wharf, the maze-like Kowloon with its sinister skyscrapers and street fighting spots, combined with Guilin's breathtaking landscape.

Yu never intended S3 to have that scope. I think it can be more like S1, covering a relatively small area while offering great depth.

Fig CEO discusses a little bit about visiting Japan recently to see 'Shenmue 3', calls it "beautiful" :-D

How this person has access to see shenmue 3?

Well, he is a really important person in the crowd-funding industry, I assume he just wanted to pay a visit. A part of me wishes he was able to strike a deal and provide some *cha-ching* in exchange for a cut of the profits but let's not go there xD. Great to hear his positive feedback, some may say he'd say the same for any game (and that may be true) but I find his choice of words seem considered/genuine (you wouldn't call any game 'beautiful' imo), and in general it's nice to hear of someone who's more up to date on YS.net's progress. It is indeed real, and it is indeed coming! :-D Interesting article and statistics all round, the only fig game that I've backed is that Jay and Silent Bob one...

The HD Remasters are not going to be announced at this E3, and probably ever . Hope you guys realize it before the crushing disappointment tonight...

Why do you think the remasters will never come out?

Because Shenmue 3's big moment at E3 is 2 years old, and in those 2 years we didn't get the slightest clue about the remasters being in production (not 1 leak, not 1 pic, nothing, zero), aside from some guy on Neogaf fucking about in a thread.

If Sega doesn't make the remasters during what is arguably the best period they'll ever have for Shenmue's popularity (between the KS announcement and Shen 3 release), when will they ever make them?

I understand the lack of faith from anyone. Heck I sometimes feel the same because ya know.... Sega.

But I've tried over the past few weeks to word my posts as best I can, to try and give you guys hints as to what a few people behind the scenes either know, or are at least aware of. My name may be green and I am just seen as someone who steps in when conversations go sideways around here, but rest assured that's not the case at all. Behind the scenes, I work endlessly developing contacts, relationships and try to get a feel as best I can in regards to what's happening with Shenmues future. This ranges from industry employees, journalists, and even Awesome Japan and YSNET on occasion.

I don't keep information to myself either, I also share what I find out with certain people I trust and feel should know within the community. Anything I hear ahead of time, I use to get ready from a community standpoint. Write a post and set up the mindset of how to present that. That trust goes a long way, and shows that not all of us want to run and post what would be considered a leak, on NeoGaf or to a media website. I hold Shenmue very close to my heart and that of course includes the integrity of both the game itself and it's creators.

In regards to Shenmue HD, I have tried to point you guys in the direction of positivity. You don't have to listen to me, and be as skeptical all you want, but rest assured my positivity doesn't come from a fanboy passion based on hopes and dreams alone. I take what I hear and base my aspirations on that. Whilst I protect the information and their sources on the one hand, i also try and be as reassuring as I can to you guys on the other.

I have said before to forget Blitworks. Also, it's very.... Very simply a question of WHEN, and not IF Shenmue HD comes along. It may not be tonight at Sony's conference. But it will come. Keep the faith.

Cheers guys! (Haha, I like the スイッちゃん)

But wait, there's more - here's the Fuku-san edition.

I've said it so many times, but when real footage of this game emerges and trailers are made public, true fans of Shenmue are going to be completely blown away by how amazing this game is on a "Shenmue" level.

It really will be a true successor to the previous two games.

http://i.imgur.com/e2x3CfQ.jpg

https://pending.me.uk/cd/bla_1503388800.png

http://abload.de/img/sequenz01_1lob47.gif

THE NEWS

~*~NEW~*~ 27th July - YSnet announces they will be hosting a meet n' greet session with Yu Suzuki in the entertainment area, and also confirms that an update with the "Latest news about Shenmue III" revealed in the business area will be available via Kickstarter and the Shenmue III website.

13th July - YSnet announces via the KS they will be showing the game in the business area of the event restricted from public entry ( please note, the update does specify that backers will be able to get the "latest on-site information" through games media outlets ), but are attempting to put together an event for fans attending the show via the public areas. It is also confirmed Yu Suzuki will personally be in attendance.

THE BASICS

YSnet announced in the June 2017 Kickstarter update that they will be taking Shenmue III this August to Gamescom in Germany, saying "While we are still working out the details with our partners, we plan to show our newest movie clips, share the latest updates and even make some new announcements."

Cedric Biscay has said via Twitter that Shibuya Productions, primary financier and one of Shenmue III's marketing partners, will not be the ones showcasing Shenmue III at the event, and that further details will be available "soon".

Sony, YSnet's other known marketing partner, have not confirmed a Gamescom presence but have recently hinted that a conference may be in the works for the show.

THE SPECULATION

Could YSnet be bringing a trailer to Gamescom? While it's impossible to know the style of the video YSnet will be using to show off the game, I think we can all safely assume Gamescom will end up being the most revealing look at the game we've had.

According to resident translator Switch, the plural "movie clips" in the English version of the update is intentional, as the author would have to check the meaning with whoever wrote the Japanese version; as apparently the language doesn't make a plural distinction. If we are to take it at face value that the English author followed this process, we can assume there will be more than one Shenmue III video coming out of Gamescom.

Shenmue HD has been rumoured for a very long time, but in the last year the anticipation has reached fever pitch with domain registrations, endless "insider" info, and SEGA themselves expressing a desire to make it. SEGA have kept Shenmue III at arm's length since it was announced two years ago, and we have no evidence the dynamic of this relationship has changed, let alone that Shenmue HD truly exists. So... keep expectations in check.

There are plenty of "cleaning house"-style announcements to make in regards to rewards fulfilment, pledge upgrades, and how long the Slacker Backer site will continue to be open for. Will they be part of the announcements made during Gamescom? Possibly. We can at least hope they are addressed in the KS updates following the event.

This thread is for discussion, speculation, and breaking news. HUGE news will warrant its own thread, but in most cases I will just change the title of this topic to reflect the current developments, and add a kind of newsfeed to the OP to keep people up to speed.

Big thanks to Kiske for the banner. Happy posting!

I will be there on behalf of the Dojo with live Twitter and Instagram posts throughout the event. Other sections of the community may be there also but it's still all being worked on at the moment, so more details will be revealed over the coming weeks.

To commemorate the 1500th edition of their weekly magazine, Famitsu is running a new Poll for Best Game, across all platforms, years and genres.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KVzG13n1fPw/WWNQ8vL_jZI/AAAAAAAACks/TtuYKdA_zCQpVQjqcNEzZhiKPZRIawPNwCLcBGAs/s1600/l_595f2f7225954.jpg

You can vote for up to 3 game titles, so get casting! Deadline is July 18th.

A short guide to the poll, which is in Japanese, is available on the Phantom River Stone blog here:
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/07/vote-shenmue-as-best-all-time-game.html

Direct link to the poll (use of automated translation recommended):
https://ebssl.jp/fm2/election/gameall/index.php

I've made a post on Phantom River Stone which hopefully captures the essential points from the last 3 updates about it, and reduces any confusion.



http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/0 ... at-we.html

Pledge upgrades are probably more important than Slacker Backers right now. No matter how good YSnet's showing is at Gamescom, some people are always going to hold back and wait for release.

There are over 50,000 backers who pledged below the $100 demo tier. If they're given a reason to get excited about the backer demo, it could mean some serious money flowing in, and because they've already pledged to Shenmue III they'll be an easier market to sell to than fence-sitters.

If only half of that number pledge only an additional $20 at minimum, that's an extra $500,000.

Got my press pass approved this morning. Now time to make plans.

Yea I'd say it won't matter too much. I will be recording random footage for video packages when I get back anyways, and the KS should also have any major announcements covered.

But I'm a fan of live reaction videos so I will be trying to capture any footage like that at the event.

No probs. Its all for the cause. I don't do it alone though. It's a team effort, and right now I'm more concerned about everyone getting their passes and being there, as well as fans who are attending getting as much info about the meet & greet as possible. I will be there for the duration and will help out as much as I can.

On that note, I'm not 100% sure if it's allowed, but I have tickets to the 3 days I no longer need (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) so if anyone wants them, they are up for grabs.

Three weeks still to the gamescom, it looks like a never end! Sometimes it seems like a dream that we are going to see Shenmue 3, I never lost faith but It was almost impossible for me and now we are only three weeks to see it properly!

How will look like Shenhua, Ryo and the "old" characters?
How will it be to play with the new free battle mode after Suzuki's new ideas?
How big will be the game compared to Shenmue 2?
Will the NPCs have their own daily routines as they had in previous games?
How will look like the NPCs?
I have tons of questions!

I have most of these questions covered, in one way or another. But if you have tonnes, by all means say. Anyone can think of any questions they can think of then knock yourselves out. But think about them from the point of view of them being questions he can answer. There's no point asking him, "uuhh, when's the rewards going out?". Those are Awesome Japan's & Fangamers responsibility.

If I may... Can you ask him how long the game is planned to be, compared to the two previous games?
I really liked how lengthy the S2 was, and I'm hoping since S3 also takes place in three locations, we would spend considerable amount of time in each of these locations, enough to get familiar with all of them.

Also, are there plans to get in contact with Ren, Lan Di, and Joy's English Voice actors to reprise their roles in Shenmue 3? Last I heard they were eager to get on the project, but they've yet to hear from YsNET.

The first one I am working on, but it's a bit harder to try and word it than I imagined. He has already kind of answered that question in the Nico Nico interview in 2015, where he said that each experience is different for each player due to their age, playstyle, attention span etc. It could take someone 20 hours to complete the game, where as it could take someone 60 hours. The context of the question though was the fact that games in general are now played by all age groups, and that he creates his games to tailor the player in terms of difficulty (QTEs getting easier after numerous failed attempts for example).
But when asking a question like that, it leads to a bunch of specific questions like, as you say, the areas. How big is Baisha for example, can then correlate into how long it takes to complete etc. From experience, you do need to really nail down a question juuuust right, to really get the best answer from him. This is also with the language barrier, as the conversation doesn't flow as normal. For example, if you talk to someone about a topic, a specific details may come up where you immediately ask, and then you go off on tangents. Because of the translation between languages, it's very much stop/start, with no real method of natural conversation flow. So you have to get the question bang on , otherwise you waste time dwindling on something which could be useless info. The interviews are usually between 15-30 minutes depending, and you would be surprised how quickly it flies by.

The second part is easy. Firstly, they won't cast or record until the game is essentially finished. Around the 90% complete mark is when the voice acting is done. Eric went through it in Japan for us, and also told us about how fully complete cutscenes were there to be watched, in order for the cast to get into character, and have a sense of what exactly is going on in each scene. What's the context of the voicework, and what emotions should be portrayed at that time.
Also, I talked at the dinner with the executive producer about the original cast (to put a good word in for Eric, as I had promised him over a few pints the night before), and he said that they will be trying to contact them, but, with time and age affecting, well, everyone, their voices will still need to match the character. There are also some of the original cast who have gone completely off the radar too. One in particular, only ever did Shenmue as a professional voice artist, and since then, her whereabouts are unknown. He suspected she just had a family and chose a different career path away from voice acting.
To be honest, at this stage of production, it's a bit of a wasted question since I already know the response would be, "we will be contacting artists in the future", or words to that effect.


Just to add, I have about 20 questions already(that will be cut down once I've decided what's most important), which make up a sort of pathway through the interview. A beginning, middle and end. They would cover all the usual questions people ask. But Yu-san loves technical questions, that's his forte. Anything along those lines are great, although I am not a technical person. Questions that are a bit outside the box are always better than, "hey so will Ryo look like Ryo in the game?"

Funny how a few years back people were saying how satisfied they would be with a Shenmue 3 book, manga or even an unfinished Dreamcast build to be leaked online to give us closure to the story.

Now we're getting the real deal and we're all moaning about virtually everything we're seeing in each and every update. Suzuki must feel so encouraged.

I think I've also found Ryo in the "Great Wall" image.

Game Watch published a very interesting interview with Suzuki-san, the interview took place during Gamescom 2017 and includes some really insightful and interesting information about Shenmue III, here's a short summary of it:


⋅  The released Shenmue III teaser footage is real-time in-game graphics.
⋅  All charterers models are temporary and subject to change.
⋅  Facial animations were initially implemented but have been removed about a month ago.
⋅  The teaser was especially made for Gamescom 2017, no further plans to show more of the game at this year's Gamescom or Tokyo Game Show. However, a full-scale promotion will take place next year.
⋅  Deep Silver will publish the game internationally, and they'll provide budget and promotional support. A publisher for Japan is to be decided.
⋅  Suzuki-san would like to continue the series in Shenmue IV if possible.
⋅  Suzuki-san is not interested in forcing the Shenmue story to complete in Shenmue III.
⋅  Shenmue III will take around 30 hours of gameplay to complete.
⋅  The fighting engine in Shenmue III is being built from scratch, and unlike Shenmue II it won't use the Virtua engine.
⋅  A system that allows phone calls with characters from Shenmue and Shenmue II is planned for Shenmue III.
⋅  Suzuki-san would like to bring as many voice actors from the previous games as possible, but some are retired now, he will audition a new voice actress for Shenhua.
⋅  OST from Shenmue and Shenmue II will probably be reused in Shenmue III.
⋅  The new partnership with Deep Silver is strong and it's aimed to improve the Shenmue III experience beyond what was initially planned on the Kickstarter.

Finally, Suzuki-san asks the fans to continue their support, and promises to do his best to make a good game out of Shenmue III.

I have a very strong feeling that 2018 will be the year of Shenmue ...

Update:
Switch has kindly translated the original interview

Here it is, a full translation of the GAME Watch interview. Enjoy!

http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/08/game-watch-interview-with-yu-suzuki.html

http://i.imgur.com/sCek1CHl.jpg

I've posted up a full translation of a Famitsu interview held yesterday with Yu Suzuki at Gamescom.

"Tortoises, ducks and frogs will be making an appearance!"

Link to interview:
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/08/translationinterview-with-yu-suzuki.html

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

Hello guys,

2 new interviews have been posted on Japanese websites. Full translations will most likely be done by Switch I think, but I've decided to translate some stuff quickly on my free time.

Hope you'll like it !

https://s2.postimg.org/6be2u47rt/003.jpg

From Dengeki :

- Anticipated things (best 3) : 1. Continuation of the story, 2. Open World, 3. Forklifts

- Suzuki san thought at first that it'd be difficult to have something like an open world (because of the budget), but with the recent partnership with Deep Silver and development's improvements, he might be able to provide something that has the atmosphere of an open world. Volume of the 2nd area that we can see in the PV should be around 3 times bigger. That's also why they had to announce the delay, because the game's content has been improved and they need more time

- In the "Shenmue World", players can earn money through different ways like gambling, selling items (to a pawn shop for example) and purchase new moves (scrolls) to get stronger and beat a boss

- He's also talking about Shenmue's logo changes. "My father wrote Shenhua's kanji (莎花). And my mother worked on the "愛すべき友を持て" (Keep friends, those you love, close to you) calligraphy. However, I thought it'd be great if I could do it myself this time

https://s2.postimg.org/z2awk6dll/shenmue3_006_cs1w1_900x360.jpg

https://s2.postimg.org/6qty0vj2x/shenmue3_007_cs1w1_900x206.jpg

- Players who haven't played the first two games will have no problem playing the 3rd one. For Shenmue II, we added a 15 minutes movie of the first Shenmue so players could catch up, but this time we'll work on something more simple based on images and texts

https://s2.postimg.org/qmpxgf049/009.jpg

4Gamer :

Can you tell us why you decided to work with Deep Silver ?

- Suzuki san : We worked on the Kickstarter Campaign right after announcing the game and it was a success. However, it's difficult to do an open world with the budget we had, that's why we kept looking for a partner. They already worked with Sega in the past and they were a recommandation from people I trust

- About improvements, Suzuki san is providing an example. For the 2nd city we are going to visit in the game, they planned around 50 to 60 NPC, but now, this number could reach 200

- Shenmue III will start 6 hours after the end of Shenmue II

Other things are mostly stuff we already know like the phone calls etc.

Original links :

Dengeki

http://dengekionline.com/elem/000/001/580/1580312/

4Gamer

http://www.4gamer.net/games/305/G030593/20170824023/

That's it for now. Have a nice day !

VG24/7 Yu Suzuki interview:

https://www.vg247.com/2017/08/25/shenmue-3-open-world-dead-eyed-characters-shenmue-4/

A big part of Shenmue 3 for fans is nostalgia. How do you bridge the gap between nostalgic nods and new stuff? The first two games are quite unique in that you really have an all-new cast in each game, but that isn’t so good for nostalgia…

Yeah, this time we will see a lot of new people in the game. But at the same time, you can make a phone call to the characters of Shenmue 1 and 2. When you call those older characters, all of the images come up as your flashback, your memory.

In the form of original screenshots, or new recreations of those scenes?

Movie, a movie from the original.

The environments look fantastic, but there’s been a lot of chatter about the character models this week. What do you have to say to that? Are improvements coming?

You know, to be honest… the faces, they’ve not been properly deployed yet. This is a behind-the-scenes story, but up until a point 2 months ago the face motion has been removed. The developer changed some structure to the bones of the character model, and this caused a problem. Because of the problem, we decided to stop working on face animation for now.

[Suzuki opens his laptop and brings up an internal, unreleased development video showing facial animation tests for Ryo and Shenhua. The animations look fairly decent, and certainly avoid the dead-eyed stares seen in the recent Shenmue footage or Andromeda-style exaggeration.]

This is still the sample model, the older one, but… this is a test. We’re going to make this even better. We’re incorporating about 11 different types of face motion, and we’re working towards that. That will be improved a lot.

...

Hi guys, this is my first post on Shenmue Dojo, I've been reading you since long time, but never wrote a single post... anyway, you ispired me doing this, and I think something like that would blends a lot better with realistic enviroments.
Maybe I overdo a little ... actually I tried to use FFXV characters as reference, they do look realistic to some extent, but still they have some anime touch which I think would suit Shenmue III very well!
http://i.imgur.com/WxuYXC8.jpg

https://www.gamekult.com/actualite/yu-suzuki-le-plus-difficile-est-de-creer-de-bons-personnages-3050797909.html

Interview context: Gamekult is shown an extended version of the trailer with additional scenes and QTEs with "work in progress" mark. Then the interview begins with Suzuki and his English translator.

https://i.imgur.com/jseQm8Q.jpg

Gamekult: First of all, I would like to know why you decided to publicly publish a short version of what you just showed us privately? Is it for marketing purpose or a future backer exclusivity?

(Suzuki begins to talk to his translator who is also in charge of the business side of YSnet. The latter takes the floor.)

YSnet businessman: That's a good question! Honestly, there's no specific reason but some people think showing the extended version is too early. The idea behind the trailer was to announce our partnership with Deep Silver. We aimed to reveal that we got a better financial support. We have been silent for too long so it was important to show something at Gamescom while it's not a real marketing strategy.

Yu Suzuki: We may create an improved and longer version of the video for the end of the year. A true promotional trailer.

GK: After watching the video, I now wonder how you proceed with animation in Shenmue 3. Do you use motion capture, handmade animation or both? Are you working with an outsourcing studio or do you have your own motion capture studio?

YS: We use motion capture as working base then we make adjustments. Everything is captured internally although we do not have a true motion capture studio. We're using a magnetic capture tool because it needs less space to work so we can easily proceed in an open space. However, we are certainly going to use a real motion capture studio for the most important action scenes.

GK: Are you working with outsourcing studios? For instance, TOSE or Virtuous.

YS: We have our own team where people from various companies are working. In general, everything is made internally. The goal is to avoid outsourcing.

GK: How many people are working in the team?

YS: Sorry but I can't tell you any figure.

GK: How will your partnership with Deep Silver benefit Shenmue III? Is the original project going to evolve?

YS: To be honest, we just signed the contract. We have yet to know what Deep Silver can bring us exactly but we hope it's significant (laughs). From a business point of view, we should take advantage of their international network and their communication expertise since they have a great record with Japanese studios.

GK: How will you proceed to make the game interesting for the fans as much for the newcomers? Can we start Shenmue III without having played the previous episodes?

YS: We plan to insert images and videos from previous episodes in ingame situations, something like memories. One of the ideas consists of inserting visuals when you're phoning characters from Shenmue I & II.

GK: Yakuza 3 proceeded differently with cinematic buildups to summarize the story of Yakuza 1&2. I wonder if Shenmue 3 can proceed the same way but the visual contrast between cinematics and the gameplay would be obviously significant.

YS: I still don't know how it may look on screen but it's a possibility. Anyway, we'll decide our own way to proceed.

GK: What will the Shenmue III main themes be? Storywise, is there any particular event or topic you're willing to set up?

YS: It's faster to show you. (Suzuki starts his PC and launches a slideshow) Here we go, the three key points of the game are romance, characters' life and martial arts. Then my main goal is to use the latest advancements in technologies to express feelings through gaming situation. Today there are even more ways of expression but also more challenge with the modern tools. With Unreal Engine 4, the most challenging part is to create good characters.

GK: You mean, using your own engine when you're working on Shenmue I&II was easier than using a foreign third-party engine?

YS: Yes, absolutely!

GK: So far, have you programmed with your own hands?

YS: I created some algorithms and little prototypes but I'm not working at the heart of coding. I worked on an artist's AI who appears in the game, NPC behaviors and some combat scenes. But my main job is research. The final code is written by people who are more skilled than me.

GK: About visuals, how far do you think you are from the final state?

YS: First of all, I confirm that everything related to the characters is temporary. Then I would like to say that, in order to reach the best possible result from a technical point of view, we need a lot of resources, way more than we currently have today. That's why I'm trying to find a balance between visual quality and the other key points of the game, especially what makes the gameplay singular and different from the other productions.

GK: About environment size and interaction volume, how would you rate Shenmue 3 compared to the Dreamcast episodes?

YS: I would say that the game is as wide and dense as Shenmue 1&2... On further consideration, it will even be richer. The time of play is more difficult to estimate since each player has his own pace and may progress differently with all the side quests available. I think more than 20 hours will be needed.

GK: In order to make Shenmue 1&2, you traveled several times in China. Did you travel again for Shenmue III or are you using mainly archives and memories?

YS: I went back to China two years ago, when the project did start. (Suzuki is searching his PC folders to find photos of mountain landscapes, old buildings and busy streets) As you can see, we reproduced some roofs of tiles in the last video. I really would like to display as much characters as those you can see in these photos! (laughs)

GK: If you were going to leave Japan to live in another country, would you choose China?

YS: Not China, no. (laughs)

END OF INTERVIEW

There is another major reason the faces were removed (I think), but give us some time to get home and put some more interviews up.

Did anyone find some higher resolution versions of those gorgeous new images?

Found them
http://shenmue.link/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/S3_Ctsn_0831_01.jpg
http://shenmue.link/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/S3_Ctsn_0831_02.jpg
http://shenmue.link/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/S3_Ctsn_0831_03.jpg

http://www.gameblog.fr/interview_1100_yu-suzuki-je-ne-suis-pas-encore-satisfait-du-design-actuel-m

Translation from French.

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

Gameblog: Suzuki-sensei, how are you? How do you feel here at Gamescom after you showed us this first trailer ?

Yu Suzuki: To be honest, it's more a teaser rather than a real trailer! About the Gamescom, I believe hundreds of thousands of people come here, that's truly gigantic. I only visited the business area at the moment, I don't know how things look at the other side, in the public areas. But we will go into it soon, I'm sure that will be great. I have already met a lot of fans and enthusiastic journalists. All these people give me a huge boost.

GB: So far, is the development going well? Are you pleased with your working pace and progress?

YS: We made a lot of research before we signed our partnership with Deep Silver. Since that moment, I feel we now have the full team and I'm relieved. Finally, we can focus entirely on the remaining part, I mean the production.

GB: Does Deep Silver provide you funds for the remaining production? Can you tell us something more about it?

YS: I cannot comment officially or give you precise figures. But yes, there is something...

GB: How close we are actually to the trial version?

YS: I'm currently thinking about the best way to design the demo, in order to show the game to the players. But I'm still unable to tell you when it will be available... It will be sometime!

https://i.imgur.com/9sssThK.jpg

GB: What are the main mechanics that you will take back from Shenmue 1&2 and the new ones you're currently creating for Shenmue III?

YS: I could not be really specific about Shenmue 1&2 mechanics but I can tell you that our first priority is to remain faithful to the spirit of the first episodes, the "Shenmue universe".

However, regarding Shenmue 1&2, the constituent elements such as mini-games, jobs and miscellaneous activities were not really linked together. They were simply there, and their connections were not strong enough. In Shenmue III, I want to tie the different elements really tighter, make these connections clearer. This way, the world of Shenmue will be improved. Each gameplay sequence will be included more naturally into the story, the screenplay, then the player feels more involved and focused. I believe this will be one of the strongest and most attractive features of Shenmue III.

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

GB: Can you tell us more about the new QTEs we've seen in the extended teaser?

YS: I hope you'll appreciate this new QTE system! Let me give you few examples...

(Yu Suzuki starts his PC which is connected to the television then opens a Powerpoint file with pictures and texts about every elements of the game. He goes directly into the slides about the QTEs)

The most important aspect of the new QTEs is the fun provided to the players. We would like to challenge the QTE concept with a new function called "Variable Speed Play" in order to offer a funny and entertaining experience to the players. It's a style of QTE that has never been seen before.

So far you're only seeing the Circle or Triangle buttons from the PS4 controller but more symbols are yet to come. QTEs might be based on colors seen on the controller buttons, or even on Chinese characters associated with some specific actions. Moreover, we may imagine a system based on specific sounds associated with each controller button. A color coupled with a sound. This way, we could perform QTEs only by referring to a game sound... Well, it's still experimental but I would like to offer that kind of experience to the players.

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

GB: What about the battle system?

YS: In Shenmue 1&2, I choose the Virtua Fighter system. It was more about strategy than button mashing. In Shenmue III, I would like a more friendly system and something completely new. One of the most important improvements would be the ability to attack several enemies once, during the same combo. Unlike the previous episodes - and many other games - where you had to fight only one ennemy once, if three enemies surround you, you need to fight all of them at the same time, by doing combos on each other (Suzuki mimes a triple combo with his fists: "bam - bam - bam!").

Of course, if you want to focus on one enemy only, you can do so, but you will have the choice.

GB: Like Shenmue I, can we train our moves to improve Ryo's abilities, skills and techniques?

YS: Yes indeed, I would like to make this happen and I'm still thinking about it. Solo training is definitely part of Kung Fu. The skill tree system is still confirmed as well. (Suzuki opens a new Powerpoint slide named "Skill Tree").

Each blank rectangle you're seeing here represents a skill book. These books can be obtained by several manners. You can buy some books in stores while you can earn the other ones by prizes. They can also have different forms: books, scrolls or sheets...

https://i.imgur.com/PLxQ3x2.jpg

GB: Everyone was suprised by the lack of facial motion in the teaser. Can you give us an explanation? By the way, is the charadesign final?

YS: First of all, no the charadesign isn't final. Actually, no character in the teaser is finished. I'm still not pleased with the current design, even if it's way better than the characters we showed at E3 2015. About the facial motion, it was there two months ago, but the developers changed something in the face bone structure then everything started to bug. (The translator is miming with his hand the jaw entering the head). The facial motion no longer worked so we decided to remove it from the teaser.

GB: The logo has changed again too...

YS: Yes, it has been changed because I wanted to remake it myself. By the way, the ideogram you can see on the poster has been made by my father (Suzuki points at the kanji on the poster - see the red circle on the picture below).

https://i.imgur.com/CpkMb09.jpg

GB: The interview already comes to the end... Shortly, have you got any positive news about Shenmue HD?

YS: As you know, Sega still owns the licence, so I really cannot say anything about it.... but I want to tell something to Sega: please, do it! I really would like to see this happen.

https://68.media.tumblr.com/c76cd8e09ccbe5c284a877f39c982a54/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco1_400.jpg

At the Gamescom 2017 event, we were very lucky to have a quick interview with Shenmue 3 director Yu Suzuki. Unfortunately, over the 3 days available with Suzuki-san, it was very hard to secure an interview with the team due to the general media already having pre-booked all of the time slots available with Suzuki-san through their new publishing partner, Koch Media. But thanks to a few people behind the scenes (especially the community's own Shenmue Ambassador Ali Novin!), we were able to be squeezed in for some quick interviews at the end of the final day, and got to experience the Deep Silver media area! (and rub shoulders with other developers in the area. 5 points to who can guess the developer in the chequed shirt.) Possibly a happy accident, but quite hilarious that Shenmue 3 was allocated Wareho...errr room number .08!

https://68.media.tumblr.com/e10f0bec5012af5650278ed6617f3ea1/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco2_500.jpg

For this interview, we are unbelievably thankful, as both Suzuki-san and Harry-san were understandably extremely tired, and in light of that, our time with them was very short. Despite having upwards of 20+ questions prepared, i only had time to ask a very short number so apologies in advance that i did not get an opportunity to ask a lot of gameplay based questions. I didnt get to that stage, and before i was out of the "introductory" questions stage, it was time to wrap up the interview! Either way, its always an honour to be in the company of Suzuki-san, and we are so grateful for his time at Gamescom. Enjoy :)

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SD. So hello Suzuki-san. Welcome to Germany! Have you been to Germany before? Have you been to Gamescom before?

YS. It’s my first Gamescom, but however, for Germany, I don’t remember… 2 or 3… around 3 times. I have a feeling the number grows with each interview (laughs)! It’s around 5 times… I think. Although, just before when you asked the question, I said twice! But I think 5 times is the right number.

SD. So we know you are in Cologne for Shenmue, but I know you have a love for art and architecture. Do you have any plans to do any sight-seeing whilst you are here?

YS. On the day we arrived, or maybe the day after, I went to see the Dom (Cathedral). It’s splendid! I also walked around the Old Town. Yes, it was amazing. It was more impressive than the Tokyo Tower (laughs). I am joking! But it was amazing. I could say amazing over and over.


https://68.media.tumblr.com/d9b32515d8c7f5ffadb78bf509d9ff0c/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco3_500.jpg

SD. We are at Gamescom for Shenmue 3. But I have to ask, why Gamescom? We just had E3, and Gamescom is a little bit after, so did it just feel right?

YS. The reason for the timing was that I wanted to make the announcement in conjunction with the forming of the contract with Deep Silver. The agreement, to put it simply, was not ready in time for E3.

SD. Ok, so I just want to bring it back a bit, to the Kickstarter update where you announced that you had to delay the game. How hard was that decision, and were you worried about disappointing the backers?

YS. Hmmm, yes of course. I was most concerned about the backers. At the time, we had already made progress in our partnership talks with Deep Silver. So for us, being able to aim for something above what had been the plan with the original Kickstarter, it would have been extremely difficult to implement an open world with the initial plan we had at the time of the Kickstarter. So I continued to look for a partner after that. I really wanted to create an open world somehow. So I kept searching, and eventually we were able to form a partnership with Deep Silver which enabled us to upwardly revise the plan.
So at that time, I took into account what we would be able to achieve with Deep Silver. I felt positive we would be able to achieve a “scaled-up” Shenmue 3. If conditions improved after forming a partnership with Deep Silver, we would be able to expand our plans. That would bring along with it more tasks to complete, and I hoped to announce the good news to everyone along with the schedule change. But at that point the contract with Deep Silver hasn’t been finalized, so I wasn’t able to mention it. That was the situation.

https://68.media.tumblr.com/02ed8d4d4c19b506b54b42ccf5da6441/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco4_500.jpg

SD. In the same video, you mentioned “new technologies, possibilities and new expressions” for Shenmue 3. Could you tell us more about those, and have they changed what you originally thought Shenmue 3 would be like?

YS. We have a complete set of basic shaders, although these need to be tuned for Shenmue. But having a full set of basic shaders is one of its (Unreal 4 Engine) advantages. Also it’s an engine designed for games, so there are all sorts of libraries for 3D games. So when you’re at the prototype/building stage, it’s very quick and efficient. That’s another benefit.
With Shenmue 1 and 2, my program forms the base, so I understand all parts of the program. However this time, the innermost working are a “black box” so I can’t obtain a full understanding of every part, and that can sometimes be a problem. From an overall perspective, it’s a really marvellous engine, especially when it’s used by multiple people. For example, we take the case of 30 or 40 people, or more, are developing the game simultaneously. It can handle management and so on, and do things like analysing the workload, rendering load, CPU usage and various others. Product management has also been made easier too, so overall, I think it’s a superb engine.


SD. I’m glad you mentioned shaders because I remember a conversation we once had about how important the colours of Shenmue were important to you. How difficult has it been to achieve the “look” and “colour” of Shenmue with Unreal 4?

YS. The basic attractive colours in Unreal 4 are formed with High Dynamic Range, and there is a wide range of colours from light to dark which can produce images where you can really feel the light and shade. This was the key deciding factor for my selection of the Unreal Engine. For me, the light and the shade are the most important part. For Shenmue, there are 2 things which are necessary to add. The next stage is there has to be a feeling of humidity. Shenmue has to have a slightly “wet” feeling to it. A damp kind of feeling in the air. I don’t mean actual rain, but the air should have a kind of moist feeling to it.
It’s difficult to achieve this with the standard Unreal 4 shaders, so I think we will have to write our own. The Shenmue teaser we have shown has achieved that look of “wetness” I think. We have now reached the second step. We are not yet at the third stage, but that will be images that you can smell. For example, in China they may chop up a pig like this, and then, without storing it in a refrigerator, sell it under the hot sun. It has that kind of raw stink, and that’s something I think we managed to achieve in Shenmue 2. Shenmue 3 will also be going onto this stage next. A “smell shader”, or a “stinky shader”! (laughs).

https://68.media.tumblr.com/9d51b582086d5bd4cb64552253c54f48/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco5_400.jpg

SD. I have a lot of questions to ask, but I know time is very short, so I will ask my final question. With being president of your own company, you have hired new staff members to work on Shenmue 3. How does it feel to pass on all those years of knowledge and experience to young new developers? Have you had any difficulties managing a team like this?

YS. Well not all of our staff are young, there is someone who is 50 years old… all ages really. But management is the most difficult part. They have entered the company going through interviews, and it’s hard to get to know someone properly at the interview stage. So after that process it turns out there are some people who speak extremely little, for example, so yes it can be pretty difficult. Various strategies are needed in order for each person’s performance level to reach 100%, and that’s the part that’s most difficult. I would prefer to lose myself in the creative work, but quite a bit of time is used up on management.

SD. Suzuki-san, thank you.

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...and in the blink of an eye, it was all over! Apologies again that we could not have had more time to ask more questions, but there maybe more inverviews coming out from the Shenmue Online Community in the near future with lots more questions so stay tuned for that! ;-)

But before we left, as always, we had to surprise Suzuki-san with a gift! Thanks to a fantastic idea from 500k owner Aaron Barstow, we decided to try and somehow put Suzuki-san into one of his favourite bands, Van Halen. So working together, we came up with the idea of having an artist design an image of the band members but also insert Yu Suzuki in amongst them! After contacting one of our contributors to the Instagram page, @r_wuying, he understood the concept, and very quickly came though with an awesome piece of work!

https://68.media.tumblr.com/0909930dd8da47c5b51aaf4011880926/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco6_400.jpg

Of course, we couldnt give Suzuki-san an image on a PC, so we had it framed and brought it to Germany to present it to him from all of the Shenmue Community, for which he was extremely surprised and thankful (as always!)

https://68.media.tumblr.com/2e40913861ed15c10f8431df35f79231/tumblr_ovoeetc4Sy1vilcqco7_500.jpg

https://68.media.tumblr.com/5d4165cea5becd3cdfd3c367fa97797f/tumblr_ovog4lS9W61vilcqco1_400.jpg

My Gamescom experience was one i will always remember, and i have to say thank you to so many people including David and Kenji from Shenmue Master, Aaron and James from 500K/Team Yu, Silvia from 500k, Chao from the community and of course Ali Novin for all his hard work behind the scenes to make the interview happen. On a personal note, it was fantastic to meet long time Dojo members YS, Snoopbob, B-Ren and Bluemue at the event too!! Its a shame we couldnt have all spent more time together! Also, of course how could I forget (which I did :oops: ) the amazing Switch for being on point with translating duties as always!

But with that, another event has ended, and the long journey continues! See you all again soon :D

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I'd speculate that, following the Deep Silver deal, those few additional $29/$60 donations aren't really needed for boosting development, so you'll probably accomplish more for the game by purchasing through conventional channels on release, thereby contributing to official sales figures that will help determine the future of the series.

I've worked with UE4 a bit. I think most developers hate the engine when they first deal with it because it is pretty much a pain to do anything as a newbie. Variables don't really have intuitive names, so one really needs to know the engine to get what they want. The blueprint system they use is an absolute abomination for anyone who knows how to program (something that would take up about 10 lines of code takes up your entire screen in the blueprint), but the blueprints were designed for people who don't know how to program so no surprise there. Even then, programmers and artists will need to spend significant time to figure out how to do anything in the engine. There are a lot of inter-workign parts to allow for global ease of use that is hard to trace if you are trying to figure out how things work (it took me forever to figure out how AI and other entities used nav-meshes because the engine automatically associates existing nav-meshes and sorta hides how it does it from the user... unless you are willing to go into the UE4 source code). This initial difficulty is probably what Yu Suzuki was talking about when he said it was "difficult to use."

But, once you take the time to learn things, development is a breeze. The epic team pretty much thought of everything when it comes to game development, and any idea you have you can typically prototype within a day. It is also extremely easy to create gorgeous environments since they made so many complex shaders and post processing effects easily available to the developer. I can guarantee you that anything Shenmue I & II did, UE4 can do, and more. If Shenmue I was made in UE4, there wouldn't be any need for a loading screen when transitioning from an outdoor environment to an indoor one due to the level streaming feature.

UE4 was designed as a general purpose game engine from day 1, and to say that it is only suited for specific popular games that used it is unfair. Yes, the unreal engine got it's start in FPS games, but Epic Games had enough experience in licensing the different versions of their engines, that they have a very good idea on what tools game developers need to create whatever they want. This shows in the variety of games that use unreal's engines. FPS, MMOs, racers, platformers, VR... every type of game you can imagine probably exists as an unreal engine game. I don't think there will be any problem with Yu Suzuki and his team creating what they want in UE4.

You can go here if you want to see a list of games that currently use UE4.

Two interviews with Yu Suzuki by Fok! (Dutch) and Gamona (German):

http://frontpage.fok.nl/preview/774723/1/1/50/interview-met-yu-suzuki-over-shenmue-3.html
http://www.gamona.de/games/shenmue-3,interview-mit-entwicklerlegende-yu-suzuki-ich-moechte-nach:article.html

According Google Translate:

Fok! :
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Ffok.nl%2F774723

- Confirmation of an international phone card (named "World of Telecom") to call Ryo's overseas friends. Yu didn't tell if it's still an exclusive backer item.

- A turtle aquarium can be seen in the extended trailer. Yu says there will be a turtle race.

- Shenmue 3 will explain the Shenmue prologue poem.

- Yu describes Shenmue 3 as " a kung-fu adventure that takes place in China."

- Shenmue 3 will have easter eggs like the previous episodes.

Gamona :
http://www.gamona.de/games/shenmue-3,interview-mit-entwicklerlegende-yu-suzuki-ich-moechte-nach:article.html

- Thanks Deep Silver, Shenmue 3 will be about 3 times bigger than initially planned. Overall, however, ambitions about the story and graphics are likely to remain the same.

- Yu laughingly refuses to answer if we get a new cliffhanger at Shenmue III end.

- As animals, there will be chickens, ducks, turtles, dogs, cats and more. Yu has yet to know if the player will be allowed to have a pet like the cat in Shenmue 1.

- The Shenmue 3 staff consists of a lot of freelancers and people who are working for other studios.

Hello, everyone. I know we already have the brilliant Shenmue 3 Kickstarter News/Information/Multimedia Archive thread, but I thought it would be a good idea to have a compendium of all the facts, information, and everything we currently know about the game in one easy-to-read contained thread. Perhaps the mods would like to consider this as a sticky?

Please feel free to add everything and anything you can that is relevant (as well as suggestions on how to improve the thread), and I'll update the original post whenever I can :)

(Some of the following information can be considered as spoilers, so read at your own risk.)

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Story

- Yu Suzuki describes the game as "a kung-fu adventure that takes place in China" [1]

- The game's "key points," according to Yu Suzuki, are "romance, characters' life and martial arts." Where romance is concerned, Yu Suzuki would like to portray the differences between how men and women think [4] [39]

- According to Yu Suzuki, Shenmue III will begin from Chapter Six of the story's eleven planned chapters , and will "mark the end of this story," but will not be the end of the story . In a 2018 interview with GamersFlag, Yu Suzuki stated, "the end will be open for a sequel," suggesting Shenmue III might end on a cliffhanger [33]

- Shenmue III 's story begins the day after the conclusion of Shenmue II [9]

- Ryo, while still angry and thirsty for revenge, will grow and mature a lot throughout the game. Those he meets along the way, particularly where martial arts is concerned, will be largely responsible for this [5]

- The meaning behind the "He shall appear from a far eastern land across the sea..." prologue poem, as well as Ryo and Shenhua's roles in the prophecy , will finally be revealed [1]

- Yu Suzuki has stated he would like to keep Shenhua as "a mysterious character" [38]

- Ryo will not return home to Japan in Shenmue III [17]

- The game will explore and highlight the differences between Japanese and Chinese culture , particularly the way in which Ryo behaves in a foreign land having come from a different background, and how he and Shenhua interact with each other [8]

- Confirmed fighting styles (thus far) include: Hazuki style jujitsu (Ryo) , Fist-Dagger Mantis style (Niao Sun) , Nanquan (a master located in Choubu), and Bajiquan (Ryo and various characters throughout the game) [9]

Characters

- Confirmed important characters (thus far): Ryo Hazuki , Shenhua , Lan Di , Ren , Niao Sun , Chai , Shenhua's adoptive father, and two unnamed "main bosses"

- Confirmed minor characters (thus far): Ming Ming and unnamed minor characters such as an extremely muscular rival to Ryo (described as "a middle-level boss" who "uses an unusual style of martial arts") , the owner of Choubu's Bird Dance Hostel , the temple/shrine maiden of the Hall of Name Tags (described as "a tomboy, boyish type") , a young girl Ryo will befriend , an assistant who will play a role similar to that of Fangmei , a master of Nanquan , and an "eccentric" and "really powerful" martial arts master with "a humorous personality" [6] [9] [36]

- Nozomi , Guizhang , Ine-san , Joy , Fuku-san , Goro , and "other characters" from the two previous games are also confirmed , albeit in the form of telephone calls through the 'World of Telecom' service [6] [9] [16]

- There will be "four main bosses," according to Yu Suzuki. Lan Di and Niao Sun are the only named bosses at present, the latter of whom has been described as "extremely beautiful and sexy, but cruel." The only information pertaining to the two remaining main bosses is that one of them is "[a] strategist using more cunning than head-on fighting" [39]

Locations

- Confirmed areas (thus far): Bailu Village , Choubu , and Baisha [6]

- Bailu Village ( 白鹿村 , which translates as 'White Deer' ) is the starting area of Shenmue III and, where the player was only able to experience just a tiny fraction of the village, was also where Shenmue II ended, though the entire village will now be fully open and explorable . According to Shenhua, who lives in a hut on the very outskirts of the village, Bailu Village is home to around fifty inhabitants . Due to the village's proximity to water, players will be able to fish there . The initial quests here will start Ryo and Shenhua off on their journey

- Choubu ( 鸟舞 , which translates as 'Bird Dance' ), a riverside village situated on the banks of the Li River , will be the game's equivalent to Dobuita or Wan Chai , featuring numerous shops, stalls, amusements, hotels, shrines, temples, dwellings, and other buildings. Choubu resembles Kowloon in terms of its density and verticality . Choubu will contain approximately two-hundred NPCs (which is over three times that which was originally planned), one of whom is a master of Nanquan . Choubu has been described as the most Shenmue -esque location in the game [9] [17]

- Baisha ( 白沙 , which translates as 'White Sand' ) is a village, notable for its numerous tulous, which is home to the Guilin branch of the Chi You Men. Baisha will see a number of new gameplay systems introduced to players, including "a siege game reminiscent of the Warring Kingdoms," which will presumably see the player defending allies from external attacks and engaging in battle with enemies attempting to gain control of the village's buildings, as well as an infiltration mission into the Chi You Men's branch (presumably on a mission to rescue Shenhua's imprisoned adoptive father). It is also during this infiltration mission the player will take advantage of the new 'Character Perspective System' , allowing the player to swap between Ryo, Shenhua, and Ren, utilising each character's unique traits and abilities to achieve their goal

- Some of the specific landmarks and establishments that have been revealed are the Lake of the Lantern Bugs , the Temple of the Blooming Flower , the Bird Dance Hostel , and the Hall of Name Tags [13] [30] [31] [32]

Gameplay

- Shenmue III contains around thirty hours of gameplay [3] [9]

- The 'Technique Scroll System' , one of the game's confirmed new mechanics, consists of move scrolls comprised of three unique types - Normal, Advanced, and Arcane - the latter two of which are managed by a skill tree-like system, which fills as you learn new moves , and require a certain amount to be accumulated before use [9] [16]

- The 'Character Perspective System' , the second of the game's confirmed new mechanics, gives the player the ability to change the character they're playing as - with each character having their own distinct personalities, choices, and approach to the situation at hand - in order to complete their objective. Ryo's approach is that of fighting ; Ren's is that of using a weapon ; and Shenhua's is non-violent and tactical . This mechanic will feature in a single event [17]

- The 'Rapport System' , the third of the game's confirmed new mechanics, will see Ryo and Shenhua's relationship vary depending on the player's actions towards, and interactions with , her, therefore affecting how cooperative and/or warm/cold she is in return , dictated by two underlying systems: the 'Affinity Rating' and 'Cooperative Quest' [17]

- 'A.I. Battling' , the fourth of the game's confirmed new mechanics, will allow players to "unleash the perfect technique in response to the opponent's positioning and distance," meaning the technique will, upon activation, hand control over to an A.I. which will decide the best course of action instead of requiring calculated inputs from the player. The system is "for players who are not used to fighting games or for those who want a full immersion battle experience" [19]

- NPCs will be more akin to those featured in Shenmue II , meaning their scripting won't be as detailed, nor will their personalities be as unique as those in the original game, though other aspects about them will see improvement (e.g., cosmetic detail and facial expressions) [38]

- Regarding controls, Yu Suzuki has stated he is currently in two minds about how they will function; on one hand, he would like to "keep a similar configuration to the original game," but realises times have long since changed and is therefore considering more contemporary schemes [10] [12]

- In order to make the combat system simpler and visually different from the series' previous entries, a "Variable Speed" system is being incorporated into FREE battles. Specific details have not been revealed, but Yu Suzuki describes it as "new and fun" [11]

- Ryo will now be able to attack multiple opponents at once (a primitive version of this could be found in the first two games, in which the Ryo was able to grapple an opponent and kick away surrounding enemies) and perform combos in FREE battles [26]

- QTEs will return in a more modernised, dynamic fashion . The possibility of using specific sounds and colours to associate with inputs , as opposed to displaying the button itself on-screen, is under consideration [9]

- Training areas might be making a return for the first time since the first game [38]

- Progression of time will be "about the same system as the first two Shenmue ." This means one in-game hour is equivalent to four real-world minutes; one in-game day is equivalent to one real-world hour [34]

- There will be events in which a bear and a deer must be saved

- Regarding the size of the game world , Yu Suzuki states it will be "even richer" than the series' previous entries. Choubu, on its own, has been greatly expanded , by at least five times its originally planned size [4]

- A trademark of the series, attention to detail and interactivity (as well as examples of more subtle detail such as gestures and cultural dress style) will be in abundance [9]

- As was the case with the previous games, Ryo will return to his place of rest at 11:30pm . In Bailu Village this will be Shenhua's house , and in Choubu it will be the player's hostel of choice . Baisha's place of rest is currently unknown, though one can assume it will be in one of the tulous

- Regarding loading screens/times , Yu Suzuki has stated that, "[players will] start in a large area which will require some initial loading, but compared to before the loading situation will be much better. It's much faster now," possibly suggesting exterior-to-interior (and vice versa) loading will be seamless [10]

- For the very first time in the series, players will be able to change Ryo's outfit (and maybe even remove his bandage ) [17]

- The notebook will return, and has been updated with coloured divider tabs [17] [25]

- Forklifts will return in one form or another [9] [38]

- Capsule toys from the first two games will be returning, though it is currently unknown whether brand new capsule toys from SEGA franchises will be introduced. Those who pledged for the $700 tier of the Kickstarter campaign will have a 2D illustration of their face featured inside a small glass block , whereas those who pledged for the $1200 tier will have a Chibi-style representation of themselves featured as a fully-modelled capsule toy , as part of new in-game capsule toy collections [13] [17]

- Fortune-telling has been confirmed

- Purchasable move scrolls will be returning [23] [24]

- Arcade cabinets will be returning. So far, Excite QTE and Fighting Mania -like cabinets, as well as pinball machines, whack-a-mole, and a punch-ball boxing machine , have been seen [17] [25] [41]

- Lucky Hit will be returning [6]

- A turtle racing mini-game has been confirmed [1]

- A fishing mini-game has been confirmed [9]

- Many of the new mini-games will be more meaningful and connected to the game's world and progression [9] [26]

- Part-time jobs will be returning. Although wood chopping is the only confirmed job thus far , the presence of a warehouse in Choubu and Lucky Hit suggests job opportunities, too [9] [35]

- Ryo can earn money through various other means, including gambling and selling items (e.g. capsule toys and fish he has caught) [9] [17]

- Wild animals such as tortoises, ducks, and frogs can be found in certain areas. Chickens, dogs, cats, turtles, hens, pigeons, and "many more" can be found throughout the world, too, and there might even be the opportunity to care for a pet in a similar fashion to the kitten from the first game [2] [9]

General

- The game has a tentative release date of 2019 for PlayStation 4 and PC [27]

- In order to appeal to veterans of the series, Shenmue III will be comprised of 30% contemporary ideas/influences and 70% 'classic' Shenmue themes [12]

- The game will feature a short recap covering the events of the first two games for those who are new to the series. Flashbacks using scenes from the first two games will also occur throughout the story; Yu Suzuki is even considering making some of them playable , but is currently "undecided" [9] [11]

- Like its predecessors, Shenmue III will have a bad ending should players not manage to complete the game by a certain in-game date [40]

- Memories will play an important part in Shenmue III . One such example is that of an NPC who will recount a prior event , giving Ryo (and, by extension, the player) a more tangible, visual idea of what occurred before working to fit the pieces together [11]

- Save data from the first two games will not be able to be carried over into Shenmue III

- As of December 2017, almost all of the English voice actors for the main characters have been cast , with casting set to continue in early 2018 [8]

- Yu Suzuki would like to bring back as many of the series' past voice actors as possible. Shenhua (and Wong , if he features in the game) will have a new English voice actress due to Akasha Scholen's retirement [3] [9]

- Corey Marshall and Masaya Matsukaze will reprise their roles as the English and Japanese voices of Ryo Hazuki, respectively [28] [29]

- In a Dreamcast Ultimate interview published on 11/09/2017 , Corey Marshall stated he has been in contact with Yu Suzuki's team and his voice work will begin "soon." In March 2018, Marshall revealed he will begin to record his lines at the end of May [15] [37]

- Yu Suzuki would like to include both the English and Japanese dubs in each respective version, but is currently unsure whether it will be possible [17]

- Key members from the series' original development team are working on the game, including writer Masahiro Yoshimoto , character designer Kenji Miyawaki , composer Ryuji Iuchi , and programmer Takeshi Hirai [13]

- Shenmue III is being built in Unreal Engine 4 , which the team intend to push to its maximum potential , as opposed to the Virtua Fighter engine utilised by the first two games , due to the engine's ease with prototyping, efficiency, and its appropriate colour palette. As a result, the fighting engine is being built from scratch . Yu Suzuki is especially impressed with how far the capabilities of the engine have exceeded his expectations, particularly where graphical quality is concerned [3] [9] [10] [14] [16]

- Dynamic weather will be returning, and will be considerably improved over the previous games. "The lighting of sunsets and sunrises will be really beautiful," according to Yu Suzuki [39]

- Shenmue III utilises motion and magnetic capture technology for its animations, the former of which will be used in the most important action scenes [4]

- Yu Suzuki hopes players will really feel the visuals ; from the humidity in the air to the smell of the surroundings , complemented by the game's new art style [9] [14]

- According to Yu Suzuki, "The assets from [the first two games] will get a lot of use"

- As of early September 2017, map modelling and asset creation is at around 70% completion , whereas the lighting system is very close to completion [9] [16]

- Indian game development studio Lakshya Digital (whose past projects include titles such as Uncharted 2: Among Thieves , Bloodborne , Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain , WWE 2K16 , and Just Cause 3 ) will be taking care of much of the game's character art development . Yu Suzuki is very happy with what he has seen so far [13]

- The OST will consist of unused/returning tracks from the original games (of which just 20% were used in the aforementioned) and possibly some new material [3] [9]

- Shenmue III will feature numerous easter eggs [1]

- Yu Suzuki is considering the possibility of a Tomato Mart in the town of Choubu [7]

- DLC is planned , but no further details have been revealed [9]

- Shenmue III will have no online options, though no specifics were given as to the extent to what is considered 'online'

Business-related

- Following its reveal at E3 2015 on June 15th, Shenmue III was successfully funded on Kickstarter , reaching its initial goal of $2 million in a record eight hours and forty-three minutes, eventually ending in July with a total of $6.333 million (the most-funded video game project and sixth-most-funded overall on Kickstarter) pledged by 69,320 backers [18]

- As of July 23rd, 2018 , funding is at $7.063 million (pledged by 78,953 backers ) thanks to the Slacker Backer campaign [19] [42]

- Shenmue III will be published in PAL and NA regions by Deep Silver , who will be providing additional budget and promotional support, allowing greater budgetary stability and flexibility, as well as enabling Yu Suzuki to greatly expand upon, and truly realise, his vision and hire more freelancers for the project. (The game's publisher in Japan is currently unknown. ) Originally thought to be published by Sony , the latter's role has been clarified as providing support , while SEGA's role is limited to providing the IP and production materials from the series' previous entries [3] [9] [10] [12] [16]

- Contrary to popular belief and misinformation, poor research, and flat-out lies spread by the gaming press, Shibuya Productions is the main investor in Shenmue III , having invested an undisclosed amount in the project, and has a much greater role than Sony . (In fact, SEGA / YSnet / Shibuya Productions formed the agreement to use the Shenmue licence before Sony was ever involved ) [20] [21] [22]

System specs

(Placeholder and subject to change.)

Minimum:

OS: Windows 7x64, Windows 8x64, Windows 10x64 (64-bit OS Required)
Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 (3.40 GHz) or better; Quad-core or better
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti or better (DirectX 11 card & VRAM 2GB Required)
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband internet connection
Storage: 100 GB available space
Sound card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
Additional Info: Requires Steam Client to activate.

---

UPDATES LOG:

25/06/2018: Miscellaneous changes and updated the slacker backer pledge total

23/04/2018: Updated with information from previous interviews and talks, and separated information about characters into its own section

18/04/2018: Updated with information from a 2016 DualShockers interview

15/04/2018: Updated with new information from SEGASaturno's MAGIC interview

17/03/2018: Updated with new information from MAGIC 2018 and added more citations for older information

14/01/2018: Added citations to the majority of the facts. Incomplete, but this will be taken care of

23/12/2017: Updated with new information from Shenmue Master's Gamescom interview

16/12/2017: Updated with new information about the temple maiden and made some miscellaneous changes

28/11/2017: Updated the Slacker Backer amount

14/10/2017: Updated with new information from the Shenmue Master recap

28/09/2017: Updated with new information from the latest M! Games Magazine interview

27/09/2017: Updated with new information from the latest Official PlayStation Magazine interview

25/09/2017: Cleaned things up, updated the backer amount/count, and added more information

21/09/2017: Moved information about locations into their own category and added lots of miscellaneous information

17/09/2017: Included Corey Marshall's comments about voice work beginning soon as well as other little tid-bits

12/09/2017: Cleaned things up a bit and elaborated on some information

11/09/2017: Separated 'Story/gameplay' into separate sections and added some more information from the Fok!, Gamona, and Shenmue500k interviews

09/09/2017: Added some more information from the Eurogamer interview

03/09/2017: Cleaned things up a bit

28/08/2017: Added some more information from the Multiplayer.it interview

27/08/2017: Categorised the information so everything doesn't read as one long list

26/08/2017: Added and corrected some information in light of revelations from Gamescom 2017

20/12/2016: Added some more information, including Shenhua's adoptive father to the confirmed characters list, Nanquan as one of the confirmed fighting styles, and an update to the funding date
[***RESERVED***]

Succinct but interesting interview with Yu Suzuki by PlayStation Official Magazine UK (November 2017 issue)

- Shenmue 1 & 2 might be offered along with Shenmue 3. It seemed a no-brainer before Yu Suzuki thinks he should rather incorporate memories straight into the game.

- The Shenmue 1 & 2 memories you will get in Shenmue 3 might be playable but Suzuki remains "undecided".

- Yu Suzuki claims that memories are very well incorporated in the game and gives the example of a NPC guy able to tell you what happened before.

- In order to make the combat system simpler and visually different from Shenmue I & II, YSnet will use "Variable Speed". Suzuki did not give specific details.

- He emphasizes that the world of Shenmue III will be designed as a whole, rather than a sum of parts.

- Yu Suzuki gives few words on his position towards realism and VR in Shenmue III.

Read the issue for further details.

Here is my translation of that Yu interview in the German magazine.
I didn't translate everything because some of the questions are just about Yu's hobbies etc.
I'm not a native english speaker, i tried my best.

Question 1 to Yu:
You said that Shenmue 3 will be bigger than you thought at first?

Yu's answer:
Yes, the game will probably be three times as big as i had in mind at the beginning. One of the villages has over 200 residents now instead of just 50. This village alone is five times bigger than i had in mind.

Question 2 to Yu:
But still - Shenmue 3 has not the same budget as 1 or 2. What do you have to change in the game because of that?

Yu's answer:
The story is still intact but i had to adjust some of the extra elements and details. We talked about the 200 people in that village - maybe we will even have 400 in the end, i didn't decide yet. You have to remember that all the city / village residents in 1 & 2 had a "real" simulated life, thats a really complicated and tough quest and the budget for Shenmue 3 is probably not big enough to do that again.

Question 3 to Yu:
Will there be voices and sound for everything in the game?

Yu's answer:
We don't know yet. To tell the truth - the amount of text is getting bigger and bigger and not all of it is planned, so we don't know if all of it will be available with sound.

Question 4 to Yu:
Will you use the voice actors from 1 & 2?

Yu's answer:
Ryo's english and japanese voice will be the same in Shenmue 3. I can't tell you anything about the other people yet.

Question 5 to Yu:
Shenmue 3 will be only available on PS4 and PC, why is that?

Yu's answer:
That's simple - it's just because of our partnership with Sony and their support at the E3 2015.

Question 6 to Yu:
Did you ever thought about how you could tell the story without a real Shenmue 3?

Yu's answer:
Yes, i thought about a mobile game before.

Question 7 to Yu:
There were a lot of critical responses for the Shenmue 3 teaser. What would you tell the people who feel dissappointed?

Yu's answer:
We don't have any facial expressions in the game right now and none of the character models are final yet. So it will look different and better in the final game. The teaser is not representing the quality of the final game, we are still in the middle of developing. And of course you have to remember the budget. The budget is good enough for our game, but its pretty small if you compare it to other games right now. We can't keep up with big modern games. We would need a way bigger budget (ten times bigger than now) to make perfect modern graphics. So we need to find a good middle way between good graphics and good content. Please don't expect highend graphics, Shenmue 3 is not about that.

Edit - the translation of the additional info box in that magazine:

Shenmue 3 will turn out bigger because of the partnership with Deep Silver.
The shown teaser was just released because they wanted to celebrate that partnership.
(they had the teaser ready before that, but couldnt decide if they should release it or not)

Shenmue 3 starts with chapter 6 but Shenmue 3 is not the end of the Shenmue story.
The original Shenmue story was planned for four or five games in total,
it would be too much story content for Shenmue 3.
There will be flashbacks in Shenmue 3, so that everyone understands whats going on.
Shenmue 3 will not have any online options and the fighting will be easier (adjusted to match modern games)

Yeah the (potential) lack of NPC routines doesn't really bother me at all. Not being fully voiced would be a deal breaker though. It needs to be fully voiced, having text would take me out of the game so much. Especially if some NPCs are voiced and some aren't. I'd rather some NPCs were cut or the amount of dialogue was scaled back rather than have use text like in Yakuza. It's one of the reasons Yakuza feels like merely a (good) video game, whereas Shenmue feels like an immersive and remarkable experience.

Two posts added.

Kickstarter Update #75: Face Animations & Subtitles Translation

Shenmue 2 Concept Sketch: "Wharf Near Langhuishan"

https://i.imgur.com/2LwRfgP.jpg

Prior to the upcoming publishing of their interview with Yu Suzuki, Trent and Shendream from Shenmuemaster.fr have written a recap of what we learnt from the Gamescom event, divided into the following parts:

Deep Silver: The Origins and Nature of the Partnership
The Different Interviews With Yu Suzuki At Gamescom
An "Open World" Game With Enhanced Content
The Gamescom Teaser
MOCAP or Motion Capture
The Story's Main Themes
The Environment
New Characters
QTE And Fights
Mini Games And Part Time Jobs
The Current State Of The Development
The Shenmue III Staff
The Connection With The Shenmue I and Shenmue II Stories
Game Lifespan
Music And Dubbing
Start Menu And Shenmue Logo
Demo Trial And DLC
HD Remasters
Miscellaneous
Conclusion

You can read my humble translation of it here:
http://shenmuemaster.fr/page.php?cat=shenmue3&page=gamescom-2017-the-recap

Peter has just opened a new Youtube channel dedicated to Shenmue where he intends to stream Shenmue at least 3 times a week.

Check out the video below for more details

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A04vV8hyCLE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrMXhLoFEbI

Looks awesome. Cant wait to see more and best of luck Peter.

Hazuki00 wrote: Next week is Paris Games Week, on monday Sony will give a conference. There have been many rumors as you know about Shenmue hd released before the end of 2017, do you know if Sega is going to be there?

They're not listed as an exhibitor, so that either means no or a maybe.

I recently hung out with Corey Marshall.
Truly a humble man and the perfect man to be the english voice of Ryo

For those who don't pay attention to Sony news, there is no Saturday morning keynote for PSX this year. They're having a small event the Friday before it starts and only the first few thousand people who bought tickets will be allowed to attend. They wanted to try and kill the massive line Saturday morning that had people lining up 10 hours early by having a smaller event Friday night with a known attendee count. They also aren't promising any big announcements either, they wanted the convention to focus more on the games playable at the show and showing more about games that were already announced. This is why they had a press conference at PGW last week. I think this news doesn't rule anything out specifically, but we already knew not to expect anything related to Shenmue 3 anyway unless it was announced in advance.

The news kind of annoyed me because the way they initially described Friday it sounded like sort of a meet-and-greet with developers, as opposed to a replacement for the Saturday morning keynote which most people assumed was happening. I missed the cut-off for early-bird tickets by a few weeks because I had some things to work out before I eventually decided to go again. Being in the audience for the crowd reaction to announcements was one of the best parts of going last year, and now I'll have to watch it from a hotel walking distance away from the actual event. Oh well.

I don't have any reason to expect that we'll hear about any HD remasters this year either. There haven't been any hints dropped by Sega's media team to get excited over.

Yu Suzuki gives some brief comments to Japanese website 4Gamer.net as part of their annual survey of prominent figures in the game industry.


English translation here:
http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2017/1 ... mance.html

Thanks mjq jazz bar.

(I can confirm I'm working on a translation of the second part & will update here once it's done.)

An English translation of the interview is now up at the Phantom River Stone blog.

http://www.phantomriverstone.com/2018/0 ... iscay.html