Hope everyone's got their ShenmuE3 advent calendars ready!

Hype is officially real now.....

PSX was a unique situation, I think, and unlikely to repeat itself.

Anything you said was obviously in the best intentions and with information you'd been told directly from the development team, Peter. There's no harm there. I don't think any of us would have done any differently if we'd been told the same. Even apart from that, we had seen - or at least perceived - other hints that stoked the fire of expectation.

We're all wiser and stronger for it now though, and in the grand scheme of things we all got over it pretty quickly in the end.

That said... if they skip E3, it's going to be painful. It'll be a total mismanagement of communication if Cedric has been out there still saying December 2017 is the release window, when the situation at YSnet would not have reflected that. I can totally understand if the game isn't ready to show, but if it goes down like that they should have gotten ahead of the issue earlier on.

But on an optimistic note, I don't think they'd leave Cedric out to dry like that with bad information, and on that basis they are preparing for an imminent reveal. E3 is the obvious hope, but even if it doesn't make it I would really, really, really be surprised if there isn't a formal reveal by trailer, or demo, or an extensive update by the end of the Summer.

Assuming we go the easy route, people from hense forth or in another thread linked to this, simply just put the names they want to be known by- either their real name first and or last, their forum name or some other nickname that they go by.

Or simply say "from the fans, friends, people of Shenmue Dojo" or what ever. I mean reading a long list of names where it is page after page after page may seem a bit intimidating.

Then take that and copy and paste into an electronic email or hand write it to give a more personal touch and send. Or if a petition can become a card we can just sign that ourselves and it be sent.

But to be honest I think it is best, if we are sending a fruit basket or something similar, let that card be something short and sweet "From the fans [of Shenmue] at Shenmue Dojo". No worries, no extra headaches, no worrying about if lost in transit or of they can read your hand writing. Plus a fruit basket delivery and maybe even some nice pastries can be tracked so we know they will get it.

The next concern is, how much can be raised in such a short time and is it enough to not be totally worthless, as in easily over looked and pushed to the side, but not overly done either with fifteen different things to over whelm them.

I personally think we should get them something from with in the game world. Like flowers saying "From Nozomi's Flower shop, by the fans of Shenmue Dojo" [-o< or what ever it is called. This is of course if the real flower shop does not mind. But you can basically say what ever you want on the card, but I think it gives it a nice flare to an otherwise mundane gift. Were there any fruit sellers in Shemue 1? If just a fruit basket use the name of that shop from us.

Edit: And obviously, as the last poster said, anything that is not hand crafted and especially perishable needs to be sent with in or at least ordered from Japan. That is a no brainer.

Ladies & Gentlemen, THE picture we were all waiting for!



https://twitter.com/giocorsi/status/864734159217999872

Holding Shenmue for Dreamcast together...

You know I am gonna be the anti hype for this E3, so:

https://68.media.tumblr.com/9fa083ccb1d9ddf3a1a239bc4389af50/tumblr_oq38qutSFV1vilcqco1_400.jpg

Don't forget, the exact same thing happened before PSX and nothing was shown.

The same logic also applies here, as to why Gio would post this specific picture out of all the developers he would have met on his pre E3 Japan trip. This is just spoiling what could be a massive secret for their E3 conference so why spoil it? Unless it's not a spoiler, and there will be no Shenmue 3 on the Sony stage....


(There are far many more positives and logical arguments that Shenmue WILL be at E3, so by all means, talk about them. I'm just fact checking and keeping a level head this time around lol)

To simplify things, maybe we could use an online gift basket service based in Japan (eg http://www.giftbasketsjapan.jp/) and set the delivery address to the YS NET offices. I'm pretty sure these websites let you send a little message along with the basket and we could keep it short and sweet by writing something along the lines of "Dear Yu Suzuki and the Shenmue III team, thank you for everything you do, from your friends at the Shenmue Dojo".

Thoughts?

It's a great idea to be sure; showing extra support. Everyone enjoys being appreciated as I'm sure this team would as well. That said, I'm tapped out of resources at the moment and cannot contribute beyond adding a thank you in written form.

Aside from the roller coaster-like range of emotions that come from trying to figure out if each tweet is some kind of clue to what's in store... my impression of the photo is that Gio Corsi and Yu Suzuki appear at ease and genuinely happy. So Shenmue III is in a fine state no matter what happens with E3.

That's perfect!

GoFundMe sounds perfect. I'll be only too happy to contribute

As far as I remember the faces ( at least the passport ones and I bet some others too) Are digital scans from some handmade busts.

http://i.gyazo.com/c62a23b466991608f65476ce66b93542.png
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSIOojzDPnjbl_Xm9XhFLdziPUOmaYl9d2d7z0M3ZNOxOYDSiPbuw


Those busts were used not only in the passport but in the Shenmue online trailer and official artwork.

Passport
http://i.imgur.com/l5OzfC9.jpg

Shenmue online
http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/081c121996067879e2804bfc7024dcd01233201400_full.jpg

Artwork
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100104004206/halofanon/images/b/b3/Shen2-ryo-hazuki2.jpg


Passport Face ( tweaked +Into a new model)
http://i.imgur.com/1Yt7ryo.jpg


And as some of you may know I have used those passport faces as base for new models, they are fully rigged

Left original artwork, right reconstruction using the ripped face from the game.
http://i.imgur.com/HTguH99.png


http://i.imgur.com/rFJaTAf.jpg http://i.imgur.com/aWkSTOH.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/R84fSTY.jpg http://i.imgur.com/nq5piLz.jpg




http://i.imgur.com/4JaLmwX.jpg

http://www.shenmue500k.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Esppiral-nozomi-flower-shop.png


http://i.imgur.com/gSvTeSf.png http://i.imgur.com/5O1DYlz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/78IiaW5.jpg


Every single model uses the passport faces as a base.

Sorry for the overload of images, I know it seems I always try to post my pics when this topic surfaces....

Bu t my point is, the excuse of old models and new tech incompatible is... well... BS.

So the real reason why they aren't using faces close to the originals is beyond my comprenhension...

Hi, lurker here.

This sounds like a lovely gesture. I would be more than happy to contribute to a GoFundMe.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DADt0UlUQAAFtEL.jpg:large

CEO of Just Add Water.

I don't know what that is or who he is.

They were responsible for the Oddworld series in HD (Stranger's Wrath HD, Munch's Odyssey HD etc). Probably one of the companies working on Shenmue HD (normally these kind of HD projects get worked over by more than one company, some work contracted out). Either that, or he just knows that Bluepoint are doing it or somebody else is. Either way, this is happening.

What we sure need right now is CEO's trolling about Shenmue HD...

I don't know what's going on but it's odd.

I sent the link of the NeoGAF discussion to Romain Mahut, the Gameblog journalist (to gauge his reaction)

It's interesting:
https://twitter.com/RomainMahut/status/864966718577410052

Ça s'excite sur NeoGAF au sujet de Shenmue HD. Malheureusement pour moi je dois me contenter d'un "no comment."

People get excited on NeoGAF about Shenmue HD. Unfortunately, I personally can only say "no comment".

Can someone tell me why people like Bluepoint games remasters so much? What's the big deal about their remasters that separates them from others'?


Blurpoint is one of, if not the best at what they do. They don't do just straight ports they actually go in and tweak things needed. They've rewrote problem code when making the jump from PS2 to PS3/PS4 where others try to rely on current gen HP to power through, and usually fail. Their games almost always run better than the originals. Team Ico Collection, MGS HD and The Nathan Drake Collection are their most notable works.

One of their main programmers also works/worked for the company Hexa Drive that patched ZoE HD after it released and ran worse than the PS2 games. ZoE 2 after that patch was a thing of beauty.

Himuro, please.... please don't take this the wrong way, but remember PSX just 6 months ago. You, among others, were a lot more venomous and toxic after the no show at that event. A lot of which, I took the brunt of. That was hard to take. You also were making threats, to go to the press etc. Again, don't take that the wrong way by today's context, but that's the facts. By all means, look forward to E3, and get yourself uber hyped if you want! Go nuts, but I'm asking you now, keep an open mind and as Jibby said, there could be absolutely NOTHING Shenmue related to come out of the Sony Conference, and the whole of E3. You are really building yourself up here, where everyone else is excited, but also voicing caution. Learn from the past. If there is a Shenmue no show, keep sensible and don't get negatively emotional again. That goes for everyone.

After PSX, lessons were learned, and anyone spouting garbage about going to the press, making claims of stolen money etc we will have a strict zero policy this time round. Temp bans will be issued without reasoning first if we feel it's beyond trying. Himuro, you are an example of that, where at the time you fly off the handle and throw the toys out of the pram, but then after a week or two, you apologise and things calm down once clarity sets in.

So this time, in the event that E3 is another PSX washout, by all means voice an opinion. But do it constructively and respectfully. Remember Yu and his staff are working 24 hours a day, sleeping at the office to get us out a game that's worthy of the Shenmue brand, on a shoestring budget. If they feel that E3 isn't the right time, respect that, and remember your 4 wude.

No absolutely. Inside I am wanting to scream out loud, both with what I know publically and privately. But until I see something in my TV screen, I have disciplined my head to think that nothing will be shown. That way, I can handle my emotions better and despite feeling a wide range of negative emotions inside if there is another no show, I can up on a brave face, and handle it with dignity and respect for YSNET. That's what I am asking. PSX was a learning experience so let's learn from it.

It's also good to hear you have changed also. :nice!:

Hey everyone, just checking in an... holy mother-chedding smokes! I was only gone for 24hrs! :p

But a few things come to mind (warning: heavy speculation): How would this CEO know of this sweet intel? Let's think of his connections shall we: he ports games, therefore may know of other independent port-houses in the UK. If we look at that list of those untitled E3 games at SEGA's booth from a few weeks ago, one stood out from SEGA Europe. It was listed as 'adventure' (or 'rpg', doing this off the top of my head) for PS4, Xbox One and PC. These platforms in particular stood out as sega europe rarely produces anything outside of of PC and strategy/simulation games.

May be a stretch for some, but I think those two can be linked. Which potentially means this 'port' or 'remaster' (depending on what they're actually doing) is happening in the UK or Europe by one and/or a combination of these studios:

- Blitworks (Jet Set Radio)
- Modern Dreams Games UK (House of the Dead Overkill)
- That other UK dev that ported Valkyria Chronicles and possibly Bayonetta/Vanquish to PC (forgotten their name; can't find their website)

I think he would have likely have known about it from them. Anyone noticed how a lot of these publications/rumour sources (RICE digital, that gameblog.fr journalist, this CEO from Just add water) are all within proximity of the UK? I'm starting to think it's less likely that bluepoint's project is in relation to Shenmue HD.

Sorry if this seems like useless fodder, it's just the first thing that came to my mind hearing all this, as the picture gets clearer and the dots connect. As someone pointed out earlier, it could also very much be a case of my cognitive bias especially with everything that's out there xD so let's remain cautious as always. As Shenhua says: I'll await whilst praying...

http://cdn.interestingengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Number-23-Jim-Carrey.jpg

I think it's highly likely to be Blit. Jet Set Radio HD was fantastic and they've expressed a lot of interest doing an HD version of Shenmue. I think most of us wanted Blit anyways, if Bluepoint couldn't make it Blit was always considered the number 1 or 2 pick to do it. I know for me at least, I always wanted Blit to work on it.

Unfortunately, I was talking with someone from Blitworks last week and whilst not to direct quote, the impression was that they were still hopeful that Sega would ask them to do it as they are huge Shenmue fans. Whilst that may be a general public response, it's worth noting that it seems that they haven't been working on it.

Flagship we're talking about a 15 years old game, we're not talking about tech above all.

It's about what would be cool changes to do to bring the best version of the games they can be (while not being a remake).

Also if it's coming to PC (very probably) they do care about it from a consumer perspective (some of them have pcs worth thousands and want games to take advante of that), so making a good remake will make more people interested.

And I agree that tech is not all, heck, the more realistic the games are made, the less people will care because the difference in graphics will be negligible (and that's why performance it's such a deal today). Good games will still be good games (just look at Zelda BotW), but if we're asking, why not ask for the best possible version ?

i assume we are getting awesome japan a crate full of fanta?

I'll see about setting up a Gofundme tonight. Last night I was busy.
I would suggest refraining from collecting any money until you've completely established what it will be used for and how the gift is getting there.

I would love to contribute, but not while there's still risk of it being a black hole into someone else's wallet.

Ironically, I was thinking about this article specifically last night. Now, you all will have read my "neutral" post on the Shenmue 3 forums where to discourage the building of my own hype (at the risk of being let down because of, ya know....Sega). But last night I was watching and old episode of The Jimquisition:

https://youtu.be/l_HEI8ZfDbM

Now personal preferences towards Jim Sterling aside, and God knows the entire internet and it's dogs have opinions on him, but I can't help take note of some of the points he makes in this specific episode.
For those who don't want to watch it, it's an episode born out of the crazy frenzy that was a No Man's Sky fan right before it's release, when the game got delayed a couple of times. That leads into the bulk of the episode, and the problems with gaming hype culture in general. Now whilst I don't agree with Jim on a lot of points, I can't help but agree on something that we would rarely think about; the person who writes the article/begins a rumour.

He makes a very good point about the person, say in this case, the author of the Rice Digital Shenmue HD article, possibly putting his/her career on the line by spurting what could be potentially be pure lies. This person is a professional. They have a job. They have a boss, and from what I have read from more experienced Dojo members who know more about the reliability of the Rice Digital website, then it seems the author of the Shenmue HD article would have a lot to risk by simply sitting down and fabricating an article about what is a niche videogame with a third sequel on the way, which has barely had any major significant updates or exposure over the better part of 2 years.

Now I'm not saying that means we should all cheer in joy and look forward to Shenmue 3 possibly appearing at E3. Far from it in fact, I mean if it's Sega fully in control of this then they like to do their own standalone announcement, like they did with the recently released Bayonetta, the announced Vanquish ports and even the original Shenmue presentations in the past. But at the same time, I feel like I may have been harsh in my original stance on the author of the article itself. Instead of being staunch to every "rumor" article, this one does indeed to carry some weight given the reputation of the site, and the duty it's author owes to the professionalism of his published work. This is backed up even more by the given Parappa the Rappa "rumor" that seemingly now has came to fruition.

By modern standards, how likely would a Yakuza Kiwami situation be? The games were ahead of their time at the time, but would a remake of 1 and 2 be remotely possible? Someone like Kidnocon recreated the environments with modern tech pretty easily, at least for 1.

Yakuza Kiwami was a special case from what I'm aware of, the developers of that game had only 6 months to produce that game, and much of that knowledge came from how Nagoshi-san and the Sega R&D team were so familiar and comfortable with using the Yakuza 5, 0 and Ishin engine (which is a modified version of the Yakuza Kenzan, 3, 4 and dead souls engine). All the time and experience they had with those tools meant that they could develop a 'HD' version of 1 by using the animations from the PS2 game cutscenes and build upon many of the gameplay assets and models produced in the later games. It was basically an easy and highly profitable port to produce. It is one of the reasons why the game is coming out in the west at such a budget pricepoint, it cost little to begin with because much of the investment came from the development of prior titles. Another reason why is the fact that the port faced a very mixed reception from fans/reviewer because aspects of the game felt poorly considered (e.g. the Majima anywhere system' where Majima disguises throughout the map and surprises you at any moment for battle).

So taking all that into consideration, approaching Shenmue in the same way isn't really possible. All the locations need to be built from scratch as well as the game itself. They are unlikely able to borrow much from the original games in which they can embed, it'd pretty much need an overhaul in that situation.

There are people to really want to see a Kiwami version to Yakuza 2 but it may be a while off because the Yakuza team have moved on from the Yakuza 5 engine to the 'Dragon engine' in Yakuza 6 (which the engine still isn't finished yet, and the locations aren't as open as prior games yet because the fidelity is so high and they were evidently rushed with that game).

I think a kiwami would be interesting (even in the Yak0 engine which many seem to be fatigued with even though I think it's great!) but I don't know well that would fly to everyone as a whole. I feel like that scenario would require a reboot from another director's vision as well as a budget similar to the Yak games now, which seen to be incredibly costly with all the facial capture, cutscenes and high profile actors they have.

Sadly I don't think a Shenmue Kiwami could happen, at the very least it could if shenmue 3 was a huge success and sega wanted to get more involved with the franchise, but even then would they be willing to use shenmue 3's code, animations, art and assets to build up is determined on the quality of how good of a framework shenmue 3 can establish.

Kidnocon's work is amazing and I look forward to seeing/hearing more of his involvement in shenmue 3. really intridged to try yak-kiwami, seriously six months sounds crazy! Glad they rerecorded the VO at least for a higher bitrate but i can imagine that's easier to implement alongside development schedule.

I can tweet to him, but are you thinking of getting him to take the gift over?

Nope. It'd be nice if Cedric could be there for the gift. If he can't that's fine. We can send one to the Shibuya Productions at a later date.
I still like my previous suggestion of asking Ryan Payton. He's not directly involved with the project but visits them quarterly based on that interview from last year where he talked about it. He just seems like the best person to ask. What are your thoughts on that?

Hey all!

I decided to be creative and come up with box art for what Shenmue may have been like if it were on Sega Game Gear. Why do this? I love my Game Gear and would have totally bought this. Sadly, Game Gear wasn't supported for nearly long enough IMO.

I did not create any of the art but merely put it together to make one piece. A hypothetical look at what the box art would have been like.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a386/Telekill/ShenmueGGBoxArt_zpsdjelpivc.jpg

I had saved a Tiff that looked a lot better but Photobucket doesn't allow Tiffs. Let me know what you think. Also, I did this in PowerPoint just to see if I could.

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.

The Guilin section of Shenmue II is my favorite section of a game ever made. It's so beautiful in its contrast to the rest of the series with its sights AND sounds. The fateful meeting, the ambient music, the conversations, the easy-going tone of it, the mystery of the stone cave. I just love it so much. Watching the Game Informer video of it has been a big reminder of that. Anyone else feel similarly?
jep, i feel the same way about it :)

Sent from my SM-G390F using Tapatalk

Since it seems like Shenmue 3 will start at the beginning of the Guilin section of Shenmue 2, are you guys gonna rush through it to find out as quickly as possible what happens after the cave or will you take your time to take in all of the sights remade in modern graphics?

Gon - Everyday, without neglect, to keep training

Dan - Be brave and stay calm to make the right decision

Jie - Judge yourself without conceit and do not show moves thoughtlessly

Yi - To act without hesitation, to do what is right

Now isn't a bad time to keep the Wudes in mind.

Guess he just thought that being in a peasant's house he wouldn't have to abide by any sort of etiquette since she can't be much more refined than a farm animal anyway. Oh Ryo you bourgeois piece of shit.

When it comes to morality I noticed something when observing drastically different societies, the conclusion I came to is that we all have the same basis for morals what differs is how societies justify infringing them. For example I will take 3 different core morals and 3 rather drastically different societies: the 3 morals are adultery, theft and murder as for the societies I will take the Roman empire, Ancient China and early Islam.

In the case of these 3 societies that have drastically different roots we see law being created surrounding these 3 core morals, the only difference being in what case is it ok to break them. in ancient Rome women would be killed for adultery however men could generally play around because it was considered that only the woman could bring foreign blood in to the family if she got pregnant while at worst the man would simply have a second family. In Islam you could Marry multiple women and have concubines while in ancient China polygamy was a bit vague on how it was accepted by society. In the case of Murder, what qualified as murder was also greatly different, for example n Islam killing someone for insulting the prophet isn't murder, in ancient Rome human sacrifice in certain instances wasn't either and the same for China. As for theft the three generally agree that if it is a result of war then it isn't theft but lawful booty despite knowing that theft inside their own societies is inherently wrong.

Now the reason I make these comparisons is to show that although it is true that morality is subjective to a certain extent, the subjectivity only comes from justification not a natural evolution and we all share that core morality of what is right and wrong. The difference between Christianity and other world views is that it rejects any subjective justification of morality and only recognises the core morals that are naturally ingrained in to all of us.

Anyways, the point of Carmain's argument isn't just evolutionary morality. It ties into the fact humanity has an intrinsic, universal sense of morality that we betray. Humanity knows what's moral, as we betray that sense of morality. Christianity explains the reason why.
Pretty much this, I was showing that morality itself isn't subjective and that different societies reinterpret it in regards to the vice that we also all have within us intrinsically. I don't believe that morality is an evolutionary trait because morality itself has never evolved, no matter how many generations pass within a certain moral environment a person can always learn how to reinterpret their moral instincts because those moral instincts stay the same. In the case of animals they don't have any sense of right or wrong, when a dog appears to have guilt it isn't guilt at all just an instinctive reaction that can benefit it in a certain situation. The whole basis of moral framework humans have programmed in to them is something that is exclusive to humans and in many cases counter-evolutionary as it doesn't serve our interest.

"Making its long awaited return... a groundbreaking 1999 Dreamcast classic, synonymous with sailors..."

... It literally changed my world view and made me hope for something more in nature and in this world.
... It has inspired me to want to go camping out in nature and just look at the stars some time. I've been planning on doing that once a year, actually.
That's really cool man! I've wondered if a game could inspire someone to explore real nature; to enjoy real wilderness more than fantasy wilderness.

And thanks for answering my questions so quickly ^_~

...
Why is it surprising I love Guilin so much? Almost all of my Shenmue related avatars are Shenhua doing something rural in Guilin and it's deliberate - I am in love with the area so much and I cannot wait to explore it in III.
I guess I assumed most gamers would see Guilin as one long boring cutscene. But, I forgot Shenmue fans are not "most gamers". On that note, I have you guys to thank for motivating Suzuki-san to make S3.

Shenmue III does have the advantage of having had a lot of pre-production work done prior to its current development period. I'm not sure if it's possible to quantify how much time that counts for in the overall process of bringing forth the completed game, but my impression is that it's a significant amount.

I think a no-show at e3 might be cause for some concern, unless they address it in this month's update. At best, it would mean a delay is likely - at worst, they could be struggling to get things to where they need to be. It isn't easy making a masterpiece and my worry is that Shenmue 3 will not hold a candle to its predecessors. There's still a lot of work they need to do in regards to the Kickstarter rewards as well.

However, a no-show would totally be mitigated by a Shenmue I and II HD reveal. It seems imminent, the time is right, and it's the only course of action since the very beginning that makes sense. I know I can dig out my Dreamcast at any time, but the idea of playing a polished re-release on my PS4 (which I bought primarily for Shenmue 3) is exciting, and would really hype me up for the sequel. Really hoping for some footage in the May or June update (or, obviously, an e3 showing) to reassure the fans all is going well.

On a side note, I had a weird dream the other night that Shenmue 3, due to development woes, ended up being a stripped-down, first person point-and-click adventure game released just to tell the story. Eek

My quick thoughts...

1. We have seen how the revealed Shenmue III environments reflect that of the originals.

2. Do you think YS Net will really place a plastic, cartoony model in these environments?

3. They're still in the process of refining the characters towards Shenmue I + II's more realistic, human models.

Patience is a virtue.