Hey everyone! I'm sorry I'm late to the party, but I made it. It's been great reading through your posts in this thread, reading about how everyone's doing these days. It's a great feeling. So many old names - a truly a nostalgic experience. I unfortunately hit some hard times and was homeless for some years. I'm back on my feet now, and have a decent little job (I run the inbound, outbound and retails departments of a logistics company), and I'm posting this on my very own iMac! How life throws it's twists and turns.

This place held an important part of my gaming crazy days. I'll never forget it. All the friendships, the epic debates about games, and even life, the silly little feuds we used to have with one another. Remember when I hated everyone's coloured text? Now it just makes the place feel like home. That's what the 'Dojo always was to me, I suppose. My internet home.

I used to post on one called Cubed3 then as well, but Shenmue Dojo was always better. We had a strange freedom here to talk about whatever we wanted, pretty much. We were also free to speak however we liked, offensive language and obscene humour be damned. There were never any parental controls as such. If someone got out of line, the mods handled it. But that person was often treated like a member of the family and forgiven. We sort of grew up together. Though I must have been eighteen or nineteen by the time I joined, I still had some growing up to do. :lol:

I actually hadn't heard of Shenmue III until today. I've really not played games hardly at all the past few years, and have not kept up with gaming news. I'm sad about missing the announcement, but to see that Shenmue III is being made, for real, no Kikizo-like rumour, no fan-made substitute - the real deal. I honestly pumped my fist in the air and shouted like LFC scored against United. Absolutely amazing. I never thought I would see the day, and it has been years since I gave a tuppenny fuck about anything to do with games.

I'm going to try and stick around, have only recently been getting into games again. Downloaded Steam and the Half-Life series. Times like this you regret getting a Mac :sad: My old PS3 would actually be a better option, lol.

Anyway, it's great to see you all!

^ Hahaha. Trump winning would be awesome, because if you're gonna fuck up anyway, then you should at least go all in and really fuck up as bad as you can by any means possible. Might give you a chance to reboot afterwards. People should vote Trump, simply as a form of protest. I'd rather see the dimwitted loose cannon asshole run everything deep, deep into the ground than the corrupt mass murdering prime example of what's wrong with this type of political system move into office. I don't believe Trump has an actual chance though.

#Kanye2020

...sorry

Fox is spinning this as a vindication of the Republican party as a whole against the Democrat party, but Trump's win seems like more of a rebuke against the establishments of both. The GoP in Washington may celebrate their party's win today, but Trump has an axe to grind with many of them as surely as he did with HIllary. It's going to be very awkward to see how far they will go before they start saying no to what will likely be endless unrealistic and implausible demands from their party's new standard bearer.

Don't really like discussing politics on internet forums let alone this one because obviously plenty will disagree with me, but whatever...

Personally I think the Democratic Party have only themselves to blame. They rigged the system (super delegates etc) so that Hillary cruised past Bernie, despite being so unliked by the general public.

Bernie vs Trump and IMO we could have seen a very different outcome.

Sad day for democracy, the Democratic Party need to take some responsibility though. If shit goes south, which I think it will, then you can't just point to ignorant voters voting Trump as the sole cause.

Just watching idiocracy makes everything even funnier.

I don't support Trump, but I respect democracy and I think it's vile that these kinds of attacks and protests are happening. You might not agree with the outcome, but if that's the choice that's been made in a democratic society, you need to respect that and make the most of it. It's the reason why I'm also against the idea of a 2nd Brexit referendum here in the UK despite being a very strong Remain supporter. You can't participate in democracy and then decide not to accept it if it doesn't favor you; that isn't how it works.

Let me remind you that Barry Obama is still our president until January of next year. He has nothing to lose now and will do absolutely everything he can get away with. Pardons, executive orders, the works. All this fuss about Trump is just a distraction.

After saving what I could for months I found an early BF deal at Sam's I couldn't pass up. Vizio E65-E1, a 65" 4k display. A couple quick pics taken from my cell.

http://i.imgur.com/Qnc2SyC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0QhChKF.jpg

It omits HDR, a TV turner, higher refresh rates (only 60hz) and has only so so speakers but these were worthwhile concessions for me to get a 65" display for $598. I did want HDR to make it more future proof, but that basically would have doubled the price outright. :shock: So far I am very pleased, but it's so damn big I'm going to have to find another place for my Shenmue record frame. :sad:

She sounds like a huge pain in the ass. Why would you tolerate her spooking you out of your sleep regularly? Sounds like a pretty psycho thing to do. Just like publicly twisting the facts about that "bottle beating" incident. Why live with someone like that? You keep apologizing and submitting to her, she keeps manipulating and dominating to an unhealthy degree. Break out of that. Find your balls and speak up or, and that would probably the best thing to do, divorce the weirdo cunt.

A gtx 1080 laptop.

I'm so fucking anxious to get it.

b_ren wrote:

phpBB [video]

heh, hillary supporters know how we felt when bernie lost. Serves the DNC right. They shot themselves in the foot when they went all out to make bernie sanders look bad, now they're suffering in defeat.

Whelp. I'm late to this party. So many memories from the mid 2000's! DF Retro's video brought me back. I remember someone here once said, "No one can resist the slut that is the Dojo." Still true.

St. Elmo's Fire wrote: Anyone else here tried Bojack Horseman and/or Rick and Morty?

I think both are pretty awesome!

I've seen seasons 1 and 2 of Bojack, fucking brilliant. Guess I should check out Rick and Morty then.

Different kind of comedy, but have you tried Brooklyn Nine Nine?

Black Mirror. S3 Ep3. Holy FUCK that is probably one of the darkest bits of TV I have ever watched, I could feel the tension just watching it!

I keep hearing that..! Gotta get into that series asap I guess.

Totally worth it. And the thing is you can start right off from Season 3 as each episode is a self contained story. I didn't even watch Season 1 and 2 yet tbh.

Series one, episode two, is possibly the greatest piece of television I've ever seen, but that might just be because the themes are very appealing to me anyway. "Shut Up and Dance" is my favourite episode of the entire programme, though. Absolutely fucking amazing stuff.

Behold, my latest money pit- a '93 Mazda RX-7. I got it for a steal, but it needs plenty of (mostly cosmetic) work.

*achoo*

Despite the fact that we as a community have been a little bit divided over the past couple of months, I want to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

No matter what happens with Shenmue III's development process, we did it and it's something we should all be proud of. If it wasn't for us and our hard work, the idea of Shenmue III would still be a dream. But we're going to get the game and I still do a double take when I realise that. It's a truly amazing thought!

I can't think of any fanbase that has the same sense of community as the Shenmue fanbase and I'm proud of that. We don't always agree, but we're very passionate and passion is what got Shenmue III into development.

So let's celebrate! I hope you guys have a great festive period - no matter what you believe in, and let's all look forward to Shenmue III news in the upcoming year!

See you guys in 2017 :D

....... Rolf always seemed like a good guy...
i was the same. i grew up watching Rolf, he seemed to be one of the "good" guys (he even met and painted the queen!) but with all the celeb pedo stuff made me realize, i shouldn't idolize any celebrities, just enjoy their work and nothing more.. but that having said, its quite hard as the lines between the person and character can become blurred.





http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/117B7/production/_93170617_bensonshum.jpg

St. Elmo's Fire wrote: What the hell's an "environmental fee"?

Same concept as Al Gore's get rich quick scheme (look up "carbon credits" if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Good luck. After trying to learn Japanese I decided fuck it, in just gonna learn more swear words in English.

Cyberman wrote: Why are you guys posting in Russian?

We're trying to rig the dojo awards.

Eh, I could write a full essay about climate change, but I'll just say "climate change denier" is a word invented by the left. No one really denies that earth's climate is changing, but the argument is if it is caused my man made emissions or not. Trump doesn't think the federal government should handle public education for fear of indoctrinating the youth, which I think is a very valid fear considering nearly all young people are encouraged to get a 4 year degree when trade schools are a completely valid alternative. I could write another essay on that, as well.... Anyway, Trump actually said he wanted to get rid of the education department, he wants that stuff to be left to the States. As for the secretary of state, Exxon is a worldwide country and Tillerson had to make international deals as a result. Trump doesn't trust politicians and strongly believes in capitalism. Appointing the CEO of a large worldwide energy company was probably a no-brainier to him.

Honestly, the media has a heavy left bias and every single decision Trump makes is treated as the end of the world. There is also a large cultural bias towards the left among the youth and on the internet. To get any sort of fair analysis you need to really consider the side of issues that you do not agree on. Personally I use BBC as my primary news source. US media is so biased that I have to outsource the news. BBC isn't perfect but they are leagues better than any major news organization here in the US.

based on all the pushback he is getting, I think Trump is going to be examined through a microscope for the next 4 years, and will be held accountable for everything he does. This is GOOD. IMO, he really is what the US needs right now.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/15bnByqeQKY/maxresdefault.jpg

Welcome ladies and gentleman to the 2016 6th Annual Dojo Awards live from the Kodak theatre. Last year was the biggest year yet so strap yourself in for an even bigger show.

*Riku Rose walks out on stage*

Riku Rose:
Welcome all. It's been a quiet year for us after the Shenmue III announcement but that hasn't stopped 10 page threads about a screenshot of a shoe.

A big thank you to everyone who voted and everyone who has posted throughout the year. I've not posted much this year myself as I'm not on my laptop as much but still find myself reading threads on my phone since I enjoy the people in this community so much.

Please see below for the list of previous winners:

Game of the Year :
2010 : Deadly Premonition
2011 : Batman: Arkham City
2012 : Assassin's Creed III
2013 : The Last of Us
2015 : Bloodborne

Buzz Killington Award:
2010: Ryudo and Dorian
2011: Dorian
2012: Ryudo
2013: AnimeGamer183
2015: Himuro

Biggest Bully:
2010: Ryudo
2011: Ryudo
2012: Ryudo
2013: QWERTY
2015: Riku Rose

Biggest Punchbag:
2010: Jokatech19
2011: Jokatech19
2012: Ryudo
2013: Animegamer183
2015: Animegamer183

Funniest Member:
2010: Kiba
2011: Spokane, OL, Animegamer183
2012: Kiba
2013: QWERTY and Let's Get Sweaty
2015: Riku Rose

Coolest Member:
2012: OL and MiTT3NZ
2013: Rakim
2015: St. Elmo's Fire

Worst Member:
2010: Jokatech19
2011: Ryudo and Dorian
2013: Animegamer183
2015: Brosause

Member of the Year:
2010: Kenny
2011: OL
2012: Peter
2013: MiTT3NZ
2015: Ziming

Now please put your hands together for our host this evening, Mr Kelsey Grammer!

*Kelsey walks out on stage*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKlge0jfg48
http://reactiongifs.me/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/clapping-crowd-applause.gif

Kelsey Grammer:
Hey guys, remember me? I lived with my dad and his dog. Anyway let's get going, here to present the game of the year is two black guys so everyone know's this show isn't racist like the Oscars:

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/02/29/06/31AC99D900000578-3468919-image-a-47_1456726465009.jpg
Black Guy 1:
Yo Dawgs, Woz up?
Black Guy 2:
We love some Madden Yo!

GOTY
In 3rd Place - Uncharted 4
In 2nd Place - Dark Souls 3
In 1st Place:
The Last Guardian

Kelsey Grammer:
Here to present the Buzz Killington award is the biggest buzz kill in the industry:

http://media4.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2016_08/993321/oscar-highlights-louis-ck-today-160228_4a0d36b16d30f643f269966687da2e76.today-inline-large.jpg

Louis CK:
I don't get any of this:

Buzz Killington:
In 3rd Place -AnimeGamer183
In 2nd Place - Shredingskin
In 1st Place -
Himuro

Kelsey Grammer:
Here to present the biggest bully award is the guy who seems like the nicest grandpa ever:

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2547150.1456722357!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_750/awards-oscars.jpg

Big Joey:
Well it's not like I have anything else to do now:

Biggest Bully:
In 3rd Place - Shredingskin
In 2nd Place - Himuro
In 1st Place -
Mittens

Kelsey Grammer:
The next award is for the biggest punchbag and here to present it is old Dennis Rodman:

https://m.elitestatic.com/m/2fdc493a27697723/800x400-elite-daily-morgan-freeman-oscars.jpg

Morgan Freeman:
Even if everyone here bullies you I still love you all very much:

Biggest Punchbag:
In 3rd place - Shredingskin
In 2nd Place - Himuro
In 1st Place:
Animegamer183

Kelsey Grammer:
For the funniest award we have a woman who was kinda funny in that alien movie and The Rock who isn't that funny but we all kinda agree is funny for some reason:

http://img.astroawani.com/2015-02/61424670236_950x600.jpg

The Rock:
YO!

Funniest Member:
In 3rd Place - Mittens
In 2nd Place - Let's Get Sweaty
In 1st Place:
South Carmain

Kelsey Grammer:
The next award is the coolest member award. Here to present it is someone so cool he hasn't had to try for 20 years:

http://www.feedzig.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Harrison-Ford-Oscar.jpg

Harrison Ford:
Let's get this over with.

Coolest Member:
In 3rd Place - St. Elmo's Fire
In 2nd Place - Raithos
In 1st place:
OL

Kelsey Grammer:
Here for the second year in a row to present the worst member award is Kiba!:

http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/82nd+Annual+Academy+Awards+Show+xEe8sQidtxll.jpg

Kiba:
The Government isn't in control anymore!

Worst Member:
In 3rd Place - Himuro
In 2nd Place - Shredingskin
In 1st Place:
Animegamer183

Kelsey Grammer:
Well we're onto our last award. We thought that the last awards show was an amazing show but we had one request for this year which we have been able to fulfil.

I'm only disappointed that John Hamm didn't make an appearance.

Kelsey Grammer:
Ladies and gentleman! Jon Hamm!

https://usatftw.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/d5.gif?w=1000

Jon Hamm:
Hi, Ummm... Anyway

Member of the year:
In 3rd Place - Switch
In 2nd Place - OL
The Member of the year is:
Peter

Kelsey Grammer:
What a show ladies and gentleman. Well since I've already sang my song at the start of the show we have an amazing band to play us out. Put your hands together for FLEETWOOD MAC!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNM6IuA87eM

See you all next year

Pretty much because it's internet language.

Most of the people in real life would go "meh, this is kinda shitty", and online they just go rampage mode. It's also how news work, how clickbait works, and some marketing strategies work. Most people don't really have a medium/means/relevance to be "heard" so they scream at the only outlet that gives them the illusion of doing so.

Also there's a lot of competition, we are more aware of money, we have access to more information (specially for gamers).

And also things in the industry are kinda stagnant. And gaming is a hobby that actually requires quite a lot of time, so people get more invested and that can make people feel more attached/emotional about the subject.

A hundred years ago we would be complaining about awful and unsafe working conditions, limited heat, limited food etc. These days we have all of these things. So now we complain about the imperfections and curious design choices in our games instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4yDVKidRqA

Sonic is very serious business.

Because misanthropy, outrage, and trollishness are now the new normal in all areas of life, not just on the internet. It's just most prominent in online gaming discussions imo (present company excepted 99% of the time) because for some reason, gaming discussions have always incited enormous defensiveness and factionalism.

But yeah, it's everywhere. Look at the political climate. Look at any discussion, anywhere, about anything, online. It's disheartening and worrying, but there's little we can do about it sadly.

I also think the internet has changed how people communicate in not always healthy ways. It's cliche to say it, but interesting sociologically and psychologically, that people will say things to one another - and more pertinently, THINK In ways about one another - that they never would face to face.

The lack of nuance, social cues, body language, tone of voice etc. seems to make people online default to the worst possible, most defensive attitude toward absolutely everything anyone says. And the gamification of everything - likes, dislikes, followers, etc. trying to establish a digital presence - seems to encourage a territorial response in people. Like, this comment/webpage/account is my turf, and I want to get likes for it and if I get dislikes or people attack my turf, I have to defend it etc. (Not me personally, but it seems this dynamic happens constantly.)

I used to think the internet, because it connects the world, would be the greatest facilitator of better communication between different views and ideologies ever created. Now... I'm not so sure. Sometimes I fear it's fundamentally altering how people think about and empathize with one another.

There's a more benign, but still worrying, side to this too, though. Because it's mostly text on a screen, when people express concerns or criticisms of a thing/person/product/position/whatever, it gets default interpreted as an utter rejection or disdaining of its target, even if the reality is that there's a more nuanced opinion beneath the words that would read in person - because of tone of voice and other cues - more like, "I have these criticisms, but I'm not totally negative towards it either." Essentially, people just assume the worst, and then get defensive.

Second to lastly, some of it is also just that people are more conscious consumers now, and more aware of their own interests and needs, with many more options at their disposal. They also have more information about the history of a company and have more of an ability to play armchair analyst (and this happens with everything - people think they're authorities on everything now after reading about it for an hour on the internet) and so they're more cautious and wary and less willing to simply trust corporations whose job it is, ultimately, to extract money from them.

And lastly... while I dislike the word "entitled" and think it gets thrown around way too much... there is also just an element that we've all grown up for generations now without a world war, with declining rates of disease, longer life spans, supermarkets filled with prepackaged foods, and advanced technology at our fingertips and in our pockets that our ancestors couldn't even dream of in their wildest imaginings. In short... yeah, we're slightly spoiled and aren't always mindful of that or as grateful as we could be for what we have imo.

I think all of the above plays into the sense that everything is so damn contentious and filled with consternation and venom all the time online. But I also think that perception, likewise, is a product of us assuming the worst. I think things are actually less dire than we might assume based on the surface image it might give, again, because of the text on a screen + anonymity vs face to face dynamic.

For instance... I'm hyped as hell for Nintendo Switch and have one preordered. But I bet based on my lengthy posts about concerns I have about it, many would assume I must hate the thing and can never be satisfied. I think a lot of it is just that disconnect between thought, text, and real human interaction.

It's an internet thing. Just go on Twitter/Reddit/NeoGAF/Facebook/Youtube and you can see it all of the time. Everybody on the planet has Asperger's nowadays, lol.
I think it does affect you mentally without realising. Ultimately people enjoy a good ol' moan. Especially here in the grim dark Northern regions of the UK. :mad:

south carmain wrote:

Cyberman wrote: Why are you guys posting in Russian?

We're trying to rig the dojo awards.

We succeeded

Funniest Member:
In 3rd Place - Mittens
In 2nd Place - Let's Get Sweaty
In 1st Place: South Carmain

You were in US intelligence? What was it that became the breaking point in your job and what do you do now instead?

He deleted the response, but I saw it. He said he is a secret agent but "obviously cannot go into details." He basically said the data he gathered and analysed helped uncover and stop complex terrorist networks. That he did too good of a job and they didn't like it. He was under pressure from top brass once he worked his way to the top of the terrorist food chain. (summary, not word for word)

He also saved the president once. This all happened in one hour increments over a 24 hour period.

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Not too bad. It's weird, I started posting on here at a time of my life that now seems "awesome" so is viewed with a lot of nostalgia, but also when the "internet" and forums were kinda new and crazy and people who trolled could be highly funny because back then you may not have seen that particular stunt yet. Definitely fun times. A lot of us are quite cynical old cunts now. :lol:
Totally. It's an indefinable mixture of nostalgia and a genuine sense that things were so different then. Most of us were so young and carefree so it's easy to look back through rose tinted glasses. The community was so tightly knit and active too, nowadays we have Reddit and stuff, it's bigger and infinitely more accessible but I would argue that it's not nearly as much fun. I don't have much free time these days but I never go too long without a good lurk here.

Yea that's what I was gonna say. I don't wanna lose my wanking hand man. Id rather have half a face than lose the hand that gives me the most pleasure. I will never be a leftie.

It isn't all nostalgia though. Way back when the internet was nearly all geeks and other nerds, free of the dregs of society and their scams and endless pictures of what they had for dinner. It seemed like an untapped frontier of limitless untapped potential or government regulation. And it was ours . Technology was still improving so rapidly that the gap between N64 and Dreamcast generations was simply gigantic. The leaps in the games we were playing with titles like Shenmue have scarcely been matched since. We were still riding the coattails of the 90's, a golden age of prosperity so much better than the times we now find ourselves that the nation's biggest worry was a guy lying about getting a blowjob. Prosperity and liberty itself feel eroded since then, and I'm not sure that's all just rose tinted goggles.

I am watching 'Medium' on TV and playing video poker at casinoz.club. I finally have a day off, so later will probably watch Black Mirror. I love these series. These are television anthology series that show the dark side of life and technology.