Random Shenmue III Thoughts

I still can't decide if they're going to really start kicking things off and this current drip feed of info is the calm before the storm, or if they're waiting on E3.

I don't know what the right strategy is to be honest.

I mean, imagine if there's a huge cinematic trailer at E3, with a gameplay demo available for audience members and they announce the backer demo is being released the same day. Then they could follow it up with short gameplay trailers in July and August and targeted adverts promoting pre-orders. Maybe even some more exclusive previews with media outlets as well.

The marketing campaign doesn't have to be long and two and a bit months should be sufficient. Gamers can be fickle and if you show too much, too soon, people can lose interest or forget about the game.

But then, the other part of me thinks with it being 4 months from release, it's really time to kick things off. Not everything revolves around E3 and not everything has to be done at a big event. The new Pokemon could be the biggest game of the year and that was announced in a Nintendo Direct and gameplay was shown off at least 8 months before release.
 
I really hope that Yus Net or Deep Silver will make a Deal with Game Informer, so that the game is featured for a whole month on the website and magazine. They had some interesting specials in the last few month about upcoming games. Reports from other outlets would also be more than welcome.
 
This fan piece really gives me Shenmue 3 vibes. Incredible music. Check it out.


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I am looking forward to Shenmue 3 music almost as much as the game itself. I have only heard of two official Shenmue 3 songs (which we dont know if they will be in the game) and have heard reused music in the trailers. I hope that reused music will be minimal.

Other than the two songs we have heard thusfar, has there been any other songs any of you have heard?

The two I am talking about are:
Official Kickstarter Music
Winter Sunset (dedicated to Roger Swan)
 
segamon said:
I am looking forward to Shenmue 3 music almost as much as the game itself. I have only heard of two official Shenmue 3 songs (which we dont know if they will be in the game) and have heard reused music in the trailers. I hope that reused music will be minimal.

Other than the two songs we have heard thusfar, has there been any other songs any of you have heard?

The two I am talking about are:
Official Kickstarter Music
Winter Sunset (dedicated to Roger Swan)
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Indeed, can’t wait to soak in the new acoustic auras as well. I believe those are the only Shenmue III soundtracks released thus far, but I may be wrong. To their credit, they have been fairly quiet regarding music, so we may be in for quite the treat. Should be special...
 
Peter said:
Based on most modern day games, the on-screen minimap will not be blurred out, but there should be an overworld map in the main menu screen which should appear once locations are discovered.
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This isn't directly related, but the topic reminded me of it.

I really like how the map in the Yakuza series works, where you press the touchpad to bring it up and can scroll it / pinch to zoom like on a mobile device. It's literally one of the only uses of the PS4 touchpad where I think it feels great and it couldn't be done better without the touch pad. If there's any use of the touch pad in Shenmue 3 I hope it's for panning / rotating / zooming objects or maps, because it puts the controller feature to better use than games that just use it as a pause button.
 
Wasn't sure where to ask this. Is there a place that has a consolidated list of links/threads or write-ups of theories for all the unanswered questions from 1/2 and the future of the series? I've found some through Google but I know there's much more out there. I know I've seen a few in the Dojo but can't find them now. Thanks!
 
The official Shenmue 3 Facebook posted a 'new screenshot' and of course it's the pawnshop NPC; of course, all the comments are tearing Shenmue 3's visuals to shreds. How do they never learn?
 
mjqjazzbar said:
The official Shenmue 3 Facebook posted a 'new screenshot' and of course it's the pawnshop NPC; of course, all the comments are tearing Shenmue 3's visuals to shreds. How do they never learn?
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To be fair, the marketing staff probably don't think about it in the same terms we, or even most gamers, would.

It's a set of new screens of a game they have to promote - so out they go onto the game's social channels. They don't care if the team is making visual tweaks, or even if they're not, this is the representation of the game they have to work with as provided by the developer.

It's really only a reflection of Ys Net not being hugely self conscious when showing this kind of stuff, which in itself is a result of financial limitations the project is under. People can bellyache about the graphics all they like, it won't change the fact the game has 500 unique NPCs, and is still a mostly authentic and even improved Shenmue experience - on a shoestring budget compared to the originals.

Plus... people like to complain. There are substantially more "likes" on the images than negative comments, so I'm going to assume there's a silent majority who are fine with how the game looks, even the pawn shop NPC*.

*and apart from the eyes, I would count myself as one of them. He's the dude we dump our capsule toy duplicates on, not a super important character.
 
I don't think the problem is that they're promoting these shots as 'new'. I mean, they were released less than a week ago and they're still new to most people. The problem is that particular shot is just really pretty bad. That character model really is terrible. They shouldn't be showing off that shot. It's worth noting that the reaction to all the other new shots they have shared over the last few days have been positive though.
 
people will always complain about the visuals of Shenmue. that's a running gag by now. The only way to prevent it, would be to make the game again, this time with the budget of AAA game But that is not an option. I am not even sure if I would like it even it was possible.

A Shenmue 3 with modern graphics and scanned real people would lack the Shenmue charm. I am quite happy how things are now
 
Araviel said:
Seeing Ren on that boat, he might catch up with Ryo in Bailu before heading together to Niaowu.

Also, if finding Evening Chrysanthemum isn't a trophy I'll be disappointed ;)
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Ryo may well end up going to the dangerous 'scary mountains', the place where many have ventured but none have returned..... (Possibly as a part of some trial)
 
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9dragons said:
people will always complain about the visuals of Shenmue. that's a running gag by now. The only way to prevent it, would be to make the game again, this time with the budget of AAA game But that is not an option. I am not even sure if I would like it even it was possible.
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No offence, but people keep bringing up AAA as if it's an either or situation. It's not. There's plenty of AA and low budget titles with better character models than some of the examples shown so far in Shenmue III... Whether they're just random NPCs or not. It's not even neccessarily the level of detail, the more cartoony aesthetic or polygon count, it's that gormless look on that dude's face and the bizarre, ugly facial design on him and some of the models.
 
But how many have a cast of 500?

On that scale, you're always going to be bumping up against walls on time and art resources you can commit to your NPCs. Even the original games suffered this, and they were the most lavish video game production ever seen for a time.

Obviously they could have just reduced the numbers, but the trade-off is a world that either feels less populated or would have to be reduced to suit a lesser number of NPCs. When the series has such an emphasis on sense of place, and III in particular wants to create a more engaging game world, you'd probably be losing something more important than slightly better looking NPCs by drastically chopping their number down.

And in defense of pawn shop guy... he doesn't look drastically worse than NPCs in Vampyr; which is another AA game with unique NPCs, though a mere fraction of Shenmue III's number, and honestly suffered a little from indistinct character designs.
 
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