Magic Monaco Press Conference March 9th Part 3 More Reaction

[shredingskin]

^ Well, OK, but a simple "Don't wanna talk, foreigner" or any variation of that would've sufficed.
"Sorry, I can't help you". etc..

Weird. Let's see what the translation says.

Yup, that would be a good compromise.
But depending on the actual ammount of important NPCs maybe would make the world flatter by giving it attention.
I trust YS judgement (though it would be amazing if it were like the old shenmue).

 

[Suzuki Yu]

So what's the point of the non-interactable NPCs? Just pointless fluff? I'd rather they allocated their budget to have 200 NPCs who are fully interactable than 500 who some of them are only eyecandy "pedistrians"

The game is incorporating alot of the stuff I crticised Yakuza for.

Yes I know but not exactly... remember here you can initiate a conversation with some of NPCs whenever you like and it can unfold to interesting things (depth)
Unlike Yakuza where you talk to quest holders without an actual conversation system in place.

Also the whole thing depends on the ratio really.

Well, OK, but a simple "Don't wanna talk, foreigner" or any variation of that would've sufficed.
"Sorry, I can't help you". etc..

Weird. Let's see what the translation says.

That's why we need a proper translation.
Because using Google translate in this piece resulted as "they won't talk to you"

 

[Sappharad]

So what's the point of making a shitton of NPCs if you can't interact with some of them? This is the worst piece of news about the game since it's announcement, it seriously impacted my interest in the game. Talking to people is the crux of Shenmue's gameplay.

From the same article:
"I didn't really look into it, but Shenmue III might have become the most spoken game in the industry so far. The translation company was also surprised (laughs) by the way, this is all fully voiced" - Yu Suzuki

You're complaining about the fact that not all NPCs talk to you, but the same article confirms there is more voice acting than the previous game. I think it's going to be fine. They're probably just eliminating instances of "I'm too tired now, talk to me later".

Also going to wait on a proper translation, because it sounds to me like the new battle system omits throw moves. I'm unclear on what that bit actually says though. It's near the end of the article.

 

[danielmann861]

When it comes to that, it comes back to the fact that some characters can not talk to you, and it seems to be convenient. There is no need to interact with a character that can only be guided, and that's why the amount of speech of characters with well-defined settings has increased. It seems that the characters that can be talked about this work have a mechanism to display their names when standing nearby.

Granted, Google translate isn't the best source to go by 100% accurate translations, but it sounds to me like they're eliminating meaningless dialog in favor of something more substantial within the main cast.

If that be the case then....I'm sort of okay with that.

I gather someone will translate this article soon enough.

The gist I got from Google Translate is that they're focusing on what they can and can't do with such a constrained budget and they're trying to get the most of what they can get out of it. Meaning they're trying to deliver something that is uniquely Shenmue but on a much smaller scale. That's what it read like to me when reading the crude google translate version.

 

[Rikitatsu]

From the same article:
"I didn't really look into it, but Shenmue III might have become the most spoken game in the industry so far. The translation company was also surprised (laughs) by the way, this is all fully voiced" - Yu Suzuki

You're complaining about the fact that not all NPCs talk to you, but the same article confirms there is more voice acting than the previous game. I think it's going to be fine. They're probably just eliminating instances of "I'm too tired now, talk to me later".

Also going to wait on a proper translation, because it sounds to me like the new battle system omits throw moves. I'm unclear on what that bit actually says though. It's near the end of the article.

And it's nice to have in depth conversations, but wouldn't it be better to have all of them voiced, than waste money on creating lifeless eye candy? They talk about budget constraints, yet they threw money onto creating non-interactable characters.

I'd rather have more of these in-depth NPCs at the expense of hundreds of random NPCs patrolling the street. A simple 'directions' system would have sufficed at least, they even have a code for it.

I'll also claim that one of the strongest immersiveness factors in Shenmue is being able to talk with anybody, even if they have nothing worthwhile to say

 

[AltGr]

Bailu village + Choubu as large as Hong Kong in II (?)

Turtles and frog races.

You can exchange sets in pawnshops for important items and technical books instead of money.

There are no throw moves . RPG elements are blended into the fighting game.

 

[高野和泉]

oh noes...S1&2 even has all interactable NPC even those U find in dev/walled offed areas by glitching/hacking the code & are dialogue interactable+voiced & should be an uncompromising staple in S3. Quality over quantity. Make em give direction/spit a random one-liner trivia or something. Shenmue's Npc is one of it's biggest feature hailed by critics and fans alike that sets it apart even 20 yrs later. Please can we still do something to let Yu know and stop him before he destroys a part of this serie's immersive core pillars? I can live with dumbing down and removing a dimension of the VF mechanics since shenmue is not a real fighter at heart & the graphics can take a dip but I don't think I can live with losing what makes this franchises open world community atmosphere uniquely unmatched. Reduce Npc counts if Suzuki need to but please keep the interactive angle of all Npc's.

 

[Suzuki Yu]

Where did you guys read the part where it says the throw moves are omitted? I can't find it.

 

[Jigen]

It would cost millions to voice all these NPC's for the gain of ultimately useless dialog. Ya'll are really starting to make mountains out of molehills, besides this is info we've known for sometime.

 

[danielmann861]

Exactly. The 7 (or 8) million budget can only take you so far.

Best to keep your expectations in check throughout this whole game really.

 

[AltGr]

Where did you guys read the part where it says the throw moves are omitted? I can't find it.

Two paragraphs above the prophecy trailer.

"All the battle animations are reworked from scratch. I have not used the past work or Virtua Fighter assets. I couldn't put in a throwing technique this time, as it was quite difficult" Suzuki said.

 

[高野和泉]

no throw move?

yet all moves return?

a significant portions/1/3rd(?) of ryo's move pool is throws.

grapples+kicking and throwing opponents into one another?

Is Yu going the route of action games like DMCs command inputs?

 

[ShenSun]

Im guessing more articles about the game will be coming over the next few days.

The non voiced npcs is a strange choice. I understand its a budget issue, but i agree there should be 200 npcs who are fully voiced rather than 500. Let's wait until we see some gameplay until we jump off the rails.

If i recall correctly, there were npcs in Shenmue 2 that weren't voiced. Bystanders in guilin and even in Shenmue 1, the odd guy just sitting on the street.

 

[WildManofBorneo]

If you guys are upset about certain things like throw moves being eliminated, then I suggest you use the power of your voice and make it heard by contacting Deep Silver.

 

[ShenmueTree]

I hope you can disable the display names of the characters you bypass. We saw this technique implemented in the footage of the canceled full remakes of Shenmue 1 and 2. I dont like it.

Edit: Nevermind, I was wrong. What I was thinking of was just NPC place holder text above characters heads, I dunno why I thought it was their name. Lol.

 

[LAWXIU]

If you guys are upset about certain things like throw moves being eliminated, then I suggest you use the power of your voice and make it heard by contacting Deep Silver.

I can't see this being entirely true based on the fact ryo has a jujitsu background. I bet all his old throws are in there.

New moves will be more based on Chinese arts. I seem to remember machine gun fist looking like a wing chun flurry. Great move.

 

[Suzuki Yu]

Two paragraphs above the prophecy trailer.

"All the battle animations are reworked from scratch. I have not used the past work or Virtua Fighter assets. I couldn't put in a throwing technique this time, as it was quite difficult" Suzuki said.

Well... That's a bummer.

 

[WildManofBorneo]

In 2010, Yu Suzuki gave an interview with James Mielke regarding the next Shenmue.


"Shenmue 3 doesn't expand outward, but inward," Suzuki said, contrasting the expansive worlds of the original games with an emphasis on deeper interaction with the main characters, Ryo Hazuki and Shenhua.


This was before Kickstarter was ever an idea and before budget ever a circumstance. Shenmue 3 is going to a different game, albeit a more profound one.

 

[ys.]

Leaving out throw moves feels strange since the Hazuki style itself incorporates several such moves. They maybe didn't have the time and money to add this (and other things) to the engine. Displaying names? Hmm, this makes Shenmue a bit more "gamey" unfortunately.

you can change custom parts (shoes, upper body etc) on the fly and you can buy them from stores! the game wont feature supernatural stuff.

Interesting, I like that the game seems to keep its main focus on martial arts and more realistic aspects.

Why don't people like 360 cams ?
The camera will probably lock behind the back when running, to it's probably used to get 360 view while still.

I don't mind that in general but people probably react since it changes something typical for Shenmue. Yu used to say that the camera behind Ryo immersed the player more. Instead of circling around Ryo you "were" him without going first person view.

So what's the point of the non-interactable NPCs? Just pointless fluff? I'd rather they allocated their budget to have 200 NPCs who are fully interactable than 500 who some of them are only eyecandy "pedistrians"

The game is incorporating alot of the stuff I crticised Yakuza for.

If i recall correctly, there were npcs in Shenmue 2 that weren't voiced. Bystanders in guilin and even in Shenmue 1, the odd guy just sitting on the street.

There are already some of them in the beginning of Shenmue 2. When Ryo is in the harbor, some people are secluded so you can't talk to them which makes sense. I hope that they implement this the same way in Shenmue 3. Even if deeper conversations are possible, being able to talk to almost everyone still makes Shenmue stand out after all.

 

[spud1897]

If you guys are upset about certain things like throw moves being eliminated, then I suggest you use the power of your voice and make it heard by contacting Deep Silver.

I made this point yesterday and I am doing so again. It will not matter & the Dojo is not going to endorse this. Any more mention of this will result in a warning and ban if required.

I've made notes on the google translate version but I suggest we wait for the IGN USA english translation.

It would seem odd to omit throw moves given all moves are returning, so unless it specifically says throw moves are gone im asssuming they are in. Simplfying the system doesn't mean throws are gone yet.

The non-interactable NPC's I couldn't care less. Lots of games do it these days & even ones with 1000's of NPC's they only say the odd line. I'm glad they have gone into further dialouge with the characters who need it.

Weather changes in real time. Awesome news.

They talk about why the changed Shenhua a little.

The difficult settings one is interesting. Good idea in my book.

They built the fighting from the ground up.

Pawnshops can be used to sell and trade.

Overall from the brief parts I have read (reserving judgement until translated) is that the game has eeked out more than I dare say another game on a similar budget would. This serves as a reminder to almost temper expectations given where this game has come from. Value for each $/£ will be maximised with Yu and his team. He also says that Yu has made a game that meets the majority of criteria for a Shenmue game which on the budget was extremely difficult.

Let's wait for it to go live on IGN USA and then we can really get into it.