Shenmue HD reviews and discussion

OK, I'm as annoyed at the bugs as anyone (reported the Bloom glitch in the bugs topic, and have bitched repeatedly about Shenmue II's horrible music - it is horrible) but no good can come of slamming d3t on Twitter. I read the responses to that forklift cake tweet and it makes Shenmue fans look like children.

If John Linneman of Digital Foundry says we're wrong to blame d3t, we're wrong. You can pretty much take his word as gospel. John is as knowledgeable and genuine as they come, as is DF's tech editor Richard Leadbetter (editor of UK's Sega Saturn Magazine back in the day). Clearly John knows more about Shenmue I & II's development than he's allowed to tell, as he himself implies, but if he says the problem wasn't with d3t's effort --- then the problem wasn't d3t's effort.

To me, that places the blame either on money or time constraints --- and in both cases, that's SEGA.

SEGA announced the August release date in July. That short notice, combined with the games buggy state, leads me to suspect that SEGA rushed it out the door to capitalize on a good release window. And honestly, that sounds exactly like SEGA to me.

So please, let's grow up and let d3t have their cake. As long as the patches come through, I hold no malice to d3t and view them as victims of circumstance.
 
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AnimeGamer183 said:
Its been hard being a laughing stock of gaming during the dark years, this community has gone to hell and back since shenmue 2 was released, this community was attacked over and over and over with fake Shenmue 3 news from big names in the gaming industry to small, we had other games announced like Shenmue Online that never saw the light of day, we constantly had hopes built then knocked right back down, trolls used to target this place as a prime breeding ground. We have deep wounds in this community had irreversible damage done and I would say collectively we have been traumatized by everything that has happened, the Vets around here know. I just wish this community could catch a break, I wish this community was shown more respect, and I wish this community respected itself more than it does. We have accomplished so much to get this far, Shenmue 3 would have never happened with out our persistence, Shenmue HD would have never happened with out our presistence, but damn it we need to know when the line has been crossed and to stand up for our selves and let d3t and Sega know releasing this in this state was not ok in a civil manner even though feelings are running high, which is what I have personally been doing. I do not wish to go back and forth, I am just trying to put information out there and give perspective because im a long time fan and member of this community that never really stopped being active around here and I'm concerned.
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Christ dude...
 
Of course it’s Sega’s fault. They’re the publisher and owner of the IP. They are 100% responsible for releasing the game in its current state. d3t doesn’t get to choose when the game is released and what QA is done.

I don’t need a youtuber to tell me that.
 
TwiceFriedRice said:
Of course it’s Sega’s fault. They’re the publisher and owner of the IP. They are 100% responsible for releasing the game in its current state. d3t doesn’t get to choose when the game is released and what QA is done.

I don’t need a youtuber to tell me that.
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Yeah, well, it's not aimed at you then? More at the scores of people still ripping into d3t on these forums, and any present who may be part of the shitfest that is d3t's Twitter comments.
 
AnimeGamer183 said:
Its been hard being a laughing stock of gaming during the dark years, this community has gone to hell and back since shenmue 2 was released, this community was attacked over and over and over with fake Shenmue 3 news from big names in the gaming industry to small, we had other games announced like Shenmue Online that never saw the light of day, we constantly had hopes built then knocked right back down, trolls used to target this place as a prime breeding ground. We have deep wounds in this community had irreversible damage done and I would say collectively we have been traumatized by everything that has happened, the Vets around here know. I just wish this community could catch a break, I wish this community was shown more respect, and I wish this community respected itself more than it does. We have accomplished so much to get this far, Shenmue 3 would have never happened with out our persistence, Shenmue HD would have never happened with out our presistence, but damn it we need to know when the line has been crossed and to stand up for our selves and let d3t and Sega know releasing this in this state was not ok in a civil manner even though feelings are running high, which is what I have personally been doing. I do not wish to go back and forth, I am just trying to put information out there and give perspective because im a long time fan and member of this community that never really stopped being active around here and I'm concerned.
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Jesus dude, get a grip.
 
SEGA has a long history of quickly releasing things without much forewarning (Saturn). Sadly the original Shenmue was a rare exception because it cost so much time and money it nearly shut down the company.

Which is why it's sad that this game was clearly dropped in a hurry.
 
Mystere said:
Yeah, well, it's not aimed at you then? More at the scores of people still ripping into d3t on these forums, and any present who may be part of the shitfest that is d3t's Twitter comments.
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In that case, you're wasting precious air. Scores of people on social media lack basic common sense, nothing you can do about that.
 
Mystere said:
Yeah, well, it's not aimed at you then? More at the scores of people still ripping into d3t on these forums, and any present who may be part of the shitfest that is d3t's Twitter comments.
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I can quite understand the frustration. What I'd advise is a calm and measured approach. Email Sega and report bugs but also voice your discontent at the way things were handled.

We've no idea why Sega pushed the releases out when they did. I'm guessing it was to take advantage of the Shenmue 3 announcement. And you can't say there wasn't a tonne of positive press that day.

Some fans may feel disrespected by what has happened, Let Sega know that via email. What we need to be very wary of is going mad publically and drawing attention to the obvious issues. Most gaming press has been positive, most reviews have been positive, first weeks sales have been good, new comers have liked the games on the whole, we don't want to scare people off. Some may already have been & that's their call. If we draw attention to negative elements we could affect the future of the series. It's a very fine line.

D3t are working to fix the issues. Communication has got better and I've said this before, the Japanese release isn't far off and you can bet they are working to have things right for that. Sega in the West made a call and time will tell on the effects.

Sorry for preachy reply. Just wanted to say my bit.
 
That's fair, and I've cooled off a bit since my main issue (missing cutscenes) disappeared after a couple attempts at rebooting the game. I still wish they would've prioritized a very smooth experience considering the few upgrades they did provide.
 
TwiceFriedRice said:
Of course it’s Sega’s fault. They’re the publisher and owner of the IP. They are 100% responsible for releasing the game in its current state. d3t doesn’t get to choose when the game is released and what QA is done.

I don’t need a youtuber to tell me that.
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It's not as simple as that.

D3T likely provided their estimation for Sega about the time they needed to complete the conversion. Sega gave them the asked resources. Then it's easy for the developers to hold the production hostage and ask Sega/Deep Silver for extended salary contracts because they initially overrated their manpower, the staff was too lazy or they found the perfect cushy job etc. We don't know enough about the real situation to be sure.

Nonetheless, I do agree the front D3T bashing on social networks is not smart. Encouragement should still be the right attitude to have.
 
Yokosuka said:
It's not as simple as that.

D3T likely provided their estimation for Sega about the time they needed to complete the conversion. Sega gave them the asked resources. Then it's easy for the developers to hold the production hostage and ask Sega/Deep Silver for extended salary contracts because they initially overrated their manpower, the staff was too lazy or they found the perfect cushy job etc. We don't know enough about the real situation to be sure.

Nonetheless, I do agree the front D3T bashing on social networks is not smart. Encouragement should still be the right attitude to have.
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Either way you look at it, it’s Sega’s fault. They are the publisher. They should know what’s going on with development of their games. And you’re providing a lot of “what if?” scenarios for d3t acting like a scummy developer.
 
TwiceFriedRice said:
Either way you look at it, it’s Sega’s fault. They are the publisher. They should know what’s going on with development of their games. And you’re providing a lot of “what if?” scenarios for d3t acting like a scummy developer.
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That were only examples. You can be the most honest publisher, you never have the full power.
 
Sega wanted quick cash and made it. Hopefully they provide the game their full support now that sales have likely exceeded their expectations.

Has anyone gotten details about the 'internal' issues that were alluded to by Digital Playground?
 
The situation has been messy so far.

On the one hand, you’ve got a beloved series that’s available again after 15+ years, with some very cool features (the PC version in particular). As others have said, the overall reviews, sales and enthusiasm have been top notch, making this is one of the best times to be a Shenmue fan.

On the other hand, you’ve got a bug-filled headache of a port that was pushed out of the door way too early in countries where Shenmue historically matters, and this after years of corporate doublespeak from Sega.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-09-02-sega-looking-into-shenmue-remakes
Remember this bit?

"If we are to do it, we'd want to do a fantastic conversion to the current platforms, and there are a lot of licences in the game, which were cleared many years ago, so we will need to renegotiate those contracts."
— Jurgen Post, 2016

^ It made little sense then. It’s been obliterated now.

What I’m most curious about—other than whether the game’s various audio issues can officially be fixed — is to find out more about the ports themselves. In true Shenmue fashion, there seems to be an absolutely fascinating backstory surrounding this release. Hopefully we’ll get some more tidbits as time passes.

Anyway. Whatever. I just hope they can fix these games.
The idea, at the very least, was to have a perfect Dreamcast replacement. We're not there yet.
 
So what's the story with this?

 
That's what everyone's been talking about...we don't really know what he's implying, but on the Back in my Play podcast he said he felt sorry for the developers, for what that's worth.

The tweet's from 10 days ago now, before the PC patches and console patch news, so when he said "I'm also worried", I think he meant he's not sure if they will fix it, but I think it's clear now they are going to fix it.
 
It just seems to add further fuel to the fact it was rushed out. We don't know whether it was an overambitious timeline on the part of D3t or Sega pushing them to get it done. Either way they look committed to fixing the games.
 
orient said:
That's what everyone's been talking about...we don't really know what he's implying, but on the Back in my Play podcast he said he felt sorry for the developers, for what that's worth.

The tweet's from 10 days ago now, before the PC patches and console patch news, so when he said "I'm also worried", I think he meant he's not sure if they will fix it, but I think it's clear now they are going to fix it.
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I just checked out that episode of Back in my Play. There was also a tweet from someone at or related to d3t which said something along the lines of people have no idea at the amount of stuff they had to deal with in developing these ports. Would be good if we could find out some day. The fact that the Japanese release of even the standard edition is so much later makes me think this whole thing was pretty rushed by Sega once it got the green light.
 
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