Shenmue 3 Kickstarter

[Reprise]

[Blu]

This was worth a watch. Digital Foundry did a cross comparison of the original Dreamcast (Xbox for Shenmue 2) versions and the re-releases. Frame rate, graphical updates, details, etc. They're all mentioned here. It's a really in-depth look. Got me excited!



About to go get my copy, but it was cool to see the graphical updates they did to make it smoother. So surprising they still have a lot of the original stuff.

[waipowrectdeapr1976]

So have they announce a release date or any positive news on Shenmue?

[Reprise]

So have they announce a release date or any positive news on Shenmue?

[Reprise]

For those who wonder just how far advanced Shenmue was for its time...

https://www.pcgamer.com/how-sega-brough ... ife-on-pc/

Did you find anything interesting in the source code?

The moon in Shenmue 2 is not a texture. It’s an actual 3D object in the distance correctly lit by the sun direction. This produces accurate phases. We were surprised by this level of detail! The Lucky Hit games adjust the physical behaviour of the ball based on the weather and temperature, calculated by the time of day. For cutscenes, the game switches to high definition heads and hands, which allow for more expression. In Shenmue 1 the game logic is all written in a scripting language. For Shenmue 2 they got rid of it and wrote the logic in C code directly.

[Blu]

Thought I'd bump this thread with this new revelation: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digi ... mue-remake

A fully remastered Shenmue was being developed, but was evidently cancelled for unknown reasons. Could it be budget crunches, or other noteworthy concerns such as asset management? I would've paid full retail for this, even if it was two separate games. Or the $40 tag that the Yakuza Kiwami games that have come out. It looked to be a gorgeous game.

[Reprise]

I just saw! Now I know why D3t had been working on this since 2015 and what John meant when he hinted about this in a Twitter conversation, saying something like 'the truth is much sadder than people realise'.

So to be frank, I've really enjoyed playing through this HD release of both games, appreciating the upgrades and not finding the bugs too troublesome, but it does explain why it took the developers 3 years to port these games and why the final product felt a bit rushed and unpolished. It's because 70% of their development time was actually spent creating a remake/enhanced remaster.

Edit: Some images:


 

 

 

[Jagosaurus]

This was worth a watch. Digital Foundry did a cross comparison of the original Dreamcast (Xbox for Shenmue 2) versions and the re-releases. Frame rate, graphical updates, details, etc. They're all mentioned here. It's a really in-depth look. Got me excited!



About to go get my copy, but it was cool to see the graphical updates they did to make it smoother. So surprising they still have a lot of the original stuff.

This was a really well done video. Thanks for sharing.

[Reprise]

More info from John on the remake/full remaster:

Well, I've learned that they were indeed implementing a toggle button to allow you to switch between new and old graphics in real-time. Which would have been perfect

Also worth noting - they were working on a new animation system that would have replaced all original in-game animations with a more advanced alternative. That wasn't yet finished when this video was made, unfortunately.

1) They did have the option to toggle between new and old graphics
2) Shenmue 2 was only 10% complete and there was a LOT of work left to do - Shenmue 1 was 50% complete and the first few areas received the most attention at this point. So I suspect Shenmue 2 would have looked significantly better in the end.

Source: https://www.shenmuedojo.com/forum/index ... arch/2351/

Official statement from Sega:

SEGA and D3T indeed had started exploring the feasibility of a full HD remaster for Shenmue I & II. That being said, we soon realised that this was a project with its own set of challenges. Working with original animations and characters but meshing them with enhanced HD visuals gave us a game that we felt would not meet the standards that Shenmue fans expect and deserve. Rather than going ahead with a release that may disappoint fans, we chose to focus on bringing the classic game to PC and modern consoles, so that new players could experience Shenmue's original charm."

[pierrot]

If people are generally upset with Sega right now, after finding out that they pulled the plug on remakes of the first two games, then I don't really understand that at all. I think it's a small miracle that they even released HD updates. I sometimes get this sense in the modern age, that nothing is ever really enough for a lot of fanbases. Suppose the team were given the time and resources to complete the remakes, and the Sega rep is correct in his statement that the final product wouldn't maintain the quality of the series: What is the fanbase's reaction then? Is it positive? I highly doubt it. I would anticipate plenty of people bemoaning that they didn't just do an update of the games into HD.

I'll never play the first two games on anything other than a Dreamcast, so it doesn't really make much of a difference to me, but it just feels like we've been promised the moon, and people are still asking for the stars.