:'(

Let's talk Aguachile Alley

Postby kylie minogue » Mon Mar 11, 2019 6:08 am

original dc graphics were marketed as realistic but really they're stylised enough to not be objectionable today

it makes sense that they'd double down on the deliberate stylisation since they don't have the budget to even attempt realism and i think it looks great
hahaha mad me chuckle that
User avatar

kylie minogue
 
Posts: 4325
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 5:11 am
Location: bs7

Postby Esteban » Mon Mar 11, 2019 7:14 am

mortimer wrote:Maybe I’m just trying to justify something that means a lot to me


That's how I'm interpreting it from all of you yes
User avatar

Esteban
 
Posts: 2700
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2017 12:28 am

Postby mortimer » Tue Mar 12, 2019 7:52 am

A few journalists got to watch 15 minutes of actual gameplay on Yu Suzuki’s laptop

https://www.vg247.com/2019/03/12/shenmu ... -gameplay/
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby mortimer » Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:12 am

Past a couple of stony-faced security guards is a little side room of the convention that whispered rumors suggest contains a playable build of the game. That rumor is sadly only partly true – we couldn’t play Shenmue 3, but in that room Yu Suzuki was happily, proudly showing off demos of the game he’d recorded a few nights prior.

The setup is sort of endearing in a sense. MAGIC is not the slick operation of a Gamescom or PAX, and nor is the nature of this demo. There’s none of that common bluster or showmanship designed to paper over the cracks – no giant Shenmue artwork standees or statues, no elaborate room design for the hands-on session: it’s a bare meeting room, a legendary game designer, a translator, a laptop and some nervous PRs listening in from the sidelines, hoping for positive impressions.

I can’t help but think that this event and this room is in many ways demonstrative of Shenmue 3 in general. It may very well be a sequel to one of the most expensive, elaborate triple-A games of all time, but Shenmue 3 has the look and feel of something more modest. Triple-A this is not – but Shenmue 3 also knows it, rolls with it, and makes it work.

So, yes – rather than look at the game blown up on a massive screen with a carefully-scripted presentation, I crowd around a 17-inch laptop screen with Suzuki and his translator. That fits Shenmue 3 – a game that seems to have scope and ambition with no end but also clearly a very strict budget.


:)

The environments are gorgeous, making use of the rendering chops of Unreal Engine 4 to great effect. Shenmue is all about the passage of time, so as the sun races through the sky, light filters through trees and rural Chinese buildings down to ground level in a beautiful manner. It also shoots for a high level of detail: if it rains, previously dry ground might turn to a muddy mush and so on.

Despite taking Ryo to a more rustic, countryside-based setting, Shenmue 3 is just as densely packed as its predecessor. When the demo reaches a town, there’s a range of NPCs throughout. Suzuki says that the Choubu region in the game has over 500 NPCs. Talking to them is the same old Shenmue fare – it’s not so much focused on choice as world building, each conversation offering up a little context if not clues as to how to further progress.

One thing that’s changed, Suzuki says, is that shops will now be more plentiful in Shenmue 3 and stock a far wider range of items. He explained that in past games there were fewer stores but you could have longer, in-depth conversations with their owners. In this game, owners aren’t as fleshed out but the shops themselves are.

It’s actually very different: the shop I see has an inventory screen where you can scroll through items and a range of things to buy. Prices will vary based on location, reflecting economics, and you’ll need different items to feed, heal and buff yourself. If a player wants to be sensible with their money, Suzuki suggests that they remember where certain items are cheapest and travel to buy.

All of this links back to one core fact of Shenmue 3: it’s also more of a proper role-playing game. Ryo will have access to all of his martial arts moves from the previous games, but he’ll still have to master them. Moves level up in a RPG fashion with practice, which now plays a greater role in Ryo’s revenge quest.

n previous games combat was entirely descended from Virtua Fighter, with practice simply used like training mode, a chance to practice combos and perfect inputs. This time practice has an active in-game impact aside from your personal skill with the controller improving. There’s also an easier input option for combat, so if you want to focus on this and worry less about fighting game style move inputs, that’s totally an option.

The need for practice is baked into the very premise of the game, too. While we’ve been asked not to talk about the specific flow of quests lest it change, in this demo I can reveal that one character won’t give up information unless you best him in a fight. If you fail to beat him the first time, the suggestion then is obvious: go away, train, then come back to beat his ass. This is really what Ryo’s pilgrimage through China is all about anyway; he has to become strong enough to take down his father’s killer.


So in the public trailer when you see Ryo begging an old man for training and sparring with a woman who looks a little like Virtua Fighter’s Pai, he’s levelling up his martial arts both in-universe and in that classic video-gamey way. Players will need to beware of spending too much time grinding on training to max out every move in Ryo’s already-huge repertoire, however: Suzuki confirmed that like previous entries Shenmue 3’s narrative has a time limit, meaning procrastinating too much could lead to a Game Over.

I really like this aspect of Shenmue 3’s design. It does appear that Suzuki is well aware that reaching the heady, revolutionary heights of the original Shenmue is an impossible task on the budget he now has. As such this is a strange little game. In some ways it feels as though it fell out of the early 2000s in a time capsule: its design is a clear iteration and continuation of what came before in the series, not a reinvention as some might have expected after so long.

[...]

The video game industry is reaching that sort of age where nostalgic revivals are becoming ever-more common. Usually this takes the form of slick, modestly-budgeted titles in the style of classic games, like a Sonic Mania or Mega Man 11. Other times it takes the form of a big-budget remake, modern in every sense while evoking the fondly-remembered classic – Resident Evil 2 or Final Fantasy 7 (if it ever comes out). Shenmue 3 appears to occupy an as-yet mostly untouched space: a halfway house between the two. It’s far more ambitious than other retro revival projects of this type, devoted to accuracy to the original era – and that excitingly means it really does feel like a late nineties/early noughties Sega title – warts and all. That won’t be for everyone, but in terms of accomplishing its stated mission, Shenmue 3 looks to be on track.


Sounds absolutely amazing to me.
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby mortimer » Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:13 am

Some more details from a Japanese article:

Area as large as Hong Kong from Shenmue II
Turtle and frog racing mini-games
There are over 500 NPCs. Not all are able to be interacted with (names will appear on-screen for those that can be interacted with).
More in-depth conversations.
More recorded dialog than previous games
Camera can be rotated 360-degrees around Ryo with the right stick.
Can walk around in first-person to examine objects.
Realistic weather. If it rains in the morning then puddles will remain throughout the day.
Can individually change Ryo's outfit parts (Shirt, pants, shoes etc.)
Considering adding additional costumes for Ren & Shenhua via DLC.
Train and compete in different dojos and rise through the ranks.
Four difficulty levels.
"Manual Transmission" & "Automatic Transmission" fighting options for differently skilled players.
No supernatural elements.
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby hbb » Tue Mar 12, 2019 10:42 am

Whoa, that last one is a bit of a twist
User avatar

hbb
 
Posts: 31738
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:10 pm
Location: The Void

Postby mortimer » Tue Mar 12, 2019 11:00 am

I think he's just trying to keep the twists to himself.

There is definitely some mysticism in this trailer from the '90s:



I get goosebumps thinking about this series. ITS SO EPIC. Dude's spent three decades trying to finish his game.
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby Chyet » Tue Mar 12, 2019 11:03 am

article says warts and all but it seems they've freezing off plenty of warts
scrambled my password
Chyet
 
Posts: 17418
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:14 pm

Postby mortimer » Tue Mar 12, 2019 2:07 pm

mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby endoskeleton » Tue Mar 12, 2019 11:33 pm

ahaha that's so fucking good
User avatar

endoskeleton
 
Posts: 42612
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:13 pm
Location: i'll tell you when the temperature drops

Postby wong » Thu Mar 14, 2019 2:36 pm

Sounds so good
User avatar

wong
 
Posts: 10499
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:37 am
Location: an ultralight beam

Postby mortimer » Thu Apr 11, 2019 8:42 am

Image
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby endoskeleton » Fri Apr 12, 2019 12:21 am

fucking right
User avatar

endoskeleton
 
Posts: 42612
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:13 pm
Location: i'll tell you when the temperature drops

Postby mortimer » Fri Apr 12, 2019 12:36 pm

Image

Image
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby Fool » Sun Apr 14, 2019 3:41 am

Noice.

As a side note, here's a shoutout from the best selling rap group in France. Trigger warning it's terrible:



The lyrics go "I don't expect anything from men except Shenmue."
User avatar

Fool
 
Posts: 2398
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:27 am

Postby Contristo » Sun Apr 14, 2019 7:18 am

Thx for the updates. That recent photo with Ryo’s back to camera in the night market has me giddy. Just remembered I already bought this too a few years ago :D
User avatar

Contristo
 
Posts: 8433
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:48 pm

Postby mortimer » Sun Apr 14, 2019 7:31 am

lol
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby mortimer » Thu Jun 06, 2019 8:06 pm

it looks great

But it’s also been delayed until late November
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby digital friday » Thu Jun 06, 2019 8:09 pm

Haha they start the trailer with more forklift driving
are you not entertained?
User avatar

digital friday
 
Posts: 3326
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 11:14 am

Postby mortimer » Fri Jun 07, 2019 9:47 am

this is gonna be the game of the generation let's face it
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby Beautiful Jugdish » Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:28 am

the game is 70% forklift
If you have information that conclusively proves beyond a doubt that Nathan killed Jeffrey Epstein, please DM me.
User avatar

Beautiful Jugdish
 
Posts: 10933
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2016 1:01 pm

Postby hbb » Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:41 am

And I’m 100% here for(kl)i(f)t
User avatar

hbb
 
Posts: 31738
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:10 pm
Location: The Void

Postby mortimer » Tue Jun 11, 2019 2:25 pm


gameplay!
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby walt whitman » Tue Jun 11, 2019 2:52 pm

killer jacket
“Short film, Long film, It’s ALL film!” - Walt Whitman
User avatar

walt whitman
 
Posts: 9646
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2011 3:26 pm
Location: a castle of narcissicism and insecurities

Postby mortimer » Tue Jun 11, 2019 3:02 pm

listening to the river flow while i watch my turtle win

what a life
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby mortimer » Tue Jun 11, 2019 3:06 pm



this game is such an anachronism

i love it
mortimer
 
Posts: 8750
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:45 pm
Location: *~<:^)

Postby Fool » Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:32 pm

turtle racing looks sicc

It's a baffling decision to keep the same clunky interface from twenty years ago but I love it.

Hearing the sound cue from the capsule toy reveal still gives me tingles.
User avatar

Fool
 
Posts: 2398
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:27 am

Postby Fool » Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:36 pm

User avatar

Fool
 
Posts: 2398
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:27 am

Postby Getbetter » Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:37 pm

Looking forward to turtle racing on tinychat for late night gambling
User avatar

Getbetter
 
Posts: 1903
Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2015 3:37 pm

Postby internethandle » Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:54 pm

The Fool on the Hill wrote:


man

i'm excited!
User avatar

internethandle
ok
 
Posts: 25765
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:15 pm
Location: Buffy moogoo bafoom!!! No.

PreviousNext

Return to Aguachile Alley

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Annie May, badhat, creamline bling, dragon jeans, Eyeball Kid, gandhi, Google [Bot], jalapeño ranch, kiboshy, launchpad, Modern Life is Rubbish, nosebleeds, smelts, unsandpiper, vacuum cleaner beating and 212 guests