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Shenmue 3 Backer Demo Should Be Available To Play This Weekend

Kazza

Kazza

Member
36289ab565ab37c12b93c97dd2544a06_original.png




Trial Version Content

This special version lets you experience one day in Bailu Village near the beginning of the game. The trial version features story line elements, battling, minigames and more.

The game will end when...

1. you progress the story and defeat the key character in battle.

2. in-game time reaches 9:00 PM.

*You may replay the game after completing the objective or in-game time is up.
Click to expand...


The Kickstarter update isn't very clear (a common feature of the updates so far), but the people at the Shenmue Dojo seem convinced that it will be playable this weekend.

Note that the trial version is only available to PC backers who pledged $100+ (as per kickstarter rewards). For those who want to cancel their PC pledge due to the Epic games saga, you can still play the demo and it won't affect your refund (although the demo requires installation of the Epic store)
 
Kazza

Kazza

Member
Looking forward to fan impressions (especially regarding the combat). The journalists who played the demo could only play it once, but I know that some of the hardcore fans will be playing this several times over. Hopefully they will be able to give the combat system a more thorough testing.
 
D

Deleted member 1159

Unconfirmed Member
Hell yeah. Can't wait...well, I've been waiting like 20 years so I probably can...
 
Geki-D

Geki-D

Banned
I just got my code. I backed for a PS4 version but got an EGS code. Sucks that there's no PS Store version.
 
M0G

M0G

Member
Geki-D said:
I just got my code. I backed for a PS4 version but got an EGS code. Sucks that there's no PS Store version.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't surprise me if Timmy boy has paid them to make the demo EGS exclusive too. Literally anything to get new signups to their store.
 
Kazza

Kazza

Member
Here's a stream of both the English and Japanese versions of the demo (no commentary):




Everything is looking great and exactly as it should for a Shenmue game. Very positive reaction from the backers so far, and apparently the game is running very smoothly, even for those with more modest PCs. Hopefully this means the base PS4 can achieve a locked 30 fps (maybe 60 fps on the pro).

Yu Suzuki is watching backers' reactions:




Sausage physics looking on point too:

DQ6vOr6.gif
 
Geki-D

Geki-D

Banned
M0G said:
Wouldn't surprise me if Timmy boy has paid them to make the demo EGS exclusive too. Literally anything to get new signups to their store.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure it was said from the start that the demo would always be PC only.
 
Heimdall_Xtreme

Heimdall_Xtreme

Hermen Hulst Fanclub's #1 Member
Kazza said:
Here's a stream of both the English and Japanese versions of the demo (no commentary):




Everything is looking great and exactly as it should for a Shenmue game. Very positive reaction from the backers so far, and apparently the game is running very smoothly, even for those with more modest PCs. Hopefully this means the base PS4 can achieve a locked 30 fps (maybe 60 fps on the pro).

Yu Suzuki is watching backers' reactions:




Sausage physics looking on point too:

DQ6vOr6.gif
Click to expand...

Oh my God the sausage are rolling.... The sausage are ROLLING!!!! 😱😱😱... AND RETURN OF THE ORIGINAL POSITION...!!! BLOW MY MIND!!!!
 
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Thabass

Thabass

Member
Played it last night. Pretty good so far. Definitely like the analog control, but Ryo still moves a bit tanky. The battle system isn't as fluid as I thought it'd be, but still a big improvement over the older system. The world looks beautiful and the side quests are pretty fun. Still need to put some time into it, though.

lEGJkt8.jpg


Some things never change.
 
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Keihart

Keihart

Member
IDK what to thing about the battle system...i have no idea if don't get it or is it just this bad..
so to recap how i understand it works:
Moves now are now either a sequence of button presses or a button plus L2
L2 is block
tapping the Left Stick is dashing
Didn't see a difference between holding block and pressing it on time with the attack, is there a diference? because there is a block bar that gets depleated and no real dodge.
Moves are to be entered in a buffer before the animation starts, so most moves take a lot of time to start if they have a long input. For example, tornado kick is now "x, x, square, square" if you don't do it fast enough you get other kicks, is not combos but individual moves that need to be buffered like this, pretty weird
The counter elbow strike doesn't seem to counter shit and is done by x triangle triangle or something like that, pretty lame.
TBH, i'm triying my best to understand what's better here ...counter elbow strike is a signature move in 2 and it was a counter, now is just a strike?
How the fuck does block work, the animations are nice but what's the point?

TLDR, combat feels like a big step back or i don't get it, i'm not sure.
 
Keihart

Keihart

Member
celsowmbr said:
My opinion (and from others dojo guys) is totally the contrary

bonus:

48spuJP.png
Kvj9UrE.png
Click to expand...
So how the hell do you counter with counter elbow?
is sidestep the only way to efectivly guard?
how exactly does blocking work, just holding or tapping and praying, no timing rewards?
All moves that were a couple of inputs now are long button strings that have to be buffered before the animation even begins for they to work, what's up with that, how is that better?
And finally, since there are no grabs...how the hell do you deal with groups of enmies, on at the time while they wait their turn...
honestly, i don't get it, please explain. I fought all the kun fu guys to try to understand the direction they were going for, the only thing i got was "now you can press R2 to automatically execute some moves without the input" lol
 
lachesis

lachesis

Member
Just played the demo - and was able to beat the guy with scar with a bit of basic moves. side stepping and B button seem to work pretty well.
Still getting used to the actual fighting mechanic - quite different from what I was used to - but I think I will get used to the new fighting system in a while. Having to rely on Analog stick feels a bit weird though. Not sure how the group fight would work - but for me the holding down the guard button while moving seemed to work the best. blocking. Not sure of some of the moves that share same button (like knee kick and something else) activates. Things are somewhat ambiguous - more so than original. I and II. I am not too fond of the new system as of yet, but I am willing to give the benefit of doubt and getting used to the new system.

As per its performance on my 3930k (4.2 ghz oc) with 970 - at default very high setting - it was running relatively smooth. Some choppy in certain areas, but wasn't too bothersome. Very colorful scenery. Running animation seems almost funny (how the guy keep his upper body totally stable while running seem quite mysterious LOL) - but he was just like that in Shenmue I and II..

Going through the key items, though - I felt rush of nostalgia looking at some of the items from I and II. Good stuff.

Also some of the redundant animation (such as capsule toys) - if you do consecutively, you skip the animation. It makes things go so much faster, that I don't have to wait for him to put in the coin and turn the handle every time. :)
 
D

Deleted member 1159

Unconfirmed Member
I really enjoyed it, feels like Shenmue alright. Fighting system seemed good and that I'd get better over time, I like that there's that ranking system. Overall I was just sad it was over
 
Kazza

Kazza

Member
Thaedolus said:
I really enjoyed it, feels like Shenmue alright. Fighting system seemed good and that I'd get better over time, I like that there's that ranking system. Overall I was just sad it was over
Click to expand...

The fighting definitely seems to have much more RPG elements than before, and I've heard that moves become easier to perform the more you train (your button inputs don't have to be exact).

Did the demo give you the choice between the automatic and manual fighting system (at least, I think that's what they are called - Yu said there would be an easier/automatic system for people who just wanted to play for the story)
 
ajim

ajim

Member
I'm on Ps4, but I watched a few playthroughs - it looks amazing. Im so glad the impressions are good.

Im so happy.
 
Noboru Wataya

Noboru Wataya

Banned
Keihart said:
IDK what to thing about the battle system...i have no idea if don't get it or is it just this bad..
so to recap how i understand it works:
Moves now are now either a sequence of button presses or a button plus L2
L2 is block
tapping the Left Stick is dashing
Didn't see a difference between holding block and pressing it on time with the attack, is there a diference? because there is a block bar that gets depleated and no real dodge.
Moves are to be entered in a buffer before the animation starts, so most moves take a lot of time to start if they have a long input. For example, tornado kick is now "x, x, square, square" if you don't do it fast enough you get other kicks, is not combos but individual moves that need to be buffered like this, pretty weird
The counter elbow strike doesn't seem to counter shit and is done by x triangle triangle or something like that, pretty lame.
TBH, i'm triying my best to understand what's better here ...counter elbow strike is a signature move in 2 and it was a counter, now is just a strike?
How the fuck does block work, the animations are nice but what's the point?

TLDR, combat feels like a big step back or i don't get it, i'm not sure.
Click to expand...

I’m with you, the combat feels like shit. Considering its virtua fighter roots, I expected a more fluid, responsive experience.
 
TheWanderingOgre

TheWanderingOgre

Member
And thus the saga... Begins a new.

The demo does what it needed to do: put out there, beyond any shadow of doubt, that the Shenmue spirit likes on through this game.

Beautiful.

Imagine what Yu could do with a top team and no resources/budget worries.

Fuck every hot shot, famous, rockstar wannabe gaming 'author' out there. Now this is what I call genius.
 
D

Deleted member 1159

Unconfirmed Member
Kazza said:
The fighting definitely seems to have much more RPG elements than before, and I've heard that moves become easier to perform the more you train (your button inputs don't have to be exact).

Did the demo give you the choice between the automatic and manual fighting system (at least, I think that's what they are called - Yu said there would be an easier/automatic system for people who just wanted to play for the story)
Click to expand...

I don't seem to recall an automatic system? There's a dojo where you can spar and rank up your moves in this new system that gives you QTE-like prompts for when to perform the move several times, and based on your timing/success it levels it and your overall kung fu up. The demo opens up with the typical "find the bookie with a scar on his face" Shenmue-ass Shenmue quest, and when you do find the guy he says he'll give you info if you can beat him. I came pretty close a couple times, then decided to go practice first then try. Beat him the next time, then it was demo over....of course that's the main quest part of the demo, you can also chop wood for money, gamble, etc...it's just like every other Shenmue game in that respect. New systems like eating food to regain stamina (which drops faster if you run everywhere) or gather herbs probably won't add too much, but it's kinda neat to see them trying new systems.
 
Keihart

Keihart

Member
Kazza said:
The fighting definitely seems to have much more RPG elements than before, and I've heard that moves become easier to perform the more you train (your button inputs don't have to be exact).

Did the demo give you the choice between the automatic and manual fighting system (at least, I think that's what they are called - Yu said there would be an easier/automatic system for people who just wanted to play for the story)
Click to expand...
I've played like two hours of only fights, the fighting system still doesn't make sense to me.
There is some kind of automatic system, it is always somewhat active. You have a list of around five moves that can be assigned to R2 and cycled with L1 instead of pressing the full input of the move.
Now, how you execute this moves without the automatic system is pure madness. Hear me out...
Tornado Kick is "X, X, Square, Square", if you press X you get another kick because , X and Square are Kicks and triangle and circle are punches.
So...it's a combo you might think that triggers the tornado kick, nope , you are wrong. To trigger tornado kick you have to buffer "X, X, Square, Square" before the normal kick assigned to standing X starts.
This is how EVERY move works, unless is the default move assigned to the button. It's madness. Moves take a day to start animating so you can buffer other inputs if you want a special move.
I wouldn't be so baffled by this system if it had a great purpose but i fail to see one...is it only to make you want to use that auto R2? because that's pretty bad as well since you have to cycle between the moves assigned to the button...

I'll sink a couple more hours in to it when i'm in the mood, but seriously, WTF is this shit...animations are alright at least...
 
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kunonabi

kunonabi

Member
just finished my run with the demo. I mostly wanted to test out the combat since I was most worried about that.

On the plus side the some of the hits do have a nice crunch to them when they land so that was one concern alleviated.

The ragdoll physics weren't atrocious so that's also good although some of the hit animations are awkward but it is a demo and the latest trailer had much improved animation.

I was happy to see that practicing moves to improve them is still in it's just become sparring now.

The lack of throws still sucks and the move commands are odd but I got used to them fairly quickly. Remembering them all on the fly is going to be another matter.

I still prefer the old system but this at least feels passable so far.
 
celsowmbr

celsowmbr

Banned
Counter:






I'm attempting to see if it can be executed at different lvls now. In this clip I had maxed all 5 moves to 10, lvl 6 Attack, lvl 10 kung fu, lvl 5 End. When I executed before (sadly wasn't recording) I had maxed out all moves (attack 6), but I had only trained End to lvl 2 (not sure about kung fu but I would assume lvl 6). I've only attempted it on gold tiger so far as he's the most resilient so you can get more attempts in. In this example I dodged (quickly tapped stick in the direction) and pressed RT (easier to map to RT than press the button combo). When I first did it I was facing him and I believe it was timed in between a gap in one of his combos but I'm not 100% as I was shocked and wasn't sure if I was hallucinating it lol.
Click to expand...
 
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Keihart

Keihart

Member
celsowmbr said:
Counter:



Click to expand...

I'm shocked and glad that counter elbow assault can actually counter, strangely since how old it is Shenmue 2 at this point, but it was way cooler in the original.
I really hope that they somehow rework the inputs for moves, unless there is some secret systems that i am missing, it pretty strange how you haven to buffer 4 button presses before an animation to execute some moves. I highly doubt it, but it would be nice to have an intuitive move set like in the old ones where the inputs were related to how the move was performed or if simplified they would at least allow for more freedom in combat, as it looks now, there are no upsides to it.
 
Constant Flux

Constant Flux

Member
It’s too bad there wasn’t a PS4 demo. I don’t have a PC to play the EGS demo, so I’m shit out of luck. I hope this game delivers. I’m really worried about the fighting mechanics being problematic. However, I’ve been waiting almost 20 years for this game and I am going to enjoy it no matter what. I didn’t drop $250 for it if I was any less than super hyped.
 
Keihart

Keihart

Member
Bushido Boi said:
It’s too bad there wasn’t a PS4 demo. I don’t have a PC to play the EGS demo, so I’m shit out of luck. I hope this game delivers. I’m really worried about the fighting mechanics being problematic. However, I’ve been waiting almost 20 years for this game and I am going to enjoy it no matter what. I didn’t drop $250 for it if I was any less than super hyped.
Click to expand...
TBH, is alright as a button masher now. Old system was pretty deep but demanded very little from the player on obligatory fights...so if you never got deep in the VF-ish fighting system you might not even care for the changes, it feels easier and prettier to mash buttons now.
For me, as someone who apreciated the old system for it's ambition, I think it's kinda trash or i'm missing something, because i don't see budget being the constraint to replicate the old one or make a new better fighting system. The rest of the demo was Shenmue as it gets tho, so rest assured in that the rest is as expected at least.
 
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ajim

ajim

Member
T
Kazza said:
A wonderful double playthrough with Huber:




This guy's passion for Shenmue is contagious. He seems to be really getting into the combat system towards the end too.
Click to expand...

Thats awesome.

There's been some great play throughs and reviews of the demo, all quite positive.
 
M

Max_Po

Banned
Hey guys, can someone point me in the right direction or answer this.

I am an original backer for Steam PC version I believe. Now they switched to EPIC's launcher. Can I switch my ver to PS4 ?

I did get an email a while ago from Kickstarter... wondering if there is any option to switch.
 
E

EctoPrime

Member
The minimum cpu spec seems a bit exaggerated unless drm in the final version bumps up the requirements. It easily hits 60 fps with a first gen i5 but that could just be for the demo section. Not a fan of the stuttering that happens when it loads a new section of the game when the msi overlay reports only 4GB used.

Overall it seems to be more Shenmue even if the gameplay doesn't copy the other games 100%.
 
D

Deleted member 1159

Unconfirmed Member
Max_Po said:
Hey guys, can someone point me in the right direction or answer this.

I am an original backer for Steam PC version I believe. Now they switched to EPIC's launcher. Can I switch my ver to PS4 ?

I did get an email a while ago from Kickstarter... wondering if there is any option to switch.
Click to expand...

Per their e-mail

Survey Open Now for PS4 Region Selection and Refund Requests

Please see the Update #114 update for details.

Surveys will close on 11:59 PM October 3rd, 2019 (JST).
Click to expand...
 
EverythingsOverrated

EverythingsOverrated

Member
Just skipped around the Easy Allies video and I have to say this has me pleasantly surprised.

It looks like they nailed the vibe and pace while updating the mechanics/graphics etc. The voice acting is still doo doo, but that adds to the authenticity I guess. Going to have to finish replaying Shenmue 2 before I dive into this bad boy.

BTW I'm assuming we're not going to be seeing any playable Sega classic arcade games in this, does anyone know if that's been confirmed?
 
celsowmbr

celsowmbr

Banned
So... Shenmue 3 have its own Rage Art moves:

UPDATE - Thanks to some clever people here we've now discovered this is actually a mechanic that activates when your health is <= 3hp and you dodge an attack at close range with your guard down. You can perform any move after the "bullet time dodge" for a guaranteed counter (although I did find that you can still get hit during your attack animation).
Click to expand...

Q0LlRgi.gif


ihOjsLK.gif


source: https://www.shenmuedojo.com/forum/index.php?threads/combat-system-bullet-time-dodge.1724/
 
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