Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

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Mittens2317
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Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

Post by Mittens2317 »

Hi, I'm from the Shenmue Dojo, looking to revive our ill-fated series in a small way. I've built up a team of 17 and growing to develop a game based on the lost chapter between Shenmue I & II using Unity. We're only in the initial phases of development (ripping textures, models, skins, writing the story, etc.)

I haven't yet started on the design document, but the idea's already been thrown around of making a port for the Dreamcast that we could distribute to give that authentic feel.

The problem is that the DC isn't nearly powerful enough to support Unity, and I'm tearing my hair out trying to figure a way around this, whether creating separate games using the same resources, or creating the most complex, intricate mod at the expense of, well, the majority of content. One thing's for sure though, we've become very reluctant to give up on the idea. Stupid, I know, but we're still waiting on Shenmue III, so we're not the most intelligent bunch anyway, resilient as we may appear.

Today I was pointed to this forum. One of my advisors suggested that if anyone knows what we can do to remedy this, it would be you guys. So, is there any program we're overlooking that can be used to create something on the scale of Shenmue? I'm aware that it is, by today's standards, a rather simplistic game, but from what I am told, not much has been achieved by the DC HomeBrew community in terms of scale and scope. Is it doable? Or is the Dreamcast best left to large 2D games?

Any help would be appreciated. And, obviously, if anyone's interested in getting involved in the project, then just let me know, we could always do with a few extra hands.

Thank you.
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Re: Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

Post by RyoDC »

Bro, you should really visit your thread with the same name at the dcfan forums
How do I try to build a Dreamcast toolchain:
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Mittens2317
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Re: Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

Post by Mittens2317 »

DC Emu directed me here. Truth be told, I'm working off various systems and still struggling to find every forum I posted on. I should've kept a list -_-.
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Re: Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

Post by BlueCrab »

Truth be told, if you want something that looks as impressive as the original games and runs on the Dreamcast, you'd probably end up having to hand-code the engine yourself.

That said, there are a few 3D game engines that have been ported to the Dreamcast, such as the Quake engine that could potentially be commandeered in some way. I'm no expert on that matter though, so other than throwing the idea out there, I'm not of much help here.
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Re: Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

Post by RyoDC »

Mittens2317, visit http://www.dcfan.net.ru/forum/f77/takin ... port-4132/
If saying shortly, there can be many advices, but they are all probably comin' to that two conclusions: you need people and time to make that project alive.
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Re: Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

Post by Mittens2317 »

Apologies for the very late reply, been busy with the project, Christmas, and setting up a business. Anyway, am I right in my assumption that you RyoDC from the Shenmue Dojo? If so, I'll upgrade your account privileges. The development forum is hidden, to keep prying eyes away, so that's the only way either of you could have a look at the project. On top of this, if you're able to help out in the coding of a Dreamcast version, then I'd add you to the team in an instant!
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Re: Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

Post by RyoDC »

Thanks God, dude, I began to start thinking that you ignored me or something like that :D
Sure I want (and can) help with the Dreamcast version, so add me immediately, I want to keep my hand on pulse =)
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Re: Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

Post by chao2 »

Is the polygon count for the characters going to be higher than the the original shenmue?
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Re: Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

Post by Mittens2317 »

A bit of both. We're wanting to keep everything authentic, using pre-existing textures & models from the games, with a slightly higher polycount for the grander locations. If we made it too different, it simply wouldn't feel like Shenmue.
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Re: Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

Post by ben15dc »

Sounds interesting..
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Re: Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

Post by chao2 »

any updates or pics
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