Taking on Shenmue Project... Advice on Dreamcast Port

[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.

[rooster]

Hi and welcome to the forums. This sounds like a major project, and no doubt many of us would be thrilled to see it happen. I know nil about programming, so I can't offer advice except to say, since all the models and textures will be taken from Shenmue/S2, it's possible to make it run perfectly well on the DC. There might be some additional limits since it'll be running on CD rather than GD, in terms of data streaming or whatever. So far, all homebrew games have been either 2D (some of which have been very high-quality) or very basic, last-generation level 3D (eg, Doom and Quake mods). But new things are made possible all the time. It's up to your team to push the limits!

[VasiliyRS]

Hi Mittens2317.
Sadly there is no 3d engine for DC powerful enough for a project like this (there is a couple unfinished). Thus you will need to port an engine by yourself whether it would be Unity or anything else. Another problem is there lack of people that have spare time for developing for DC.
I personally would like to see fan game based on Shenmue running on Dreamcast so i wish your team good luck with the project.

[#1phoenixsunsfan]

Maybe this should be moved to the main section (lounge) like where the Tahi thread is at ?

For the purpose of getting more help or letting people aid you in this endeavor.

After 3 years, people post in Tahi thread. So I'm sure many not seeing this thread in this section, will see this thread in Lounge section and might be hype reading it.

Just a suggestion.

[dude2207]

i know nothing of programing for consoles. it would be amazing to see this though.

[Barrys_Bapz]

Only time can say and 80 Million.

[Mittens2317]

Thank you for the replies. I currently have two members on board from dcfan.net who claim they'd be able to code it from scratch given the right tools and resources. I remain both skeptical and optimistic, but the project is still crying out for more contributors.

If anyone can/wants to help, please get in touch. The project's showing a lot of promise, and the sooner we get it finished, the sooner we can get it released (it's currently slated for a Feb 2015 release on PC/Mac, with Android/iOS/WP coming in April 2015)

Hopefully, if a genius or two jumps on board, we should be able to add a Dreamcast release to that. Btw, does anyone know somebody who may be able to help in the DC department, or could even point us in the right direction?

[ItsThinking95]

Any news on this?

[cameroncr95]

Any news on this?

Probably dead. Most "Fan Projects" die quickly unless they have alot of drive, and personally, I still don't see a fan made full 3D game coming out on dreamcast for a few years.

Everyone keeps making 2D games.

Not complaining. I know game design and development is hard, but still, it would be nice to see someone make a 3D game instead.

[everynewday84]

Any news on this?

It's never going to happen. Sega won't let them use their IP for an official release on android, or any other relevant platforms.

The project's showing a lot of promise, and the sooner we get it finished, the sooner we can get it released (it's currently slated for a Feb 2015 release on PC/Mac, with Android/iOS/WP coming in April 2015)

Nope.