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Shenmue: Dreams Of Saturn - Xmas Fangame Released!

LelouchViBritannia

Member
Jun 12, 2018
564
The kitchen bros from the Shenmue community have released a lovely Christmas-themed game for everyone to enjoy

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This game takes place before Shenmue 1 and allows players to control Ryo Hazuki and freely explore the streets of Japan. Ryo must hunt down 25 Santa chans (similar to bailu chan) in order to win a Sega Saturn for Christmas.

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Players will move around from a first person perspective. All assets have been faithfully recreated to look like the Dreamcast game

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Players can interact with NPCS, play mini games, buy capsule toys, engage in QTE fights, and freely explore the environment

All NPCS are fully voiced and animated.

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Finally, here's a teaser trailer for the game that was released two months ago


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wv-9Z_iklw&ab_channel=ShenmueDojo

You can download it over at the shenmuedojo forums

A Shenmue Story - New Shenmue Journey from George Kitchen!

RELEASE: Dreams of Saturn is a Shenmue Xmas fan game from George Kitchen. The game features around 10-15 hours worth of content in the form of a short Shenmue story, taking place before and after the events of the original Shenmue, along with a wide variety of mini-games, achievements and...
www.shenmuedojo.com www.shenmuedojo.com

Enjoy everyone and happy holidays
 
The Unsent

The Unsent

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,472
The original Shenmue had one of the best Christmas atmospheres, when the streets are decorated and you can find drunk Santa.
 
Kamek

Kamek

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,980
Shenmue is one of my favorite Christmas time games to play. This was one of the last games I really remember playing with my dad - and the QTEs he got intuitively. Can't wait til my son is big enough to play this Series with. Maybe the three of us can play the OG together when the little one is a bit bigger.
 
nicoga3000

nicoga3000

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,030
Wow...I've never played Shenmue, but this looks like everything I love in a videogame. Will be checking out this weekend!!
 
Jibby

Jibby

Member
Oct 27, 2017
171
Really glad to see that this is out. Looks super authentic to the Dreamcast games which I love!
 
Huey

Huey

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,321
Leeway said:
Please update us if you can get it working! I'm hoping to do the same later.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Works! Just add the .exe to Steam and select a protonGE version (i'm using 8.21). These are shots on deck:

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Game's actually super impressive off the boot. I don't know what i was expecting but it was voice acting and full custom animations. FPS will take getting used to for sure... but it's running 16:10 native resolution on Deck, though not quite holding 60fps in the house (so i imagine outdoors will be worse), so may end up dropping to 40.

Wonderful though, what a nice seasonal gift - big ups to the folks that created it
 
master15

master15

Member
Nov 28, 2017
1,214
The Kitchener Brothers have produced some amazing content for the Shenmue community. Will happily try this later.
 
TeenageFBI

TeenageFBI

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,317
This loaded properly on my Deck but the controller isn't working at all. I have it set to a standard gamepad in Steam Input. I guess this just has mouse/keyboard support?
 
Huey

Huey

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,321
Played a little bit of this now - impressions (played on Steam Deck):

Positives:
- Exploring Ryo's house and Yamanose and Yokosuka is really impressive, particularly given they had to recreate all the assets in Unity.
- the atmosphere is fucking bang on, it really does feel like a Shenmue game
- Super Christmasy vibe with the lighting, decorations, and snow; so few dedicated Christmas games, and Christmas seasons was one of the best parts of Shenmue 1!
- First person shenmue is very cool
- Controls are reasonable - KB/M only for now it seems - and they have it tutorialized well; I mapped look to gyro for easier navigation given it's pretty cursor heavy

Negatives
- that first piggy bank hunt - required for you to leave the house - is no joke!
- no real graphics customization
- Framerate kind of tanks in larger environments, sometimes down to the 20s, at least on Steam Deck; it can hit 60 in interiors, but I've limited it to 40 for less yo-yo-ing, 30fps would probably be wise
- the snow effect on characters heads when they're outside is an awesome touch, but it doesn't work very well
- no character lip movement outside of cutscenes
- not a huge fan of the item hunt structure, esp given things seem really hard to find
- stumbled on an absolutely bizarre and pretty difficult sequence in the fortune teller's place, and had trouble leaving lol
- Some awkward menu navigation in general: when you give someone something, you have to hold the mouse button down and manually exit out of the inventory, then drop it on to them. Kind of stuff that can certainly be ironed out.

All above negatives are judging the game as a full release though - I am mad, MAD impressed that this is a fan game and am looking forward to playing more, absolutely wonderful surprise for the Christmas season too
 

wdrpgwd

Member
Dec 20, 2023
14
This is George, the creator of the game. Thanks for the kind words for those who have played it.

I appreciate your words, Huey. This is indeed a fan game and also very niche, as there are a lot of references that only Shenmue fans will catch.

We tested the game on several computers and never got below 40 fps. I think Steam may be the issue with that.

I made this game on my own, other than some music and my brothers videos. I'm not a game developer but did a lot work to make up for it.
I was exhausted by the end of it but had to get it out before Christmas. So far, the bugs have been minimal and none have any impact on the achievements or story. Just visual issues like one item graphic stays on Abe's counter after buying it.

I'm sorry about the piggy banks! You're not the first to say that it was hard. ha

The snow was a huge challenge. It being on the characters was not an addition, but rather, trying to keep snow off some models created terrible halo effects which are still present, though they go away over time. Lip Sync just didn't work right when I tried to add it. It looked almost creepy. If I had the original models and engine I could have done it, but not from scratch.

The story is lighthearted at times and not to be taken too seriously. The Lapis section is a perfect example of that. I don't want to Undermine Yu-San by creating my own serious storyline. It's his story to make. Not mine.

The menu's... Ya, I know. With some more practice, I think I can make them more intuitive. They are a little cumbersome currently.

I took a screenshot of your remarks for future reference. Thanks for the feedback!
 
Leeway

Leeway

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,419
Vancouver, BC
wdrpgwd said:
This is George, the creator of the game. Thanks for the kind words for those who have played it.

I appreciate your words, Huey. This is indeed a fan game and also very niche, as there are a lot of references that only Shenmue fans will catch.

We tested the game on several computers and never got below 40 fps. I think Steam may be the issue with that.

I made this game on my own, other than some music and my brothers videos. I'm not a game developer but did a lot work to make up for it.
I was exhausted by the end of it but had to get it out before Christmas. So far, the bugs have been minimal and none have any impact on the achievements or story. Just visual issues like one item graphic stays on Abe's counter after buying it.

I'm sorry about the piggy banks! You're not the first to say that it was hard. ha

The snow was a huge challenge. It being on the characters was not an addition, but rather, trying to keep snow off some models created terrible halo effects which are still present, though they go away over time. Lip Sync just didn't work right when I tried to add it. It looked almost creepy. If I had the original models and engine I could have done it, but not from scratch.

The story is lighthearted at times and not to be taken too seriously. The Lapis section is a perfect example of that. I don't want to Undermine Yu-San by creating my own serious storyline. It's his story to make. Not mine.

The menu's... Ya, I know. With some more practice, I think I can make them more intuitive. They are a little cumbersome currently.

I took a screenshot of your remarks for future reference. Thanks for the feedback!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Congrats on releasing it before Christmas! I fired it up on Deck as well and haven't left the house yet but very impressed by what you've accomplished. Looking forward to playing through it. Thanks for the little holiday gift!
 
Huey

Huey

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,321
wdrpgwd said:
This is George, the creator of the game. Thanks for the kind words for those who have played it.

I appreciate your words, Huey. This is indeed a fan game and also very niche, as there are a lot of references that only Shenmue fans will catch.

We tested the game on several computers and never got below 40 fps. I think Steam may be the issue with that.

I made this game on my own, other than some music and my brothers videos. I'm not a game developer but did a lot work to make up for it.
I was exhausted by the end of it but had to get it out before Christmas. So far, the bugs have been minimal and none have any impact on the achievements or story. Just visual issues like one item graphic stays on Abe's counter after buying it.

I'm sorry about the piggy banks! You're not the first to say that it was hard. ha

The snow was a huge challenge. It being on the characters was not an addition, but rather, trying to keep snow off some models created terrible halo effects which are still present, though they go away over time. Lip Sync just didn't work right when I tried to add it. It looked almost creepy. If I had the original models and engine I could have done it, but not from scratch.

The story is lighthearted at times and not to be taken too seriously. The Lapis section is a perfect example of that. I don't want to Undermine Yu-San by creating my own serious storyline. It's his story to make. Not mine.

The menu's... Ya, I know. With some more practice, I think I can make them more intuitive. They are a little cumbersome currently.

I took a screenshot of your remarks for future reference. Thanks for the feedback!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
George, welcome to Era, man - and thanks so much for the detailed reply. I really hope it was clear from my comments that those were just more to give impressions than to criticize - I'm genuinely so impressed at this. I love the fan game space on PC - it's one of the best things about the ecosystem - and this was genuinely one of if not the most impressive one I've played, which is incredible for someone who doesn't identify as a game developer.

One thing I have to comment on that I love is the interstitial spaces between the regions from the original game - truly makes you feel like you're seeing Yokosuke in a whole new light, as a connected space. Brilliant touch.

Thanks again so much for this. Honestly after the disappointment of Shenmue 3, it feels awesome to have what is effectively a new game set in this world, from a new perspective. Hopefully lots of this community gets a chance to try it, there's plenty of Shenmue stans around here. And the Christmas flavor is just 😙👌
 

wdrpgwd

Member
Dec 20, 2023
14
Thank you, Leeway!

Huey, I liked the way you worded your feedback. We're good.
I like Shenmue 3, but selfishly so as I get to laugh when I see my twin walking around and then flexing from his hotel room, when you look through the window. :)

I kind of feel my game is much like the real Shenmue, where on the surface, it looks simple, but underneath, there are a lot of things to do. Playing the main story doesn't take too long, but there are a lot things to play. The story wasn't the focus, nor the NPC's. I wasn't going to come up with a big story to replace the canon established or challenge it. The intro nightmare should hopefully make people understand the less serious tone of the game, even though we do have some moments that are trying to pull heartstrings.

It can be rough around the edges, and I'm ok with that. I never claimed my game would be as clean as a $60 title. I wanted it to be free.

What annoys me is that there are a couple of people who have streamed the game already and hid it behind a subscription paywall.
I guess I could look at is people are paying for their commentary vs watching the game, but it's not really in the spirit of what I was trying to do.
 
TrashHeap64

TrashHeap64

Member
Dec 7, 2017
1,684
Austin, TX
I only got through the first cutscene and ran around a bit. The thing that stands out most to me is how good the animations are on the characters. Its very impressive! I am not sure if most of the assets are ripped or handmade but the quality is very accurate to Dreamcast standards.
 

wdrpgwd

Member
Dec 20, 2023
14
TrashHeap64 said:
I only got through the first cutscene and ran around a bit. The thing that stands out most to me is how good the animations are on the characters. Its very impressive! I am not sure if most of the assets are ripped or handmade but the quality is very accurate to Dreamcast standards.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

A bit of both. There are ways to rip locations, but I did it the wrong way. I admit that I'm not the most skilled at this. I work hard to try and make up for it.
I had to build quite a bit from nothing, including areas that connect the Dojo, Yamanose, Sakuragaoka, Dobuita, 16 interiors that were never in the original, parts of interiors that were not accessible in the originals, and the city backdrop. None of these areas were connected in the original, and now it's 1 map, minus some interiors.

EDIT: Also, nothing came animated, so I had to animate things on my own, The stupid fish in the pond took me way too long, but I couldn't just have idle fish looking frozen.. The drawers in the dojo was also a pain. I had to animate every drawer and door to open and close. So laborious for such a minor things, but I had to do it or it would hurt the final product.
 
shadowman16

shadowman16

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
32,256
Had no idea this was coming, but considering Shenmue is the only game that gives me an Xmas vibe these days, I absolutely gotta play this. Looks right up my street, so I'll get it downloaded tomorrow.
 
Wrexis

Wrexis

Member
Nov 4, 2017
21,374
The opportunity to explore a chunk of Shenmue 1 but modernized? I'm in. Downloading.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,837
Vice City
holy shit this is cool, i really do need to check in around the dojo more often - good on em!

glad to here it works on the deck for when i get one of those...i still have to play the fan translation of what's shenmue? demo so that'll have to hold me over for now!
 

marcbret87

Member
Apr 20, 2018
1,374
This is absolutely brilliant, many thanks, George!

Honestly, I really like the classic Shenmue aesthetic, I'd have been happy if Yu would have decided to stick to that for the third part.
 

wdrpgwd

Member
Dec 20, 2023
14
Thanks everyone. 1.1 is uploading in the next hour.

I got a comment from someone last night that they beat the game with a save from 1.01 and the game was 1.05, so it looks like old saves are working fine on newer versions.
 

Vomiaouaf

Member
Oct 27, 2017
726
wdrpgwd said:
This is George, the creator of the game. Thanks for the kind words for those who have played it.

I appreciate your words, Huey. This is indeed a fan game and also very niche, as there are a lot of references that only Shenmue fans will catch.

We tested the game on several computers and never got below 40 fps. I think Steam may be the issue with that.

I made this game on my own, other than some music and my brothers videos. I'm not a game developer but did a lot work to make up for it.
I was exhausted by the end of it but had to get it out before Christmas. So far, the bugs have been minimal and none have any impact on the achievements or story. Just visual issues like one item graphic stays on Abe's counter after buying it.

I'm sorry about the piggy banks! You're not the first to say that it was hard. ha

The snow was a huge challenge. It being on the characters was not an addition, but rather, trying to keep snow off some models created terrible halo effects which are still present, though they go away over time. Lip Sync just didn't work right when I tried to add it. It looked almost creepy. If I had the original models and engine I could have done it, but not from scratch.

The story is lighthearted at times and not to be taken too seriously. The Lapis section is a perfect example of that. I don't want to Undermine Yu-San by creating my own serious storyline. It's his story to make. Not mine.

The menu's... Ya, I know. With some more practice, I think I can make them more intuitive. They are a little cumbersome currently.

I took a screenshot of your remarks for future reference. Thanks for the feedback!
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Wow mate. This is truly impressive and I wasn't even that huge of a Shenmue fan back then. Congrats and enjoy the holiday break if you can even if I'm sure you'll bury yourself in hot fixes :-D brilliant stuff.
 

wdrpgwd

Member
Dec 20, 2023
14
Dreams of Saturn Quick guide if lost.

1. Get 5 piggies in the house. One is in a drawer that doesn't look like a drawer from far away.

2. Get 10 Santa's from various shops. There should be around 14 open to get.
The tricky ones are the Game You Santa that can only be won by beating Ecco Lucky Hit and,
Best Golf, where the Santa is located at the starting area of a hole on the course itself.

3. After 10 piggies all shops are open except for Nagai, Heartbeats, and Asia Travel.
Liu opens if you have 11, not 10.

4. Go to MJQ and sink all the balls in the 6 pockets and get the santa then leave.
As you leave you are told about the tourny and are entered in.
1.0 Version - DO NOT CLICK ON THE MJQ SIGN. It will cause the tourny to start and break the game.
It was a testing area that I forgot to remove.

5. Play the rounds of the pool tournament as you find more santa's.
The last 3 shops do not open until you win the tournament.
The final round of the tournament will not start until you have 22 Santa's.

6. Once you win the tournament you are led directly to the other 3 shops.
Go to Asia first and do the cutscene and return to Nagai.
Once you have Nagai's Santa you will have 1 left to go.
Go to Heartbeats and get the final Santa and then go to Tomato to get your saturn.

7. Once you return home click on the tv to watch the ending play out and then go to sleep.

8. The Finale starts when reading the note on the TV and it's straight forward from there.

The End.
 
oofouchugh

oofouchugh

Member
Oct 29, 2017
3,998
Night City
Am I weird in hoping this was some kind of revived/leaked game based on the Sega Saturn version? I still can't get over that fucking tech demo, true wizard shit.
 
shadowman16

shadowman16

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
32,256
oofouchugh said:
Am I weird in hoping this was some kind of revived/leaked game based on the Sega Saturn version? I still can't get over that fucking tech demo, true wizard shit.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I initially thought the same going by the title. ANd yeah, it was technical wizardry to have the game up to chapter 4 (China) "somewhat" finished on the Saturn (I do wonder how playable it all was). Id totally love to play that version one day.
 
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