{"id":361,"date":"2023-11-16T12:07:34","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T12:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wulinshu.com\/test\/?p=361"},"modified":"2023-11-16T12:07:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T12:07:35","slug":"dp-development-log-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wulinshu.com\/test\/2023\/11\/16\/dp-development-log-2\/","title":{"rendered":"D&P: Development Log #2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


As with any game, audio such as music and sound effects play a large role in the general atmosphere the game\u2019s world provides. This is no different in Shenmue, and in the opinion of many, Music in particular is a primary focal point of how Shenmue makes its game world feel vibrant and alive. From the smooth jazz of Heartbeats, to the lighthearted jingle emanating from the Tomato Store, the Shenmue games really do seem to go out of their way to place the soundtrack in the forefront of the atmosphere; and we intend to do no different here. A tall order, to be sure, but one I am certain we can fulfill, so let\u2019s all take a few minutes, to discuss and understand exactly how we intend to handle this in Shenmue: Dragon & Phoenix Collection.


Music in Shenmue, for the most part, is encoded in a proprietary format, that makes the most of the AICA sound processor present in the Sega Dreamcast. It is a MIDI based format, making use of samples compressed to various degrees, along with other features provided by the AICA processor, such as panning and multichannel mixing, to present the almost CD-quality soundtrack present within the game. The D3t releases does in fact utilize the same format, however for reasons that are not fully understood, it appears they weren\u2019t entirely certain how the format and\/or AICA processor worked, and as a result, had to alter these files to facilitate playback, leading to inaccuracies. This is noticeable in some areas more than others; and while it is overall a rather small detail in what is otherwise a generally faithful port, it does tend to stick out like a sore thumb given the prominent nature of music in creating Shenmue\u2019s unique atmosphere. As such, I\u2019m happy to say that as a result of a collaborative effort between Lemonhaze and team friend Sappharad (https:\/\/github.com\/Sappharad<\/a>), we now fully understand the changes D3t made to these files, can reverse them to be 1:1 with the Dreamcast releases, and are now able to accurately play back these tracks through Unreal Engine 4. To illustrate this, let\u2019s take a moment to listen to one of these tracks, and compare between the Dreamcast and PC releases, and then let\u2019s take a listen to what it sounds like in Unreal Engine 4. Today, we\u2019re going to listen to Queen\u2019s St. from Shenmue II; I believe this to have been a particular sore spot for many players in the rereleases, so I feel this should be a good illustration as to the level of accuracy and authenticity we are striving for, particularly in regards to the Dragon Edition portion of this project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dreamcast<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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