Witches & Woodlands 3.5

Warning for Umineko Chiru Episode 8 spoiler













Two long years have passed since the day
Witches & Woodlands was released
for the first time.
A lot has happened from back then and
now I'm proud to announce the ultimate
release of this successful fanwork:

Umineko no naku koro ni: Akaki Shinjitsu wa USO DA!!
Witches & Woodlands 3.5

Download the patch from here:

Box: https://www.box.com/s/kidbtcpoaes2y99zwyr9

Or here:

Mediafire: http://www.mediafire.com/download/a5um5fc73dyiv7b/Umineko+USO+DA+-+W%26W+3.5+-+ver+1.0.rar

(leave a comment if the links are broken, I will try to find a solution asap)

Remember that this is only fully compatible with
Umineko no naku koro ni - Episode 8

Now the file is 131 megabyte, so while you wait
for the download to end, please take a bit of your
time to READ this post until the end.
But first, the usual screenshots:
















There are two things you need to know about this patch:

The first is that extra music will be available if you
set the directories in a certain way. Two are the conditions for
that to happen:

1) A copy of Umineko EP4 must be installed under the same
directory where your Umineko EP8 main directory is.
2) The main directory of Umineko4, must
be named: "Umineko4".

This has been tested on Windows and on Mac OS.
If you set everything correctly, the last music in the
Music Selection screen will be "Discode" instead of "Byakumu"

Music apart absolutely nothing will change if you can't make this
work for any reasons.


The second thing you need to know is that if you
really, really, really... don't want to replay the whole
main story, you don't have to.

There is a very small, barely visible, button in the bottom
left corner of the main menu. click on it and confirm
your decision, in order to unlock the "????".

No further automatic unlocking is possible, but the "????"
and the "Tea Party" are so short that you can skip
them very quickly using CTRL.


For anything else, please refer to the "Read ME.txt" included
inside the directory of the patch. It's there for a reason.


THIS IS THE ULTIMATE RELEASE
OF WITCHES & WOODLANDS
 That means I don't have any projects about creating
new Umineko related content.
However this doesn't mean this will be the last
entry of my blog.

I expect that typo and bugs will be found even after
all the testing and proofreading that has been
done. So I'll probably release a fix in the future.

If you notice any bug, typo, or any kind of odd behavior,
please report it.

Additionally, while I won't work anymore on this project
there are other people that are working to make
Witches & Woodlands an even better experience.

For quite some time Immblueversion has been working on
a voiced patch of Witches & Woodlands.
The work is proceeding slowly but steadily.
As soon as his project is finished I'll make an
announcement on this blog.

I've been contacted by other people each with their own idea.
I'll take this chance to publicly state that I'll give permission
for any kind of project you have in mind. In fact you don't
really need my permission. I'd be an hypocrit if I demanded
that. It's not like I've ever asked any persmission to 07th Expansion...

That being said, it is still my wish that you tell me about
whatever project you are starting regarding
Witches & Woodlands
but that's simply because I'm interested in knowing that.

So if you plan to, for example, translate Witches & Woodlands in
another language, let me know!


Lastly, while I have said that I don't intend to create
any other Umineko related fanwork, that doesn't mean
I won't create anything else in general.

I have really enjoyed creating this Visual Novel and I
plan to create more in the future. I'm still not
sure what I'll end up doing next, but something
surely will come. I'll just be on hiatus for a while
and in the meantime, who knows? Maybe I'll start
doing yonkoma about Higanbana.
That really depends on how much I'll enjoy that,
I'm still waiting for it to be translated.


SUPPORT WITCHES & WOODLANDS!

This project has been realized with the hard
work of many people. All this was done
out of pure passion without any expectation
for any kind of compensation.

But there is still a way for you to show your
appreciation to me and to everyone else that
contributed to render Witches & Woodlands what
it is today: spread the word!

If you really enjoyed this work, then talk about it
to the Umineko community you belong.

Also, you can spend a bit of your time to
register on vndb and vote for Witches & Woodlands
on this page:

http://vndb.org/v5055

Wait after you have unlocked all that you can unlock
and give me your honest opinion, following the site's guidlenes.

This is my only selfish request.

Thank you!

Update on the work in progress

As you are probably aware Chronotrig has recently
announced that the final patch of EP8 will be
relesead somewhere between early and late December
of this year. The release of the final version
of Witches & Woodlands will come shortly
after that. If all goes well it will be between
late December and early January.

The main bulk of the changes and new contents that I
had planned for this final release is basically done.
All the new portraits are finished with the exception
of Fighter Battler who needs a few adjustments.
Etrien is currenly working on it and should be able
to provide the material in a few days.

So I guess it's time to make a list of what has changed, and
what was added, so you can have an idea of what to expect.
I couldn't do this before because I wasn't really sure of how many
of the things I wanted to make could actually be done.

CHANGES
-The three parts of Witches & Woodlands are merged in a
single continuous story now renamed "Witches & Woodlands 3.5"
-Several new portraits have been introduced and replaced existing
ones in the fantasy side and "real" side.
-Right-click menu enhanced providing detailed informations about
the fantasy characters and a few of the "real world" characters.
The menu will update frequently in response to changes inside
the story.
-All dialogues are now enclosed in quotations marks.
-Several adjustments in the script and dialogues are made in
order to: improve clarity about the game rules, adapt to the new
continuous format and new portraits, improve consistency with
in game mechanics and characters' stats.


NEW CONTENTS
-"Ura Tea Party" unlockable after completion of the main story,
(already published on youtube)
-"Tea Party" unlockable after completion of the "Ura Tea Party"
(yes I inverted them). This will be a very short scene where the
characters discuss about the game they have played a few minutes after
its ending. Several matters that have remained unresolved
will be explained.
-TWO "surprises" will be unlocked after completion of the "Tea Party".
I can't tell what they are about because... they are supposed
to be a surprise! Two of them!
-A third minor surprise will be accessible from the two "surprises".
That will be basically a simplified music box linking to almost
all the musics of Umineko (excluding the boring ones).
It will also include the missing musics from EP4 provided
paths are set correctly.


All the new contents are already scripted/programmed.
What's left to do are adjustments in the main story and
the right click menu (which is however at a good point).
Proof reading pending, as it'll have to wait for the EP8 patch first.
You can take a sneak peek from the few images below (click to enlarge).
Stay Tuned!

Witches & Woodlands Part 3

Warning for Umineko Chiru Episode 6 spoiler

You've been waiting for this for a LONG time!
And now... it's here! Finally!

Witches & Woodlands - Part 3

The breathtaking fantasy saga that sees
our favorite Umineko characters as protagonists
is finally reaching a conclusion!

Will our heroes survive the last four trials?
Will they finally meet Beatrice?
And what will the plot twist that
was promised 6 months ago be?

All the questions will be answered in this
last patch! So what are you waiting for?
Download it from here:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mqb6ckn9exjk2gs

IMPORTANT

There is a more recent version of Witches & Woodlands you can find here:

http://janpoolab.blogspot.it/2011/12/witches-woodlands-35.html

Only download the previous if you don't possess
Umineko Episode8 and don't plan to buy it.


This patch is compatible with EP6, EP7 and EP8(Part 1 and Part 2 are included)

Just install it the way you always did for
the "witch hunt" patches, or the past W&W patch,
you shouldn't have any problem.

And now a few screenshots from the game, which
of course won't reveal anything relevant.

Jessica: Okay mom, this isn't hard to play. You just need to click the mouse.
Natsuhi: Why am I doing this...
Jessica: Because it's great! The ending's my favorite part!
Erika: Wait a sec... you said that I'd tell Battler that I loved him, when does that happen?!
Jessica: What are you talking about? You did that in Part 2 already!
Erika: When?!
Jessica: I feel a little sorry for you... Battler will break your heart in Part 3 when he'll refuse to kiss you...
Erika: I never asked him to do so!
Jessica: But then you'll finally find your soul mate during the final showdown!
Erika: I'm seriously going to kill you...
Dlanor: Miss Erika perhaps you need a HINT.
Erika: I don't need to reason about Jessica's delusions!
Jessica: Hey Dlanor, so when will you pay for that fourth wall? I'm still waiting for the money...
Kinzo: Aaaaaaah!!! It's here! It's here! It's finally here!
Beatrice: Are you happy now?
Kinzo: No... where's Duke Nukem Forever?! Why it hasn't been released yet?!
Beatrice: ............
Battler: At least we have a release date now...
Erika: In before: "sorry the release date will be postponed".
Kinzo: Aaaaah! Duke Nukem Forever! Why you keep on escaping meeeee?!!! Duke Nukem Foreveeeeeer!!!
Jessica: Let's just play W&W... okay...?

Update on the work in progress

I thought it was time to give you an update on the

current situation of W&W part 3, since it's also been

a long time from the last time I made a post, and this

was supposed to be finished a lot earlier. To think I

originally planned to release the whole thing before EP7...

what the hell was I thinking?!
To be honest I didn't expect at all that this would become

this long. It was supposed to be more or less like part 1...

the mere idea makes me laugh now...

Anyway! Current progress:

Belphegor's trial: FINISHED

Satan's trial: FINISHED

Leviathan's "trial": FINISHED

Lucifer's trial: FINISHED

Final Showdown: FINISHED

Epilogue: FINISHED

Compatibility Testing: FINISHED

Bugfix: FINISHED

Proofreading: FINISHED

DIE! DIE! DIE!

DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!

DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE

DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE

Die The death!

Sentence to death!

Great equalizer is The Death!!

I'll take this chance to inform everyone that I made

a youtube channel for Witches & Woodlands.

Of course, if you are here, you probably don't need to watch

those videos (it's a lot better to play the game directly), but

if you care about it, I wrote some comments that might

interest you. Also you might want to watch this one:

It shows two easter eggs that you probably missed (5:33 and 5:47).

Oh and if you like W&W rate up the videos! Maybe if the rate

is high enough youtube will feature them or something.

There is no better reward for me than to know that my story is

being read and enjoyed by a lot of people.

So I'll take the chance to thanks everyone that helped

me to spread my works to the umineko fans community.

THANK YOU!

I cannot name everyone but I want to mention at least these sites:

Animesuki Forum - The whole USO DA series simply wouldn't exist

without it. This is also the place from where most people pass through

before getting here.

Animeraku - It was the first blog (that I know of) that made a review

about my yonkoma. And one year later it's still being read!

The visual novel database - Seriously, I feel out of place! I particularly thank

Roger Pepitone, who made the entry on this site. Roger Pepitone is also

the one who introduced me to the onscripter program. If I sticked

to mere graphic edits I could have never made W&W.

TV tropes - Lot of nice stuff there, it's cool to see my site has been listed.

Thanx Xellos08

TahYllis youtube channel - I actually made a link to his site as soon

as I created this blog. TahYllis has been a source of inspiration

for me and for many other umineko parodies.

But this time I'm thanking him for mentioning W&W in one

of his last videos! I was really happy when I saw that.

Witches & Woodlands Part 2

Warning for Umineko Chiru Episode 5 spoiler

Rejoice! Witches & Woodlands - Part 2 is here!

Unfortunately this is only the first half of what I originally intended to release.

But look at the bright side, it's still longer than Part 1

and there will be a Part 3 in the future!

The reason I decided to split this patch is due to the fact

I realized I couldn't finish the whole thing in the nearest future.

Saturday I'm going on a vacation and then I'll be glued to my PC

trying to translate EP7.

That means you won't see me for a long while. This is also

why I decided to release W&W2 on this unusual day.

In case there are some real bad bugs that prevent the game

from working, I want to be here to fix them. So if you

notice something like that, be sure to tell me asap because

from the 7 to the 17 you'll be on your own.

But I guess you just want to download the stuff, okay, okay!

you can download it from here:

EDIT: get the updated patch instead

http://janpoolab.blogspot.it/2011/01/witches-woodlands-part-3.html

Or the latest upgraded version (requires EP8)

http://janpoolab.blogspot.it/2011/12/witches-woodlands-35.html

Note that this is only compatible with EP6.

That's because while I was working on it, I realized that without

noticing I made the characters act in certain ways that remind

things that they have only done in EP6. So I don't recommend

to play this game if you haven't played EP6 first. Even though

there isn't really any direct spoiler regarding that.

For non windows users: be sure to get an updated interpreter

since I've been told that some texts do not display correctly

with older versions.

As for the installation, if you install this patch the way you

always did for the "witch hunt" patches, you should have no

problems.

And now a few screenshots from the game, so you can

get a (wrong) idea of what you should expect!

Will the six heroes survive this first part

of the trial of the seven sisters of Purgatory?

If you have a doubt you are probably not a great detective.

I mean, come on, I already told you there's going to be a Part 3!

Coming Soon!

Jessica: Hey mom, "W&W - Part2" rocks, you gotta see it!

Natsuhi: Shouldn't you worry more about your studies?

Jessica: But mom, even dad has a part in it!

Natsuhi: What, really?

Jessica: Actually that's very small, but what matters is that there will be a new Game Master!

Natsuhi: Didn't I tell you to stop talking slangs? What's this Gummasta thing?

Jessica: And it will be a lot looooooooooooooooooooooooonger than the first!

George: Battler will play as a normal player!

Battler: I like swords!

Jessica: And then there will be... stakes!

Natsuhi: Stakes? Which stakes?

Dlanor: The trial of the seven sisters of PURGATORY!

Maria: I'm gonna catch 'em all!

Jessica: And there will be riddles, memory games, numbers, labyrinths, fierce fights...

Battler: Maria will own Erika!

Erika: Blasphemy! That will never happen!

Jessica: and then Kyrie will pop up and say: "Batlleeeeer... use the chessboard thinkiiiing!"

Battler: My chessboard thinking rocks!

Erika: No! You're doing it wrong!

Jessica: Erika will tell Battler that she loves him!

Erika: No I won't!

Jessica: Yes you will!

Battler: Where's Ronove when I need him?

Jessica: And at the end of the trial: TADAAAA! We'll fight against Beatrice!

Beatrice: Yes, my turn will finally come!

Beatrice: About DAMN time...

Maria: Uu! There will be a huuuuuuuge plot twist!

Erika: Really? I don't remember any plot twist!

Jessica: And then Kumasawa, Gohda, 410, 45, Shannon, Kinzo, Kanon!

Erika: Do you need to mention people that get... ONE line in the whole story?!

Jessica: Sheesh! When you advertise your stuff you don't mention trivial details!

Dlanor: Of course Battler won't disappoint ME.

Jessica: Dlanor, you still need to pay for that fourth wall your broke. That stuff is not cheap!

Natsuhi: My headache.... is killing me......

Kinzo: Soon? How much soon? I'm bored! I want to play it right now!

Beatrice: Don't get your hopes too high, when you see "coming soon" you read it "work in progress".

Kinzo: Meh... I just hope it won't take as long as Duke Nukem Forever.

Beatrice: ....

Beatrice: Are you still waiting for that?! You're gonna die of old age before....

Beatrice: Never mind...

Kinzo learned to stop worrying and love the bomb!

But the bomb loved someone else...

You know when your significant other incinerates you...

it's probably a sign it's time to break up...

Witches & Woodlands now compatible with EP6

For those who missed EP5 and wants to play W&W on EP6

here's the updated patch:

EDIT: 

No longer supported. Get the updated patch instead:

http://janpoolab.blogspot.it/2011/01/witches-woodlands-part-3.html (EP6 or more recent)

Or the latest upgraded version:

http://janpoolab.blogspot.it/2011/12/witches-woodlands-35.html (EP8 compatible only)

07Expansion made significant changes in the code

and in the end I found out it was easier to adjust the old file

rather than copy and paste the part I wrote in the new one.

I don't know if this will cause problems. I tested it and it seemed all right

Anyway should you find an error please report it

If you are looking for the first EP5 patch,

click on the link below:

http://janpoolab.blogspot.it/2009_12_27_archive.html

Witches & Woodlands

Warning for Umineko Chiru Episode 5 spoiler

Sorry guys, there won't be any yonkoma this week.

I repeat: no yonkoma!

That is, because to celebrate the recent release of the Witch Hunt patch for EP5 (and secondarily the new year), I have decided to make a fully playable mini story!

You simply need to download 3 files and place them in the Witch Hunt patch directory.

Then you can start the executable and play.

You can find them here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?rnjmmw5tf5d (EP5 compatible only)

IMPORTANT

You can find the most recent release here:

http://janpoolab.blogspot.it/2011/12/witches-woodlands-35.html (EP8 compatible only)

They won't overwrite anything, don't worry, however as long as they are there there the executable will read them in place of the original files. The package includes a "readme" anyway.

What is Witches & Woodlands?

Basically this story is set on an alternative gameboard on the night of October 4, and the cousins decide to play a Role Playing Game, instead of the usual boring cards.

Inexplicably Erika and Dlanor are also there, but why would you be surprised by anything at this point?

Here are a few screenshots taken from the game:

Well, what are you waiting for? Go play it!
I've put on hold the reading of EP6 for this, you'd better like it!