LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 24, 2018 10:53:46 GMT -5
The Lascivious Snape's Official Unbiased Review of Dark Souls: Remastered: Yep, that's Dark Souls alright.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 24, 2018 11:16:03 GMT -5
The Lascivious Snape's Official Unbiased Review of Dark Souls: Remastered: Yep, that's Dark Souls alright.
I plan to pick it up on PC too--how's the framerate? Solid 60. Not a single hiccup. Granted I've only played through to the first bell. I haven't seen performance in Blighttown or New Londo Ruins yet. But it is noticeably smoother so far and feels really good in the hands. Faster, less sluggish.
It's a great game, because Dark Souls is a great game. Whether it's a good value will come down to the individual. Even with DSFix I could never achieve a solid 60fps with upgraded resolution. Not even close, in fact. And I had technical issues with the mod crashing my game.
So that fact alone secures this product's value statement for me. Plus, I mean, it's 20 bucks. I'll spend more on beer at dinner without thinking. At $40 I would still wait for a sale. But with the half-off incentive for owners of the PtD edition, I have no regrets jumping right in. It's fun to be playing Dark Souls again and have it running so clean.
(Edit: Oh, and I like all of the new effects. Like bonfires and spells and loot and torches and fog gates all have updated effects that I really like. They're brighter, poppier. I understand a lot of people aren't into it, though.)
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 24, 2018 11:26:09 GMT -5
I'll be curious to see how the multiplayer community shakes out. Not that I intend to join it, but I know a lot of people have been going ape: "PVP for Dark Souls 1 is back!!!!!!!" And I'm sure that will happen, but like, will it happen for a couple weeks, or will it really hang around?
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on May 25, 2018 14:05:55 GMT -5
It is fucking inexcusable in this day and age for a game to:
a) Not let me quit to desktop from withing the gameplay.
b) if A is absolutely not going to happen, making me exit to main menu, accept a EULA screen again (WHAT?) then scroll down to exit is beyond infuriating
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 25, 2018 19:55:04 GMT -5
It is fucking inexcusable in this day and age for a game to: a) Not let me quit to desktop from withing the gameplay. b) if A is absolutely not going to happen, making me exit to main menu, accept a EULA screen again (WHAT?) then scroll down to exit is beyond infuriating I understand the frustration, but quitting first to main menu, then to desktop is really common. I would say the majority of the games on Steam don't allow immediate quit out to desktop. That's exceedingly rare, actually.
The EULA thing is weird but only happens if you're playing online. If you opt to start the game in offline mode, you'll never see that warning again. |
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on May 26, 2018 0:36:51 GMT -5
It is fucking inexcusable in this day and age for a game to: a) Not let me quit to desktop from withing the gameplay. b) if A is absolutely not going to happen, making me exit to main menu, accept a EULA screen again (WHAT?) then scroll down to exit is beyond infuriating I understand the frustration, but quitting first to main menu, then to desktop is really common. I would say the majority of the games on Steam don't allow immediate quit out to desktop. That's exceedingly rare, actually.
The EULA thing is weird but only happens if you're playing online. If you opt to start the game in offline mode, you'll never see that warning again. I'd say 70% of my (maaaany) steam games allow either a direct to desktop quit or a one touch ESC quit or ESC/Enter confirm quit after getting to the main menu. At the very worst there's a button immediately visible on that menu I can click and get out. I can probably count on one hand the number of them that require manually scrolling to an offscreen option, all are bad ui games. Offline isn't an option as I was (at least theoretically) trying to play some of this with a friend who loves the games. Given being human at all is an instant gankfest with the remaster is just coming out I imagine we're going to put it aside for a month or two though. I understand some of the appeal of souls games but the developers insistence on burying the rest of it under a ux experience that I would have gotten a failing grade on in my first project in my intro to ui/ux class is frustrating beyond belief. Honestly overall I think I'd like these games a lot more if someone else made them. You know what, it's fine if you want to make me fight back to a boss repeatedly, do you really have to have the respawn point be down a ladder and a stairway before I even get to the first combat? or two stairways? or stairway and a bridge? Hard is fine if you're into that, I enjoy it to a point, but tedious is tedious. |
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on May 26, 2018 23:48:14 GMT -5
What's extra annoying is that it takes you to the start screen, then you hit a button, then you wait while it reconnects to the server to splash up the eula, then you can accept the eula, then you can scroll down to quit. Cuckoo.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 29, 2018 8:44:54 GMT -5
You want to talk about annoying? How about the fact that the game stops recognizing my gamepad every time I restart it! Seriously. I have to load the game. Close it (using that onerous main menu). Open Steam's controller settings menu. Do nothing. And then open the game again, and only then will it recognize the controller again.
It's the dumbest thing. (Game's still great, tho.)
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 29, 2018 8:46:40 GMT -5
Confirmed that Blightown is well and truly fixed, btw. Like buttah.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 29, 2018 8:56:22 GMT -5
You want to talk about annoying? How about the fact that the game stops recognizing my gamepad every time I restart it! Seriously. I have to load the game. Close it (using that onerous main menu). Open Steam's controller settings menu. Do nothing. And then open the game again, and only then will it recognize the controller again.
It's the dumbest thing. (Game's still great, tho.)
Steam shit like this is why I finally caved and bought an XBox One controller, despite strongly preferring the Dual Shock 3. I'm using an old Xbox for Windows controller, hard wire only. Indistinguishable from an Xbox 360 controller, which is my favorite gamepad of all time. This is actually the first time I've had a problem with a Steam game recognizing it. It's bizarre. |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on May 29, 2018 19:35:01 GMT -5
New Londo Ruins and the Seath boss fight ... rock solid. Not a single frame drop.
(And so far my run is deathless, not counting the Seath gank.)
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2018 18:58:16 GMT -5
Because I'm having fantasy withdrawls due to finishing Witcher 3+DLC(literally finished all the contracts, main quests, secondary quests, and most of the treasure hunts). I picked up Dark Souls remastered. I do acrually own fire fades or whatever edition of 3 and Bloodborne deluxe(got both on very good sales) but have put them off for other backlog stuff, since DS1 is out on something I own now, might as well start from the beginning!
I would finally be back to God of War, but withcer 3 left me wanting a very specific fantasy niche needing to be filled and God of War just doesn't have that aesthetic I crave right now.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2018 20:19:42 GMT -5
So, created my player. Name is Mathias, a commoner who is a warrior. Literally about the most generic thing out there, but I liked the initial stats and look of gear the most. Took a master key. Only died once in the tutorial area to the dude with a shield. Beat the boss on first try, though got very lucky because it sure looked like my health bar hit zero, but was able to estus flask up and then got a good rear attack. Also helped that I knew already to attack during the fall at the beginning.
So, let's see if I can summarize the plot correctly. Dragons once ruled the land, people did not like this and rose up against then and with the help of key individuals, one of them a husk of skulls who could spread disease, they beat the dragons and now Humanity ruled fire. The fire is fading and evil things are ruling the land, all the while people are cursed to being zombies, but not brain eating zombies, sentient zombies who just seem pretty much like regular people with a skin condition and can't die. But because regular people hate those with leprosy, they send the lepers to a prison. Whoever actually manages to break out of the prison is then picked up by a giant bird to go ring some church bells, because prophecy. Also, some random knight threw a corpse in your cell for no good reason, is that knight the dude on the cover of Dark Souls 3? Who knows!
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jun 1, 2018 8:51:07 GMT -5
Done.
Had a great time with it. The level design through the first half of the game remains unparalleled in this series or any. Sadly I did not keep my run deathless, because the Bed of Chaos is still a thing that exists, but I came darn close.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2018 16:13:46 GMT -5
My warrior has made it through the Undead Burg, though will likely not be finished with it. He beat the Demon after repeatedly just jumping from a tower and smashing it in the head with a morningstar after about 8 failed attempts at other strategies. The warrior then met a dude who really likes the sun, he seemed weird. After a chat with the sun dude the warrior took about a 20 minute breather and shot arrows at a Dragon's tail, thus gaining a powerful weapon that let him tear through most enemies, except some weird basement monster and he decided to stop adventuring for the day.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2018 23:29:12 GMT -5
kotaku.com/the-thrill-of-finally-playing-the-first-dark-souls-1826427239This was the article that really convinced me to get Dark Souls(well that, and me having fantasy withdrawls from Witcher 3). For some reason whenever I read or heard people talking about Dark Souls it was always about lore(which is incomprehensible without context, also with context) or the gameplay, which never really grabbed me. The chunk of this article that explained the level design though and the exploration, also that awesome map, finally triggered something in me beyond "this seems like an important game I should check out". Dark Souls went from feeling like a pop cultural obligation to something I was really interested in. And I'm glad I took the plunge. Im still very much in the beginning of the game but am enjoying the exploration so far. I'm not even finding it all that hard of a game really. Is it challenging? Yeah, but it wasn't meant for someone to rarely die their first time through, it is about learning and getting better. Even when facing the Taurus Demon and dying around 5 to 8 times(I don't really know, but I did have around 10000 souls at the end of the fight), I never felt like it was impossible. I was just trying out different strategies and what worked best for me. I'm having a really good time with the game, and hopefully can see it through all the way to the end. I just love how dense the world feels, so many games now have these big open worlds, but really struggle with making all the space seem worthwhile. DS1 feels very intricately crafted from the get go, and I can't wait till I have explored deeper and found more secrets. Honestly, the fact that there is no real fast travel(not really counting the bones that let you go back to bonfires) is a plus to me, because the world is now built around finding shortcuts and exploring further.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jun 4, 2018 20:00:21 GMT -5
kotaku.com/the-thrill-of-finally-playing-the-first-dark-souls-1826427239This was the article that really convinced me to get Dark Souls(well that, and me having fantasy withdrawls from Witcher 3). For some reason whenever I read or heard people talking about Dark Souls it was always about lore(which is incomprehensible without context, also with context) or the gameplay, which never really grabbed me. The chunk of this article that explained the level design though and the exploration, also that awesome map, finally triggered something in me beyond "this seems like an important game I should check out". Dark Souls went from feeling like a pop cultural obligation to something I was really interested in. And I'm glad I took the plunge. Im still very much in the beginning of the game but am enjoying the exploration so far. I'm not even finding it all that hard of a game really. Is it challenging? Yeah, but it wasn't meant for someone to rarely die their first time through, it is about learning and getting better. Even when facing the Taurus Demon and dying around 5 to 8 times(I don't really know, but I did have around 10000 souls at the end of the fight), I never felt like it was impossible. I was just trying out different strategies and what worked best for me. I'm having a really good time with the game, and hopefully can see it through all the way to the end. I just love how dense the world feels, so many games now have these big open worlds, but really struggle with making all the space seem worthwhile. DS1 feels very intricately crafted from the get go, and I can't wait till I have explored deeper and found more secrets. Honestly, the fact that there is no real fast travel(not really counting the bones that let you go back to bonfires) is a plus to me, because the world is now built around finding shortcuts and exploring further. Lore is my favorite thing about the series, I admit, and you're correct that it's impenetrable without consulting the people who have already done the work of compiling and interpreting it. But lore BECAME my favorite thing about the series after diving into that work. It didn't start out that way. I didn't understand the first thing about what was happening in Bloodborne by the time I beat it. I just knew that it was one of the most satisfying combat systems I'd ever encountered in a game. The classic line of "tough but fair" rang true to me. Somehow I never got frustrated with it, even dying in the Forbidden Woods probably 15+ times my first pass through. There's always an inkling of what you might have done differently. The same goes for the Dark Souls games, though none of them feels as good as Bloodborne does in the hands.
That foundation, that incredible gameplay was good enough that I couldn't care less what the game was about. So then when I found out just how richly built the worlds were, how the relatively simple plot was enriched by dozens of small and fascinating stories, how everything interconnects, how these somber and, well, dark worlds were actually brimming with ambitious, unique and at times hopeful characters ... it was all icing on the cake, and it's what took the series from "great" to "masterpiece" territory.
Ironically, of the three DS games, I think Dark Souls II has the most interesting story - the story of the fall of King Vendrick is such a good one - but it is unquestionably the worst of the five Soulsborne games. Best gameplay and story I would give to Bloodborne, no contest.
Anyway, I actually came to say that if you do become interested in diving further into the lore without having to read every item long description, print out a bunch of dialogue excerpts, post them up on your wall and then connect them with strings of multi-colored yarn like a conspiracy theorist, I recommend the following creators:
VaatiVidya (he's like Professor Dark Souls. So well known and liked for his thoughtful approach to the games' lore that other Souls creators make fun of him for it) |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2018 8:25:02 GMT -5
Was only able to play a little of Dark Souls this week due to moving. I have rung the first bell of awakening or whatever it is called. The two Gargoyles were kind of a pain in the ass. I had no trouble fighting one, but once the 2nd one kept jumping in it was a pain. I did get lucky though in cutting off the tail of one of them, but since I have the Drake Sword the Tail Axe is weaker right now. I know the Drake Sword doesn't scale with stats and that there is a cap to reinforcing it. I have to do some more research on weapon builds. I also got a gargoyle helm drop once I did beat them, though I'm not happy with how I did it. I ended up summoning the Solaire Phantom and the fight was way too easy, didn't even get hit once, don't know how often I will summon NPC phantoms after that. I don't know where to really go from here, I can go the graveyard path with the skeletons now, but I think I'm gonna go through the Darkroot Garden where the smith is near, just want to beat that weird ass thing before the entrance of the garden before I run past it.
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Jun 27, 2018 12:58:45 GMT -5
Still enjoying Dark Souls but the invasion stuff continues to be nonsense. I would be much more on board with it if there was a "one invasion per hour per player" rule in place. The friend I was playing with has played the first one a couple times and both guys who chain invaded us the past couple times we've tried to coop were apparently just tweaked to be assholes. I don't understand the dev's thinking that that's fun.
Otherwise I'm enjoying it though, it has some other problems that keep it from being a truly great game to me but I can see why some folks love it so much.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2018 14:09:08 GMT -5
Still enjoying Dark Souls but the invasion stuff continues to be nonsense. I would be much more on board with it if there was a "one invasion per hour per player" rule in place. The friend I was playing with has played the first one a couple times and both guys who chain invaded us the past couple times we've tried to coop were apparently just tweaked to be assholes. I don't understand the dev's thinking that that's fun. Otherwise I'm enjoying it though, it has some other problems that keep it from being a truly great game to me but I can see why some folks love it so much. Yeah, I definitely play hollow as much as possible. Invasions suck ass so much, but hey at least I have heaps of humanity for kindling. |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jun 27, 2018 18:56:12 GMT -5
You can play the game offline and eliminate the threat of invasion entirely. I recommend this. This will allow you to restore from hollowing without the associated risks. The benefit of this is that the more active humanity you build (the big number to the left of your health), the higher the drop rate for items off enemies. Plus of course you can't kindle bonfires if you're hollow. It's a toggle in the options menu. "Start game in offline mode" or something like that.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2018 20:26:20 GMT -5
You can play the game offline and eliminate the threat of invasion entirely. I recommend this. This will allow you to restore from hollowing without the associated risks. The benefit of this is that the more active humanity you build (the big number to the left of your health), the higher the drop rate for items off enemies. Plus of course you can't kindle bonfires if you're hollow. It's a toggle in the options menu. "Start game in offline mode" or something like that. I know, but I like the bloodstains and messages. |
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Baron von Costume
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Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
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Post by Baron von Costume on Jun 28, 2018 9:27:48 GMT -5
You can play the game offline and eliminate the threat of invasion entirely. I recommend this. This will allow you to restore from hollowing without the associated risks. The benefit of this is that the more active humanity you build (the big number to the left of your health), the higher the drop rate for items off enemies. Plus of course you can't kindle bonfires if you're hollow. It's a toggle in the options menu. "Start game in offline mode" or something like that. I know, but I like the bloodstains and messages. also being suddenly terrified when you're resting and a spirit comes flying at you around a corner |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 26, 2019 13:38:50 GMT -5
I'm renaming this thread so I don't feel bad spamming about the latest From Software title. I'll post about Sekiro from here on out. Well at least until I'm done.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2019 14:13:23 GMT -5
Embarrassingly enough, I think the boss I spent the most time on was the very first miniboss you encounter in the prologue
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 26, 2019 14:28:31 GMT -5
Embarrassingly enough, I think the boss I spent the most time on was the very first miniboss you encounter in the prologue Have you gotten to Spear Guy near Ashina Gate? Because he's fucking every me way from Sunday. |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 26, 2019 15:11:27 GMT -5
#FuckSpearGuy
So I know that part of the FromSoft ethos is moving on when it gets too hard; there's always another path. But I just can't do it. If I just beat #SpearGuy, who I assume is a mini-boss, which means he'll reward me a Prayer Bead, I can upgrade my Health and Posture. So I just need to beat him. Except he keeps wrecking me ... completely.
I'm starting to wonder if capital B bosses are intentionally easier because they're required. I don't know, but I do know that Horse Guy and Lady Butterfly gave me less trouble than #SpearGuy. Like, way less trouble.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2019 16:15:56 GMT -5
Embarrassingly enough, I think the boss I spent the most time on was the very first miniboss you encounter in the prologue Have you gotten to Spear Guy near Ashina Gate? Because he's fucking every me way from Sunday. The Hirata Estate spear guy? |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 26, 2019 16:22:59 GMT -5
Have you gotten to Spear Guy near Ashina Gate? Because he's fucking every me way from Sunday. The Hirata Estate spear guy? Nah, his name is "Seven Ashina Spears - Shikibu Toshikatsu Yamauchi" -> located in Ashina Resevoir |
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 27, 2019 12:44:46 GMT -5
Few things:
1. I beat #SpearGuy. Had to once again completely rejigger my approach, but I finally got him. My last bout with him I sort of forgot what I was doing, like I forgot about watching his health or posture and was so "in the zone" focused on reacting correctly to every attack that I was caught off guard when I saw the red circle of death. Took a full hour of grinding him, which actually...
2. ... several of the boss encounters happen in baddie-packed arenas. In some cases, like #SpearGuy, they can be mostly avoided and they're just far enough away during the fight that they don't aggro, but you still have to GET to the boss. The boss runs in Sekiro kinda suck. Part of the reason it took an hour to grind Spear Guy is because each attempt started with getting to my sneak position (to stealth off a pip of his health) and then waiting for the area enemies to forget about me. 30-60 seconds depending. The Souls games have that handy fog gate system, where you can declare "I would like to attempt the boss now, leave me alone peons." Not so much in Sekiro.
3. This is an excellent stealth game. I like how fast it is. While there is a slower, more hunkered down stealth position for hiding in grass or whatever, the standard upright movement speed still allows you to run up on dudes and stealth kill them. It's nice.
4. I genuinely don't know what to do or where to go any more. I thought I was on the only path left, but it too has ended. Hmmm...
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