# Horizon Zero Dawn



## Vintage Paw (Jun 16, 2015)

This. Looks. Amazing.

What a great concept. And metal fucking dinosaurs. And bows. And we're all dead. And I know nothing about this game apart from this video.

This E3 is going to turn me into a fucking console player, I'm telling you.


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## moon (Jun 16, 2015)

Yep!


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## moon (Oct 27, 2015)

New footage shown at Paris Games Week..
May be available here later


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## fucthest8 (Nov 4, 2015)

Ooh!

Paris footage here




The combination of this and No Man's Sky will push me into getting a PS4. Then I'll probably never need to buy another game again


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## Voley (Nov 4, 2015)

fucthest8 said:


> Ooh!
> 
> Paris footage here
> 
> ...




Yep, I'm thinking along similar lines. Fallout 4, the new Doom and this are making me eye my credit card.


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## moon (Jun 7, 2016)

OMG!! New Horizon Zero Dawn trailer!!!  I CANNOT wait to play this!!!


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## High Voltage (Jun 7, 2016)

fucthest8 said:


> . . . Then I'll never need to buy another game again . . .



Quoted for the LOLs

With a sneaky little edit to make it even more LOLs


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## Monkeygrinder's Organ (Jun 7, 2016)

It's a Zoids game right? That's not just me?


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## fucthest8 (Jun 7, 2016)

High Voltage said:


> Quoted for the LOLs
> 
> With a sneaky little edit to make it even more LOLs



Veh funny.

Trust me, once NMS finally lands  I'll be lost for months ... you should have see me with Minecraft.

HZD looks like its going to be awesome too mind!


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## fucthest8 (Jun 7, 2016)

moon said:


> OMG!! New Horizon Zero Dawn trailer!!!  I CANNOT wait to play this!!!




Scratch that, it looks freaking incredible.


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## Chilli.s (Jun 7, 2016)

I'd be a bit worried sticking a spear in an electric dinosaur could deliver a nasty shock.


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## moon (Jun 8, 2016)

I'm quite embarrassed to admit that I really want to get this collector edition..  <holds head in hands>


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## moon (Jun 14, 2016)

Game play footage from the Sony E3 conference. The mounted combat looks great!


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## tiki (Jun 15, 2016)

The American accent on the protagonist is the only thing that could be construed as a negative. It felt very out of place, and it is apparently set in Europe.


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## Voley (Jun 15, 2016)

Looks great doesn't it?


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## Monkeygrinder's Organ (Mar 1, 2017)

Anyone got/getting this then?


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## 8den (Mar 1, 2017)

Very interested. Might try and pick it up but not at that price.


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## Vintage Paw (Mar 1, 2017)

It's got universal praise. The animations are a bit off, apparently, but I don't care about that, and I heard the writing isn't stellar, but the world and the mechanics are superb.

I'd love to get it, but if I want to get a PS4 Pro I need a new TV and that starts getting expensive, so it'll have to wait.


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## 8den (Mar 1, 2017)

Vintage Paw said:


> It's got universal praise. The animations are a bit off, apparently, but I don't care about that, and I heard the writing isn't stellar, but the world and the mechanics are superb.
> 
> I'd love to get it, but if I want to get a PS4 Pro I need a new TV and that starts getting expensive, so it'll have to wait.


Why do you need a PS pro to play it?


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## Vintage Paw (Mar 2, 2017)

8den said:


> Why do you need a PS pro to play it?



I only have a PS3, and if I'm going to get a PS4 it's going to be a Pro because a) I can afford it, and b) I want to eke the best out of any of the games available for it, and c) I'll want to take screenshots (and Horizon has a really good photo mode) and screenshots at 4k are better than screenshots at 1080p.

But I'm not spending all that just for one game, since I'm primarily a PC gamer. When RDR2 comes out, maybe then I'll prize open the wallet.


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## moon (Mar 2, 2017)

I got it yesterday, not played it yet though...


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## D'wards (Mar 7, 2017)

I considered getting this, but as i have; Skyrim, The Witcher, Fallout 4, Shadow of Mordor and the London based Assassin's Creed on the go (or still to play) i can't see the point in getting another similar open world game


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## Voley (Mar 7, 2017)

I was going to give it a bit until the price comes down on Ebay but I'm getting near the end of Witcher 3 now ...


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## moon (Mar 8, 2017)

Ive tried to play it several times, but I'm finding it a bit boring


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## 8den (Mar 27, 2017)

Cheekly bought this. It's 70e even in CEX in the Republic, but brand new it's about 50e in Sainsburys over the border. 

The comparisons to Fallout are valid, as it's the same lead writer as Fallout NV (my fav fallout game) and you see some elements of that game. Great lead characters and action, I'm just started but the main plot has me engrossed.


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## Voley (Mar 27, 2017)

My brother's raving about this so I've ordered it. 37 quid off Ebay didn't seem too bad.


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## 8den (Mar 27, 2017)

Voley said:


> My brother's raving about this so I've ordered it. 37 quid off Ebay didn't seem too bad.


The same writing team as NV was the selling point for me.


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## Voley (Mar 27, 2017)

8den said:


> The same writing team as NV was the selling point for me.


Yeah my brother was saying the characters are good and the plot's genuinely intriguing. Sounds good to me.


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## 8den (Mar 28, 2017)

Wifi is crummy in my air bnb ah well four nights of solid HzD (have slaughtered the raiders who. Attacked the villiage


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## Voley (Mar 31, 2017)

Oh this is really good. Just spent most of a rainy Friday playing it. Beautiful to look at, a genuinely interesting backstory that seems a cut above the usual, great fight bits and there's loads and loads of it.

I haven't even done the first main quest yet, just keep roaming the countryside, learning how to trap the machines and whatnot. It's absolutely great so far.


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## 8den (Apr 1, 2017)

Just did my first cauldron, surprisingly easy given all I'd heard, may kick difficulty up past normal.


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## Voley (Apr 1, 2017)

I've got it on Normal and I'm finding it tricky. Bit stuck on the battle at the end of 'The Proving' atm. Mind you, I'm used to wandering round Skyrim / Witcher 3 for hours on end doing nothing more taxing than incinerating the odd chicken.

Great game though. I played it for so long yesterday my contoller ran out of juice. Don't think I've ever been that immersed in a game before. It does take a bit to get going mind moon. I'd stick with it though.


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## 8den (Apr 1, 2017)

Voley said:


> I've got it on Normal and I'm finding it tricky. Bit stuck on the battle at the end of 'The Proving' atm. Mind you, I'm used to wandering round Skyrim / Witcher 3 for hours on end doing nothing more taxing than incinerating the odd chicken.
> 
> Great game though. I played it for so long yesterday my contoller ran out of juice. Don't think I've ever been that immersed in a game before. It does take a bit to get going mind moon. I'd stick with it though.



That first battle was tricky for me, because I kept wandering into a rather vicious corrupted zone.


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## Voley (Apr 2, 2017)

8den said:


> That first battle was tricky for me, because I kept wandering into a rather vicious corrupted zone.


Maybe that's what happened with me. Dunno though - I'm only just finding out about corruption now having defeated the 'demon' at the end of the level. I think it might just be that I'm a bit shit at all-guns-blazing fighting bits. I never really liked end of level bosses - I find the repetition of getting killed loads but finally finding a place to hide where you can repeatedly bomb something a bit crap. Which is how I did this one, eventually. Might go down to easy if I keep struggling.


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## 8den (Apr 2, 2017)

Voley said:


> Maybe that's what happened with me. Dunno though - I'm only just finding out about corruption now having defeated the 'demon' at the end of the level. I think it might just be that I'm a bit shit at all-guns-blazing fighting bits. I never really liked end of level bosses - I find the repetition of getting killed loads but finally finding a place to hide where you can repeatedly bomb something a bit crap. Which is how I did this one, eventually. Might go down to easy if I keep struggling.



The trick is preparation. I watched some videos online. Mad ideas. Like lay a bunch of traps and use a fire arrow to explode it when a big beast is close. And have laid a bunch of explosive  trip wires in front of you so when they charge they hit them bang on. And before going in for the kill frost bomb the shit out of it. It weakens them. As I understand it you really have to hunt the big beast later on. Before you attack stalk them, lay traps and then taken them down. 

http://kotaku.com/tips-for-playing-horizon-zero-dawn-1792826368


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## 8den (Apr 9, 2017)

Fuck me I just met my first thunderjaw!


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## 8den (Apr 10, 2017)

It's really fucking tough. I mean really tough. Particularly after you leave the sacred lands. I've still not got a thunderjaw. But the key to most big heavies is weapons with a high tear factor. There are pressure arrows, they knock off components. For larger beasts, this is absolutely crucial. The Thunderjaw has about 4 different ranged attacks and a radar installation on it's back. Meaning it can find you if you are hidden, knock off the radar unit and some of it weapons and you can actually pick up some of its weapons to kill it. 

Some tips. 

If you're badly wounded and haven't achieved much reload from save will get you back its full health. It's really annoying that your health doesn't regen nor does saving giving you a full health bar. It may feel like The Witcher or Skyrim or any other fantasy game, but pausing seeing some snapjaws and deciding to kick their ass is a surefire way to get killed. 

There are tutorial questions for each weapon. You need to access them in the quests menu. But they're easy XP.

Cauldrons do two things
Great for resources and you learn how to hack bigger and scarier beasts each time. 

Bandit camps are a good source of shards. 

There's a golden travel pack available in the day tower and any merchants east of there. It's cheap and it gives unlimited fast travel. Crafting travel packs is a pain. 

Never ever go into a fight with anything bigger than a sawtooth without a serious plan. 

Run away. Most animals will stop tracking you after you leave their terrain. 

Big long battles attract scavengers and other creatures. 

Merchants require more than money for big ticket items, it could be lens, or a machine part, if you're short on anything, you can "create a job" putting a mini quest in your misc questions.


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## ffsear (Apr 10, 2017)

There seem to be soo many good open world games around at the moment.  I'm playing the new Zelda, buy hoping to find time for this too.


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## 8den (Apr 11, 2017)

Spoiler



just completed cauldren zeta the cauldren's aren't marked in any particular order but I've seen read the game guides and this is supposed to be one of the last cauldrens you takeover, it's an absolute bastard and took about half an hour as I was underequipped and didn't have the right weapons, but i now can override thunderjaws, tempted to try and find one at some point and wreck havoc.


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## 8den (Apr 14, 2017)

Load of time off this week. I'm at about 70% play through. I'm @ lvl 39, I've completed one main quest, but the overall plot still isn't over. To be honest I've got loads of side quests (each time you find a largish settlement you'll see exclamation points indicating new side quests. I've not really bothered with them because the two main quests (the Shadow Carja and the secrets of Zero Dawn, are really interesting and engaging). I've climbed every tall neck, and cleared every cauldren.

There are niggles. Weapon swapping is really clunky. Having to restart from a save to regain health too. It's also annoying that when you pick up weapon mods it doesn't tell you what they are for. (but with the advantage if you're near a hunting spot, the prey will respawn). And it is bloody tough, but getting alot easier. I'm only now realising the importance of armour and having lots of outfits. The Carja desert warrior with some fire resistant mods is pretty much made of asbestos and vital when taking out bigger beasties. 

Theres still some machines I've yet to tackle properly (rock breakers and wild thunderjaws). The hunting trials seem interesting but like anything in the game, there's a really steep learning curve, certain trials are impossible without the right kit and skills, and the game doesn't tell you what they are, you are to work out what to use yourself.


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## 8den (Apr 20, 2017)

Level 40 and nearly finished and I'm tempted to go back and restart. 

Mainly because I'm only now getting combat. I didn't realise how important armor was in the game, and how much easier alot of earlier encounters would have been had I used it. Also combat in general I'm just getting. I never used rocks until a while ago and they're crucial For hours of game time I ignored them, and they're amazing when a machine comes sniffing by you in the long grass, or you need to distract one while you . And how tooling up and really laying an ambush and looking not just at the machines you're targeting but also nearby machines that will be drawn to the combat. And how crucial targetted shots are.  Also although the game seems sand boxy I've often found that following the quests and nearby quests often bring you where you ought to be at the right time. For example I hit the cauldrons and hunting grounds in the wrong order. Also it's useful to do side quests and hunting grounds as when you come across them. But again some hunting ground challenges are literally impossible before you've acquired the right weapons/skills. I charged around to willy nilly when instead the games' plot encourages exploring but offers a really steady guiding hand to lead you on the way. 

The game has a really steep learning curve. the way it explains element damage and critical hits is at best too quick, and the complicated weapons system is poorly explained. But the storyline and game are amazing. So I'm tempted to restart on hard.


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## 8den (May 4, 2017)

I've gone back and restarted.

Firstly, do the side quests. The same writing team behind FNV wrote the script and the world they've built is really engaging.Yes like most RPGs it's go here and kill X, but I've never taken out the same baddie twice, most deal huge amounts of melee damage and can be approached multiple ways. I've given up on both the rattler and shadow sling (the later is only really effect as a ambush weapon, firing at enemies on the go it's too slow. So I've discovered the war bow, using the tinker mod I can increase handling and electrical damage, so if I'm attacking a stalker (stealth capability, lazers, lethal melee attack, and drops mines when it panics. Is I lay down a lair of shock bombs, to slow them down, using shock arrows to bring them down, tearblast to remove their weapons and armour and then skip back and let the blast sling do the work.

But again do the side questions, I did the hunting lodge quests and it's actually surprisingly effective, and you get four new weapons out of them (well three improved weapons, and a tearblast shotgun. Which can be ludicrously dangerous, it knocks off alot of components often triggering their area effect mod. I fired one point blank at a long leg and must have been thrown back 30 feet in the resultant shock wave.


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## sleaterkinney (May 12, 2017)

I like it a lot.


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## 8den (May 13, 2017)

sleaterkinney said:


> I like it a lot.



Literally just finished it.

Thoughts. The side quests are generally riveting and entertaining. The voice acting is superior and the plot excellent. Alloy is up there with the last of Us' Joel and Elle in compelling player characters, and the main plot is fantastic, enjoyable and keeps you guessing right to the end, with 



Spoiler



Mission Data points suggesting where the next DLC will take you, and a post credit end game sequence that sets up a sequel as well as any Marvel movie"]



Towards the end of the game you gain access to some nifty ancient tech shield armor which really helps when the game kicks up the difficulty level, but having a wander around I was worried it would overbalance the game. At high levels in Skyrim aside from specific encounters, even attacks from dragons are boring after a while, but even with the shield armour horizon zero dawn will kick your ass if you decide to charge head on into a bunch of ravagers or long legs (mid level enemies) without putting a degree of thought and effort into it. There were two corrupted rockbreakers in a level 34 corrupted zone that still took three or four goes to get  right despite me being totally maxed out. I actually had to stop check the wiki and research how to fight multiple rock breakers  before I worked it out (trick is treat them like the monsters from tremor, and they can't tunnel through rock, so you need to lure them to right terrain.

Outstanding game, bring on the dlc.


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## 8den (Jul 9, 2017)

Horizon Zero Dawn's New Game+ Lets You Keep Your Gear But Skip The Kid Stuff

So Patch with New Game+ and an Ultra Hard Difficulty mod (in a game that's famously not exactly easy to start off with!) and DLC coming later this year.


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## ruffneck23 (Aug 4, 2017)

Just got this yesterday with a ps 4 pro and 4k telly ,looks amazing and is pretty good so far , loving the stealth aspect of it, not at all far in , just took down the sawtooth , am impressed


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## 8den (Aug 4, 2017)

ruffneck23 said:


> Just got this yesterday with a ps 4 pro and 4k telly ,looks amazing and is pretty good so far , loving the stealth aspect of it, not at all far in , just took down the sawtooth , am impressed



One of the better aspects of the game is difficultly ramps up. In say Skyrim, by the time you're at a high level most encounters are pretty boring, I got killed by 3 Sawtooths after I hit level 70 with the shield maiden, I wading into them without any plan and got my ass handed to me.


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## ruffneck23 (Aug 4, 2017)

The story is pretty good and did I say it looks amazing ?  I got dumped last week so this is cheering me up no end


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## ruffneck23 (Aug 20, 2017)

I've just found sigma cauldron with a bloody thunder jaw on it , struggling even on easy


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## fucthest8 (Oct 20, 2017)

Well, there goes _my_ life. It was on sale, I couldn't help myself. What a brilliant game.


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 20, 2017)

Best game I've played in ages , beats Zelda imo


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## 8den (Oct 21, 2017)

ruffneck23 said:


> I've just found sigma cauldron with a bloody thunder jaw on it , struggling even on easy



Tearblast arrows and heavy ropecaster


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## ruffneck23 (Oct 22, 2017)

Got it sorted a while back  finished it , one of my favourite games of recent memory


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## 8den (Oct 22, 2017)

ruffneck23 said:


> Got it sorted a while back  finished it , one of my favourite games of recent memory



I finished it, and then my PS4 was stolen with all my saved game data. I wanted to get a character levelled up for the DLC out next month, so immediately bought it again, and played it through. 

Surprisingly easier the 2nd time around. Even on Hard, but still a favourite.


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## fucthest8 (Nov 11, 2017)

Well, I'm 51 hours in, doing every side quest, getting all the collectibles, having a ball. It's not perfect, but the niggles are so minor that it just doesn't matter. Fantastic game. Here I go again


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## ruffneck23 (Nov 11, 2017)

Just started a new game plus as the new dlc is downloading , that's the weekend gone I think


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## fucthest8 (Nov 24, 2017)

Well, that was fucking awesome. Possibly the best game I've ever played, def top 5. Great story, pretty much perfect gameplay, there was almost nothing wrong with it, the very few minor annoyances aren't even worth mentioning.  80+ hours, talk about value for money.


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## ruffneck23 (Nov 24, 2017)

Yep same as , get the dlc too , more.of the same


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## ruffneck23 (Jan 21, 2020)

Horizon Zero Dawn Is Coming to PC, Reports Say - IGN
					

According to reports, the PS4-exclusive Horizon Zero Dawn will be coming to PC.




					www.ign.com
				




it will look stunning on PC


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## ruffneck23 (Apr 25, 2020)

went out and got another ps 4 pro as sold my last one a while back , cos quite frankly im not going to be spending my money on much.


Ordered it at 5.45pm was here at 8pm  

Anyway picked up an old save game from about 2/3 the way though the main campaign, I think it really is the best game ( apart from maybe dark souls ) I have ever played.


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## ruffneck23 (Jun 12, 2020)

PC release looking imminent :









						Horizon Zero Dawn PC June promotion could suggest imminent release | VGC
					

AMD deals previously ended after their bundled games had released…




					www.videogameschronicle.com


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## ruffneck23 (Jul 3, 2020)

Released 7th August , pre-order now £32.99


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## Steel Icarus (Jul 3, 2020)

Awesome. Have wanted to play this for ages. Now if God of War goes to PC also, I'll soil myself


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## 8ball (Jul 3, 2020)

No!! The PC Master Race cannot has the precious!!


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