In an earnings call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson commented on the status of the game, saying it’s coming together well, even in spite of work-from-home conditions.
“Battlefield is progressing very, very well. We’re excited by what the team [at DICE] is doing. And again, in the context of a work-from-home environment,” he said. “They have been truly inspirational in how they’ve continued to develop great entertainment in the context of the Battlefield universe, and I’m excited for when next year comes.”
EA hasn’t shared any concrete details about the new Battlefield game, but it did previously tease that the title will be “targeting new innovation that will be enabled by next-gen platforms.”
EA said it is releasing this new Battlefield game in 2021 instead of 2020, when the new consoles release, to take advantage of their larger install base. “Bringing out Battlefield [in 2020], where the new console base is fairly small, doesn’t really give justice to the potential of the title, and so that’s part of our driver in moving the title into fiscal 22,” EA management said.
DICE has studios in Stockholm, Sweden and in Los Angeles, California. The DICE LA studio is now being run by Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella, as part of the expanded responsibilities of his recent promotion.
Chastity brings you all the biggest gaming stories for your May 5 Save State. CD Projekt Red teased that an event for Cyberpunk 2077 called Night City Wire is happening in June. Microsoft has a new series called Xbox 20/20 which will air monthly, and it sounds like each episode will be in the style of Nintendo Directs. The first Xbox 20/20 stream is on May 7, where we’ll get our first look at Assassin’s Creed Valhalla gameplay.
Speaking of Xbox, the Series X boot screen and sound may have been revealed. In Halo news, Halo 2: Anniversary is coming to the PC version of the Master Chief Collection this month. And finally, The Last of Us Part 2 is getting a new trailer on Wednesday. For all the latest gaming news stories, be sure to get your Save State every Monday through Thursday on GameSpot.
During their quarterly earnings call, the Walt Disney Company provided some insight into how the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is impacting the company. In addition to productions being halted and release dates shifting, the company projects losses of over $1 billion, due largely to theme parks closing around the world.
The company is currently deciding how it will move forward once the pandemic comes to an end. Already, a reopening date for Shanghai Disneyland has been set for May 11, providing a light at the end of the tunnel for at least one of the 6 global theme parks.. What’s less clear is when film productions–including upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies–will resume.
When asked by a shareholder when big-budget films like the Marvel movies could safely resume filming, Disney CEO Bob Chapek admitted there are “no projections of exactly when we can do that.”
Chapek noted that when production does finally resume on the studio’s films, Disney will look to its theme parks as a model. “In terms of large scale productions, we’re going to go through the same process as we do our theme parks,” he said.
While he didn’t specify what that process would entail, the announcement of Shanghai Disneyland reopening came with a set of guidelines that would be adhered to as crowds are once again allowed in. You can see those below.
Limited and pulsed attendance with an advanced reservation and entry system: Guests are required to purchase admission tickets valid on a selected date only and Annual Pass holders must make a reservation prior to arrival.
Controlled guest density: Capacity will be recommended and managed in queues, restaurants, ride vehicles and other facilities. Queues will be structured and ride vehicles will be loaded to promote social distancing.
Implementing required government health and prevention procedures: This includes temperature screening and the use of the government-issued Shanghai Health QR code, a contact tracing and early detection system used in China. Additionally, guests must wear a mask during their visit, except when dining.
Increased sanitization and disinfection measures: Hand sanitizers will be available at queue entries and attraction exits. High-touch locations, such as ride vehicles, handlebars, queue railings and turnstiles will have increased sanitization.
Training for cast members: Cast members will receive training on procedures with an emphasis on contactless guest interaction, cleaning and social distancing and will receive additional protective equipment including masks.
While some of Disney’s parks guidelines may not translate perfectly to film productions, requiring face masks for cast and crew not appearing on camera and enforcing social distancing rules certainly seem within reason.
As it stands, two upcoming MCU movies have wrapped production–Black Widow and Eternals. Meanwhile, filming on the Disney+ original shows WandaVision and Loki, as well as Falcon and the Winter Soldier was halted at the start of the pandemic. There’s a long list of other announced movies that have yet to begin filming, including upcoming films starring sequels to Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Doctor Strange.
Already, Disney has pushed back the release dates of several movies, including a number of Marvel titles. You can take a look at our guide to Disney’s new release dates here.
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GameSpot’s 2019 Game of the Year, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is Japanese developer From Software’s most recent release. Unlike other From Software titles like Bloodborne or Dark Souls, Sekiro is a purely single-player experience, until now that is. Independent developer Luke Yui has developed a mod called Sekiro Online that allows up to six players to play through the samurai’s journey together.
Sekiro focuses on heavily intricate combat, with foes trading blows and parries with precise timing. Patience and timing are the key to fighting and surviving through Sekiro, with the main damage mechanic revolving around breaking through an enemies ‘posture’ and striking a heavy blow. Adding more players to the mix breaks the tension of Sekiro’s combat, with every fight no longer feeling like a duel that could go either way, but more like a drunken tavern brawl.
The mod includes player-vs-player combat, with other players able to invade sessions similar to Dark Souls and Bloodborne player interactions. Friends can also be summoned as friendly phantoms that can play alongside the main character. This is again similar to using the bell in Dark Souls to get help on a boss fight from another play, only the player won’t disappear after the boss fight.
Both summoned and invading players are scaled to the host player’s level to ensure a level playing field, preventing players from being trounced by a single invader or players using a higher level character to easily beat boss fights. Yui has found this method is the best way to balance out PVE multiplayer with the mod.
“For example, if you have 40 attack power and your opponent has 1 attack power, they will hit you as if they have 40 and you’ll hit them as if you have 1,” Yui explains on the mod page.
All players will need the mod installed to play together, along with the Steam version of the game on PC. Yui has no plans to expand the mod beyond any non-Steam version of the game at this time.
The current build is quite buggy, but Yui intends on releasing regular patches and updates to improve the player experience as much as possible. It took the modder months to create the multiplayer mod, so make sure to tune in over the next year or so to see how it has progressed.
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The developers of Dauntless have launched the 1.22 update across PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The patch includes the new Hunt Pass, some balance changes, quality of life updates, and bug fixes.
The new Rogue Elements Hunt Pass adds a new contract quest each week for five weeks, offering both Hunt Pass XP and Seismic Intel as rewards. The pass is free on the Dauntless store to download. Speak to Admiral Zai in Ramsgate to start the first Seismic contract quest.
Skarn’s armor has been rebalanced, with the armor set being adjusted to interact with different damage types to give the set more consistent gameplay. The cutting and piercing damage dealt with the armor has been increased from 25% part/33% core to 75% each. The blunt damage to the armor has been balanced out to 100% instead of 125% per part and 50% from the core. The armor part health has also been increased from 1.5% to 3% of max health. Breaking armored parts will no longer stagger Skarn.
Skarn’s stone spire attack is now a ring of spires that will track the player. While the attack is more telegraphed, it is also more dangerous. The Whirling Fortress attack has been nerfed to allow some counter-play, making dodging, running, and interrupting more viable.
The Lesser Gnash has been given some new attacks and mild alterations. The Flight of Ruin axe special can now generate lantern charge and life steal, as well as triggering certain on-next-hit effects. The Daily Bonus Cores are now more likely to contain an emote and can even contain Ace Chips of Vault Coins. The Nayzaga Sword and Chain Blades now heal for a flat amount of health on a part breaking, rather than the previous life-steal on broken parts.
Quality of life changes have also been added to the patch, with various small changes being implemented to better the game for all players:
Keyboard users can now hold ‘R’ to craft multiple consumables at once.
The default keybinding for the Hunt screen is now ‘H,’ and matchmaking status is now ‘M.’
The default action for the emote wheel now flares when on a hunt.
Helms will now automatically hide when previewing face paints or hair tints on the Hunt Pass screen.
Fixed a sigil alignment problem with the Arc of Exocrul banner. Your sigil should now appear correctly no matter which side you’re viewing the banner from.
Icons for Escalation amps have been updated.
Improved the way that non-English language text displays to avoid overlap with UI elements.
It is no longer possible to buy an escalation buff if you already have one.
Players can now select a “Random” option for Hunt Arrivals, which will choose a random Hunt Arrival from those owned.
Timers for boosts now show the days AND hours remaining when the time remaining is greater than a day.
Fixed a bug that was locking Slayers out of the Amateur Alchemist quest.
Fixed a bug where the motion blur settings could reset when entering Ramsgate or starting a hunt. Motion blur setting changes will only be applied on the next transition (entering a hunt, or returning to Ramsgate). This behavior will be addressed in a future patch.
Fixed a bug where players could appear to walk improperly when entering Ramsgate.
Fixed a bug where the frame rate could be locked at 30 FPS after a cinematic finished playing.
Improvements to certain areas in islands to prevent floating trees, and to remove a hole in a particular cliff.
Fixed a bug that caused particle effects from Shrike weapon unique effects to linger for too long.
Fixed a bug where player nameplates were sometimes visible through the End of Hunt screen.
The following combat bugs have been fixed:
Fireballs that collide with terrain now explode immediately instead of after a delay.
Fixed a bug that caused Shrike weapons to deal less bonus damage and the bonus part damage than intended.
Fixed a bug that could cause the Malkarion legendary ability to teleport you to a random location.
Using the Koshai lantern’s ability to dash through damaging obstacles will no longer cause you to take damage.
Fixed a bug that could prevent Stormclaw weapon unique effects from activating when dodging through attacks.
Fixed a bug that could cause Torgadoro to become stuck on its perch.
Fixed a bug where successfully parrying during the initial activation of Avenging Overdrive (sword special) would allow it to be instantly reactivated.
Fixed a spot in Blaze Escalation where players could not be hit.
The following UI bugs have been fixed:
Fixed a visual glitch that could occur when switching between item previews in the Hunt Pass.
Fixed a bug that could cause a single ram to appear as the reward in the Daily Bonus Core.
Fixed a bug that could cause loading screen text to be obscured by a button when using certain display resolutions in non-English languages.
Fixed a bug that could cause a failure when attempting to open multiple cores.
Fixed a bug where the Torgadoro repeater barrel was missing from the repeater crafting menu.
Disabling subtitles no longer disables tutorial prompts (e.g. “Press [Space Bar] to dodge”).
Twin Suns (exotic repeaters) move list no longer shows incorrect secondary/special moves.
Fixed a bug where the daily Hunt Pass collectibles HUD notification would show an incorrect number.
Fixed a bug that could cause mastery level popups to display twice.
Fixed a bug that could prevent the mouse from responding while the Message Of The Day was visible if the game was minimized during startup.
Fixed a bug in the airship that could cause the Behemoth image, elemental breakdown, and recommended gear rating to be missing or incorrect.
Improved party system UI.
Fixed a bug that could cause the escalation buff to appear on the airship when not in an escalation hunt.
The following cosmetics bugs have been fixed:
Fixed a bug that prevented dyes from correctly applying to armor.
Slayers with facial hair will no longer see their beards clip through the Skyfighter Mask.
Fixed a bug that could cause certain armor pieces to disappear in the presence of VFX.
Fixed a bug that caused jingling sounds to persist after unequipping the Silver Nikola armor skin or Frostfall Bells helm skin.
Chest armor now hides correctly.
Improved the way that armor pieces interact on the player model.
The size of the download is 412MB, so make sure you have enough room to download the patch. Dauntless is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
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Warning: this review contains full spoilers for The Flash: Season 6, Episode 18. If you need a refresher on where we left off, here’s our review for Season 7, Episode 17.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Because COVID-19 is 2020’s “gift” that keeps on “giving,” “Pay the Piper” finds itself suddenly transformed into the penultimate chapter of The Flash: Season 6. It’s certainly not the ideal way to lead into the conclusion of this truncated season, but we can’t exactly hold that against this episode. The best Flash fans can do is accept Season 6 isn’t going to end the way it deserved and enjoy this more character-driven episode geared around one of the show’s better small-time villains. And no, I’m not talking about Godspeed.
Andy Mientus makes his return as Pied Piper in this episode. It’s amusing to see how Hartley Rathaway seems to be the first person whose life is overturned whenever Barry screws around with the fabric of time and space. Were Barry once interfered and managed to make an ally out of an enemy, Crisis ensured Hartley reverted back to his old ways. This may not be the most significant status quo change caused by Crisis, but it does serve a purpose. If Hartley is going to follow the example of characters like Captain Cold and Heat Wave and walk a more righteous path, let it be his own decision. That’s basically the hook of “Pay the Piper.” It finds a more organic way of depicting Hartley’s evolution from metahuman criminal to… whatever he qualifies as now.
The rivalry between Hartley and Barry/Cisco is definitely the highlight of this particular episode. It’s fun seeing a more villainous side of the Pied Piper again, even if his motivations in this episode are nothing if not understandable. At no point does Hartley really come across as a villain, just a guy grieving for a boyfriend who might as well be dead. That conflict helps showcase a very Spider-Man-esque tale of power and responsibility. Barry feels a responsibility to fix a problem he never technically caused in the first place, while Hartley is forced to acknowledge he can do far more with his powers than rob jewelry stores. Honestly, when it comes time to expand the team Flash ranks again, the show could do far worse than make Mientus a series regular.
Sadly, the return of Godspeed isn’t cause for the same level of excitement. Godspeed is such a bizarre character in the Arrowverse. He shares very little in common with the comic book version beyond his basic look, and whenever he does appear he’s more convenient plot device than actual character. That’s certainly the case in this episode, as Godspeed pops up only when the plot needs a quick catalyst and then vanishes just as quickly. To be fair, the final showdown is entertaining. It’s been long enough since we’ve had a good speedster vs. speedster battle that the Flash/Godspeed showdown has a certain novelty value. Still, there’s always this nagging sense the series could be doing a lot more with this villain.
And maybe it will eventually? Clearly, there’s a larger conspiracy surrounding Godspeed that has yet to pay off. That doesn’t excuse the show’s inability to make Godspeed feel like a real character and not just a plot device. I can understand why the show’s writers may be cautious with this character and wary of rehashing all the familiar tropes where major speedster villains are concerned. But at some point, viewers either need to be given a clearer reason to care about Godspeed or the character needs to be retired.
Apart from Barry’s fight to conserve his dwindling speed, it’s mainly the Iris/Kamilla subplot that serves to push the Mirror Master story forward this week. Unfortunately, that doesn’t amount to a lot of forward momentum, though Iris’ deteriorating condition does add a bit of extra urgency to their shared predicament. But after last week’s episode was so good about picking up the pace, it’s disappointing that speed doesn’t continue into “Pay the Piper.” Ending this episode with a stinger of Eva emerging from a hibernation chamber for no apparent reason doesn’t exactly help, either. There’s a lot of ground to cover if this season is going to have any chance at a halfway satisfying finale in Episode 19, and I’m not feeling overly optimistic right now.
That said, there is one way in which this episode actually does further the Mirror Master storyline in a more meaningful way. Tonally, this episode also showcases that sense of balance The Flash recovered with the advent of Season 6. There’s an undercurrent of darkness to this episode as Barry and friends come to terms with recent defeats and the full realization of what’s been taken from them, but Team Flash ultimately emerges on the other side a more unified and focused group. This episode really capitalizes on the team’s family dynamic and the way they truly are stronger together without getting overly sappy or melodramatic in the process.
Unless you were willing to part with a large sum of cash, the concept of your laptop being your primary gaming rig used to be laughable. Simply put, the tradeoff of power for portability was just not worth it. Fast forward to 2020 and things have changed. Laptop parts are far more powerful and far cheaper than they used to be. Some laptops can even run VR headsets without breaking a sweat. Every one of the deals we’ve found below are best on the web pricing. They range from GTX 1660 Ti equipped laptops that can easily run games at 1080p all the way to RTX 2080 equipped laptops that can crush most gaming desktop PCs.
HP OMEN 15″ 4K 3840×2160 Intel Core i9-9880H Gaming Laptop with RTX 2080 for $1916.99
You won’t find another laptop with beastly specs like this for under $2K. Not only are you equipped with an RTX 2080 Max-Q video card, the most powerful mobile GPU available, you’re also getting an Intel Core i9-9880H 8-core processor and a gorgeous 4K IPS display. Upgrading your RAM and HDD will push it just over $2K although you could probably do that on your own and save some money.
Select Processor and Graphics – i9-9880H + RTX 2080 (+$980)
Select Display – 15.6″ 4K IPS (+$150)
Proceed to shopping cart
At cart, apply code “10GAMERSPRING“
Price should show up as $1916.99
HP OMEN 17″ 1080p 144Hz Intel Core i9-9880H Gaming Laptop with RTX 2080 for $1916.99
The 17″ model doesn’t have any option to upgrade to 4K, but one could argue that 4K is overkill for a laptop. You still get a 1080p display with 144Hz refresh rate, which is better for FPS.
Select Processor and Graphics – i9-9880H + RTX 2080 (+$1080)
Select Display – 17.3″ 144Hz 1080p IPS (+$100)
Proceed to shopping cart
At cart, apply code “10GAMERSPRING“
Price should show up as $1916.99
Dell G7 15″ 1080p Intel Core i7-9750H Gaming Laptop with RTX 2060 for $1279.99
The G7 is Dell’s highest end gaming laptop outside of Alienware. The RTX 2060 is slightly faster than the previous GTX 1070 video card. This G7 comes well equipped with 16GB of memory and dual storage drives.
HP OMEN 15″ 4K 3840×2160 Intel Core i7-9750H Gaming Laptop with RTX 2080 for $1826.10
It’s hard enough to find an RTX 2080-equipped gaming laptop for under $2000, but this one doesn’t skip on any other spec either. In fact, you get a true 4K 3840×2160 display, a 9th gen Intel Core i7 processor, and plenty of RAM and SSD storage.
Select Processor and Graphics – i7-9750H + RTX 2080 (+$630)
Select Display – 15.6″ 4K IPS (+$150)
Proceed to shopping cart
At cart, apply code “10GAMERSPRING“
Price should show up as $1826.10
HP OMEN 17″ 4K 3840×2160 Intel Core i7-9750H Gaming Laptop with RTX 2080 for $1871.99
If anything, a 17″ display would be put to better use with a massive 4K resolution bump. Fortunately, the RTX 2080-equipped OMEN 17 is the exact same price as the OMEN 15.
Select Processor and Graphics – i7-9750H + RTX 2080 (+$630)
Select Display – 17.3″ 4K IPS (+$100)
Proceed to shopping cart
At cart, apply code “10GAMERSPRING“
Price should show up as $1871.99
HP OMEN 15″ 1080p 144Hz Intel Core i7-9750H Gaming Laptop with RTX 2070 for $1430.99
This laptop is every bit as good for gaming but you’ll save about $350 compared to the above config. The RTX 2070 video card is almost as powerful as the previous generation’s GTX 1080, which used to be the most powerful mobile GPU. It should be more than enough handle any game on the 15″ 1080p display, even at 144Hz refresh rate. If you want to, you can upgrade to 12GB RAM and 512GB SSD for $180.
Select Processor and Graphics – i7-9750H + RTX 2070 (+$450)
Select Display – 15.6″ FHD 144Hz IPS (+$70)
Proceed to shopping cart
At cart, apply code “10GAMERSPRING“
Price should show up as $1430.99
HP Pavilion Gaming 17″ 1080p Intel Core i7-9750H Gaming Laptop with GTX 1660 Ti for $1073.49
Use code “HOLIDAYGAMER”
The HP Pavilion Gaming laptop is a more affordable version of the OMEN. The build quality is actually very similar, with the same durable hinge system, excellent cooling, and nice aeshetics. For those of you who don’t like the bling of the OMEN, the Pavilion might actually look better.
Alienware m15 15″ 1080p Intel Core i7-9750H Gaming Laptop with GTX 1660 Ti for $1296
The Alienware m15 is the newly designed 15″ laptop and weighs only 4.8 pounds, which is remarkable given its payload. We reviewed the m15 and highly recommend it. It’s easily one of the best laptops you can get in terms of build quality and under-the-hood power.
A new generation of consoles is coming this holiday with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. One of the largest game publishers in the business has now spoken about delivering free upgrades of its games for the new machines to help consumers through the transition.
EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said during EA’s earnings briefing that at least some of the company’s titles will be available on PS5 and Xbox Series X through upgrades that won’t cost extra. Jorgensen shared this information in remarks about the revenue that EA is expecting during the fiscal year.
“Note that this year the phasing includes the effect of revenue recognition from the games we are launching for the current generation of consoles that can also be upgraded for free for the next generation,” he said (emphasis added). “We’ve made a preliminary estimate of that impact in the phasing. But it should be noted that this will not affect net bookings for the full year, nor cash flow, just the timing of recognition.”
It’s worth noting here that Jorgensen shared this detail in his official prepared remarks as opposed to in response to a question where he might have gotten his words mixed up. We’ve followed up with EA in an attempt to get more details on this free upgrade program.
All Xbox One games, and the “overwhelming majority” of PS4 titles, will be supported on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 automatically due to the backwards compatible nature of the next-gen consoles. So it’s possible Jorgensen is merely referring to how current-generation titles will play on next-generation machines without users having to pay twice.
Microsoft has announced a new program called “Smart Delivery” whereby people who buy the Xbox One version of a game can get the Xbox Series X edition at no extra cost. Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla are among the first titles confirmed to support this, but the full extent and details regarding the size and significance of the upgrades and other information remain unclear.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X are set to launch this holiday season. So far, Microsoft has been significantly more forthcoming regarding its plans, having already shown off the console’s form factor and promising to deliver news each month this year leading up to the release of the console. This is all part of Microsoft’s “bold” plan to launch a more unique marketing strategy to compete with its rival.
EA has confirmed it plans to launch 14 new games over its next fiscal year, and some of them will release on PS5 and Xbox Series X. The company just recently confirmed that it is bringing Madden NFL 21, FIFA 21, and NHL 21 to the next-generation consoles. A new Battlefield game from developer DICE is also coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X, but not until 2021.
One Australian politician believes he has the solution to the isolation blues, by playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Tim Watts, Labor’s shadow assistant minister for communications and cyber security, posted a short video on Twitter about how people can stay cyber safe and sound during the COVID-19 quarantine.
Every #infosec professional in the world has already posted their hints for staying cyber secure while working from home, but THIS is the Animal Crossing/Monty Pythons Holy Grail cyber security tips cross over video you’ve been waiting for… pic.twitter.com/oqc8JH5btc
While he gave out some general advice on remaining safe on the internet, using two factor authentication and being smart about transfering money online for instance, his main point revolved heavily around Nintendo’s island getaway simulator.
Watts recommends Animal Crossing: New Horizons to parents during the lockdown, “I’ve found that the promise of an hour of Animal Crossing after school work has been completed has been great for keeping the kids on task, and parents productive on sane.”
With two kids learning from home himself, Watts recommends the Nintendo Switch system be used as a reward for kids completing school work at home.
It’s certainly a sign of strange times when a politician says something like this with a straight face: “The violence inherent in Tom Nook’s system of indentured servitude remains cleverly obscured at all times.”
Yakuza: Like A Dragon has only officially been announced for PlayStation 4, but evidence has emerged suggesting that it will get a PC release, too. The game has received a listing on Steam Database, a third-party site that collects data about games on Steam, and will occasionally reveal a PC release of a game before it’s officially announced.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon, the seventh game in the mainline Yakuza series, will introduce turn-based battles and a new playable character (Kasuga Ichiban–read all about him here). It looks like an interesting departure from what has come before.
While Yakuza is a series that has long been associated with PlayStation, the games have recently started to make their way to PC and Xbox One, too. So far, Yakuza 0, Kiwami, and Kiwami 2 have made their way to Steam; it’s unknown whether 3-6 will make their way to the platform. Since Like A Dragon features a new protagonist, it could serve as an entry point for new fans.
This does not absolutely confirm that the new Yakuza is coming to PC, but it seems likely.
There’s also been some suggestion that Yakuza: Like A Dragon will get an English dub, unlike most games in the series. The Japanese version, which released in January 2020, has already been updated with a new difficulty option and new game plus mode.
A western release date for Yakuza: Like A Dragon has not been set yet, but it’s expected this year.
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