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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:00:28 GMT
masterchief:
Do you love this book so much you tuck it under the covers at night? Did you hate it so badly you used it as loo-roll? Let the world know!
~MC~
~ Vae Victis! ~
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:02:29 GMT
hynreck:
Another new FF for me!
This one never attracted me when I was young. In fact, I believe I went out of my way to avoid that particular book. Something about the cover (as it always was back then) repulsed me. While I was out looking for cool dragons, orcs, undead and hideous Lovecraftian creations, the sight of a balding old fool in clown gown eye-zapping some piece of circuitry never appealed to my young self. Add to that the fact that I also avoided the Sci-Fi branch of FF, having no taste for it and you can be sure I always gave that book a wide berth.
Of course I was wrong. Appointment only looks slightly Sci-Fi. Now years later I know the truth. It's a superhero comic gamebook. But it took me until recently to find out. It was only last year, with my renewed interest in FF, that I noticed this was a book by the legendary Steve Jackson. I thought to myself: It's bound to be good and fairly challenging. Looking more into it, that's when I found out about the superhero thing and choosing different powers. Suddenly the bald-headed clown on the cover made sense. He look the part. I was getting it. And I was finally interested; looking forward to reading that book!
So, the verdict? I enjoy it a lot more than I ever believe I would or could. I appreciated the complexity of it, the structure, the multitude of choices. The sheer amount of clue gathering needed to not only solve the mystery but to go anywhere interesting at all. The roster of bad guys and villains was particularly impressived. Ridiculously high. Most improbable. But of course when you are living and playing in a comicbook world those are things that you need to accept. I just loved that b-movie superhero feel (in a good way; I thought it was well done). Still, I would not want to live in Titan City. The place is too crowded with weirdos willing to put on colourful hoses and go on a mischief streak or killing spree. Everywhere you walk is a danger zone. But fun nonetheless.
Still, as much as I wouldn't want all my FF to be about such a strange universe, I can definitely say that I enjoyed the trip, hallucination included!
Speak in extremes, it will save you time.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:03:16 GMT
hynreck:
Some small observations:
Okay, forget about all the incredible and somewhat logistically impossible activities in Titan City: What's going on with Utoshski? Why is he at the Appliance Science Fair of whatever? Doesn't he has anything better to do? Like scheming the destruction of entire cities and world domination?
What is it? Is he feeling unsecure about his current job as the head of the F.E.A.R. organisation? Does he feels unsure about their plan and his chances of success? Does he need the extra money? Doesn't he have some henchmen specializing in stealing money for him? What is it? Vanity? Look at that smart psychobutler android I built, isn't he great?
I don't get it.
Another thing I'm not sure I get: The destruction of Titan City. Why did F.E.A.R. choose to held a meeting in a city they planned to destroy all along? They like to live on the edge? They wanted to give the world a chance by risking of blowing themselves up? They are stupid?
Is it that they choose Titan because it is protected by the most inapt Superhero of all, the Silver Crusader? Okay, but why blow up this city and not another? It's not worth the risk. If you wanted to destroy Titan because of the danger posed by the Silver Crusader, pick another town to held a meeting, you morons! Pick a deserted island, the middle of the desert, come on.
I don't get it.
End of my rant, it's all in good fun, of course.
Speak in extremes, it will save you time.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:03:39 GMT
sickmanofasia:
I like this book because it is SO 80s.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:05:12 GMT
analander:
I have to confess that, when I was a kid, I was much more a Livingstone fan than a Jackson fan. Jackson's books were interesting, but usually so complex that the experience would always end in frustration (except for the Sorcery! series). Livingstone's linearity and cool monsters would do it for me. Well, it's funny how things change.
Nowadays, I consider Livingstone to be an okay but rather mediocre writer (even though I still like early Livingstone a lot, especially City of Thieves and Deathtrap Dungeon), and Jackson a genius. Now I can appreciate his efforts much more, see how each detail is in place to make the adventure memorable, and actually have fun trying to open my way through the mess and find the true path.
Appointment with F.E.A.R. has always attracted me with its unique setting, a combination of gamebook and comicbook. I like the cover, not the best of the range by far, but it works. Our villain is there, with his sadistic smile and yellow teeth. But Declan Considine's illustrations are just marvellous. They mimic the comicbook style perfectly, and they complement the text in a way that I can't remember seeing in any other book of the series.
The plot is pretty conventional, you just need to save the world! You must follow a series of clues to find where the secret meting of the F.E.A.R. organization will be held, and stop them before they can put their evil plan into action. But it's easier said than done. My mistake when a kid was to play each time with a different super power, and mix the clues. Only later I've learned that there's a different meeting location for each power, and different clues lead to it. So, here's the golden rule for this book: choose a power and stick to it. Otherwise, you'll be caught up into a real mess.
I really liked Titan City. It's believable as a comicbook city, infested with cool supervillains ready to create havoc just because that's what they do. And I don't think that any other book has so many hidden easter eggs like this one. Once more, Jackson puts up a good narrative, that keeps you hooked on the story.
There's really nothing about this book that I dislike. Some people complain that it is disconnected, in the sense that you just keep running around, fighting villains in the hope of getting the clues you need, until you can finally reach the meeting. But that's not how I see it. First, you're a superhero. Fighting crime on a daily basis is your job, and you won't stop doing it just because of the meeting. Second, if you want to find out the location of the big boss, what is better than going after his lieutenants?
Also, the four different powers and four different paths make Appointment with F.E.A.R. great in terms of replayability. I can't even imagine how complicated must've been to write it, perhaps even more complicated than Creature of Havoc.
I finish saying this: it is the most underrated book of the entire range! Maybe because Jackson came up with such great other books (CoH, HoH, the Sorcery! series), this one ended up being overlooked. But it doesn't fall short to any of them.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:07:57 GMT
analander:
Okay, forget about all the incredible and somewhat logistically impossible activities in Titan City: What's going on with Utoshski? Why is he at the Appliance Science Fair of whatever? Doesn't he has anything better to do? Like scheming the destruction of entire cities and world domination?
What is it? Is he feeling unsecure about his current job as the head of the F.E.A.R. organisation? Does he feels unsure about their plan and his chances of success? Does he need the extra money? Doesn't he have some henchmen specializing in stealing money for him? What is it? Vanity? Look at that smart psychobutler android I built, isn't he great?
I don't get it. He's probably there to kill a few more people using his new toy! What respectable supervillain would pass the opportunity of killing innocent people just for the sake of it? Maybe that's how he relaxes when he's not planning world domination. After all, we must enjoy the small things! Another thing I'm not sure I get: The destruction of Titan City. Why did F.E.A.R. choose to held a meeting in a city they planned to destroy all along? They like to live on the edge? They wanted to give the world a chance by risking of blowing themselves up? They are stupid?
Is it that they choose Titan because it is protected by the most inapt Superhero of all, the Silver Crusader? Okay, but why blow up this city and not another? It's not worth the risk. If you wanted to destroy Titan because of the danger posed by the Silver Crusader, pick another town to held a meeting, you morons! Pick a deserted island, the middle of the desert, come on.
I don't get it. Well, they weren't destroying only Titan City, but all major cities of the world. And, in a comicbook world, every big city has its own superhero, so maybe it didn't make a difference for them. Anyway, apparently the Titanium Cyborg didn't have a lot of respect by the Silver Crusader. And since they would be in control of the "Star Wars" satellite, they also could manage to leave the city before its destruction.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:08:35 GMT
hynreck:
Eh, why not? You must not try to understand comic book world logic!
Speak in extremes, it will save you time.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:09:43 GMT
oakdweller:
***SPOILERS AHEAD*** The reaction to the bold and gaudy front cover of this one doesn't seem to be positive amongst FF fans. My heart sank when I saw it for the first time too. The sci-fi adventures don't work, I said, so why do they insist on writing the damn things? Aside from talking to myself and getting odd looks in WH Smith, my other weak-willed tendency was to buy books simply because they had a green spine and involved throwing dice. I flicked through it on the way home and like Hynreck I too suddenly looked at the book in a different light once I'd realised that the territory was going to send me into superhero territory instead. Despite not being a comic book fan, the idea of snapping on the lycra and solving a load of crimes appealed. (I'd have preferred leather or teflon armour for my costume, but nevermind. Neoprene anyone? Chiffon? I've just created a particularly camp superhero in my mind called Captain Taffeta...) The four powers that the reader can chose from are all suitably different from one another. Energy Blast is somewhat limited in its application. There are some terrific consequences for this one though, especially splattering bathers at Starkers Beach with bits of shark. Starkers Beach itself is, sadly, a complete misnomer. As obvious as it is, I found Super Strength to be the power which allowed for a greater feeling of freedom. The sheer complexity of the book's structure is breath-taking. This is probably the only FF book which doesn't offer specific compass or left/right/ahead directions, instead making the reader move from location to location as the clues and leads prompt. I've tried to map this one out in three separate ways, none of which worked. First of all I tried to map it out pretty much as I would a fantasy book, but without directions it all fell apart rapidly. Next I tried the rather dry practice of simply listing the reference numbers as I went along, but found this a tangle when I tried to move on to incorporating other super powers. This week I tried a flow-chart approach, creating a box for each encounter and then bullet-pointing what happens with each super power. That all became hopelessly cramped before I'd even reached Cowfield Dairies. Is this unmappable? I'd love to hear how Steve Jackson organised the connections when he wrote it. As others have realised, it's best not to dwell on the logistics of how Titan City works - from what I've seen of superhero adventures, a skewed logic is part of the deal anyway. In FF format there is a necessity to throw in dozens of scenarios and foes, rather than the usual principal antagonist in most conventional stories. Having the Silver Crusader face a major incident at almost every turn does stretch credulity, but if this can be over-looked then there is so much fun to be had here. Steve Jackson was evidently having fun here too, using the opportunity to throw in plenty of cute in-jokes. The modern-day setting also opened the door for several terms which had never been seen before in an FF book, and may never be seen again. No other FF book has words such as "gigolos" or "bras" - very risqué for a book aimed primarily at children. (Just try re-writing a reference from, say, City of Thieves with either of those words in it...) The HERO POINTS idea is great, allowing the reader to gauge their effectiveness on each play-through, even if they don't defeat F.E.A.R. There are odd times however when the book doesn't award anything for some minor successes, but will award a single point for some others of a similar level, such as finding a boy's bike lock key. Somehow, giving the HERO POINTS no effect on the book's progression make them a lot more effective than some unique scores in other books that I could mention. There are too many amusing encounters in the book for me to mention in full, but my favourites have to be Tiger Cat, a tiger-striped villainess who robs dairies and fish factories; Dr Macabre, who has decided - after years of hard work no doubt - that the best way to use his surgical miracles is to rob his local Boots and Silvia Frost (aka the Ice Queen) who enjoys freezing teenagers into swimming pools. Steve's tongue wasn't just in his cheek when he wrote this one, it was all the way down to his armpit. The illustrations are suitably classic comic-book style in their approach. Declan Considine fully tapped into Steve Jackson's humour and echoed this in his work.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:12:39 GMT
hs5ias:
I find this book fun in its encounters, especially the way they play out in different ways depending on your superpower, and trying to maximise Hero Points is a good challenge.
What is frustrating though, and what really downgrades the enjoyment of the book for me, is the complete lack of control you have over your superhero character. You are supposed to be looking for the F.E.A.R. meeting, but make no effort to do so. There is never any indication as to which scenarios you should be going to to get the clues you need. Getting the clues is a matter of pure, blind luck. The structure of the book makes mapping trickier than normal, and that really feels like cheating compared to doing so for a dungeon. I would have liked active control over my character, with the crimewatch alerting me to the whereabouts and activities of possible F.E.A.R. agents. I would also have liked more than two choices as to where to go next, as often you get on to doomed paths where you have missed out on a vital clue without ever realising it.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:14:10 GMT
odo_ital:
This is probably the only FF book which doesn't offer specific compass or left/right/ahead directions, instead making the reader move from location to location as the clues and leads prompt. I've tried to map this one out in three separate ways, none of which worked. First of all I tried to map it out pretty much as I would a fantasy book, but without directions it all fell apart rapidly. Next I tried the rather dry practice of simply listing the reference numbers as I went along, but found this a tangle when I tried to move on to incorporating other super powers. This week I tried a flow-chart approach, creating a box for each encounter and then bullet-pointing what happens with each super power. That all became hopelessly cramped before I'd even reached Cowfield Dairies. Is this unmappable? I'd love to hear how Steve Jackson organised the connections when he wrote it. What I did in the old days when mapping this book was to make a main flowchart which only listed the main encounter areas and arrows to where each encounter could lead. Then each encounter area would have its own flowchart, which listed what could actually happen within the encounter, and how you would get to the next encounter. The advantage of this is that the main flowchart of the book becomes easier to read, since there isn't a lot of concrete information on it, and the drawback is of course that you going to end up with a great deal of smaller flowcharts the you have to keep track of.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:15:07 GMT
terrysalt:
This was the first FF book I ever read. I borrowed it from the school library and was stunned to discover it was a game as well as a book. I cheated like crazy in order to solve it, of course.
I couldn't tell you how to draw a map of the book but how I figured out the answer for each power was essentially just working out which villains had the clues and using my knowledge of the book (since I've read it a great number of times) to puzzle out a way to encounter all of them before the meeting.
I never drew a map, just wrote out a list of which choices lead to which locations and it all kind of fell into place. Am happy to post the solutions if you want them. (or email them if you don't want spoilers on the forum)
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:15:43 GMT
green_zigzag
I do love this one, it's a personal favourite (as my avatar suggests) but never did manage to complete it back in the day, usually failing by missing the meeting.
Hopefully i'll do better when I replay it as part of the "play the solo books in order" challenge, long way to go though, I just finished Forest of Doom and am putting off Starship Traveller because I don't really like it.
All your bases are belong to us!
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:16:46 GMT
khaxzan:
.... and am putting off Starship Traveller because I don't really like it. Welcome to the club. Ever read Skylord? I didn't mind it but probably won't read it again. Being strung up with a tentacle for an arm and a finger torn off (which I didn't bleed to death from but I guess living in space there's a way around this type of injury but I didn't see it) in some madman's place was enough for me. Then there were runes I had to sort out, was the book important enough to decipher it? Not really. The more beautiful and pure FF is – the more satisfying it is to corrupt it.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:18:08 GMT
green_zigzag:
Welcome to the club. Ever read Skylord? I didn't mind it but probably won't read it again. Being strung up with a tentacle for an arm and a finger torn off (which I didn't bleed to death from but I guess living in space there's a way around this type of injury but I didn't see it) in some madman's place was enough for me. Then there were runes I had to sort out, was the book important enough to decipher it? Not really. No I haven't read Sky Lord yet, but I have heard less than favourable comments about it, I had a quick nose through the pages in WH Smiths when it first came out and based on that I never bought it (I also found the cover art a bit crap, and that was important back then). A "friend" once tried to push it on me in exchange for my Midnight Rogue (If I remember correctly they were released not too far apart), I had to tell him to piss off. All your bases are belong to us!
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:18:59 GMT
masterchief:
They were about a year apart. I just never got the reverence of AWF. I appreciate the structure and the different paths and the complex genius of putting it together, but I simply don't like the superhero thing.
~ Vae Victis! ~
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:19:44 GMT
green_zigzag:
They were about a year apart. I just never got the reverence of AWF. I appreciate the structure and the different paths and the complex genius of putting it together, but I simply don't like the superhero thing. Everyone to their own MC All your bases are belong to us!
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:25:21 GMT
I haven’t read Sky Lord, but I wouldn’t have swapped Midnight Rogue for anything, either!
Well, the cover of Appointment with F.E.A.R. isn’t really my cup of cappuccino. I wish Wizard had changed the cover.What could they have had instead? Taking my cue from Midnight Rogue, my choice would’ve been the Silver Crusader – even if I suspect the name Jean Lafayette was used so that the hero could be played by a male or a female reader.
Anyway, the illustrations inside are pretty wonderful, aren’t they? And I like the theme. It’s a good book, but one of those that slightly repels me ‘cause of the cover.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:26:29 GMT
sylas:
I believe if they re-did the cover, it would be a close-up of a bad guy's face. Boring, uninspiring, and completely inappropriate.
Two Words
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:28:08 GMT
rollforluck:
I believe if they re-did the cover, it would be a close-up of a bad guy's face. boring, uninspiring, and completely inappropriate. As long as it’s not that idiot in the goggles!
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:30:08 GMT
greenspine:
I believe if they re-did the cover, it would be a close-up of a bad guy's face. boring, uninspiring, and completely inappropriate. Probably Daddy Rich, as they could make him look a bit like Samuel L. Jackson.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 6, 2013 16:31:04 GMT
wilf:
The cover to Appointment is fine as it is. It fits in perfectly with the tone of the book, and I really can't imagine a more traditional FF-style cover would work with it.
The only problem with Appointment is that it's a radical departure from the rest of the FF range. If it had been a standalone book rather than an FF one, it wouldn't get any of the criticisms, because those who aren't into the superheroes thing would find it easier to ignore.
I wouldn't change anything about Appointment. Art, tone, complexity and gameplay are all spot on.
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Post by deadshadowrunner on Nov 19, 2013 12:24:46 GMT
I just wanted to ask a question regarding the illustration opposite reference 327. Who is that floating head in the first panel? Is it the Ringmaster or Jonah Whyte or somebody else? Am intrigued.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 19, 2013 16:26:09 GMT
I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be the Ringmaster.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 24, 2013 15:14:58 GMT
Here's what I said about AWF when I played it for the 'Books in Order' thread at the lost forum:
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Post by JMISBEST on Aug 5, 2017 10:00:00 GMT
Can my fellow Fighting Fantasy Fans list their favourite and least favourite power from this book and/or the 2 unofficial sequels
My favourite power is Energy Blast and that is because it is the only power I ever beat this book with without using 1 or more of cheating, a guide or outside help, but that still took roughly 15.8 months and 64 goes just to do it once
My least favourite power is Super Strength and that is because in all my playthroughs with Super Strength my well known super-high level of luck has always been good enough to make The Skill 13, as well as at thanks to sheer luck at least 20 Stamina and at least Luck 9, Silver Crusader impossible to kill and nearly always have more then half his/her maximum stamina left at the end
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Post by a moderator on Aug 5, 2017 23:47:03 GMT
I moved your post here because it's more discussion of the book than relating to the solution.
Your reasons for ranking the powers as you do seem oddly contradictory. You complain that Super Strength makes the book too easy, and yet you had to cheat or get outside help to win using it?
I like ETS because it makes cleverness a heroic attribute. And also because it's the power with which I first won the book.
My least favourite power is probably Energy Blast because of the shark-exploding incident.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,458
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Aug 30, 2017 11:29:29 GMT
I don't know if it's my least favourite, but I found one of the clues needed to win with ETS was a bit vague as to when you're meant to use it.
Energy Blast is probably the coolest power but losing 2 Stamina each time is annoying. Same with Psy-Powers.
So I guess Super Strength is my favourite by default.
Edit: Actually I just remembered Super Strength and Energy Blast require you to learn the date for no reason. So I'm going to go for psy powers - everyone loves Jean Grey after all.
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Post by marblefigure on Apr 29, 2019 0:49:33 GMT
That Lola Manche or whatever her name was... she was really fetching in a rat costume, and probably wouldn't have been without it. It's just supervillains - and Silver Crusader who choose ugly and ridiculous costumes.
Seriously though, this thread needed to be about which of the four powers you yourself would want. I would choose ETS, because psi powers are rubbish the way this book handles them, and Super Strength and Energy Blast could be a nuisance to have in any mundane setting.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Jun 14, 2019 12:21:09 GMT
There is Star Strider, Battleblade warrior, seas of blood, sky lord... But the crown for the worst FF gamebook I have ever read goes for his one: Appointment with Fear. Don't want to read it never again. Great title, though. Waisted.
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Post by Pete Byrdie on Jun 14, 2019 13:18:08 GMT
There is Star Strider, Battleblade warrior, seas of blood, sky lord... But the crown for the worst FF gamebook I have ever read goes for his one: Appointment with Fear. Don't want to read it never again. Great title, though. Waisted. Blood of the Zombies for my money is by far the worst FF I've read. F.E.A.R. is at least a good concept, as is Seas of Blood. Star Strider created, I felt, a compelling sci-fi environment. Whatever else you can say about Sky Lord, it was imaginative, which counts for a lot in my book. What's wrong with Battleblade Warrior?
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