
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy is one of the most eagerly-awaited releases of 2021, but those who have managed to get their hands on it early are reporting that not everything is as 'definitive' as it should be.
As reported by our friends over at Push Square, Rockstar has made some rather odd changes to character models in the game, mainly NPCs who have only a minor impact on the story:
Elsewhere, it turns out that Old Reese – the barber who gave off serious Morgan Freeman vibes in the original game – has undergone a seriously impressive anti-aging process:
It seems that one of the changes has gone down particularly badly with fans (ahem):
Outside of the characters, some fans have noted that the decision to remove the fog to hide the limited draw distance hasn't really paid off:
It would seem that the game is packed with its fair share of spelling mistakes, presumably down to the AI upscaler that has been used to enhance the visuals from the original game:
Here are some more zingers:
It's worth noting that these are negative reactions and that there's bound to be a lot of good stuff going on in these remasters – but it's interesting to note that some of the changes are so regressive. It's also worth noting that not every song that was included in the original games makes the cut here.
[source pushsquare.com]
Comments 141
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This game is falling more and more off my radar, first all of it not on the cartridge, then a lot of the music is missing, now these? Ah well, I'll wait for when the "physical" is on offer on Amazon
When the past is best left in the past...
Frankly it just looks like poor craftsmanship to me, and people are right to complain when they look this shoddy.
sometimes original PS2 visuals are best left unchanged 😞
Damn, San Andreas without fog can't be the same.
I’m gonna wait until I see more of the game in action before I believe the unwashed masses online. The agenda to hate on these games was clear from the start.
Will they be perfect no. Is it the absolute disaster people are saying. Clearly not. Like most things rockstar these days…. They’ll be decent but overpriced.
But the over blown comments here will at least entertain….
The review embargo is worrisome.
@thiz @broskiplays yeah. this is the world we are living in....
We should be happy GTA is moving forward on Nintendo consoles, but.... its never good. take it or leave it.
When are the reviews online? Maybe the Switch version isn't worth it anyway.
"Fans of an old series are mad," is very common.
My biggest gripe is concerning the fact that the "physical" release for a so-called "definitive" release doesn't include the complete game on the cartridge, and while I consider this contemptible behaviour to be inexcusable regardless of who the publisher is, the fact that this is Rockstar being stingy makes it all the more insulting.
The other changes concerning music and especially censorship, are particularly worrying, and I suspect that this release will attract a lot of criticism once players dig in a little deeper and discover the extent of what has been altered from the originals. Absolutely ridiculous to be censoring a game that is already classified 18+ in most territories where symbols and some naughty words/phrases ought to be the least of its concerns.
How can they stop reviews once the game is already out? Seems weird
It's always refreshing to see kids born in the late 90's with anime avatars complaining about games they never even played
This is a rare specimen. It's a remake that isn't meant to feel like a modern GTA game, but it also makes changes that a modern game would do... what kind of priorities were on their mind when they were making this?
A confederate flag was removed from the shirt of Phil Cassidy.
I hate those sore losers still using the conferate flag, even though it lasted only 4 years, the confederacy was about states' rights, rights to own slaves, but the whole point of Phil Cassidy is that he is an idiot, typical redneck who loves guns, and lost his arm because he was dumb enough to blow up a bomb near him, it's about context, the confederate flag should have stayed there.
It's just like those christians who complain about media that has demons and Satan, even when they are clearly the villains.
@ModdedInkling
It's not a remake, it's a "remaster". It's in the title.
Try to keep up.
I think I might wait for the reviews to come in. I would have taken the risk if they were available separately for say £20 each.
I'm not expecting the switch versions graphics to be up there with the other consoles but for £50, the controls at least need to be perfect.
Regardless, no one has uploaded the Switch gameplay footage yet.
I'm holding out for the Quest VR edition of GTA:SA.
@Yosti the Switch version is the only portable one outside the Compromise Land of palmtops/laptops and, somewhat oddly, the only current incarnation of all three games to come with gyro aiming, a feature I don't recall even in the 8th gen ports of GTA 5.
As for the music complaints that many folks parrot here, Rockstar made it clear that these are the playlists they have to offer since as far back as 2014. Those for whom it's a dealbreaker are better off torrenting the originals. Not that I care - almost all of my GTA experiences have been on PC where I invariably opted for user tracks... and did the same even on PSP where it took a good few extra hoops to leap through (there was a whole official Rockstar-branded music converter to feed the files to before putting them on memory card). The core appeal of native GTA radio stations was always in the satirical mock shows/news/ads if you ask me.
Like I said before, I'm still more curious whether this edition might inherit GTA 5's "cockpit view" (or heck, at least 4's hood view) alongside all of its expected radio and weapon "wheels". Although I don't rule out getting the trilogy even in its absence, these could motivate me to get it that much sooner.
@KillerBOB
By technical terms, it's a remake. They built the game from the ground up using an entirely different engine and they made completely new models. A remaster uses the exact same engine and only upscales textures, not retexturizes. How about YOU keep up?
Sometimes I miss when games where ugly and blurry. Not that this remaster is awful, but it's definitely odd...
@ModdedInkling : That's right. Just how it is for film, whereby the motion picture is restored to its former glory and/or blemishes that existed in earlier prints are fixed, while preserving the integrity of the original vision/production (however "dated" they may).
Frankly, I think that the term "remaster" shouldn't be used for games as it is so often misused when the generally accepted term "port" suffices.
@broskiplays Accept everything without question handing over money with glee and be bound to a lifetime of mediocrity.
Complaining at least tells them why people might not buy it and give an idea on how to change that.
The one on the bike killed me! Keep doing what you do, developers, this stuff never fails to amuse me
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@Silly_G
Port - Straight-up copy and paste, could feature downgrades
Enhanced port - Copy and paste, but upscale resolution (and sometimes increase frame rate, ex: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe)
Remaster - Copy and paste, but retexturizes (ex. Ocarina of Time 3D)
Remake - Builds the same game from the ground up
Ironically, I may have contradicted myself there.
Reimagining - Completely different game based on an original game (ex. Final Fantasy VII Remake)
As long as it plays decent I’d like to give these a try digitally as I don’t have a means to play all these now and I’ve never played them all they to the end. I hope they improved the controls a bit. I never liked the gun play on the old ones. I do miss some of the tracks that got cut but I can imagine licensing would be a bear with all these games.
I don't know why people complain about the lack of fog. Was always annoying in older games, as it was used to cover deficiencies in distance drawing. I didn't knew there was fog in Los Angeles.
@nhSnork All sounds great if the Switch version is any good. Although from what I have seen from PS4/PS5 gameplay the controls don't seem improved a lot. While I like gyro controls on Switch games, I don't know how handy it will be in the GTA Trilogy. I think gyro control will more likely be a gimmick than useful.
Yes it will be fun to play it on the go. Hopefully the games play great on the Switch.
@ModdedInkling
Rockstar Games themselves calls it a remaster, not a remake.
I trust their opinion (the ones who made it) over anonymous geek avatar guy online 😎
Are we still not allowed to call things lazy? eyeroll
@Yosti I've found gyro aiming to be very useful in Saints Row, FWIW.
Every time I see new screen shots for this it puts me off more I really don’t like the look of it hope it plays better than it looks
I thoroughly enjoyed all of these screenshots. Honestly cannot wait to see these monstrosities walking around when I start playing. This isn't a bad thing, it's hilarious. Stop pissing and moaning about everything and just get on with it. That last pic is my favourite though.
@YusseiWarrior3000 What are you even talking about?
@nhSnork Let's wait for the reviews if it will be any useful. That's the problem. We are 2 hours away from the release and we still haven't seen any gameplay. I also like gyro controls in BOTW, but no idea what to expect for the GTA Trilogy Switch version.
@RupeeClock
Especially at the price they are asking.
I'd have just been fine with uprezzed/60fps (not Switch but I wouldn't buy it on Switch: 30fps for that dog).
I'd pay 60$ for them to put it all in the same engine GTAV/Red Dead 2 is running + keeping the OG music.
As it stands. Nope.
@Monkeysan
The character animation/models in the original games were goofy and wonky looking as well. I don't mind that this remaster seems to keep that same aesthetic, except with better textures, framerates and resolution.
Again, the only people complaining are kids and/or people who never even played the originals.
@YusseiWarrior3000 Could it be possible that you are watching fake gameplays on Youtube?
@YusseiWarrior3000 I will just say that you where watching a fake gameplay videos.
Now I am waiting to see if the skull on Phil Cassidy's shirt won't have a confederate flat normal map... Like with that number 7/9 jersey.
I heard someone saying that it looks like they wrote a remaster AI and just let it do the work, with no input from humans.
@KillerBOB The textures aren't better. How come people in remasters in 2021 seem to have less detailed models than on PS2? Where's Rosenberg's or Reese's wrinkles? Why did Denise's bandana become an amorphous blob? Why is one of the Latin guys missing his bandana?
@KillerBOB Video game classifications have never been standardized and the Zelda games are a good example. Skyward Sword HD shares the same subtitle as The Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD, but Skyward Sword HD is radically different because the term "HD" from Nintendo implied that the games were remastered. Skyward Sword HD was just a straight-up port with some quality-of-life improvements. So before you go solidify your opinion over Rockstar's terminology, I think you should really consider the amount of inconsistencies there are out there. Otherwise, you end up giving off some pretty unnecessary, negative reactions to other people.
@ModdedInkling @KillerBOB
Technically it is a Remake, as they exchanged the whole Engine.
But both Words are used inflationary.
A Remaster "only" enhances whats already there.
Listening to Running Down a Dream, all while chasing down players in a helicopter in the SA multiplayer mod was hilarious back in 2005, sad to see they've cut some great songs even from VC.
These remasters are more like half remaster, even the guys that remastered that Saints Row game appear to have done a much better job than this.
@Azuris
As stated in one of my other comments here.
@YusseiWarrior3000 I have seen it, still waiting for real gameplay and reviews.
I still have these on my working (launch) PS2. If I want to replay these that might still be the best way to go?
@delt75 I think that will be a fun way to replay these games. I don't think it is worth to rebuy these games if you already have access to the original games. But if not or if you want to play them portable the Switch version could be great.
@Azuri
It's essentially the same game in terms of looks, animation, design, everything. It's been upgraded over the originals in terms of visuals, controls, etc. A new game engine, yes, but it's still basically the same game in every way.
RE2 for PS4 was a remake, as the whole game was completely overhauled from the original and shared almost nothing in common with that game other than some shared story elements.
When you have people here complaining that this game looks like only a marginal improvement over the original, I think that lends more weight to this game being a remaster and not a remake.
Again, the people who made it don't call it a remake. If they felt it was such, they would advertise it as one. Call it a remake if you want, but in the opinion of the developers, you would be wrong.
@Yosti I don't usually read/watch the garbage commonly called "reviews" (I have enough to atone for after writing and publishing dozens of my own😓), but if you care for them, there's not much time left to wait indeed.
@nhSnork reviews are garbage? I see every bit that shows information, even just gameplay footage, as reviews. How else would I know if the game runs great or not?
I can wait as long as I want, I didn't pre-order the games.
i am not happy with paid DLCs for Shin Megami Tensei 5
I always grew tired listening to all the music so I just turn it off. It's all stuff that was overplayed on the radio when it was new anyway. Even though doing drive by's while listening to Human League is pretty funny. The changes they made to some of the characters are absolutely pointless anyway you try to split it. It's not enough to ruin the game for me, though.
@broskiplays Criticising the final product /= harassing the devs
I'm sure Grove Street Games did the best they could with the resources and timeline they were given but it doesn't mean we can't call out R*/Take Two for pushing these out to make a quick buck (likely released now in order to boost their financials for the year without any big releases due)
Those not complaining in this must have never played through the original clearly.
I have and am glad it's on Switch but seems rushed. Told us about it in less than 2 months. Neglected to tell us download was needed and neglected to tell us till day of release that they removed some cheats. Waited till the last minute to get as many preorders as possible. Shady. This is all beside the fact that characters look distorted on Switch when they looked better on a PS2
So, after a shoddy mobile port, we have a shoddy "remaster". I bet that visuals ain't going to be the biggest issue with this release. Porting game from one engine to another is not a trivial task. So if visuals is any indication of future issues: expect broken scripts, weird physics and new bugs.
@Yosti game footage (the kind without commentary at least) is certainly not a review - it neither pursues a study of the work in question like real analysis does nor feigns the pursuit of it like all the tabloids and fans out there do. As such, it can ironically be more informative than the majority of reviews out there, and it's what I often turn to when looking up specific games myself.
Video games players are upset about something! Hold the front page!
Lol, who cares? The only real loss are the cut music tracks.
Hahaha this is going to be hilarious and probably awful on switch.... preloading the game now.... portable gta is the only reason over pc or ps
Lol the GTA3 trilogy's character models have always been hella wonky. It's pretty much expected. My only concerns are the Switch version hitting 30 fps with no major dips and refined GTAV controls, and I'll be over the moon.
Looks fun just to see all the weird stuff going on in there. In any case I'll be waiting for the Android version to sideload since this isn't worth 60 bucks to me.
Good lort that is some hilarious “updates”.
@Bunkerneath more and more, not less and less.
I just want to see what the weather effects look like. I wasn't impressed with the original trailer until they showed the improved weather. I can handle occasional bad models and textures.
I don't understand why they didn't make better models for the characters .-.
@broskiplays Did you not see the pictures in the article? This deserves to be complained about. Those character models look terrible. Shoddy, shoddy work.
@Res462 yup, changed it
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Looks good on you tube. Good frame rate at least.
@broskiplays normally you are right
But I played the originals, and what I see in these screenshots is beyond terrible.
Imagine this, there are FREE mod packs for most GTA games that do a much better job.
And Rockstar, that has ridiculusly big budgets does this and asks 60 euro for it on the Switch.
I mean I was planning to get it on Switch instead of PC, because I have the originals on PC but this is second slap in the face after the "requires download" physical.
I guess I'll wait for a HEFTY sale of this now.
I said it was suspicious how little of the game Rockstar were willing to show. The lack of reviews before release is also pretty telling. GameXplain's stream shows a lot of hitching on the Switch version as it streams the game world and all the cars look like they're floating without even a basic shadow beneath them.
Being streamed now by Kafé Gaming Flo & Emago, looks ok. 30 fps, shadows look good. It's still early though.
@broskiplays "make me sick". Nice pathetic sounding exaggeration there. Bit dramatic for me thinking it looks bad and saying it looks bad.
I don't care that it's on a Nintendo platform for the first time to be quite honest, it's also on Playstation and looks equally bad despite it being far more capable. Whether it's now on a Nintendo system for the first time, I'll sleep the same regardless.
I'm also happy a lot of the time, I just think that this remaster falls short in a lot of areas. If I feel the original looks better in many regards then the remaster has failed.
Most of what your saying is just complaining that people don't gobble up everything a developer plops out. If a product doesn't meet expectations, I'm not going to give it glowing unconditional praise. Especiallt for a series like GTA that is so popular and successful, guaranteed to print money from a company that does everything it can to maliciously swindle their customers, they can do better.
Looks hilarious! 😂
Now I'm actually interested lol.
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For English speakers channel SK OgoD 205 is streaming San Andreas as well.
@victordamazio dude wtf has a Christian ever done do you. Seriously I dnt understand why ppl hate on religion.
@broskiplays because this is actually garbage
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@KillerBOB "Again, the only people complaining are kids and/or people who never even played the originals."
Yeah, keep telling yourself that buddy. Eventually you'll even start to believe it.
It's just awful. It LOOKS amazing (by 2006 standards), but that's at a glance. Once you keep looking, you see how bad it really is. Ancient and rudimentary animations and hit or miss character models. I can KIND OF appreciate the attempt to stick with the cartoony aesthetic, but it clashes with the (honestly impressive) environments.
I can overlook the outdated audio because I'm sure it was impossible to recover the original audio recordings. But everything else is hard to ignore. And I mean...I WANT to be positive about this. It's definitely better than trying to deal with the old games. But even GTA IV looks better than these "definitive" updates.
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@Bunkerneath Same here man. It's gone from 100% day one purchase to 'I'll wait for a sale". I think the Switch port could look better, and the fact all the games aren't on the cart is disappointing too. Just not a brilliant deal for Switch owners. Might just play SA on Gamepass for now.
@Orpheus79V
Have YOU played the originals? Because those games were glitchy, had bad animation, weird looking characters, etc.
It's funny how this game is basically that as well (with a nicer coat of paint) but everyone is shocked by how "bad" it looks.
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@broskiplays I agree, because a discussion would imply you were contributing anything beyond insults and shilling.
@Tao i have a bad temper towards people that defending ***** like this. Sorry if i don't want to engage in a discussion 😤
@broskiplays hahah how pathetic, even a 12 year old has a wider vocabulary range!
Guys, I’ve been playing this for about an hour and I can confirm that it’s awesome. Yes, visuals have changed but mostly for the better. Personally, I couldn’t care less about the cutscenes. The visuals in game definitely look better and the controls are better than they were. If you liked the originals, you’ll at least like these as much.
I could see Rockstar in a lose-lose situation here, if they just make a lazy remaster people will complain that the graphics are just upscale PS2 graphics. If they make it to look more modern people will still complain it looks nothing like the old ones, like c'mon people make up your mind.
@KillerBOB
As said, the Terminology is used Inflationary and sometimes the Transition can be fluent.
It does not matter if it looks the same or plays the same, even if it would be exactly.
If you want to be correctly it is the Terminology that matters.
They exchanged the whole Engine, that is nothing small, as writing some new Lines to the Code to having it run better on modern Systems or puting in Textures in better Quality.
They maked the Game in a new Engine, it is a Remake.
They overwork and add to the Existing Engine, Textures, Assets, Music et cetera, it is a Remaster.
A classical Remaster is the Skyrim Special Edition or the now releasing Blood Rayne Revamped.
The Engine is the Main Structure of a Game, exchanging it, is like wiping your House and building it new from scratch, even if it has the same Layout, it is remade.
A Remaster is repainting your House, expanging the Garage and rearanging Rooms.
Just played GTA III and gosh, some frame drops are awful. I don't mind the graphics and stuff. I'm happy to see play GTA on the go. I really wish they learned from Panic Button. The framedrops are unforgivable, all things considered.
I wasn't going to get the game day one physical when I saw that it required a download.
But what sealed it for me was not having the full soundtrack for VC and SA as I wouldn't call them the Definitive editions of those games since that is missing content. GTA III can be call that as it seems that it has it's full soundtrack but will still be waiting for a sale on the game.
TBH if the physical game download and the music didn't bother me then the above sreenshots above wouldn't bother me except that render distance one as that would defo put me off.
Playing SA right now on gamepass and it's great, plays good and the environments have scrubbed up well. Character models are poor admittingly but doesn't take away from the game too much. Wish they were sold separately as I've no interest in 3 but want vc 😕
Disgusting fortnight models
I think it's hilarious, the characters look straight up out of davey and goliath.
All I want to know is when I get to the RC helicopter mission am I going to want to break my tv like I did back when this came out. (I didn't actually break it, just wanted to)
Game looks like ***** regardless if it’s 4K or on the Switch
Apparently, keeping the 'not falling through the ground' aspect of the original games intact was beyond these chucklenuts.
https://www.reddit.com/r/GTATrilogy/comments/qrpx4h/this_entire_section_of_the_map_is_missing/
And SA had places were the collision map its below the ground making everything clip through the terrain, unlike the originals. AAA quality.
Cya
Raziel-chan
Dance Hall Days isn't on Vice City???! Hard pass for me.
Oof this is like if Nintendo released the Metroid Prime Trilogy on Switch with the art style of Metroid Prime Federation Force
@BladeBrown Nor is "Video Killed the Radio Star" or "Steeping Out Tonight"
A GD tragedy
A remake would be "remaking" the games from the ground up with today's graphics/visuals and gaming standards.
There.... end of discussion.
Apparently, they used AI to upscale the character models. Without ample QC, this can result in some very strange appearances. Could be why the review embargo was so harsh.
@fafonio You would think if someone went through the trouble of remaking something they'd try to modernize it but that's not the case here. They did in fact remake the assets but tried to keep them similar to their source for nostalgia sake. Either way, they remade things, it's a remake no matter what they want to call it.
Playing on Xbox Series S and it's very dark. Why?
@Deljo it's not too dark for ya? It need to be a bit brighter IMO
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Cyberpunk Edition
At least some of the bugs can be kinda funny 🤣
LOL! They ask full price on the Switch for this trilogy. Do a crappy job and then remove a ton of music, because they're too cheap to pay the licenses for it.
They are taking crash grab definition to a whole new level!
@Deviant-Dork turn the contrast all the way to the left mate, makes a big difference but your right it is very dark oddly
How does this play on Switch? Mainly asking about lack of analogue triggers. Like driving slow etc.
7/10 review incoming....
@KillerBOB what non-sense.
I'm having fun with Vice City. I don't really see any reason to complain. I like to play in performance mode. It feels faster.
@HenHiro
I like your anime avatar! Super kawaii!! 🥺
@doctorhino I was able to beat it first try. The construction workers don't have guns this time, only hammers. The funny part is the rotors don't spin fast enough on the helicopters. It's comedian funny. I take it as we are playing in a toy city or its a video game in the gta v world.
@damo any idea when we might see a review from you guys?
This release seems so bad. I don't mean the Switch version specifically, but for all consoles. I always have a dig at Nintendo when hobbyists can somehow do a better job modernising their games in their spare time than Nintendo can with all their resources, and now Rockstar come in with something that's just as bad, maybe even worse?
It looks they've let some kind of AI do a fair chunk of the work. Signs that were hard to read in the original games are clearly using new textures, but the spelling mistakes on them are so obviously not something a real person would make. It's what happens when you put a bad scan through text recognition software.
@broskiplays If you didn't want a discussion, you shouldn't make any comments, because that is the definition of opening a discussion.
People are free to reply to whatever you say on here and saying "no discussion" to everyone is akin to standing there screaming while plugging your ears.
I don´t buy this ONE, for sure!!!!
@gaga64 We're working on it as we speak. Rockstar didn't provide review code for this (and now we know why) so we didn't get any pre-release access.
These are hilarious 😆. I just feel sorry for the people that paid $60 for this.
@Little_Squee Sure they have. https://youtu.be/oXaoVT_ZFq0, https://youtu.be/t1VwQ_FqbwI, etc.
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diablo 2 is a much better remaster
Well it's good to see that Rockstar has a sense of humor
@Uncensored I saw some screens where the city was pulled back on a plane and you could basically see the entire thing on a flat square platter due to the lack of fog. I still can't play my xbox original digital copy of the game (with all original music) on anything other than my 360 so this will do.
@victordamazio Are you physically able to talk about anything else
@Deviant-Dork HDR
Oh, It’s a joke. Just some kind of sick joke.
Cyberpunk got hunted for this kind of stuff
@Bret
Rockstar was already bad enough with their multiplayer games (mostly regarding their monetization) so this wasn't surprising.
@Gbdub209 there are many reasons to hate religion. Religion has done and still does terrible things to humanity.
You don't need churches and dogmas to believe in god.
@KillerBOB first, this is not anime, Mr. Boomey.
Secondly, you do know late 90s is exactly the generation that grew up with GTA?
And besides, anyone can make fun of terrible graphics, you don't need to be a fan to do so.
@HenHiro religion has also brought many great things to the world.
@Gbdub209 much more suffering than good things though. As you know, entire civilizations were eradicated because of religion, and to this date, religion still promotes hate towards specific groups. The world would not need religion if people would seek for knowledge. But it's easier to believe in legends.
I understand that not everyone has the strength to live without believing in a god caring for them, instead of accepting that reality is cruel and you just have to deal with it, I don't judge people for believing in god, but I'll never support hate based on legends from 2000 years ago.
Christianism is the of course not the worst, you still have Hinduism and Islamism, and other worse religions that cause suffering to billions because of ignorance.
Still playing GTA III, dreading moving to another city. I miss my fog, good framerate, cars appearing more than 2 blocks away...
I miss a job well done ! (Especially as I feel I've paid full price for the this product)
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