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 Minecraft is a really quite wonderful game which you have probably heard of if you so much as occasionally glance at this forum. It's a game about adventure, about creation and about exploration. It might have been available on the PC for a number of years but today, May 9th, is the day it finally crosses that casual boundary and appears on consoles courtesey of Xbox Live Arcade. It's not without its differences though. Gone is the near unlimited world space of the PC version. Gone is the modding capability to alter the games settings and systems. Instead you can now play while sitting on your couch and also in co-op so your girlfriend has something to do other than shout at you for attempting the same Trials Evo expert level checkpoint 80 times. I'm excited about this, I loved minecraft on the PC when I first tried it, maybe a year ago and the thought of playing it without being hunched over a keyboard makes it sound like a more relaxing experience. The full version is 1600 points on XBLA and should be up by the time you read this post. There is the worry that this is a gimped version without the full feature of the current PC version which now has crazy poo poo like enchanting but I remain hopeful that this version will be updated to one day become fully cross compatible with the PC version. The Minecraft Wiki http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Minecraft_Wiki An extensive user-created Wiki of information about the game. A lot of which you won't need for the spoon-fed console version apparently but game wikis are pretty much a must have for anything more complicated than a Tetris clone thesedays. Let the crafting commence.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 09:58 |
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| # ? May 26, 2013 07:17 |
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Add me. I don't have the game just yet, but will be getting it this weekend. GT is Robot Cousin. As for the fact that this version is 'gimped', I'm willing to put a fair amount of faith in these promised updates; we already know that they're going to be adding in stuff that's already made it into the PC version, perhaps they'll do something to enlarge the worlds, who knows. I see it as middle-tier entry in the Minecraft series, because, hey, that's pretty much what it is. You've got your fully-loaded/customizable PC/Mac/Linux version, as well as the severely limited-but-hey-it's-on-your-phone mobile version. The XBLA one seems to fit snuggly in the middle; Doesn't have everything, but it definitely seems to have enough. Anyway, I like building, and am excited for the fact that the minecarts seem to travel at a blistering speed.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 13:01 |
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Hey, I bought this as soon as it was available, and I'm busy killing pigs and gathering materials right now. The port is competently done, and only the small world size is an issue. I'm hopeful that changes, but we'll see I guess. Spawned my first world, walked forward a bit and was greeted with a huge mountain overlooking a natural harbour. Big, scary looking holes in the mountain too. I thought "that'll do", and I've been getting set up. Playing it on hard because a bit of fear when spelunking is a good thing. So of course, first thing that happens when I crawl out of my hideyhole on day two? Creeper walks up and tries to blow the place up. So I'm sprinting down the hill with only two hearts left while a second creeper chases me. It's Minecraft alright. Good times.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 13:15 |
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I heard that old seeds work, too. gargamel, anyone? EDIT: I will say this about the limited world size; If they had to do it, fine. I AM glad that they seemed to have made it a vast ocean in every direction. That's honestly the type of map I like playing on anyway, so really... this isn't that big of a deal for me.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 13:19 |
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I honestly don't know what to read into the fact that there has been no official comment on world size yet. The fact it hasn't been mentioned worries me, as if it was something they hoped to improve upon I'd have thought that someone would get that info out as soon as possible. On the other hand, this entire first release is still effectively a beta version in all regards. They took a decision to go with an older version and to make sure it was rock solid in every way. Going for an initial world size that they know won't break on Xbox would fit into that design ethos. I've cooked up a bunch of food, so I'm going to go and explore my world a bit. I'm going to treat it like a super-sized survival island. Bottom line on this version: what's there is really good, I just wish there was more. But the thing is, we know more is coming as they've promised to give frequent and numerous updates. I'm not regretting the purchase at all, and I'm going to have some fun with this. Playing with a controller is bloody wonderful though. So much more relaxing than mouse and keyboard. Once you get used to the button inputs, then jumping around hitting things and placing blocks is just as easy as on a PC. The quick move buttons are great, so inventory management isn't half as bad as it could have been. Also, with the new crafting interface a lot of inventory management becomes unneeded. Crafting materials can be just dumped on one side of your inventory as apart from moving them to storage you never need to mess with them, they automatically get deducted as you make stuff. The port gets two thumbs up from me. As someone who could get maybe 5 fps on the Mac client on my ancient old MacBook, and where even hitting a moving cow was a challenge, this is glorious.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 13:30 |
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I was already sold to buy this (even finishing work early today saddo that I am) but everything Parkingtigers has said sounds like what I'll be saying in about 4 hours time once I've got my meaty grubs in it. Even put the slow cooker on this morning so food would not interfere with my gaming needs tonight. edit: And it's Bones night on Sky tonight so I'll even get peace from the wife. Huzzah!
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| # ? May 9, 2012 13:42 |
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What do the updates they promise consist of?
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| # ? May 9, 2012 13:48 |
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I've never played Minecraft, so tried the trial. I liked it but not sure if I want to pay 1600 MSP for it. The tutorial was enjoyable but I didn't really feel like it sold me the game. Is there an actual end game to speak of, or is it just free to do whatever?
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| # ? May 9, 2012 13:49 |
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Is the demo timed? Because I just played a half hour of it and I felt like I was getting too much of the game for free.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 13:57 |
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Mindey Tyrone posted:What do the updates they promise consist of? Well this version of Minecraft is 1.6.6 from when it was back in beta. 1.7 added things like pistons, so you could make machines and automatic doors. 1.8 added new terrain generation, ravines, naturally occurring villages, underground abandoned mines etc. Then there were enchanting systems, potion brewing, and later on in the full release things like jungle biomes and greater variety of blocks to use to build. The Xbox edition is playing catch-up, and probably always will, but the version released today is basically 8 months behind the PC edition. 4J are on record as saying they are going to try and close the gap, so we can expect to see some, or all, of the PC content on the Xbox at some point in the future. Houdini posted:I've never played Minecraft, so tried the trial. I liked it but not sure if I want to pay 1600 MSP for it. The tutorial was enjoyable but I didn't really feel like it sold me the game. Is there an actual end game to speak of, or is it just free to do whatever? They did add an ending in the PC version, but it sucks. Basically, this is digital LEGO. gently caress about with friends, build stuff, find more stuff and then use that to build more stuff. Has to be said, this is one of the times when Yahtzee's Zero Punctuation review pretty much sums up everything you need to know about the game far more than any more serious evaluation could. It's LEGO, but with monsters that try and kill you at night. For millions of people, that's been enough. YMMV of course.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 14:00 |
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Houdini posted:I've never played Minecraft, so tried the trial. I liked it but not sure if I want to pay 1600 MSP for it. The tutorial was enjoyable but I didn't really feel like it sold me the game. Is there an actual end game to speak of, or is it just free to do whatever? There's really no 'point', it's pretty much the most-recently-released definition of 'sandbox game' (complete with sand!)
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| # ? May 9, 2012 14:00 |
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I know the PC is supposed to be better, but I'm very very excited for this release. Something about playing it on the couch with a controller gets to me, I can't really describe it. Can't wait to try it out.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 14:03 |
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It's been months since I played Minecraft, and this is still so far behind what the experience was even then. I'd like to get it, but I don't think I can go back that far. At least development on Minecraft is pretty much done, or at least way slowed down now, right? They will be able to catch up eventually? For people who haven't played before, this will be a good place to start. It may even be nice to have the new elements introduced gradually in order to get up to speed.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 14:06 |
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Can't loving stack pork chops.  Please give us 1.7 soon. That's when they added stacks right? I can't remember. 
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| # ? May 9, 2012 14:12 |
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I'm kinda having last minute shivers about throwing money on this one when I have the PC version but its been since about August/September last year since I actually played it so doesn't sound I'll be too far out of the loop.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 14:15 |
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Heroic Yoshimitsu posted:I know the PC is supposed to be better, but I'm very very excited for this release. Something about playing it on the couch with a controller gets to me, I can't really describe it. Can't wait to try it out. For me, I enjoy and appreciate the fact that this is part of the XBL framework. Yeah, putting on a console obviously gives it some hard limits, but I rarely feel like playing games on my computer now anyway, preferring the more social setup of XBL. And you're right, this would be like one big-rear end survival island. We won't get a Penislandia/Knifeback Mountain setup or anything, but I'm ok with that.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 14:24 |
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Who Dat posted:Can't loving stack pork chops. What, the 360 version isn't up to date with the PC version? Like any frequently-updated 360 game (see Team Fortress 2) you're going to be stuck with whatever version you're at now for some time, and you might have to pay for an 'expansion' later. VVV Ah, that's good then. A shrubbery! fucked around with this message at May 9, 2012 around 14:37 |
| # ? May 9, 2012 14:31 |
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A shrubbery! posted:What, the 360 version isn't up to date with the PC version? Like any frequently-updated 360 game (see Team Fortress 2) you're going to be stuck with whatever version you're at now for some time, and you might have to pay for an 'expansion' later. 4J/Mojang has gone on record many times saying that they've struck a deal with MS to look after this in a (hopefully timely) and free manner (for the customer).
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| # ? May 9, 2012 14:34 |
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A shrubbery! posted:What, the 360 version isn't up to date with the PC version? Like any frequently-updated 360 game (see Team Fortress 2) you're going to be stuck with whatever version you're at now for some time, and you might have to pay for an 'expansion' later. Also, the world size on the 360 is laughably tiny. Unless you don't have a computer than can run the game or you just have to play it on the 360, I can't think of any reason to play the 360 version considering the downsides.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 14:38 |
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Oh god, if you play this game on hard then creepers are loving terrifying. I was just out exploring the neighbourhood, checking out some caves to spelunk later. As always happens, I got a bit too far down one of these tunnels. That sudden "sssssssSSSsssss" sound of a creeper getting ready to explode made me scream like a little girl. No exaggeration, I'm there in a dark cave, and I literally panicked, squeezing the left stick so suddenly I'm in third-person view, desperately trying to jump back up and away from a creeper that I haven't even seen yet, only heard. Turns out it was a nest of them. Had to deal with three or four more of them coming at me. The third one I really wasn't expecting, and I did actually scream out loud again. I CANNOT remember the last time a game made me do that. Finally crawled out without dying somehow, then swam home in the dark trying to avoid more of the buggers. See, this, THIS is where the game really has hooks into you. Building is fun for some people, others just like to explore. But out in the world, loaded down with stuff it took you real time to gather, death has a consequence in that you might not be able to find your way back to your place of death in time to get all your gear back. Other people might want to play it on peaceful and just build stuff with no risk. Me, I'm going to be all about the tense exploration of caves on max difficulty watching out for ambushes. 1,600 MS funbucks well spent. This game. This loving game.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 14:45 |
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20 bucks is kinda hard to swallow considering the small world. drat it. I wanted this.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 16:34 |
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The small world isn't that big a deal really. It looks to be the perfect size to build a nice big settlement with all the needed features with space for exploration. It's small enough that you could feasibly connect several points all over the island by Minecart. It seems like the kind of players who want to wander an infinite world and mine all the diamonds would be better off playing on the PC with mods. I'm still in two minds over getting it myself since I already paid for the PC version, though.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 16:54 |
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Are there requirements for what constitutes a house, like in Terarria? I dug out a cave and put in a door, bed, and crafting stations along with some candles. When I tried to sleep, a skeleton archer spawned in my house, which shocked me and lead to a series of events that wound up with half the mountain I built my cave into being blown up. When I rebuilt the front wall and some of the ceiling I used crafted wood bricks. Even though half my house is still has some dirt/stone wall, nothing else has spawned in there.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 17:00 |
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Apparently, if you want to save 5 bucks you can buy a $15 download code for the game from Best Buy's site: edit: nevermind! They raised the price back up to normal. ixnay fucked around with this message at May 9, 2012 around 21:39 |
| # ? May 9, 2012 17:00 |
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Heroic Yoshimitsu posted:Are there requirements for what constitutes a house, like in Terarria? I dug out a cave and put in a door, bed, and crafting stations along with some candles. When I tried to sleep, a skeleton archer spawned in my house, which shocked me and lead to a series of events that wound up with half the mountain I built my cave into being blown up. When I rebuilt the front wall and some of the ceiling I used crafted wood bricks. Even though half my house is still has some dirt/stone wall, nothing else has spawned in there. It doesn't work like that. There are a few quirks in the PC version to do with sleeping. Make sure that your bed isn't right next to a wall, and that everything is closed off and well-lit. That's pretty much your defense against waking up to a mob trying to kill you.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 17:02 |
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Ooh, the Xbox edition counts all sorts of stats for the leaderboard section. Number of each block type mined, distance travelled, ingredients farmed. It's pretty cool actually.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 17:08 |
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Heroic Yoshimitsu posted:Are there requirements for what constitutes a house, like in Terarria? I dug out a cave and put in a door, bed, and crafting stations along with some candles. When I tried to sleep, a skeleton archer spawned in my house, which shocked me and lead to a series of events that wound up with half the mountain I built my cave into being blown up. When I rebuilt the front wall and some of the ceiling I used crafted wood bricks. Even though half my house is still has some dirt/stone wall, nothing else has spawned in there. Your house had another entrance somewhere or was too dark in some spot. You need to either close off the bedroom with a door or keep every corner of the house well lit. Probably a good idea to light up the outside of the house as much as possible, too. Monsters don't spawn in the light and tend not to wander too close to it either. If you're like me, and dig your mine down straight out of your house, you probably want to door the shaft off from the main house.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 18:39 |
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Bestbuy changed the price back to 19.99 before I could order. I'll grab this tonight for sure.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 18:40 |
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How much is Minecraft on PC? I think I'd prefer to play this on Xbox, but I would rather have the unlimited maps and more modding content.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 19:25 |
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HelloNewman posted:How much is Minecraft on PC? I think I'd prefer to play this on Xbox, but I would rather have the unlimited maps and more modding content. $27
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| # ? May 9, 2012 19:30 |
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Does the trial let you play the game at all or is it just the tutorial? I'd download the trial myself and find out but I have a midterm tomorrow and I'm all too familiar with minecraft's ability to make time disappear.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 20:24 |
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I don't suppose this will result in the PC version getting 360 controller support?
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| # ? May 9, 2012 20:26 |
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im a girl btw posted:Does the trial let you play the game at all or is it just the tutorial? I'd download the trial myself and find out but I have a midterm tomorrow and I'm all too familiar with minecraft's ability to make time disappear. It locks you in the trial level (with prebuilt stuff) as far as I can tell.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 20:28 |
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I bought this so I could play split screen, but for some reason there isn't an option for that? I was told you have to have it in HD, but I don't have an HDMI cable. It's hooked up for component cable, is that enough?
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| # ? May 9, 2012 20:34 |
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So happy that I managed to snag this from Best Buy before the price went up! The funny thing is ... I played the PC version last year and looking at the verison history, I stopped somewhere during v1.6 Beta. So this is absolutely a perfect as I won't feel like I've missed anything  .
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| # ? May 9, 2012 21:41 |
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Maker Of Shoes posted:It locks you in the trial level (with prebuilt stuff) as far as I can tell. drat, I was hoping I could get a feel for how gimped it actually is before deciding if I should buy it. Being able to play with my girlfriend and not having to hole up in my room alone for hours are big pluses but if the world feels small it defeats the point in my opinion. Has anyone who bought it been to the edge of the world yet? I'm interested in how the 1000*1000 world size in handled, like if it ends abruptly or infinite ocean, or you can see stuff in the distance but there's an invisible wall Oblivion-style.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 22:08 |
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im a girl btw posted:drat, I was hoping I could get a feel for how gimped it actually is before deciding if I should buy it. Being able to play with my girlfriend and not having to hole up in my room alone for hours are big pluses but if the world feels small it defeats the point in my opinion. You can go to the edge of the world in the trial, can't you? You have a map, you can just wander to the edge and see if it feels claustrophobic there. The trial is pretty much the game, except on a premade map with some stuff already included and tutorial messages. It's a total sandbox area.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 22:14 |
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Crappy Jack posted:You can go to the edge of the world in the trial, can't you? You have a map, you can just wander to the edge and see if it feels claustrophobic there. The trial is pretty much the game, except on a premade map with some stuff already included and tutorial messages. It's a total sandbox area. Oh ok, that's good. I haven't downloaded the trial yet (studying). I was under the impression that the tutorial area was closed off and not a complete world but your post makes it sound like more than enough to get a feel for it.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 22:37 |
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I've been messing around with the PC demo, and fallen in love with this game. My computer isn't really capable of good frame rates, so being able to play this on the Xbox will be awesome. Can't wait to get digging.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 22:46 |
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| # ? May 26, 2013 07:17 |
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Does this game have local multiplayer? I can't figure out how to set up a private server to save my life, so this might be a way I could play with just my brother.
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| # ? May 9, 2012 23:08 |
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