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One amendment to the Civilization V tips given above, specifically for the Brave New World expansion: In the original game and Gods'n'Kings you got a massive genocide penalty for killing an entire civilization, so it made sense to take all of an enemy's cities, particularly including his/her awesome capital, and leave him a single city up at the polar ice cap somewhere. Brave New World readjusted the "warmonger" penalty to be a smoother function of the number of cities taken as a proportion of the opponent's total empire. So now it makes sense to focus on taking the enemy's juiciest or most strategically important cities to minimize the penalty or, on the flip side, to just go ahead and completely wipe out the enemy if you've got the inclination to do so (enemy empire is small in the first place, planning on warmongering all game, want the lebensraum on a small continent, tired of Zulu's goddamn Impis, etc.) Refer to the awesome Civ 5 thread for an overview of the actual formula which was, as far as I can tell, first posted on  .
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Jul 30, 2013 05:48
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Metal Gear Solid 1, 2 and 3 are some of my favourite games ever, but I only just got MGS4 and Peace Walker this year, and I haven't played either one yet. I've somehow managed to go completely spoiler-free for all these years, so I'm eager to dive into both games and be surprised, but which one should I play first? (I know Peace Walker takes place a long time before MGS4, but since Peace Walker is the newer title, I'm thinking it (like MGS3) might have some references that I'd miss out on if I were to play it before MGS4)
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Jul 30, 2013 11:18
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Skjorte posted:Metal Gear Solid 1, 2 and 3 are some of my favourite games ever, but I only just got MGS4 and Peace Walker this year, and I haven't played either one yet. I've somehow managed to go completely spoiler-free for all these years, so I'm eager to dive into both games and be surprised, but which one should I play first? (I know Peace Walker takes place a long time before MGS4, but since Peace Walker is the newer title, I'm thinking it (like MGS3) might have some references that I'd miss out on if I were to play it before MGS4) Play 4, then Peacewalker.
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Jul 30, 2013 11:24
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Be patient with Peace Walker. It starts slow IMO and I very nearly put it down but then it clicked for me and I loved it. You might find much more need for CQC in this game than the others too. Recommend learning the bodyslam move. Especially if you don't want any kills. A nasty side effect of that though can be filling your roster with chumps who you'll have to sack later on if you "draft" them all. Getting S ranks is nice but don't fret too much, everything is easily replayable (I think) so you don't have to grind maps to death. Come back after some research and make em pay. E: all the multiplayer and co op stuff was working still (couple months ago) too which was nice. Sleekly fucked around with this message at 12:50 on Jul 30, 2013 |
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Jul 30, 2013 12:47
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Anyone have any tips for Expedition: Conquistadors, particularly for the early going (like am I going to cripple myself by picking the wrong skills/stats and/or wrong party composition)?
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Jul 30, 2013 13:19
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Sleekly posted:Be patient with Peace Walker. It starts slow IMO and I very nearly put it down but then it clicked for me and I loved it. If you want to capture people with your fulton balloons, it's easiest to stick them up with your gun, I found. Either walk up behind them and aim at them, or body slam them and then aim at them, and they'll surrender and you can just take them. Some of the maps have POWs on them, which have higher stats than the enemy soldiers, so it's worth it to save a few fulton balloons on each map in case you come across them (if you're playing solo, you probably aren't going to have enough to take everybody).
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Jul 30, 2013 13:28
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Just got the Deep Silver bundle for Saint's Row 2 and 3 DLC, are Sacred 2 and Risen 2 worth playing?
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Jul 30, 2013 22:40
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StashAugustine posted:Just got the Deep Silver bundle for Saint's Row 2 and 3 DLC, are Sacred 2 and Risen 2 worth playing? At the very least, Sacred 2 is. Really enormous action rpg, with really silly character classes (my favorite is a robot anubis with a megaman arm), and Blind Guardian.
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Jul 30, 2013 23:22
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I asked a couple of pages ago about this but I think it got lost in the shuffle. I picked up Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 on the Steam summer sale and was looking for a few pointers really. I already installed the restored content mod and I'm currently on Telos so not that far in. Is there anything I should know about recommended builds or missable items or characters or anything like that?
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Jul 31, 2013 10:31
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I just got Risen 2: Dark Waters in the latest humble bundle. Any tips?
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Jul 31, 2013 11:56
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Orkut Users posted:I just got Risen 2: Dark Waters in the latest humble bundle. Any tips? You get to choose between tribals and inquisition at Sword Coast eventually - going with tribals will let you learn voodoo magic, but lock you out of better muskets than you can get on Ticarigua(vice versa for inquisition). So don't ever train both(firearms are stronger IMO, but pick whatever or even none of two) Most important skills are probably in cunning branch - it includes both dirty fighting skills and thieving skills to get more loot. Pyromancer fucked around with this message at 12:31 on Jul 31, 2013 |
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Jul 31, 2013 12:22
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Bogmonster posted:I asked a couple of pages ago about this but I think it got lost in the shuffle. I picked up Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 on the Steam summer sale and was looking for a few pointers really. Kreia has the most interesting companion story, plus confers an XP increase while she's with you. She's very much designed to be a constant companion during your first playthrough. If you're playing darkside there're some very satisfying plot points with Atton as a companion, if I recall.
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Jul 31, 2013 14:51
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Skjorte posted:Metal Gear Solid 1, 2 and 3 are some of my favourite games ever, but I only just got MGS4 and Peace Walker this year, and I haven't played either one yet. I've somehow managed to go completely spoiler-free for all these years, so I'm eager to dive into both games and be surprised, but which one should I play first? (I know Peace Walker takes place a long time before MGS4, but since Peace Walker is the newer title, I'm thinking it (like MGS3) might have some references that I'd miss out on if I were to play it before MGS4)
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Jul 31, 2013 15:02
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Xander77 posted:The recent Peace Walker LP mentioned that a lot of people would beat a part of the game that concludes a certain story arc, then assume that the rest of the missions are just optional stuff that doesn't further the storyline. So... just keep playing past a climax that seems to be a fitting conclusion to the game. To put it in more specific, but still story spoiler-free terms, the game doesn't end at chapter 4. It feels like it does, and most of the stuff you do in chapter 5 feels like extra post-game content, but there's still more story, so keep playing.
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Jul 31, 2013 15:38
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Im just starting out on the new Tomb Raider. Any tips where I should allocate skill points or upgrades early in the game?
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Jul 31, 2013 17:44
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It was mentioned elsewhere in the thread, or maybe even on the wiki, but the ones that give you extra salvage/xp points for kills/chests are worth taking early on, since the earlier you take them, the more cumulative points you're going to get from them. I would advise not wasting a point on the one that lets you collect salvage from killing animals. The early game tutorial makes it sound like hunting animals is going to be a big part of gameplay, but it's really just teaching you how to shoot the bow, the only way the "salvage from animals" perk is worthwhile is if you go out of your way to kill and collect from animals. It's not particularly fun or rewarding in my opinion, I'd give that one a miss (instead of picking it as your first one like I did).
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Jul 31, 2013 20:33
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Ainsley McTree posted:It was mentioned elsewhere in the thread, or maybe even on the wiki, but the ones that give you extra salvage/xp points for kills/chests are worth taking early on, since the earlier you take them, the more cumulative points you're going to get from them. As someone who's playing thru Tomb Raider right now I can back up the worthlessness of the salvage from animals skill. There's a few wolves at the start as enemies but after that the whole hunting thing seems to be forgotten about and it's human enemies (mostly) all the way. Arrow retrieval might seem a bit useless as there is an abundance of arrows everywhere but it ties into a tier 2 skill which nets you extra ammo for looting corpses. Orienteering was quite useful as using survival instinct reveals nearby relics/documents etc on your map long before finding the treasure maps. Completing the relic sets nets you a good chunk of xp towards another upgrade too. Always be looting corpses and ammo caches as they randomly contain weapon parts to upgrade your weapons, and you can't develop them further until you find enough parts.
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Aug 1, 2013 15:34
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For Tomb Raider. Always try being stealthy. Even if you only stealth kill 2 or 3 guys, then when poo poo goes loud you are dealing with a group with a few less bad guys. Don't play it like a standard cover shooter, you're a lot better moving and shooting, and switching it up as often as you can. If you sit in one spot and just pop out to shoot at guys you'll get set on fire a lot.
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Aug 1, 2013 23:29
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Elendil004 posted:For Tomb Raider. Always try being stealthy. Even if you only stealth kill 2 or 3 guys, then when poo poo goes loud you are dealing with a group with a few less bad guys. All of this applies to The Last of Us as well.
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Aug 1, 2013 23:37
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And for both, you can just completely sneak through a lot of areas and save resources.
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Aug 1, 2013 23:49
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SpazmasterX posted:And for both, you can just completely sneak through a lot of areas and save resources. Theres really no point where you're low on ammunition in Tomb Raider and dead bodies are filled with ammunition and currency for upgrades. If you aren't brutally murdering everyone in your path you aren't going to be able to as brutally murder everyone later.
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Aug 1, 2013 23:54
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Elendil004 posted:For Tomb Raider. Always try being stealthy. Even if you only stealth kill 2 or 3 guys, then when poo poo goes loud you are dealing with a group with a few less bad guys. I pretty much never stealthed in that game and I found it basically trivial on medium. I used a gamepad. The bow is very strong but there's no real reason not to just blast dudes apart with the assault rifle if that's how you feel like doing it.
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Aug 1, 2013 23:55
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Elendil004 posted:
Yeah, that's worth repeating. Enemies aren't shy about hucking grenades in this game (in particular, ones that light you on fire), it's good to get into the habit of moving around. Shooting enemies in the leg sets you up for a melee finisher, so that's a useful technique to get the hang of.
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Aug 2, 2013 03:24
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Fergus Mac Roich posted:I pretty much never stealthed in that game and I found it basically trivial on medium. I used a gamepad. The bow is very strong but there's no real reason not to just blast dudes apart with the assault rifle if that's how you feel like doing it. I found the bow better, just for Napalm Arrows. One shot's an instakill  .(Spoiler is for one of the best story-given weapon upgrades in the game)
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Aug 2, 2013 04:12
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Fergus Mac Roich posted:I pretty much never stealthed in that game and I found it basically trivial on medium. I used a gamepad. The bow is very strong but there's no real reason not to just blast dudes apart with the assault rifle if that's how you feel like doing it. I played through on hard and Lara Croft was still an angel of death essentially.
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Aug 2, 2013 04:20
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Now I want to play through Tomb Raider for the third time. I seriously love the combat in that game. Being able to fall like twenty feet and just roll away unharmed was pretty great as well 
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Aug 2, 2013 11:14
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I asked this in the Harvest moon thread, but it seems to be pretty dead lately so I've gotten no response... What should I know before playing Rune Factory 3 for the first time?
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Aug 2, 2013 12:03
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Mr Scumbag posted:I asked this in the Harvest moon thread, but it seems to be pretty dead lately so I've gotten no response... I gathered up the tips in this thread and put them on the wiki: http://beforeiplay.com/index.php?title=Rune_Factory_3:_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon
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Aug 2, 2013 14:00
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Centipeed posted:I gathered up the tips in this thread and put them on the wiki: Thanks! That all seems like pretty awesome advice that will make life a lot easier and a lot of it makes the game seem even better than I'd heard.
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Aug 2, 2013 14:10
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Couldn't help but notice a lack of information on XCOM: Enemy Unknown in the wiki, so lay some knowledge on me, please!
Scaly Haylie fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Aug 2, 2013 |
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Aug 2, 2013 21:53
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Lizard Wizard posted:Couldn't help but notice a lack of information on XCOM: Enemy Unknown in the wiki, so lay some knowledge on me, please! Don't just raise an A-team and leave your various rookies at home. Bring along about half promoted guys and half lowbies on a given mission, so you aren't caught with your pants down when your A-team is all injured for a tough mission.
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Aug 2, 2013 22:07
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Lizard Wizard posted:Couldn't help but notice a lack of information on XCOM: Enemy Unknown in the wiki, so lay some knowledge on me, please! The difficulty jump from Normal to Classic is quite noticeable. If you're hardcore, pick Classic, but if you just want to get through the game, pick Normal. As mentioned, make sure to keep panic under control and get satellites up ASAP, what you want to do is build a 4x4 block of two Satellite Uplinks and two Satellite Nexuses as soon as you can to max your satellite capacity. The latter are expensive and require Alien Nav Computer research to build but they're worth it. Remember that you can build satellites even if you don't have the capacity for them, so you might want to keep a couple ready so that you can launch them at the earliest opportunity. Don't split up your guys, and always advance with care. If at all possible, use one AP to move behind cover and the other to Overwatch. When picking rewards, engineers tend to be more useful than scientists. For the same reason workshops tend to be more useful than laboratories. Avoiding the main story isn't going to stop enemies from getting stronger and you'll most likely end up with too much global panic for you to handle if you're always sidetracked. There's no need to rush massively but just be mindful of it. On the opposite end, there's a certain building you need to build at one point of the main story (Hyperwave Relay). You shouldn't build it unless you have Firestorm interceptors because you won't be able to advance further without them. Oh, and remember that you need to manually equip weapons and such on your interceptors, just purchasing them isn't enough. Snipers are really powerful, even in indoor missions. Take good care of your snipers and you'll have a much better time. Try to find high ground with them, and remember that you can't move and Overwatch with a sniper rifle on the same turn. If you have the Slingshot DLC, do the mission you get from it as soon as you get it. Pretty sure you'll miss it permanently otherwise. Kanfy fucked around with this message at 22:39 on Aug 2, 2013 |
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Aug 2, 2013 22:36
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Anything for Sacred 2 Gold with the community patch? The game's a bit confusing to me.
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Aug 2, 2013 22:46
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Kanfy posted:you can't move and Overwatch with a sniper rifle on the same turn. If you don't care about cheesing the game, they never took out the glitch where you can switch weapons after you overwatch. Use 1 AP to move the sniper where you want him, switch to the pistol, overwatch, then select the sniper and press X. You'll have a sniper rifle overwatch without needing snapshot. Also, NEVER TAKE SNAPSHOT. Squadsight is hilariously broken at times. The switch weapon thing works for every class, though it isn't as useful. Don't build satellites until you get a few engineers, but make sure to build some 21 days before the council report. It took me a shamefully long time to figure that one out. Always wondered why I was always short on cash at the start. The most important Officer School upgrades are the ones that increase the amount of people you can take on a mission. Kanfy posted:Avoiding the main story isn't going to stop enemies from getting stronger and you'll most likely end up with too much global panic for you to handle if you're always sidetracked. There's no need to rush massively but just be mindful of it. This also effects story missions. The longer you wait, the tougher the enemies are going to be. There are 2 enemies that won't show up until after you do certain story missions. They will replace whoever was the leader of the various ships you shoot down. Adjacent bonuses stack, but only count once. If you have a 4x4 block of something, you only get 4 adjacency bonuses. On Classic and Impossible, the computer doesn't get smarter, it cheats with bonuses to aim and crit. The most important piece of advice is no matter how compelled you feel to save scum, DON'T. I know it is depressing to lose a colonel, but it happens. Just deal with it.
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Aug 3, 2013 03:00
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Any tips for the Geneforge series? I've started working on #1, some 10 years after I first played the demo version of #1 and #2.
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Aug 3, 2013 05:45
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Mr E posted:Anything for Sacred 2 Gold with the community patch? The game's a bit confusing to me. It's been a while since I played it, but ultimately: - Be careful of using too many skill glyphs on your favorite skill. It'll up the power but it'll also up the cooldown, and this will be most noticable on combos whose recharge will go through the roof. By the same token, the most useful buffs you can find on equipment are basically cooldown duration affecting stuff. - Combos are quite useful but you don't need much beyond whatever your class' heavy hit is x 5.
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Aug 3, 2013 08:27
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Phobophilia posted:Any tips for the Geneforge series? I've started working on #1, some 10 years after I first played the demo version of #1 and #2. Sadly, the play style that is innovative and featured as the main contribution of the game to the genre (summoning your own party) is kind of crappy until I think Geneforge 3 or even 4.
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Aug 3, 2013 12:29
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I started Shadowrun Returns recently. Any basic newbie tips are good, but specifically I'm wondering about : 1) Are there any especially superior weapons? I'm thinking that rifles and shotguns look particularly nice, but if there's something I'm missing I'd love to know about it. 2) If I don't choose the Decker class, am I effectively shut out of the matrix? I chose Street Samurai for my first character, and put a point into Decking because from the text description, it sounds like that would still allow me access to the matrix, but I'm wondering if I was reading that correctly.
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Aug 4, 2013 09:37
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Shotguns have a skill at...3? points that does AP damage, which is ridiculous and normally reserved for melee weapons. Decking requires you have a Deck, a Datajack, and points in decking. You can get all three eventually (Once you get to the actual shops), but most of the things you use the matrix for you can have a companion to do it anyway, so you won't miss all that much.
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Aug 4, 2013 09:42
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Ainsley McTree posted:I started Shadowrun Returns recently. Any basic newbie tips are good, but specifically I'm wondering about : The latest patch  NERFED SHOTGUNS , so they're no longer THE blatantly broken choice.I'd avoid SMGs (they got a couple of OK buffs, but probably not enough), but the other three classes should be more or less balanced against each other now, so pick whichever. quote:2) If I don't choose the Decker class, am I effectively shut out of the matrix?
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Aug 4, 2013 10:42
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