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Question - New guy questions (1 Viewer)

flatpick

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Nov 24, 2022
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Sorry if this is a repeat, there are a lot of new player posts, but I have a few new guy questions that I haven't found answers to sifting through existing threads:

- Is the free Very Vanilla compile for Test still a thing? (Redbot posted a link a couple years ago, but not sure if this is current)

- The demo videos I've seen all have you driving the tank with everyone else assisting. I'm not a huge fan of tanks, however understand why this is the simplest set up, can someone point me in the direction of some info on how to set up to main with something other than a tank and still use KissAssist?

- I would prefer not to box, but most higher level content requires a group or a more solo-able class (i.e. Mage, nec, bst), so I'm interested in MQ2 so I'm not stuck only using solo/molo classes in higher levels. That being said, not sure if I want a full 6-box group (mostly because that's a lot of accounts to manage, and I already have some heroics set up on 3 accounts). Is anyone aware of any specific info, guides, etc. on just a 3-box group? Maybe a 3-box molo group? Any recommendations or strong feelings on why I absolutely should use a 6-box, particularly if my goal is being able to manage later expansion progression (CoV, ToV)?

Thanks in advance!
 
Sorry if this is a repeat, there are a lot of new player posts, but I have a few new guy questions that I haven't found answers to sifting through existing threads:

- Is the free Very Vanilla compile for Test still a thing? (Redbot posted a link a couple years ago, but not sure if this is current)

- The demo videos I've seen all have you driving the tank with everyone else assisting. I'm not a huge fan of tanks, however understand why this is the simplest set up, can someone point me in the direction of some info on how to set up to main with something other than a tank and still use KissAssist?

- I would prefer not to box, but most higher level content requires a group or a more solo-able class (i.e. Mage, nec, bst), so I'm interested in MQ2 so I'm not stuck only using solo/molo classes in higher levels. That being said, not sure if I want a full 6-box group (mostly because that's a lot of accounts to manage, and I already have some heroics set up on 3 accounts). Is anyone aware of any specific info, guides, etc. on just a 3-box group? Maybe a 3-box molo group? Any recommendations or strong feelings on why I absolutely should use a 6-box, particularly if my goal is being able to manage later expansion progression (CoV, ToV)?

Thanks in advance!
- using the RG launcher requires RG lvl 2, but you can self-compile from our git if you don't want level 2 access and/or using the launcher, but you will need a RG lvl 2 access to use the launcher
- you can use kiss with just about anything, including pet tanking - but your life will be immeasurably easier witha #real tank
a lot of folks mix/match boxing, and eventually realize that a box'd f2p toon is much better than a merc, but start small and grow as you need/wants change


Getting Started / Returning user

Welcome to RedGuides, fellow EQ multi-boxing enthusiast!

The best place to begin is our "New User Guide" video series, click this TV to watch:


This step-by-step series will teach absolute beginners how to control 6 characters at once while highlighting Nav, AutoLogin, and DanNet, which are fundamental plugins that will enhance every aspect of your game.


pretty easy to keep up with lvl 2 with just redcents


:rc A Redcent is the currency of our community. You can trade them in for Level 2 access, Krono, and more. Learn about them here:

Returning users check out - MacroQuest Release Party: https://www.redguides.com/community/threads/macroquest-release-party.80628/ for information about changes from the legacy MQ2 to the new and awesome MQ
 
the Test version still exists and is updated regularly does require the subscription though. I'm not sure about any videos where KissAssist is used however I will say that on test you get free use of all the CWTN class plugins which are pretty useful for automating tank classes. for a 3 box group I honestly don't know may but one I have used is SK, Sham Bard which was able to do most content fairly easily.
 
I have 6 accounts but i typically only run 3 of them and use mercs with them. I Run Sk/Enc/Clr and use dps mercs. My SK is gold and in raid gear so i can do pretty much any group level content easily but my dps is slow with the mercs. When I absolutely have to have more dps i will log in my other 3 accounts which have dps on them. I have 'extra' toons on the various accounts which allows some flexibility in group makeup (BRD and SHM specifically)

To make a group pick a tank ... War/Pal/SK or a pet tank
pick some cc ... Chanter or Bard
pick a healer ... Clr or Shm (druids arent as good but they can work)
pick a dps crew .... Melee classes if you like the BRD or casters if you like a chanter ( you can mix and match without too many problems ... dps will work fine with either of the cc options)
This is only a basic guideline for new people and will get you a good group that can handle eq content into the late game. There is a LOT of flexibility in this but you will figure that out with experience. EQ is very much built around the holy trinity ... Tnk/cc/heals .... if you are missing one of these roles there will be content you simply cant do without getting help.
 
You can set your driver to whatever class you like and have your other toons assist that toon using your automation of choice
just note that the game is designed around the so-called holy trinity. Tank, Heals, CC.
but lots play with groups of varying makeup.
Play what you enjoy 😊
 
Thanks! I appreciate the quick replies. I'll probably just quit being cheap and get a month sub to use the launcher. I appreciate the input on box composition and will play around with it a little bit, will probably try to put together a 4 box maybe, use a tank (maybe pally to mix it up), shammy, bard, and monk. Don't have much/any experience with any of those classes, always fun to try something new.
 
Also just found this guide, which is pinned near the top of the Public Knowledge sub-forum and very thoroughly answers my last question re: group composition lol. Completely missed this on my first read through.
 
Also just found this guide, which is pinned near the top of the Public Knowledge sub-forum and very thoroughly answers my last question re: group composition lol. Completely missed this on my first read through.

When I started with RG over a year ago, I knew nothing. Sic's videos were a huge help and most I watched more than once. Hopefully you have the time for this as there is a lot to take in.

I also thought as you did and wanted/started with only 3. I quickly realized mercs were trash and going with 3 more was inevitable. Of course I did it the hard way and added one at a time. Looking back and advising forward, I would recommend using 6 from the start, as long as all other aspects of maintaining 6 is feasible.

I also added classes I had not played and began with kissassist. I quickly learned how the ini's worked by downloading ones others had created and studying them.

Then I found cwtn plugins and never looked back. Not only were they superior to KA, you can actually observe the screens while playing and it helps you learn classes you have never played. Of course all of the above require level 2.

Budget permitting, go level 2 and get as many cwtn plugins as you can/want and the fun will never stop, or If you really like to tinker, try the KA ini's in the database and modify them to fit your group/playstyle.

RG makes eq fun and playable again for sure.
 
When I started with RG over a year ago, I knew nothing. Sic's videos were a huge help and most I watched more than once. Hopefully you have the time for this as there is a lot to take in.

I also thought as you did and wanted/started with only 3. I quickly realized mercs were trash and going with 3 more was inevitable. Of course I did it the hard way and added one at a time. Looking back and advising forward, I would recommend using 6 from the start, as long as all other aspects of maintaining 6 is feasible.

I also added classes I had not played and began with kissassist. I quickly learned how the ini's worked by downloading ones others had created and studying them.

Then I found cwtn plugins and never looked back. Not only were they superior to KA, you can actually observe the screens while playing and it helps you learn classes you have never played. Of course all of the above require level 2.

Budget permitting, go level 2 and get as many cwtn plugins as you can/want and the fun will never stop, or If you really like to tinker, try the KA ini's in the database and modify them to fit your group/playstyle.

RG makes eq fun and playable again for sure.
CWTN plugins are annual fees per class, right? Seems like a lot of folks use them, but, as mentioned above, I'm super cheap (which keeps me out of hot water with the wife), are the CWTN plugins really worth it, particularly for a casual player? I'm guessing they have a greater impact the higher up you get, would you recommend getting CWTN at the start, or is it more beneficial/impactful after maybe HoT/85?
 
CWTN plugins are annual fees per class, right? Seems like a lot of folks use them, but, as mentioned above, I'm super cheap (which keeps me out of hot water with the wife), are the CWTN plugins really worth it, particularly for a casual player? I'm guessing they have a greater impact the higher up you get, would you recommend getting CWTN at the start, or is it more beneficial/impactful after maybe HoT/85?
I think the CWTN plugins are useful at all levels. At lower levels it can save a ton of time because you won't be modifying your kissassist .ini files for every level across 6 toons. That can get really old really fast. Having said that, casters will really struggle with mana in the early game with the plugins. This isn't really the fault of the plugins, it's just that the game was sort of designed to be slow at those levels. You can adjust the plugin settings to alleviate it, but it will be a problem until you get to higher level.

At higher levels the plugins are a godsend. Everybody gets a ton of spells/disc/abilities and the plugins make managing all of that a breeze. They also perform really well and it's much easier to make changes on the fly with a UI.

However, they are not required by any means at any level. If you'd rather not spend the money, just get started with KISS and see how it goes. My top DPS is a ranger running Kissassist, so it's not you HAVE to have CWTN plugins in order to perform well. It was unclear to me if you're playing on test or not, but the CWTN plugins are free on test.

Also, don't feel like you have to start with a full 6 box. Everything can get really overwhelming when you starting out, so just play as many as you think you can manage. MQ makes it really easy to PL other toons up if/when you decide to add more.

There are really no wrong answers here, so just get it going (you're already missing 50% bonus XP!).
 
your playing on test, based in first msg. can use CWTN plugins for free there. Since they are gold accounts by default on test, 100% make 6. Mercs are left in a dumpster in the sun in miami for a week hot garbage.

Yup, if your on test, go 6 and cwtn free. You'll be amazed. KA is great, but modifying the ini's takes away from playtime. Admittedly, I kind of enjoyed the learning and break.
 
So follow up, a few things that are giving me problems re: CWTN assist, I have a Pally (main/driver), SK, Zerker, Shaman, Bard. I'm using CWTN on the SK, Zerker, and Shammy, and kissassist on the bard (CWTN was annoying on my driver toon, couldn't get him to stop trying to rez old corpses...). My shaman seems to work fine, constantly buffing/healing/canni. SK and zerk are set on assist, but won't attack when my pally does.... Sometimes, during the fight, if I swap modes to tank or vorpal for the SK and zerker they'll engage, but if I zone, or sometimes on the next fight, they stop assisting. I looked through the CWTN Class Plug-in intro video and UI video, as I understand it I should just have to turn the plug-in on and set those toons in an assist mode, am I missing something?

My pally is main tank, main assist, and puller.

Side note: Bard doesn't assist, yet, just spins songs, which is fine for now, will mess with him when I get the important hitters working.
 
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I haven't really run into this kind of thing with CWTN plugins. It normally happens to me with Kiss.

"Assist" is the camp mode, so maybe there's a range issue? Like the tank is fighting just out of range of the other toons?

Could also be that you don't have a good mesh and the toons can't nav to the target.

If you set the other guys to "Chase", do they follow around the MA?
 
So follow up, a few things that are giving me problems re: CWTN assist, I have a Pally (main/driver), SK, Zerker, Shaman, Bard. I'm using CWTN on the SK, Zerker, and Shammy, and kissassist on the bard (CWTN was annoying on my driver toon, couldn't get him to stop trying to rez old corpses...). My shaman seems to work fine, constantly buffing/healing/canni. SK and zerk are set on assist, but won't attack when my pally does.... Sometimes, during the fight, if I swap modes to tank or vorpal for the SK and zerker they'll engage, but if I zone, or sometimes on the next fight, they stop assisting. I looked through the CWTN Class Plug-in intro video and UI video, as I understand it I should just have to turn the plug-in on and set those toons in an assist mode, am I missing something?

My pally is main tank, main assist, and puller.

Side note: Bard doesn't assist, yet, just spins songs, which is fine for now, will mess with him when I get the important hitters working.


You could check your camp radius if you set a camp.

I place all cwtn toons in assist mode and they assist the MT for each fight.
 
I haven't really run into this kind of thing with CWTN plugins. It normally happens to me with Kiss.

"Assist" is the camp mode, so maybe there's a range issue? Like the tank is fighting just out of range of the other toons?

Could also be that you don't have a good mesh and the toons can't nav to the target.

If you set the other guys to "Chase", do they follow around the MA?
I have "Follow Me" on, and updated my meshes just before logging on, but have had some odd navigation, after my first fight in zone (after trying several different modes to get the SK and zerker to attack), my SK and my shaman just ran away towards the zoneline...
 
You don't want to use Follow Me while in combat.

When you are in combat, just have the CWTN toons to set to either Chase or Assist and have Follow Me turned off. They plugins will navigate the toons for you. Either chasing your MA or sitting in camp and engaging mobs.

I think you need to watch Sic's moving your toons around guide:

Here's what I think happened:

1. You had you guys set to Assist (which is camp in one spot mode)
2. You zoned in to a new zone, so they toons set their camp spot to the zone-in location.
3. You used Follow Me to force toons to follow you to a new spot
4. The toons, still in Assist, thought they should still be camping by the zone-in, so they are trying to run back to the zone.

The general flow should be something like:

1. Use Chase to move/fight your way through a zone
2. Find a sweet spot and use Assist to setup a camp so your puller camp bring mobs back to camp.
3. When it's time to move on, set everyone Chase to follow the MA around again

That video from Sic will help a lot with learning the right flow with your guys.
 
there is a CWTN sub forum :hfive: also, there are videos :dance: what this last sounds like is that your camp is at zone libe, your forcing them to follow, then, when follow stops, they are doing whats intended, and returning to camp. 100% watch videos, check the sub threads. :f5: win!
 
You don't want to use Follow Me while in combat.

When you are in combat, just have the CWTN toons to set to either Chase or Assist and have Follow Me turned off. They plugins will navigate the toons for you. Either chasing your MA or sitting in camp and engaging mobs.

I think you need to watch Sic's moving your toons around guide:

Here's what I think happened:

1. You had you guys set to Assist (which is camp in one spot mode)
2. You zoned in to a new zone, so they toons set their camp spot to the zone-in location.
3. You used Follow Me to force toons to follow you to a new spot
4. The toons, still in Assist, thought they should still be camping by the zone-in, so they are trying to run back to the zone.

The general flow should be something like:

1. Use Chase to move/fight your way through a zone
2. Find a sweet spot and use Assist to setup a camp so your puller camp bring mobs back to camp.
3. When it's time to move on, set everyone Chase to follow the MA around again

That video from Sic will help a lot with learning the right flow with your guys.

damn Naam, beat me to it :(
 
I have "Follow Me" on, and updated my meshes just before logging on, but have had some odd navigation, after my first fight in zone (after trying several different modes to get the SK and zerker to attack), my SK and my shaman just ran away towards the zoneline...
You are probably making a few typical newbie mistakes. For example you do not want Follow Me on when running CWTN with Chase Assist enabled. This can lead to some odd things, including running off.

You also could have issues with your background FPS setting. If it is set too low (or default of CPU min in EQ) then very bad things might happen (including some of the things you mention).

I would definitely look into Sic's hotkeys. You can also try out my Grouper Lua script that should help overcome things. If you are running a CWTN main / tank it should work well enough (though the invis button won't work at early levels). It tries to prevent some conflicting settings (like following while chasing), but isn't perfect by any means.

As for background FPS - I may be adding something to Grouper for first-time setup, but here is a command you can run on each character to set things up initially. Please look at the Frame Limiter video and adjust to your needs.

INI:
/multiline ; /framelimiter enable; /framelimiter enablefg; /framelimiter savebychar off; /framelimiter bgrender on; /framelimiter clearscreen off; /framelimiter imguirender on; /framelimiter uirender off; /framelimiter bgfps 1.0; /framelimiter fgfps 45.0; /framelimiter simfps 30.0

Note - I prefer enabling rendering in the BG at a slow rate to prevent issues with particle effects seeming to cause issues after an extended time.

The settings will take effect the next time you log in, or you can use the command
INI:
/dgae /framelimiter loadsettings
to reload on all of your logged in chars.
 
I just logged everyone out to restart, but by the way naam wrote that up, it sounds like exactly what I did and make sense why a couple of my guys took off running towards the zoneline after the fight. Whoops, lol. Noted that I should be using Chase instead of follow me, and then set everyone to "Assist" once we find a camp site.

Will toons also assist while in "Chase"? Notes from the video note that mode as "Chase Assist", but not sure if there have been more recent changes. Thanks again for the quick responses, your help is much appreciated!
 
I just logged everyone out to restart, but by the way naam wrote that up, it sounds like exactly what I did and make sense why a couple of my guys took off running towards the zoneline after the fight. Whoops, lol. Noted that I should be using Chase instead of follow me, and then set everyone to "Assist" once we find a camp site.

Will toons also assist while in "Chase"? Notes from the video note that mode as "Chase Assist", but not sure if there have been more recent changes. Thanks again for the quick responses, your help is much appreciated!
In this case Chase Assist means to chase the assist - so you will need to have someone assigned to the Main Assist role. It will also assist them when needed.
 
@naamloseeen thanks for linking that video, very helpful! I'm working on setting up these macros using Sic's hotkey setup guide, but noticed some of the aliases differ from what Sic covers in the dannet new user guide (i.e. /dge vs /dgge). Are there any changes I should make to my aliases based on the latest included for dannet, or am I good to use Sic's ini script verbatim?

Sorry if this is listed elsewhere, I am trying to search through forums to help myself before I ask these questions, there is just an overwhelming amount of information available and the RG team seems pretty prolific with updates/improvements, so seems like when I find something to add/update, there is a later/better version already.
 
@naamloseeen thanks for linking that video, very helpful! I'm working on setting up these macros using Sic's hotkey setup guide, but noticed some of the aliases differ from what Sic covers in the dannet new user guide (i.e. /dge vs /dgge). Are there any changes I should make to my aliases based on the latest included for dannet, or am I good to use Sic's ini script verbatim?

Sorry if this is listed elsewhere, I am trying to search through forums to help myself before I ask these questions, there is just an overwhelming amount of information available and the RG team seems pretty prolific with updates/improvements, so seems like when I find something to add/update, there is a later/better version already.
use the stuff in the guide. the video is obviously a timecapsule that isn't editable

there is a giant red message about it

1669501341448.png


some of the changes are just preference or ease of use - but the hotkey guide is likely your best bet. spend some time trying to understand what they do
 
I think I broke my macros... Tried to install AllScribe (using launcher) and now none of my /mac commands work (to include /kissassist)....

Context: was playing with box group and testing hotkeys, cwtn, and kissassist with bard, everything was going smoothly, adding hotkeys one at a time to make sure I didn't screw something up. Leveled group a few times and decided to grab spells, noticed the macro AllScribe that looked like it might be handy, so watched and installed with the launcher, logged out my characters and restarted EQ, and couldn't get the macro to work. So I tried using another macro, same issues (error says "Couldn't open macro file C:/allscribe.mac" or "... macro file C:/kissassist.mac"). I tried closing out all EQ windows, closing out MQ2 and the launcher and relaunching, still having the same issue. I think MQ should be looking in my Resource > Macro folder for macro files, can anyone help with what I broke and how?

Also, for some reason my box group has stopped autogrouping when I "Load All"..., AutoGroup and AutoAccept are plugins, but could this be related to the macro loading issue?


***Edit: please let me know if I should move this specific post to the AllScribe thread
 
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I think I broke my macros... Tried to install AllScribe (using launcher) and now none of my /mac commands work (to include /kissassist)....

Context: was playing with box group and testing hotkeys, cwtn, and kissassist with bard, everything was going smoothly, adding hotkeys one at a time to make sure I didn't screw something up. Leveled group a few times and decided to grab spells, noticed the macro AllScribe that looked like it might be handy, so watched and installed with the launcher, logged out my characters and restarted EQ, and couldn't get the macro to work. So I tried using another macro, same issues (error says "Couldn't open macro file C:/allscribe.mac" or "... macro file C:/kissassist.mac"). I tried closing out all EQ windows, closing out MQ2 and the launcher and relaunching, still having the same issue. I think MQ should be looking in my Resource > Macro folder for macro files, can anyone help with what I broke and how?

Also, for some reason my box group has stopped autogrouping when I "Load All"..., AutoGroup and AutoAccept are plugins, but could this be related to the macro loading issue?


***Edit: please let me know if I should move this specific post to the AllScribe thread
you would watch the overview page of allscribe, then use the rg launcher to download it - it will place it in the appropriate location. it would almost certainly not say "c:/kissassist.mac" it would say your macros folder in your mq directory
 
you would watch the overview page of allscribe, then use the rg launcher to download it - it will place it in the appropriate location. it would almost certainly not say "c:/kissassist.mac" it would say your macros folder in your mq directory
I did following the instructions in the new player guide video, and afterwards double-checked and the .mac file shows in my mq directory (C:\Users\[myname]\AppData\Local\VeryVanilla\MacroQuest\Release\macros), however now when I use "/mac /allscribe 10 35" or "/mac /kissassist" it will not load in game and I get the below message in my MQ log. Is there a setting in my config that directs /mac commands to a specific directory that I can check?

1669554750469.png
 
I did following the instructions in the new player guide video, and afterwards double-checked and the .mac file shows in my mq directory (C:\Users\[myname]\AppData\Local\VeryVanilla\MacroQuest\Release\macros), however now when I use "/mac /allscribe 10 35" or "/mac /kissassist" it will not load in game and I get the below message in my MQ log. Is there a setting in my config that directs /mac commands to a specific directory that I can check?

View attachment 43650
did you do something weird like edit your macroquest.ini to tell it your macro folder is your c drive? or something?
this would be near the top of your macroquest.ini file
MacroPath=E:\RedGuides\Next\mqnext\build\bin\release\macros this would allow multiple installations of mq to look at this macro folder

this is the macro expression evaluator on one of my computers
you could just /cecho ${MacroQuest.Path[macros]} (cecho is "clean echo" which you want for anything like a directory)
1669555535282.png
 
did you do something weird like edit your macroquest.ini to tell it your macro folder is your c drive? or something?
this would be near the top of your macroquest.ini file
MacroPath=E:\RedGuides\Next\mqnext\build\bin\release\macros this would allow multiple installations of mq to look at this macro folder

this is the macro expression evaluator on one of my computers
you could just /cecho ${MacroQuest.Path[macros]} (cecho is "clean echo" which you want for anything like a directory)
View attachment 43651
I just added aliases for hotbuttons, but I don't have anything like "MacroPath" in my .ini, I may have inadvertently deleted this, but reviewing the default macroquest.ini RedBot posted (link below for reference) it doesn't look like that path reference is included there, either... am I looking in the wrong .ini? Don't want to take up more of your time (btw, do you ever sleep, Sic...?), would it be easier if I erased my MQ directory and did a fresh install? I already tried re-install from the launcher, but it kept everything in my .ini and config files, so still didn't fix whatever I broke...



Also tried logging in with a different account/toon and running the clean echo, the directory shown is correct, but still no loading the macros... snapshot below for reference:

1669559914691.png
 
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When you run the RG launcher, go down to the "Settings" button on the lower left. I think you need to change your "MacroQuest Directory" to match where the files are installed. This is what mine looks like, but yours may vary. It probably should NOT be "C:\"

1669561146079.png
 
When you run the RG launcher, go down to the "Settings" button on the lower left. I think you need to change your "MacroQuest Directory" to match where the files are installed. This is what mine looks like, but yours may vary. It probably should NOT be "C:\"

View attachment 43656
Confirmed that my path in RG launcher is already correct (C:\Users\[myname]\AppData\Local\VeryVanilla\MacroQuest\Release)
 
I just added aliases for hotbuttons, but I don't have anything like "MacroPath" in my .ini, I may have inadvertently deleted this, but reviewing the default macroquest.ini RedBot posted (link below for reference) it doesn't look like that path reference is included there, either... am I looking in the wrong .ini? Don't want to take up more of your time (btw, do you ever sleep, Sic...?), would it be easier if I erased my MQ directory and did a fresh install? I already tried re-install from the launcher, but it kept everything in my .ini and config files, so still didn't fix whatever I broke...



Also tried logging in with a different account/toon and running the clean echo, the directory shown is correct, but still no loading the macros... snapshot below for reference:

View attachment 43655
You don't have to have the macrodir added, it would be if you added it.

Can you just double confirm that you're typing /Mac kissassist ?

I'm not sure what would cause the above, maybe @Knightly would know
 
I erased my MQ directory and did a fresh install, seems to have fixed the problem, not sure what I broke but I probably transposed something in the .ini I shouldn't have.... I can at least use kissassist again, still working on AllScribe, but pretty sure AllScribe is a me being an idiot problem and not an issue with MQ or the macro. Worst case I'll just manually grab spells.

Thanks again for the help!
 
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