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Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night | Official Update Thread

Zonar

Zonar

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
673
Arizona, USA
Mewzard said:
www.kickstarter.com

Update 104: One Million Copy Milestone and Development Roadmap · Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has sold over ONE MILLION copies worldwide! This is a remarkable milestone for any game, but it is especially sweet considering the humble beginnings of the project. Bloodstained wouldn’t exist without the passion and faith of the many Kickstarter backers who...
www.kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com

It seems Bloodstained has officially sold over a million copies, and we have a development roadmap for the Free DLC coming this year:

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"Q2 2020

Boss Revenge Mode - Take control of one of four in-game bosses and use them to battle the heroes of Bloodstained!


Chroma Wheel - The salon is back in business with more options than ever for character customization, including hair, clothing, and skin color. Switch up your look with a true color selector and eliminating pre-set options previously available.

Q3 2020

VS Mode (Local/Online) - A tense survival mode where players compete by indirectly attacking each another.


Chaos Mode (Local/Online) - A specialized boss rush for 1 or 2 players. The mode includes randomized drops and special sub goals that will grant more equipment when completed. Collect the best, drop the rest as you build power to defeat all the bosses!


Classic Mode - It's Bloodstained 80s-style as Miriam faces off against a series of sub-bosses laid out across five harrowing stages and three difficulty levels.

Q4 2020

Playable Character - Bloodstained's 3rd playable character after Miriam and Zangetsu. (It's not Dominique)


Schedules are always subject to change, but that's the current plan.


It's going to be a busy time for Bloodstained! There's more content in works than we have listed above including bug fixes, improvements to the game, paid DLC and a few other surprises.


We'll reveal more details for each new feature when they are closer to release.


Once again, thank you to everyone for helping us get to this amazing milestone! We couldn't have done it without you.


- The Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Team"

Looks to be an exciting few updates coming down the road.
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Zonar said:
"Switch Release Update

We have been listening to the feedback regarding Switch performance. Our goal is for everyone, regardless of platform, to be able to enjoy the game and have it run smoothly. We want to live up to your, and our, expectations.
Throughout the QA process we have been addressing performance issues in the game. Update 1.01 was published to Switch prior to launch to add content and improve performance. It did not accomplish as much as we had hoped and we need to do more.
To address the concerns brought up by the community we are immediately shifting resources to improve performance and stability for the Switch. You can expect a number of small updates that will improve different areas of the game rather than waiting longer for one big update. We will have more details as we dive into the work.
We thank you for your patience and apologize for the inconvenience.
Jason "Question" Ryan
Sr Community Manager – 505 Games"
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Zonar said:
"Switch Release Day Notes!

It's Switch release day in most territories! Bloodstained is now 50-100% more portable than it was last week, depending on how small your gaming laptop is. Switch digital download codes in the North American, European, and Australian regions are now available on your survey page—if you don't have your survey/backer management page handy, you can have the link resent to youfrom our survey support page.
Physical Switch games in the US and UK were expected for delivery yesterday and today. Switch games in the rest of Europe were delayed due to shipping issues between the facility that produced the games and the warehouse that's shipping them out to backers, but they've arrived and have been processed—shipping confirmations will go out soon if you haven't received one already.
If your game is coming from those European or Australian warehouses, you'll be receiving your slipcase in a separate shipment—either with your other rewards if you're at a $100+ tier, or by itself in a separate shipment if you backed at $60.)
Hello everyone, Bloodstained is now live on Switch! Today's launch marks the completion of a long journey that we've all been on together, and now we see Igavania making its triumphant return! However, the journey hasn't been without its share of challenges along the way, and as Iga said, we still have a lot of work to do.
Regarding the Soundtrack specifically, we're pleased to announce that as of today, the soundtrack on PC (Steam & GoG) as well as any future sales portals that support it, will include high quality FLAC files for all tracks. We heard your feedback on this (no pun intended) and appreciate your patience while we got this implemented.
Below are some patch and general notes for everyone to be aware of in light of recent bugs that in some cases caused progression to be lost:
  • With the Switch launch, to avoid issues with treasure chests we recommend everyone with a physical copy update their game with the 1.1 build (which has been live since Friday) before playing.
  • 1.02 Chest Bug - Some players on PS4 who began a new game before downloading the 1.02 update have run into an issue where crates appear in the wrong open/closed state resulting in blocked progress. A new save is not affected. We are currently looking into solutions that will allow affected players to keep their progress. Since this bug would have affected Xbox One users when the update went live, we are holding off the Xbox One update. (FYI, a small localization update, 1.004, is coming for Xbox. This is not connected to the current issue).
Current build status:
  • Steam/GOG: 1.03 (1.03 is a localization fix)
  • PS4: 1.02
  • Xbox One: 1.003 (Upcoming 1.004 is a small localization fix)
  • Switch: 1.1 - This update was published on Friday June 21st. All players should download it before playing to avoid the Chest Bug.
That's it for today's update, thank you to everyone for your support and patience and we can't wait to announce more cool stuff soon!
Roberto Piraino "Angel-Corlux"
Global Brand Manager
505 Games"
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"It's finally here! Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has launched for Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC. It wouldn't have been possible without all of you who believed in the project when Koji Igarashi came to Kickstarter and asked for Igavania fans' support.
On a big day like this—well, we should hear from IGA himself. IGA?
Hello everyone, IGA here.
The day has finally arrived. The release is here!
I do want to first apologize to those whose delivery is delayed due to their region. We wanted to deliver it to everyone as quickly as possible, but due to various conditions of selling the game, the delay was unavoidable.
Steam keys have been given out to backers in the affected regions (Japan and Asia PS4). We hope you enjoy it until your chosen platform arrives.
Today is the true beginning of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Thanks to everyone who supported us on our way, we were able to get here. Thank you so much.
From here we are going to do our best to make the Bloodstained series even more exciting.
With that said, we still have a lot more work to do. There's still much more content to come, so we can't let this excitement from the release get to us just yet. Please stay with us until all the content has been released. - IGA

Backer Code Distribution Update: At press time, digital codes are available for all Steam, GOG, and Xbox One games, as well as PS4 codes in the EU region. We have not yet received PS4 codes for the US region, but we expect them from Sony today. PS4 and Switch Japan and Asia codes are subject to the Japan delay announced in the last update, while Switch codes in other regions will be distributed on the game's Switch release date, June 25.
If you have a code that's currently available, you can find it right now on your backer management/survey page. If you don't have that link handy, you can get it resent to you here.
Just as Bloodstained finally becomes real we've noticed some of you bringing pieces of the game into the real world! Check out these two examples:
Castlevanic
BlacksmithingGamer
Congratulations army of the night! Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is now available on PC, PS4 and XB1! Switch will launch next Tuesday on June 25th.
Today marks the launch of the game, but it's only the beginning: Coming very soon you'll see the "Speed Demon Update," which includes the first 3 of 13 FREE DLCs! Boss Rush Mode, Speed Run Mode and the Pure Miriam Outfit will all await you in-game on PC today; the teams are working in turbo mode to get this update on PS4 and Xbox One asap, and we'll be updating everyone as we learn more.
It's been a long road to get here and everyone at 505 Games wants to thank all of the dedicated and passionate backers, volunteers and fans who helped make this day become a reality.
There'll be more updates from us and Fangamer as we continue delivery of backer goods, game copies for Switch next week, and resolve shipping and logistics issues as they may arise, and especially as we continue to work on the delay in Asia/Japan as a top priority.
We've got an incredibly bright future planned for Bloodstained, with so many surprises and awesome stuff you wouldn't believe it if I told you about all of it right now. I know I speak for everyone at 505 when I say it's been an honor and a privilege to work to the benefit of all backers and Bloodstained in general, and our dedication and passion is only going to increase from here!
Congratulations again to everyone, Bloodstained is here…IGAVANIA IS BACK - AND IT'S HERE TO STAY!
Roberto Piraino
"Angel-Corlux"
Global Brand Manager-505 Games
P.S. – Everyone is absolutely prohibited from using the following words as names for their save files. Using the following words may result in crystallization of the skin, an uncontrollable desire to battle evil, and an urge to strike bizarre poses:
BIGHEAD
NIGHTMARE (!warning-spoilers!)
I've also been informed that prominent YouTubers from the Credit Clans may be in possession of other prohibited words…"


Shanaynay said:
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Netto-kun said:


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Now I wonder whether I'll get my Euro Switch copy or Japanese PS4 digital code first...
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Ultimadrago said:
"It's release month! You are now dangerously close to holding in your hands (or on your hard drive, as the case may be) a copy of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the game you helped make possible. Games have already begun arriving at the warehouse to be prepared for shipment.
With release month finally here, we thought now would be a good time to show you some of the rewards we've been working on. (Don't worry, we won't show you the giant castle map from the $500 tier—it's a little early to spoil that.)
First up is the backer-exclusive slipcase. We really like how the holo-foil finish turned out, and we hope you will too."

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"We also wanted to show you the backer-exclusive shirt. Designed by Nina Matsumoto, who did our earlier Alchemist's Curse design, this one—which we'll only be printing for the backer rewards—features Gremory."
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"Next week we'll be showing you more of the rewards and passing along your final game distribution/shipping details and instructions—you'll be playing Bloodstained before you know it. Until then, enjoy the home stretch."
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Man, that slipcase looks awesome!
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Zonar said:
Hey everyone, Roberto Piraino "Angel-Corlux" from 505 here, and today we have a special announcement to make! Below is the trailer for the 2nd playable character in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irMPqha2YtQ&feature=youtu.be
Zangetsu is confirmed playable! <:D

Wield the Zangetsuto katana and slice through the demons of hell, or torment and obliterate them with primal elemental talisman magics. Playing as Zangetsu opens up a whole host of new ways to enjoy the game, explore the castle with his hook chain and discover what secrets await his blade!

Many of you probably guessed or assumed correctly that this was coming for some time now, but I guarantee not a single one of you will ever guess who our third playable character is going to be… >:] (*angelic muahahahaing*)

We'll have more to reveal soon!

Moving on to publishing details, we have an important announcement for our fans and backers in Japan.

Due to some unexpected logistical difficulties, Bloodstained won't be publicly available in Japan on June 18 & 25, 2019. However, the game will still be coming to Japan on all platforms both digital and physical, we're still working to confirm exact dates, and we'll share more as soon as we have confirmed information.

The current plan is for Japanese backers to receive temporary Steam keys on June 18, 2019 so they can start playing right away while we confirm the public release date on all platforms for Japan.

In addition to the above regarding Japan, we also want to remind all our international fans that while the global launch for Bloodstained is June 18 and June 25, certain regions of the world use slightly different release dates. You can check if your regional release date differs from the global one by checking with your regional online / physical retailer.

It was also pointed out to me that in the last update we didn't mention a few of the stretch goals that are coming; I knew I'd forget something with all that content!

Additional content available day 1:

  • Nightmare Mode
  • New Game Plus
  • 8-bit retro level
  • Cheat codes
As before, stay tuned for trailers, reveals, previews and more for this content. Some of the above like the 8-bit retro level and cheat codes are built into the game, and not technically a day 1 update, but it bears mentioning as I saw some fans questioning if this content was still confirmed.

Fangamer is still working on locking in all final shipping arrangements. If you haven't updated your address yet, your last chance to do so expires TOMORROW, Friday, May 31, 2019! (Even if your mailing address hasn't changed, please confirm itin your backer survey or through the email reminders Fangamer has been sending out to ensure your game goes as soon as it's ready. If you haven't gotten those emails and don't have your survey link, click here.)

Fangamer's been working on the backer rewards, too, and while we don't want to give away too much of the surprise I did want to show off the art for the soundtrack from Nina Matsumoto, designer of the Alchemist's Curse shirt.

Whenever I look at this I can practically hear and feel the wind blowing through the roses and Miriam's hair… We'll be revealing more backer rewards soon!

An update on "Miriam's Gaze" PS4 dynamic theme preorder bonus: I'm happy to announce that we will be providing every PS4 backer, both digital and physical and regardless of tier, this dynamic theme for free! Will share more news on when to expect these codes as soon as we have all the details locked down. I'm biased but it's really beautiful and features the song "Holy Wisdom" straight from the soundtrack. Big thanks to Truant Pixel for making the theme. :)

Update on the FuturePak steel cases: The previously mentioned 800 cases are on track to be made available exclusively to backers (1 per backer) shortly after the game launches. It's our plan to use this initial sale to evaluate demand, and consider offering a larger amount of these steel cases for sale to the backers and possibly even the wider public.

For further context on the FuturePak steel cases, this effort was originally a retail-only exclusive item to incentivize preorders. Instead of peeling off content and locking it away behind a preorder bonus, we fought to make sure we were offering this steel case instead. The total number of cases available is actually quite low, and in the USA (one of our biggest markets) there's only several thousand of these cases on offer. We also can't offer these for free to all or even a majority of the backers since that would mean a cost of several hundred thousand dollars. It's also not feasible to make the 800 free, as then you open a can of worms regarding who gets them, why, etc.

I mention the above to hopefully communicate that we made the FuturePak available as a preorder bonus to incentivize preorders and help the success of the game long term, while also trying to respect backers and the integrity of the game's content. And the cost to make them free isn't a problem just because "money" but because those kinds of numbers represent the cost of possible DLC content, which I hope everyone will agree is much more important and valuable than steel cases. Having said that, however, we're trying our best to make these cases available to all backers who want them as outlined above.

We've also seen your feedback regarding the choice to make the Iga Boss and Swordwhip available to non-backers for $9.99 via the "Iga's Back Pack".

First, since I've seen some confusion online, I'd like to reiterate that any and all backers who were entitled to receive this content will be getting it for free. In practical terms, this means if you backed at $60 or above, you will receive the "Iga's Back Pack" DLC at no additional cost.

Another concern we've seen is that offering the "Iga's Back Pack" DLC for $9.99 instead of making it backer-exclusive, devalues the backer order and is a bad deal. I'd like to help clear this up:

As mentioned above, let's exclude the relatively very small minority of public customers who get the steel book. That means that $60 backers compared to $60 public customers receives the following:

Hopefully the above makes it clear that the $60 backers still have at least an additional $10 value and access to exclusive rewards compared to non-backers.

Having said the above, we've seen various comments and misconceptions regarding this I'd like to try and clear up:

  • Kickstarter is not a traditional preorder system where it's about getting the best deal, even though backers here have.
  • Curse of the Moon is definitely part of this equation, as whether one wants to consider having paid for it or not, backers get it as part of the $60 purchase, non-backers don't.
  • The $28 vs. $60 pledge still has appropriate value considering the above mentioned rewards. $28 backers 'only' receive the base game and Curse of the Moon.
We understand if having clarified the above there is still negative feedback, however hopefully it's clear now that we are intent on securing the immediate and long term success of Bloodstained so we can see more content and hopefully create a brand new Igavania franchise bigger and better than ever, while also being respectful of the backers, who everyone at ArtPlay and at 505 Games is grateful to for helping make all of this possible.

Whew, that was a wall of text if ever I've written one. As always, please come find us on Bloodstained's official Discord server, you'll often find me and my 505 colleagues on there, ready to chat! :)

Roberto Piraino

"Angel-Corlux"

Global Brand Manager

505 Games
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leesmapman said:
from the kickstarter page:

Hey everybody, Roberto (Angel-Corlux) from 505 here. Preorders for Bloodstained are live! (Different platforms at different times.) The base price for the game is $39.99, and we have a lot more to announce…


First, the official Bloodstained website is live here! You can visit the site to preorder, check out all the trailers and screenshots we've released, sign up for our newsletter, and more. Feel free to link people to this site if they ever ask "what's Bloodstained?" or similar questions.


Important: All Kickstarter order addresses will be locked in and FINAL on Friday, May 31, 2019 @ 11:59pm US PT. If you need to change your delivery address, please do so now. Once the deadline passes we won't be able to change any addresses, no exceptions! (If you no longer have your survey link, you can have it resent to you.) Soon you'll be receiving an email asking you to confirm or update your address: Please confirm it, even if your address is already correct, to ensure you receive your game as soon as possible.


We're working very hard to make sure that everyone will receive their physical and digital game copies on launch day for their respective platform; we'll of course be updating everyone as soon as we're able to confirm this. All the backer rewards aside from the physical copies of the game will arrive later in a single shipment; we're doing it this way to reduce the chances of anything interfering with our goal of the backers getting their games at launch.


Also, there will be a delay for the Amano poster backer reward. It's still happening and coming your way, Amano-san has just been exceedingly busy, and when faced with a choice between having someone else do the art so the reward would come on time or having Amano make it, even if it comes a little late, I chose the latter. Hopefully you all agree we made the right choice, but we apologize for the delay nonetheless. :) Will communicate more about this as soon as we can.


Speaking of backer rewards…stretch goals! Stretch goals will be coming after the game launches and will be free content updates for everyone who owns the game, not just backers. We are currently on track to update the game on day one with Boss Rush and Speedrun mode, as well as the Pure Miriam outfit.


Here's a list of all the extra content coming later. No content has been cut from the stretch goals, so if you think anything is missing call it out and I'll confirm / clarify. (There's a lot to keep track of! ; _ ; )


  • Two additional playable characters
  • Local and online multiplayer for certain co-op and vs. modes
  • Roguelike mode
  • Chaos mode
  • Classic mode
  • Boss Revenge mode

Stay tuned for trailers and announcements of when this content will be launching!


As many of you will remember, we also asked the community a while back if they were against us making the 'backer exclusive' content (Iga Boss and Swordwhip) available to all players in some fashion. Almost 30,000 of you replied and the overwhelming response was that in general you were ok with it, and the most popular option was to sell it at a price that would respect the purchase the backers originally made.


To that end we're announcing the "Iga's Back Pack" DLC for $9.99, launching on June 18, 2019 for PS4, XB1 and PC, June 25, 2019 for Switch. Players who purchase this DLC will be able to fight the game's creator, Koji Igarashi himself, and earn the powerful Swordwhip weapon by defeating him.


To try and be as transparent as possible, making this content available to everyone wasn't just about making money. I mean obviously that's a part of it, but the chief things I was considering was making sure everyone had a safe and legitimate way to get the full game experience no matter when they find out about Bloodstained, whether that's 5 months ago or 5 years from now, and that we were being respectful of the price backers originally paid (hence the DLC pricing).


As someone who's pirated games because of bull**** anti-consumer practices, or as a demo to try and then buy (something largely made obsolete by modern refund systems), I wanted to eliminate as many reasons to pirate Bloodstained as possible. All of the above = the "Iga's Back Pack" DLC. Hope that makes sense. I understand that not everyone will be 100% happy with this decision, but hopefully this helps in understanding the reasoning behind it. And of course all backers entitled to this content will receive the DLC for free.


And finally, it was recently revealed that certain retailers would be giving away a Bloodstained FuturePak steel case for preorders of the game while supplies lasted. I'm happy to announce that we will be selling 800 stand-alone FuturePak steel cases for $14.99 exclusively to backers.




These cases feature a glossy metal renditioning of Mana Ikeda's fantastic box art for the game, and an internal hinge so when fully opened the case creates a flat surface to display the art. The cases hold game discs and Switch cartridges. We'll be sure to announce exactly when these will go on sale, so stay tuned!


That's it for today everyone, as always, thank you for all your incredible support, this community is one of the most amazing I've ever seen. Come talk to us on Discord, we actually reply! And listen! It's crazy, I know! :P Talk to you soon…


Roberto Piraino


"Angel-Corlux"


Global Brand Manager


505 Games
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KZXcellent

KZXcellent

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,975
To be honest it's looking pretty alright.

Of course it needs more animations, sound effects and general polish but it doesn't leave me worried the way Mighty No. 9 always did. In terms of progress I'm pretty hopeful. I've been waiting for a new IGA-helmed game like this and I'm hoping it can deliver.
 
MrChocolate

MrChocolate

"This guy are sick"
The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
1,426
From last update to this one, the gameplay looks really good. Even the menu it's looking sharp. How long till we get this? 6 or 7 months?
 
Buyao

Buyao

Member
Oct 27, 2017
166
The animation speed is really spot on. Can't wait to get my hand on the next demo!
 
abstract alien

abstract alien

Member
Oct 25, 2017
479
The music seems like it's overpowering everything in that clip, killing the atmosphere. It's like it has too many high notes or something, and the lack of sound effects(which I'm sure will be in by launch) is making it worse.
 
wesman

wesman

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,203
Pittsburgh
I backed this, for quite a decent bit of cash too, and am feeling the animations and enemy sequencing look a bit....static. I'm hoping for the best, and that this doesn't fall the way of Might #9.
 
Bosh

Bosh

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,228
Game looks decent, glad it's coming together! Still looks a little stiff, when you go 3D versus the older 2d pixel graphics you can get away with the same motions.

If this was 2d, attacks like they are now wouldn't even be a mention I imagine.

Overall like what I am seeing though !
 
Shan

Shan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,987
This is one project that i feel will live up to expectations, i've been wanting to play another igavania for a while now..
 
pezzie

pezzie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,523
My first kickstarter and still my only gaming one, and I'm very pleased with how it's coming together. It looks like a blast to play, and I can't wait to go in at it.
 
Ryuhza

Ryuhza

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
11,496
San Diego County
Rackham said:
I want to like but that character is so ugly
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I'm crossing my fingers for some decent alternate costumes. They seem to have visual changes with hats, at least, and going 3D with this one should afford them the ability to allow for that kind of thing.

Other than that, it looks pretty good. Only thing is that first enemy felt kind of off, not having any response to being hit. Some slight flinch, a flash, or even just a grunt would improve the feedback a great deal. Enemy feedback is a huge part of what makes combat satisfying in a game, and its frustrating to see developers forget to give it the focus it deserves. That said the other enemies had great responses.
 
Sagitario

Sagitario

Member
Oct 26, 2017
966
I don't like how the enemies just disintegrate after dying (nor the effect used). It would be cool if they had unique animations/ways to die/disappear.
 
Hu3

Hu3

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,612
something is off when she jumps I keep looking at it and something is not right in the animation. looking good but still I feel needs a lot of polish.
 
closer013

closer013

Member
Oct 27, 2017
151
Man, the character's movement speed seems so slow. Like watching a play through of Symphony in slow motion.
 
Thrill_house

Thrill_house

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,721
Symphony is one of my GOATs. Can not wait for this. Wish I could of gotten in to back the game for a physical copy during the kick starter
 

Crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,139
The arc/height of Miriam's jump looks floaty and perhaps the backgrounds in the Courtyard stage could use work but otherwise I like what I'm seeing
 
zon

zon

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,439
Looks good! I kind of regret not supporting it on kickstarter when I had the chance but I'll make sure to pick it up in the future.
 
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