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arabellaflynn · 1 year

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Advent Calendar 07: Technical Lockout

Greetings, and welcome to Advent Calendar 2022! This year we're being self-indulgent and rambling about video games.

As usual, the Advent Calendar is also a pledge drive. Subscribe to my writing Patreon here by December 15th for at least $5/mo and get an e-card for Ratmas; subscribe for $20/mo (and drop me a mailing address) and you'll get a real paper one!

I hope you're all having a happy winter holiday season. Let the nerd rambling commence!

I mentioned in yesterday's notes on copy protection that my father likely had all the stuff he needed to copy the PRG and CHR ROMs on your average game cartridge out in our garage. While true, it would not necessarily have gotten him a playable "backup" of a game. Oh, there are consoles it absolutely would have worked on -- the Sega Master System, had we ever bothered to buy one, would have been just fine even if he stuck a naked circuit board with a burned EEPROM on it into the cartridge slot. The SMS, like early Atari consoles, based its security around the idea that only the most determined souls would have the equipment they needed to pirate a mass-produced ROM cart -- i.e., Chinese counterfeiters and incurable engineering nerds like my father.

Not all manufacturers were willing to put their faith in apathy. Nintendo for one implemented an authentication chip on their consoles. The "10NES" chip used a call and response format, where a 10NES chip in the machine would query the cart, and would not start the game unless the it got the proper response. (The failure mode was to reset the NES, which is actually what causes the 'flashing screen' problem when the cart or connector contacts are dirty -- the 10NES chips can't talk to each other, and the console thinks you're playing an unauthorized game.) Nintendo designed the 10NES and was the only manufacturer. You thought the "Nintendo Seal of Quality" was an advertising gimmick? What it actually meant was that every publisher was required to submit their game to Papa Ninty for approval, and Nintendo took charge of making all the cartridges. You could only release so many games a year, and your print run was whatever Nintendo said it would be.

You might think that would really tick off a lot of people, and your thought is correct. Atari's Tengen subsidiary was so pissed they engaged in some not-so-legal shenanigans to get a hold of the 10NES schematics, so they could make their own. Atari got a pretty hard smackdown in court, but it did highlight the main problem with hardware-based solutions: Once it's cracked, it stays cracked. You can put out new models of the console with new firmware revisions, but the original models are vulnerable forever.

This doesn't mean the hardware/firmware lockdown didn't do its job -- it took hackers twenty years to properly crack the security on the Sega Saturn -- but even if the security itself lasted the production life of the console, eventually someone, somewhere made their effort moot by figuring out how to circumvent the hardware lockout instead. It works well enough that every major maker of consoles has used some variation of a software bootstrap process for the games checking in with the hardware/firmware security routine ever since.

When you mention defeating this stuff, most people's first thought is 'haha, now I can download my games!' But at least these days, most of the cracking work is done by groups who are, on the whole, prtty solidly opposed to piracy. They want to use the hardware to run 'homebrew' -- that is, their own programs, usually games. An equally important goal is investigating how the hardware works, as most of the technical ins and outs of a console are only shared with developers, and kept under wraps with an NDA. Security on the Wii was dismantled by the efforts of a group calling themselves Team Twiizers (who, as the name suggests, used a pair of ordinary drugstore tweezers to short a pair of points on the Wii mainboard and get it to spew out a lot of internal info on boot) and the late Ben Bushing's obsessive effort to figure out how the factory got system software onto the Wii in the first place.

The third thought is that everyone is sick to death of region locking, the practice of dividing the world into marketing 'regions' and then making sure that only games from your region will play on your console. This started with DVDs, and it made a bit more sense there. The regions boundaries used by the DVD consortium corresponded roughly with the different television broadcast standards of the world. It made more sense for your Region 1 player to refuse to play a Region 2 disc when the R2 picture wouldn't display correctly on your TV anyway. Now? Flat panel screens all work pretty much the same, so there is no practical reason that you shouldn't be able to play American Blu-Rays on an Australian TV, other than the publisher thinks they'll make more money that way. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft all seem to have given up on this for games, thankfully -- the last major machine that was region-locked was the 3DS, and I finally caved and switched to running Luma on mine so I could play Japanese games.

As the previous links reflect, explanations of this kind of security tend to be hyper-technical and probably not of much interest to you if you aren't curious about system architecture, but here's a good layman explanation of how the original Playstation implemented hardware security, and how it could have been a lot better.

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fullmusicbardsquared · 2 years

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Ranking Part 5 Stands!

let's gooooo

Gold Experience: okay, i do like ge! i love their little beetle helmet and how it alludes to haruno's hairstyle, but i don't like the green used for the accents in the anime, and the design is a little busy for me. 8/10

Black Sabbath: I LOVE THIS EVIL DEMONIC MUPPET I'M SORRY.. POLPO LOOKS DUMB BUT BLACK SABBATH MAKES UP FOR IT ALL 10/10

Sticky Fingers: i like how sf and bruno share design motifs, like the zippers, gold, and those spike/hairclip things. i think the zipper over sticky fingers's crotch, while possibly a reference to the album, looks fucking stupid and i hate it. it's not as bad as SOME stands, but i still dislike it. 8/10

Moody Blues: omg it's moody blues my best friend moody blues who looks like a star trek alien if star trek had a budget :) we are going to hang out and watch opera together yay! 9/10

Soft Machine: i like soft machine's ability and little claw, but otherwise they're just okay 6/10

Kraftwerk: same with soft machine but more because they're green and it has the coolest ability ever 7/10

Sex Pistols: i.. number five is valid but otherwise i hate looking at these gnomes 4/10

Little Feet: they're not bad? but i feel like goo goo dolls does the shrinkage better, and the hand is too reminiscent of soft machine 5/10

Aerosmith: i love aerosmith but they are just a toy plane.. also the band sucks nards 6.5/10

Man in the Mirror: the studded leather, goggles, and silly beak just work somehow. maybe not a favorite of mine, but very nice 7/10

Purple Haze: purple haze more like perfect haze i just want to kiss them and give them pets on the head and even when i die bc of their virus, well, it was worth it 10/10

Mr. President/Coco Jumbo: it's a turtle with a key what am i supposed to stay T/Turtle

Grateful Dead: this thing is creepy, i know that's the point it's just that i am unnerved by the eyes and tentacle.. things 7/10

Beach Boy: i'm sorry pesci but having an awesome ability doesn't get you that far in a ranking :( 4/10

Babyface, laptop edition: look i'm just gonna come out and say it. babyface as a laptop is perfection. the purple? the little face? it looks like something out of an old science fiction magazine in the best way possible! the only flaw is that it doesn't have any silly science stickers, and that's because araki was a coward. 9/10

Babyface, homunculus edition: it's meant to look like an evil echoes act 3. it does. it also looks like a grape flavored echoes. what am i supposed to say. 6/10

White Album: the concept of a kitty-cat ice skater armor onesie sounds so stupid but white album ends up amazing <3 i wish the green and purple were the same color, or less bright, maybe a red similar to ghiaccio's glasses? but whatever 8.5/10

King Crimson: king crimson is so beautiful he's too good for diavolo he should just leave. also the white-on-red pattern seems to be based off the discipline album which everyone should listen to so thanks araki :0:-D 9/10

Clash: it's a teleporting shark who fights the law 10/10

Talking Head: yesss speech control cephalopod beast :) also i like how it needs clash to infect someone, symbiosis at its finest 10/10

Notorious B.I.G: look at them

10/10

Spice Girl: weirds me out how they have chest protrusions, but otherwise they're amazing.. i like pink ok 9/10

Epitaph: :o 8/10

Metallica: they're so cute guys they look like little cartoon ghosts 9/10

Green Day: oh green day.. why did you get cioccolata? you'd be great if it were anyone else. that dress in that one game is so perfect btw 7/10

Oasis: they're nice i guess 5/10

CHR: builds on silver chariot's design and the mozart legend in an excellent way, while looking great on its own! 9/10

GER: it looks like a biblical angel fused with a beetle. 8/10

Rolling Stones: i mean? it represents a lot in the plot but, it's just a rock sculpture. 6.5/10

#talking in my head #ranking #jjba #vento aureo #golden wind #long post

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birthdaykeesha · 4 years

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Big Brother Tumblr Tag Game

Tagged by @vanessacries 😘

About You (feel free to not answer all of these if you aren’t comfortable doing so)

1. Name or nickname? justine

2. Age/Age Group? 24

3. Zodiac Sign? pisces!

4. Favorite Color? yellow

5. Favorite Animal? pug dogs!

6. First Season of BB you remember watching? bb14

7. Would you ever want to go on BB, if so, what type of player would you be? i would be horrible at bb physical comps (following in queen bb12kathy’s footsteps) so i would not want to be on the show to avoid embarrassment 💕 but if i happened to be on the show i would just play up being a bimbo so people wouldn’t think i’m a threat lol

8. Are there other CBS shows you’d want to go on, and if so, why? i don’t watch any other cbs shows, i do want to get into survivor tho!!!

9. What other Reality shows do you watch? project runway, rupaul’s drag race, ummmm i am blanking rn but i am a whore for reality tv

10. All time favorite houseguest? bbcan ika wong!!!

About the Show

1. What is your all time Favorite twist? ika getting to shred the letters from home for a fat check!!!! (basically i like twists that reward the houseguests but do not have a huge effect on the game itself)

2. What is a twist that you like, but kind of flopped? i did not like this twist but i just want to shit talk the teams twist i hate the teams twist so!!!! damn!!!! much!!!

3. If you were the new Grodner and had to remake the show, what would you keep the same? um the show can keep it’s name ❤️

4. What would you change? i would stop casting the machismo male archetype IMMEDIATELY. i would also make sure the cast was actually diverse, maybe one token straight white person, as a treat

5. What’s your all time favorite comp? pressure cooker hello!!!!

6. What’s your all time favorite competition? i also like the how bad do you want it comp

7. All time favorite punishment? getting to watch paulie cry while making pies

8. If you could bring any houseguest back to be in the house (not to play the game) who would it be and why? omg da’vonne again in the future, she always brings us good tv!!!! she can get a check without having to deal with uglies playing the game

9. If you could bring any houseguest back to play, who would it be? CHIMA WE LOVE YOUUU

10. What is your most memorable episode? omg when josh beat paul that was legendary and so unexpected

11. If you could have any reality star from any other show on BB who would it be? nene leakes!!!

12. What’s your favorite BB series outside of normal BBUS (normal BBUS does not include CBBUS or BBOTT) bbcan5 was immaculate

13. Favorite Julie Chen sign off? when she didn’t say moonves

14. Is there anything from old BB that you would bring back, why or why not, and if yes, what would it be? omg the luxury comps!!! they forced people who didn’t like each other to work together so they were entertaining

15. If you were in the BB house and you won HoH what album would be in your HoH basket and who would you want to receive a letter from? beyoncé’s critically acclaimed homecoming: the live album!!!! i would get hate mail from my dogs 💖

16. Favorite Alliance? the coven!!!!

17. Funniest BB moment? keesha’s birthday is going down in history!!!!

18. Favorite first boot? jodi 😔

19. Least favorite houseguest? too many!!! any bigoted white person (unfortunately there are too many to name)

20. Favorite BB couple? me and kaysar!!!😍

This or That

1. Old School BB or New School BB? old school!!!!!

2. Julia or Liz Nolan? fellow austin hater julia

3. Vaness Rousso or Jun Song? jun song

4. Cody Calafiore or Cody Nickson? ugh chuck e cheese is less of an asshole so him i guess

5. Swaggy or Bayleigh? BAYLEIGH WE LOVE YOUUU

6. Janelle or Kaysar? KAYSAR WE LOVE YOUUU

7. Orwell or the rubber duck? orwell

8. Hacker twist or Pandora’s Box? pandora’s box

9. Nicole A or Nicole F? nicole a if i must

10. Dan or Will? dan

11. Bathroom with Bathroom sand (BB18) or The Fidget Spinner Wall (BB20)? we will never have interior design as iconic as bathroom sand!!!!

12. The Hive or The Spy Grils? the hive were dumb as hell but i love them so much

13. PB&J or Slop? pb&j

14. Nerdy Guy archetype or Quirky Girl archetype? quirky girl 😗

15. The cursed liztin gif or the Maven (BB19) cum rag? jfhbdhf the cursed liztin gif because it’s not a health hazard (except to my eyeballs)

Tag Questions

1. First Season you blogged? bb16 technically but i only liked and reblogged things from my personal blog. this is my first year being active in the tag!!! (horrible timing i know)

2. Favorite season to blog? bbcan5!!!!

3. Favorite Bloggers? omg kind of a copout but everyone i follow i love!!! i always have the goofiest smile when i’m scrolling through my dash cause everyone is so funny 💕

4. Favorite tag cryptid (i.e. djmrod, the confession accounts, the bayler stan account, stella) stella we miss you!!!

5. Build an ideal alliance with people from the tag: @transpokenerd @kaysarsupremacy hey besties 😘

6. Favorite content creator (gifs, videos, posts)? omg i love all the content creators!!!! i am especially impressed when they gif live feed clips cause i know it’s hard to make that shitty quality look nice AND THEY ALWAYS COME THROUGH

7. Person in the tag that you like but are too nervous to talk to? um never nervous to tell @bathroom-sand that she is the queen of the tag!!!

8. Have you played in any tag games (like bbdiscords, orgs, etc.,) if so what was your favorite experience? omg i love bbsims and i’ve been in one (1) discord but it was very fun!!! just a lot of typing fkkffk

9. Favorite gate? petgate is always so cute and wholesome!!!

10. What opinions do you have that you feel would be unpopular in the tag?most times i agree with that tag tbh!! ummmm i don’t really care for the random draw in veto??? i think everyone should play in veto or the hoh and the two players on the block can all have houseguests choice

11. Have you thirst followed anyone after a selfiesgate? ya

12. Whose someone in the tag that has stopped blogging bb that you miss? stella bird blog come back!!!

13. Favorite holiday people have called Christmas? national hit and run day

14. If you could steal any url whose would it be? omg the keesha url

15. Favorite tag meme? (i.e. Paul;s mistake, victim noises, claling chr*stmas anything but her name, etc.,) PAUL’S MISTAKE PT II DESERVES TO GO #1 ON BILLBOARD!!!!!

Tag 3-5 people (or more or less)

I tag @transpokenerd @kaysarsupremacy @yeetusweenus @bathroom-sand @whats-bb22

and anyone else who wants to participate!!!!😊

#bb22 #thank you grass this was entertaining!!!!!#your mind!!!!

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scornedlove · 3 years

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Chapter Twenty-Seven

CHRIS

A couple of weeks had gone by since I promised myself I’d give Tae some space. It was disappointing that she’d only hit me up once since then, especially after I revealed so much to her the last time she was here. I really opened up to her in hopes of gaining her trust, maybe that’s why I’ve been buggin. Without her conversation, it’s hard to keep my mind off of Robyn. The last time I saw Robyn, she not only looked like a stranger, but she treated me like one too. Between her and Tae, my heart was torn and it was all too much to deal with.

Every time I felt myself getting in my feelings, I’d hit the studio, blast some music, and paint. It was like having a therapy session, which is how I was spending my Friday afternoon. I was in my zone, finishing up my third project this week when Taylor called, inviting me to go riding with him.

“Hell yeah! I had fun last time, but I wanna take it out where I can really put some gas to it.” I suggested, jumping at the chance to borrow his motorcycle again.

“Alright, I got you. I know just the place.” he promised, before we hung up. I finished the painting I was working on and stepped back to look at the finished product.

Diamond always gave the cutest pouty face when I wasn’t moving fast enough for her. I couldn’t get it out of my head, so I put it in paint. I snapped a picture of it and sent it to Tae before leaving, hoping that would put me on her mind.

“This chick wants me to meet her at the A for some drinks” Taylor announced when I got to his place.

“When ya’ll planning on doing that?”

“Right now, I told her 8. ″

“Then why you ask me to ride with you?” I asked, noticing it was fifteen til. “I’m not trying to be the third wheel”

“You won’t be. She’s bringing her roommate, so I told her I’d bring my brother” he added, with a smirk.

“I’m not going on a double date with you man, you know I got a girl.”

“It ain’t a date, unless you want it to be. I know that long distance shit ain’t gonna last too long.”

“Shut up fool. As long as you don’t get me in no shit, it’ll last as long as I want it to.”

“We’re just gonna hang for a bit, then take em on a ride. The ladies love that shit and I’m tryna get some ass tonight.”

“Well I’m not-”

“-Stop being a tight fuck. It ain’t all about them, come chill with ya bro.”

“Alright man, but don’t be mad if they both feeling me and you end up coming home empty handed” I teased as he tossed me the keys to his Harley.

We arrived twenty minutes later than expected due to traffic, but the girls still hadn’t made it. We found a spot at the bar, ordered a couple of beers, and watched the Saints play the Falcons while we waited.

“It’s looking like you got stood up lil bro” I stated when I noticed it was nine and still no sign of the chick he described.

“There she goes” he nodded towards the door when a familiar, dark skinned woman walked in. “She bad ain’t she?”

“Oh, hell naw. I heard this bitch was fuckin with Anthony a couple of weeks ago. You need to be caref-”

“Fuck Anthony. That’s yo homeboy. Besides, I’m always careful.” he stated, gulping down the rest of his beer before standing to greet Kiki.

“Small world. I would’ve never guessed y'all were brothers. Ryan gonna be shocked as fuck.” she cackled, getting comfortable next to Taylor as Ryan walked in. She was on the phone, eyes fixated on Kiki as she strutted past a couple of guys checking her out. She didn’t even notice me until she ended her call, a couple feet in front of me.

“Hey” she smiled, surprised to see me. “When Kiki told me she set me up on a blind date I was nervous as hell”

“Oh, this ain’t that.” I explained, tossing back the rest of my beer. She rolled her eyes at my bluntness and sat on the stool in between me and Kiki.

“Obviously, you shut that shit down already. I’m just glad you’re not some fucking weirdo.” she admitted and I couldn’t help but burst out in laughter.

“I see ya’ll are on good terms again” I nodded towards Kiki, who was cheesing like a schoolgirl while Taylor whispered in her ear. “I’m glad I didn’t get involved in that”

“Yeah, it didn’t take long for Anthony to hop on the next bitch” she shrugged nonchalantly. “How do you even know him? He doesn’t seem like someone you would associate with.”

“Shit, we go way back. He’s changed for the worse, that’s for damn sure. ”

“Well, at least one good thing came from him”

“What’s that?”

“He’s got some good connects. He introduced me to a DJ who’s been working with me on a couple of songs, even helped me land a couple of gigs when we were on good terms.”

“Good. Sounds like things are looking up for you.”

“You have no idea. I’ve been crazy busy. Matter of fact, I’m performing for this charity event in a few weeks, you should come.”

“Oh yeah? Send me the info. This is a crazy time for me too, but I should be able to work it in”

“Alright, but let me know either way. Don’t just leave me hanging.” she replied, before getting the bartender’s attention. They ordered margaritas and we settled on one more beer while we watched a little more of the football game. I wasn’t interested in the game, or getting drunk. I was ready for the adrenaline rush from flying through traffic, so after the ladies finished their drinks, we hit the road.

It didn’t take long for me to regret agreeing to do this with the girls. I’ve been abstinent for a solid five months now, and I haven’t seen Tae in over a month. Having Ryan’s double D’s on my back and arms wrapped around my waist had my man standing tall. I did my best to keep it to myself, but she got a couple of feels in.

Nevertheless, we rode across the Pacific Coast Highway to the infamous Neptune’s net, where we hung out for a little while, had dinner, and smoked a blunt by the beach, before heading back to the city. That’s when I realized those couple of feels weren’t an accident, they were intentional. I don’t know if it was because she was tipsy, but Ryan couldn’t keep her hands to herself. I was cool about it the first time, but then she slipped her hands in my pants while I was driving, and I damn near wrecked trying to pull over.

"If you want to make it home without having to find another way, you gonna have to keep your hands above my waist”

“Were you feeling violated? Because it looks like you were enjoying it.”

“Fuck that. I’m tryna keep shit platonic between us, but if you can’t handle that we can’t do this anymore. I’ll find you a ride, but I’m not doing this with you”

“Fine. I’ll stop.” she stated, throwing her hands up in defeat. She behaved the rest of the ride, but when we made it to her place, she invited me in and was offended when I quickly declined.

“Well, you know where I am if you wanna talk or whatever” she stated before sashaying towards her front door. The deep ass swing in her hips made it evident she wanted more than a conversation.

I waited as she dug in her purse, searching for her keys until she gave up and made a call. By the look on her face as she walked towards me, I knew bad news was coming.

“Kiki has my house key and she’s not answering. Is it cool if I stay at your place tonight?”

“You gotta be kidding” I sighed in disbelief. “Ya’ll set this shit up huh?”

“Really? Don’t flatter yourself. A simple yea or no will do” she sassed, almost tripping over her own foot.

“What other choice do we have? Let’s go” I shrugged, handing her the helmet back. She was fucked up and I didn’t want to be here all night waiting for a damn key, so I decided we’d deal with it tomorrow.

ROBYN

“I can’t believe I’m doing this”

“It looks great and it’s almost done, no need to fuss now” I reassured Mel as I wrapped my arms around her for comfort.

Today I finally went through with covering the matching tattoo Chris and I’d gotten a couple of years ago on some drunk on love shit. Halfway through, I almost chickened out, so Mel made me a deal. She said she was done with tattoos before, but if I went through with this one, she’d get one of my choice blindfolded. So here we were, both with swollen hands, only mine was three times the size of hers.

“Alright, ya’ll know the drill. Keep it clean and dry.” BB, my tattoo artist, stated once he finished her design. “and you really need to baby yours Robyn, here’s some extra ointment. It should help with the pain too.”

“Awww shit! This is dope!” Mel grinned after uncovering her eyes. Capturing moments was inked flawlessly in script on the side of her left hand.The moment we were settled in the back seat of John’s ride, she snapped a pic and sent it to J.

“I’m obsessed! Girl, fucking with you, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s perfect. You did good”

“Give jack he jacket! You know I don’t do you dirty!” I teased, grinning from ear to ear.

“Yeah, but you been wilding ever since that shit with Chris and Dre.”

“Bitch, you not even supposed to be saying the C word” I snapped, narrowing my eyes at her.

“Speaking of Chr- I mean C. Has he reached out to you since?” she continued, ignoring my annoyance.

“No. I guess I scared the shit outta him when I mentioned the police, but Aundre’s ass won’t stop calling”

“So you’re not talking to him either?”

“Nope. I’m taking your advice and leaving both of they asses alone.“

“We’ll see how long that lasts” she snickered, rolling her eyes, as if she knew I was to weak to go through with it. I hated when she did that.

“Don’t do that.’

"What”

“Don’t play dumb. I’m sick of that shit.”

“Chill out, it ain’t that serious”

“I am serious Mel. Don’t shoot me down like that. Not everybody got they life figured out by 24.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She quizzed, shaking her head. “I’m still figuring this shit out too. Everything ain’t smooth sailing over here either.”

“I find that hard to believe.” I scoffed, crossing my arms and wincing from the pain of brushing my freshly tatted hand against my clothes.

“I don’t complain all the time and I don’t wear that shit on my sleeve, but yeah Rob, I be going through some shit too.”

“Like?”

“Like my husband working seventy hour weeks and my married boss flirting and making passes at me all the fucking time”

“Michael?”

“Yeah, anytime we’re alone together he gets a little too close and happens to accidentally brush up against me the wrong way or says something sexually cryptic ”

“You lying! He’s fine as hell, but don’t fuck around with a married man. Matter of fact, you should just leave that job. These things always end up ugly”

“I’m not stupid, but I’m not leaving my job either.”

“Why not?”

“The amount of money I’m making with him is crazy, I ain’t gonna get that anywhere else.”

“Girl please, you have J. Who cares about the money? It ain’t worth the money, you need to quit”

“Easy for you to say. I’'m finally making good money and I’m not ready to let it go. Over a couple of ass grabs? Naw, imma milk this cow. Maybe I’ll be able to open my own shit one day.”

“Well all I gotta say is don’t slip up and lose ya husband over nothing stupid.”

“I would never jeopardize my marriage. J has made me a better person in so many ways, I’d be stupid to fuck up something this good. ”

“Fi true” I agreed, before John Legend’s All of Me started blaring from her phone.

“This my baby calling now” she gasped, a smile creeping across her face as she answered in her sexy voice. I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous as they flirted back and forth. I had to turn my attention to the starry sky in order to successfully tune her out. Instead of obsessing over my own sad love life, I looked for constellations while reminding myself of all the frogs she had to kiss in order to find her prince.

CHRIS

“CHRIS WHAT THE FUCK!” Tae’s unmistakable voice pierced my ears, snatching me from dreamland. It took a minute for it to register that she was standing right in front of me. Then I realized why she was screaming.

“Get up Ry-” I attempted to wake Ryan’s drunk ass up, but she was out cold. We passed out sitting up on the sofa watching Rush Hour, I don’t know how her head ended up on my lap. It may have looked a little bad, but Tae was definitely exaggerating.

“SO THIS IS WHAT YOU REALLY DO WHEN YOUR BY YOURSELF! I KNEW IT. YOU’RE A LIAR! ”

“BABE!” I yelled over her to get her attention. “You buggin. We’re fully clothed. Nothing happened.”

“And that makes this okay? Your fucking ex is laying in your lap!” Lose my number!” she screamed throwing my key at me and running out the house.

My mind was yelling for me to run after her, but my legs wouldn’t move. Is that really all it took for her to walk out on me again? If so, what is the point of this long distance shit? What was she even doing in Cali? I haven’t talked to her in days and she just randomly shows up to act like this. I had so many questions, but at the same time, I didn’t care for a single answer. I felt a weight lift from my shoulders as I realized something. I’m single again.

#rihanna #chris brown #ff #fanfiction #fanfic

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orradev · 6 years

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A deep dive into my NES toolchain

Status update

I haven’t posted much lately but I’ve been working steadily on the game. With most of the major engine systems in place I’ve been focusing on writing and building out levels.

Months ago I did a full pass on the game in a graph paper notebook and blocked out all of the major areas for the facility. I highlighted key item locations, characters, major plot points, and more or less designed the structure of the game.

Now I am spending most of my time actually building the rooms I designed months ago. Art, story, and gameplay are all starting to come together. To that end, I now have to be very specific with regards to what characters appear in each room, how the rooms connect, what the dialog is for characters and item descriptions, and so on.

A heavy stick

The toolchain I have in place for building levels is really complicated. It requires me to use a mix of Windows and Mac tools on different physical machines. I have one tool for creating the art, another for building level graphics, another (custom) editor for building level collision and entity placement. Then, all of that gets complied into the game code which has to be updated with dialog and any custom code required to make the level do stuff. It’s a bad environment for creative work as making small changes can require a whole round trip through the pipeline.

So, to help the situation, I’ve been using Twine as the main tool for writing the game:

I can treat each in-game room as a passage in a twine story. Passages have connections which match the room connections in the game. I arrange the passages in the Twine editor in a way that mirrors the physical layout of the in-game rooms.

This let’s me write some dialog then run through a sequence of rooms and see if the dialog flows properly. What happens if a player skips a room or visits characters in a different order? Does the dialog still make sense? Does the tone fit?

I can write and edit and delete quickly without fear of messing up a bunch of work. Then, when I’m happy with how things feel I can start doing the level layout knowing I shouldn’t need to make many big changes.

Designing level art

Level builds typically start in Aseprite and are really fluid. At this stage things are still really flexible.

This is the initial concept for the Shower level:

I need to make sure that for any given room the choices I make here need to:

Be renderable with a maximum of 13 colors

Use only tiles from one of my tilesets

Any new tiles added here have to fit within the available space of my chosen tileset

When I have something here that is starting to work I usually try to get it in game as soon as possible. Palette colors on the NES can be wonky and inconsistent depending on what is doing the rendering so a choice that looks great using Aseprite’s NES palette might look meh in Fceux and eye-scorching in Nintendulator or real hardware. It’s common to make a lot of round trips at this stage to find a good balance without just using the same palettes everywhere.

Laying out NES background data

The next step is to rebuild the level in NES Screen Tool using tiles from the tileset. This tool generates data which the NES uses to load background graphics which make up the level you walk around in.

Here’s what the Shower level above looks like when built out in NES Screen Tool with some palette adjustments:

You can see the tileset used to build this level on the right. That is the holding_cells tileset. It still has a lot of room for cool new art.

At this stage I will usually do a lot of tweaking to the position of various items in the level. I may add or remove props or inspiration might strike and I’ll create all new sprite art to include in the level.

I will also try lots of palette variations here as it’s very fast to do.

When the level layout is more or less complete, I export a bunch of things:

A .map file for the level which I use when making edits

The background data for the level as a C header file

The updated CHR data for the tileset

The palette for the level as a C header file

A bitmap file of the tileset in case I want to edit it in Aseprite

A bitmap file of the level layout to use as a reference in my custom map editor

(If I could make only one change to my current process it would be to make the above steps scriptable.)

Adding map data

Next I add the level to my SCP project in my custom map editor. I import the bitmap I generated previously and use that as a guide to mark up the level with collision information, NPCs, and triggers for dialog and game events:

That data gets exported into the game as C code which looks like:

The big block at the top defines the type of every tile in the level (e.g. walkable, non-walkable, trigger, exit, etc.).

Some tiles (up to 16) can also have 8 bits of extra metadata. This is used so exits can define where they link to and so triggers can indicate what procedure should run when they are activated.

The spawns define the type and location of entities and pickups in each level.

Finally the level state is 8 bits of persistent data which is kept in memory for every level in the game. The level editor uses this to mark which doors are closed and which are opened but game code can use those bits to keep track of pretty much anything. Those bits can be read even if the player is in a completely different level. Simply put, this allows a switch in one level to open a door in another level.

With just the above done I can load the level in game, walk around, and check the art.

Hooking it up

To get the dialog and triggers working I need to add two files. The first is the dialog definition for the level:

The dialog is all hand-written and is based on the dialog in the Twine passage for the level. Here is where I make sure that each line actually fits in the dialog box. I also add markers for quotes (\x26), line breaks (\x01), and page breaks (\x02).

This is where Twine is such a life-saver. Making changes to dialog in C code with all of the control characters is a giant pain in the ass.

The second file I add contains the scripting for the level:

The details of this are destined for another overly-long technical post. For now, the important thing is this is where we hook up the dialog lines from the previous file to the triggers we defined in the map editor.

This all has to be done by hand because dialog can change based on the game state and activating a dialog will, in some cases, trigger actions to happen in the world. This is the code that ties all of that together.

The result

When you put all of that together you get a finished game level:

It can take several days to go through all of the writing, design, and art for a small simple level like this. Then, the technical buildout and revisions typically take one or two evenings of head-down work.

It is a lot of effort but I’m pleased with the results so far.

If you read all this, wow, thanks for sticking it out. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

#nes #gamedev #nes homebrew #pixel art #twine #game development #level editor

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pangenttechnologies · 3 years

Photo

There's lots of good options!

First, you may be able to find a No-Intro ROMset at Archive. org.

Romhacks are often distributed as .IPS or other small files which are used to patch the original ROM using a program like Lunar IPS. You may also be able to play these natively if the ROM and Patch have the same filename. There are many at Romhacking.net.

Mesen and FCEUX are good NES emulators, which have features helpful to ROMhackers.

If you're just playing the games, Mesen has savestates, rewind, cheats, and a history viewer which plays back your progress.

Mesen supports and creates HDPacks, which can alter the graphics of a game. It has a PPU viewer where you can look at the palettes, CHR graphics, and Nametables which make up the backgrounds.

I want to change some text in "A Week of Garfield," so I'm looking at the CHR graphics in Mesen, and typing what I see into Oriton Table Viewer.

In the FCEUX emulator, I've opened up the Hex Editor, and selected View ROM File. I've loaded my TBL file. I can now read and edit the text in the game.

I'm going to go into Mesen's Memory Tools and save the Nametable RAM for the title screen of "Penguin Land."

I only need the first 400 bytes so everything from 400 on, I'll delete in a hex editor, and save that as a .NAM. I'll open this up in Shiru's NES Screen Tool. Here, I can design a new title screen, although it'll take more work to insert it accurately into the ROM. (You can use the same Tool for metasprite construction and save it as hex.)

I can convert an image into an NES file using Kasumi's I-CHR.

YY-CHR.NET is a good tool for looking at and altering the graphics in a ROM file. I can copy and paste graphics, and paste in a 256-color image from Photoshop.

#PT #Q&A #Romhacking #NES #Retro Gaming #Tutorial #Not a cipher

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kalimarswriting · 6 years

Text

Playing by Ear: Chapter 8

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Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.

Chapter 8: Th-th-the L-L-Longfort

Cold.

Gods it was cold.

As expected, the march to Ferox was absolutely miserable. Out of desperation I had taken the green fabric I had bought and used it as a scarf for extra warmth, but the shredded side of my shirt and jacket wasn't helping things. Damn that risen for actually getting a hit in. My hood was pulled up over my cap. Maybe it looked stupid, but I was always more about function than fashion so it was no matter to me. I was grateful to whomever had brought me here for bringing me here in my boots. I couldn't imagine having to slog through the snow in tennis shoes.

And slogging we were. The snow drifts were deep here, and every step was an effort. The cold slowed down my movements even more. I didn't understand how Vaike could stand it, not even having a shirt to fend off the cold.

I shuddered to think of fighting in these conditions.

I wished I had some gloves. The three areas of your body that you lose the most heat through are the palms of your hands, the bottoms of your feet and your scalp. I had my head and feet covered, but the best I could do for my hands was put them in my pockets.

My teeth were chattering.

I was somewhat used to being cold despite living in Texas because my mom always kept the AC absurdly low. Whenever I would complain she would say I needed more meat on my bones and to grab a blanket. It was the source of many an argument. But that was at home, where blankets were available, and even then it hardly compared. Sixty degrees to below freezing? I wasn't used to those temperatures at all. My mom was right that I needed more meat on my bones. I was pretty thin because I never remembered to eat anything because of my ADHD medicine, and I was definitely paying for it. I was shivering down to my very core.

I couldn't feel my my face. I pulled my makeshift scarf up over my nose with shaking hands so that my breath would warm it up. I could always wash the snot off later.

I was so focused on staying warm and putting one foot in front of the other, must not get left behind, that I didn't notice the footsteps behind me until someone put a hand on my shoulder. I must have jumped a mile in the air. Guess the cold didn't dull my reflexes.

"Do you want my coat?" It was Robin, looking taken aback by my reaction.

No. Nuh-uh. I was the one who offered my jacket to people, not the other way around! I never went anywhere without my jacket because I always needed the extra pockets, but since my ADHD medicine kept me warm as a side effect of being a stimulant, I would lend my jacket out to people who couldn't take cold AC back when I still went to school. It was something I was a little bit proud of, to be able to do that.

Aside from my own pride, Robin would be as bad off as I was now without his coat. He may not know it, but he was from the hot country of Plegia. He wouldn't last an hour out here.

That's not to say there wasn't a third option. It wouldn't be the first time I'd shared a garment meant for one, but could I really swallow down my embarrassment to do it?

I looked at Robin, who didn't look like he was shivering at all under his thick purple coat. Okay, yes. Yes, if I could be warm enough not to shiver, I was willing to swallow down my embarrassment.

"M-maybe we c-c-could sh-share?" My chattering teeth made it hard to get the short sentence out, but I managed. Robin looked surprised at the question, not expecting something other than a yes or no. He took a second to respond, probably trying to process the very out-there idea. I worried that I was asking too much.

A gust of wind threw a bunch of tiny ice crystals in our faces, which led him to his decision. "I guess it would be better than no coat at all, right?" He gave a shaky smile.

"Oh thank the gods, thank you." I scurried under his arm, hiding in the warms folds of dark fabric. Holy gods, it was warm under here. "How do you not burn up in this in normal weather?" The question was out before I really thought about it.

Another voice answered before the he could form a response. "Judging by the designs on his coat, he's likely plegian. It's a desert country, so whether he claims to remember it or not he's accustomed to such temperatures." Frederick rode up from behind us, looking awfully comfy on his horse instead of walking like we were. "You'd best speed up a bit, I'm the tail end of everyone. We wouldn't want to leave our new recruits behind, would we?"

"No," I quickly answered before trying to speed up, only to accidentally step out of the coat. The wall of cold air immediately sucked all the just-gained warmth from me and reached down to my bones. I hurriedly scooted back under the coat to recover. "Maybe we should work on syncing our steps?" I suggested.

"I think that's a wise idea," Robin replied. So, with some trial and error, we managed to sync our steps like we were running a three-legged race. We readjusted a little, so I had my arm in one sleeve and he had his in the other. It was a tight fit, but worth it. In this way we passed Frederick and started to catch up with the others.

We caught up to Lissa first, unfortunately. She spotted our awkwardly trudging form instantly and snickered. "L-looks like you t-t-two are g-getting awfully close," she commented shakily. She looked as cold as I was a few minutes ago.

I felt my face turning red and tried to hide, but only succeeded in scrunching closer to Robin. Warm, but proved exactly what she was saying. It was a no-win situation no matter what I did. Robin wisely said nothing, as nothing he could say would make things any better.

Virion sidled over to the giggling princess. "Would the lady like to f-follow their example?" He smoothly attempted to flirt. Ah, Virion, why do I always forget about you?

Lissa took one look at the archer and called out, "F-F-Freberick! I'm f-f-freebing!" DENIED.

"Stand beside my horse, milady. She'll protect you from the wind." Came the knight's prompt response. He closed the distance between us quickly and provided the princess with a wind blocker. Her shivering calmed down some.

Robin stopped walking and I almost fell out of his coat again. "So this is the fortress?"

What? I looked up and saw that yes, the Longfort was in sight. I could barely make out small forms on the wall if I strained my eyes. Damn, I was hoping by some miracle it would be unattended and we could go in without a fight. I really, really dreaded fighting in this weather. It would require leaving Robin's coat, for one thing, plus I was worried about how much the cold would slow down my movements. My biggest asset was nerfed, basically, and I didn't know how I was going to survive a battle without it.

I tuned back in to hear, "Remember, everyone, your actions here reflect upon Ylisse." Well then. I hoped I hadn't missed anything important.

In the brief amount of time we had before we were close enough to talk with Raimi, I voiced my concerns to Robin. "This cold is slowing me down. I'm not sure how effectively I'll be able to fight like this."

The tactician thought for a moment. "Miriel's a fire mage. Why don't you try pairing up with her? It might be warmer around her magic." He came up with the solution in no time at all.

"Worth a shot!" Maybe this fight wouldn't be so miserable after all. I finally wouldn't be fighting alone!

All too soon we had arrived right in front of the Longfort and it was time to watch things go down. The blurry forms on the wall had multiplied, and being closer I could now see them more clearly. Archers.

Statistically, in real life archers were one of the best things an army could have before modern weapons because they had the highest kills-per-person ratio. In Fire Emblem they were useful, but not exactly the most important units you could have. I personally preferred wind mages because they could attack from multiple ranges and still had an advantage over flying units. But this wasn't a game anymore, and I suspected that the game's rules were somewhat moot point.

"Trouble on the wind, milord: The Feroxi Guard are mobilizing." Frederick informed us.

"What?! Why?" Chrom's look of confusion almost made me laugh out loud.

"Who can say?" Frederick made to continue, but I interrupted.

"Ferox's politics are basically who wins what battle. They're going to fight us no matter what we say. I told you there were going to be two more battles before we could talk to the Khans, didn't I?" I paused to think for a moment, not used to talking so much to these people yet. "I uh, wouldn't advise charging straight in though. If we don't try to negotiate first they might think of us as actually hostile and call for reinforcements instead of letting us in." Plus then Sumia might not make it in time, but saying that would only lead to more questions. If nothing else thanks to Robin's marvelous coat, my feet were cold, and I wanted to get this over with.

"Halt! Who goes there?!" Raimi called down from the fortress wall.

"In the name of house Ylisse, I seek an audience with the khans!" Chrom called back.

While they argued I watched the skies, anxious to make sure Sumia got here in time. I wouldn't want a game over on my hands.

"I've heard quite enough!" Raimi finally lost her patience with us supposed brigands. "Attack!"

Not needing to be told twice, the lancers on the wall threw their lances at Chrom. Out of nowhere (and it really was, because I had seen hide nor hair of her in the skies) Sumia swept through on her new pegasus and Chrom was gone, just in time for the lances to converge where he had been.

While our fearless leader was having his little moment with Sumia, the rest of us prepared to fight.

"Alright, we need to split into two groups!" Robin took over, showing his aptitude to his role of our tactician. "Vaike, do you have your axe?"

Vaike shrugged. "It's not mine, but Teach took one off a risen earlier."

"Good. You'll go right with Chrom and Sumia. Sully, you go too."

"Roger that." Sully grabbed Vaike and pulled him up on her horse and rode off after Sumia's pegasus.

"Merra, you go left with Miriel as we discussed. Virion and Frederick, you follow them." Frederick didn't look happy with the arrangement, whether it was because he was separated from his lord or because he was taking orders from Robin in particular, but he did not argue.

"Lissa, you and Stahl made a pretty good team last time. You stay behind and heal whomever you see get hurt. You should be able to reach both groups from here." Robin went over a mental checklist. He didn't think he was missing anyone. "Alright, get going!"

"Right!" I regretfully left the warm confines of Robin's coat, face red (from the cold, I'd say) and jittery with nerves. I couldn't believe I'd done that. That had been really bold of me, and he had just gone along with it!

The sound of an arrow whizzing by brought me out of my thoughts and back to the present. Right, I had to fight people now. I took my hands out of my pockets and unsheathed my sword, the blade clearly shaking in my hands. I was already starting to shiver again. I'd have to get this over with quickly.

I charged ahead of Miriel (a mage should always be protected behind a close-range unit) at the nearest feroxi guard, who happened to be an archer. He saw me coming and nocked another arrow. I kept charging anyway, hoping that if I got close enough he'd be powerless against me like in the games. (Even though I suspected the game mechanics were moot point here anyway.) I could see the panic on his face as he saw I wasn't stopping, and he fumbled the bow and dropped the arrow. Poor guy.

I hit him upside the head with the flat of my (Robin's) blade, but that was only enough to daze him. I frowned. I was at a loss of how to take the guy down without fatally wounding him. I didn't want that on my conscience yet, not when I knew that this battle was not one of animosity but a simple misunderstanding. These people were supposed to become our allies in the near future.

Thuk! Pain blossomed in my shoulder and the force of an impact almost knocked me off my feet. I looked down to see an arrow protruding from my shoulder, and I was confused. Hadn't the archer dropped his arrow? I heard the thew! of another arrow releasing and dropped, but too slow. Before I hit the ground a second arrow lodged itself next to the first one. Goddamn shit that hurt!

The cold was slowing down my thinking. I needed to…what did I need to do? What was I doing?

The snow felt nice. It reminded me of the ski trips I'd gone on with my dad, when I'd lay down on top of the mountains and watch the snow fall. It was almost more fun than the skiing. But something wasn't right…

Blood colored the snow red. I heard Miriel shouting for Lissa and the roar of a fire spell. The flames brought with them warmth, though only a little reached me as they were directed at the enemy. The out-of-place heat brought back some clarity and I remembered that wowee, I was in the middle of a battle! The clarity also snapped me out of my numb feeling and I was rudely reminded of the arrows lodged in my shoulder.

I tried my best to ignore them and get up, but putting weight on that arm to rise was agonizing. Using my other limbs just reminded me of all the activity I'd already done today, and by the time I was standing my entire body was complaining about one thing or another.

More fire coming from Miriel's direction. I couldn't let her fight alone. Wounded or not, mages shouldn't be in direct line of fire. If it hadn't been me, it would have been her. I stood a little straighter. I had done my job, and it was time to continue.

I turned back to the fray and saw that there was not one, but two archers. The first one that I had dazed was burning on the ground. I hoped there were healers nearby. The second one must have been the one who had shot me, and now he set his sights on Miriel.

"Oh no you don't!" I stepped in front of the mage and then braced myself for yet another puncture wound because I really hadn't thought that one through, only to hear a clink! and feel nothing.

Wha…?

The archer looked confused too, and quickly tried again only to get the same result. The arrow seemingly hit an invisible wall and fell to the ground.

Oh. Oh my gosh this was amazing. I was almost doubled over laughing in the middle the battlefield, because I realized we had something Ferox didn't: a Kellam.

"Kellam? Is that you?" I asked the space in front of me. Now wasn't the time for a conversation, but if Chrom and Robin could have long conversations in one turn, why couldn't I?

"You can see me?" Came faintly in return. I saw a vague shadow now between us and the archers.

"Kind of?"

"How do you know my name? They forgot to introduce me yesterday."

"Um, Sumia told me?" She seemed like someone who'd try to keep track of everyone. But I could see the remaining archer redirecting his attention elsewhere; now really wasn't the time to chat. "Hey, could you cover Miriel while I have Lissa heal me up?"

"Sure! Go get those looked at." The shadow faded away again somehow and I was dismissed.

I could already see Lissa and Stahl on their way since Miriel had called them over earlier. I looked at the arrows still sticking out of my shoulder. I was amazingly lucky that they hadn't landed somewhere more vital—instead I just couldn't use my left arm. Joy. Was it just me, or were these injuries getting worse every battle?

Wanting to get this done quickly, I bit down on my green fabric "scarf" (I wasn't sure how much this was going to hurt) and used my sword to lop off the ends of the arrows. Just because Lissa could heal didn't mean I could just leave them in.

Ugh, time for the really painful part.

On the count of three, I grabbed the end of the first arrow sticking through my back and yanked. It…gods it hurt. But the arrow was out at least, and the wound was now free for healing. I grabbed the other one.

"Merra wait!" I saw Lissa peeking out from behind Stahl as they approached.

I looked at her and yanked out the second arrow. Wait for what?

"…Never mind. Here." She raised her staff and just like that, the pain was gone. But now there were new holes in my jacket and shirt. Wonderful.

"Thank you!"

"Uh-huh! Just be more careful!" She patted Stahl's arm and he turned back around, presumably to get back within shouting distance of the other group.

I turned back around to where I had left the others and saw that they were up on the wall now. As I watched, Frederick took care of the last swordsman on the ground. Alright, guess it was time to join everyone on the wall.

Eyeing the stairs and not liking what I saw, I slogged through the snow after the great knight. "Frederick! Could I have a lift?"

He eyed me with distaste before saying, "Fine," and pulling me up on his steed. Yes! Laziness rules!

Of course, once we were on the wall Frederick kicked me off, but it was completely worth it to not have to do all those stairs, yessir.

I took a second to get my bearings. Kellam was nowhere to be seen, which didn't necessarily mean anything, Virion was shooting at a heavily armored knight with little success, Miriel was casting fires at an axe-user and there was a feroxi soldier unconscious (I think) on the ground. I decided to help out Virion, since he was the one playing with metaphorical fire. He was fast enough to dodge most of the lance knight's attacks, but his arrows plinked off of the knight's armor uselessly.

"On your left!" I warned the archer, rushing past him to try to whack the knight. Oh, I whacked him, but honestly all that happened was a loud clang and the knight turned his attention to me and away from Virion. Okay. I'm bad at this, but it shouldn't be that bad. I've got people to back me up now. I tried to encourage myself as I jumped back out of the way of the knight's lance. Springing forward again, I tried for an upward swing into his armpit, (an area difficult to cover in armor if I remembered right) only to miss and clang against armor again. Virion understood what I was trying to do and landed a couple arrows in the gap. I had a few more moments to attack as the knight was knocked slightly off-balance by the arrows, but I still hit armor. I had to jump back again once he recovered and swung his lance at me.

The skirmish continued in this way, with Virion and I dancing around the knight but unable to damage him in return.

This was really frustrating. Was every opponent going to be this much hassle?

There was something glowing in my peripheral vision and I had the good sense to duck before the knight in front of me was roasted in his armor.

"Distraction kills." Miriel, everybody.

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#my writing #Playing by Ear #chapter 8 #fanfiction #fire emblem #fire emblem awakening #Robin x OC

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