Archives for posts with tag: St Patrick’s Day
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My Leprechaun’s gone insane!

By TSTO Tips
April 12, 2013 //
32

There are lots of little changes around the game with the Whacking Day update, and I’ll be doing posts on all of them (probably by the end of the weekend). Here’s one more – and that’s the Leprechaun has a new spring in his step.

For those of you who bought the limited time Leprechaun during the St. Patrick’s Day event (no longer available), he’s a source of cash and XP – as well as some mindless entertainment. But you’ll have noticed that since the update, when you tap and collect, his speed has increased as he runs away. He used to move fast, but now he he speeds off like Road Runner running away from Wile E. Coyote. And every time a friend taps on him when they visit your town 9and there’s a lot more visiting going on at the moment), he’ll respond in exactly the same way in your game at his new higher speed.

So a super-speedy Leprechaun that makes you work just that bit harder for a second tap seems to be another little update enhancement. All the better, I suppose, for him to protect his pot of gold, game dollars and XP. Or it could be just because he’s scared of all the snakes!

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Categories Leprechaun, St Patrick's Day, Update, Whacking Day

Don’t updates always happen on Thursdays US?

By TSTO Tips
April 3, 2013 //
14

Recently, it’s true that Thursdays have been update day. Since the Valentine’s update, most of the gameplay updates have happened on Thursday – the Valentine’s Day App store update was on a Thursday, as was the level 26 release, Gorgeous Grampa, the start of the St. Patrick’s Day event, Fruit-Bat-Man and level 27. Although an app update sometimes happened earlier in the week (as with St. Patrick’s Day and level 27), the new features weren’t actually released until Thursday US time.

But a Thursday release hasn’t been the case on every occasion, though – the Christmas update came on a Wednesday and level 25 was released on a Friday. And that means that while Thursday is a likely day to see an update, almost any other day of the working week is also a possibility.

And when are we likely to see the next update? Only EA know that for sure. While they gave a 24 hour warning that a Christmas update was on the way, all the others have snuck through unannounced (and, in fact, EA only officially announced that level 27 had arrived several hours after it appeared). And that means we’ll just have to wait and see.

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Categories Christmas, EA, Updates, Valentine's Day

Will Android players have a chance to get the characters and items they’ve missed out on?

By TSTO Tips
March 23, 2013 //
15

This is a question I’m getting a lot and it’s not surprising given that Android device users were only able to join the game in February (and even then, it was without the Valentine’s day event). The important thing to know, however, is that even Apple players who joined the game late have also missed out on a number of items.

Tapped Out is a game that’s still continually in development – and that’s one of the things I like about it. It never finishes and there’s always something new. In addition to a new level every month of so, there are also large events, small events, and episode promotions to keep everyone engaged and coming back to the game. EA treats these are rewards for regular play – which is why you may miss out on them if you’re not regularly checking in.

Some of the events that have happened over the past 12 months include:

Halloween – you can see the Treehouse of Horror collection in your character menu, but there were also costumes for Homer, Marge and Ned and a number of limited time buildings and decorations that you could buy for Candy. Apple players who weren’t around at Halloween have, like Android players, missed out on these.
Thanksgiving – a set of balloons which are no longer available. Again, many Apple players missed out on these.
Christmas - the limited time items from Christmas (with the exception of the Santa Homer costume) ended up in the premium store, which was a bit unusual. However, the Android release meant that the Mapple Store is no longer available for either Apple or Android players.
Winter - a collection of snowmen and Mr. Plow, none of which are available for either late-coming Apple players or Android players.
Valentine’s Day – 3 new buildings, which are no longer available (or usable – a bone of contention for Apple players) for anyone on any device just joining the game.
St. Patrick’s Day – Neither Tom O’Flanagan and his pub nor the Leprechaun and Wishing Well are available to players on any device just joining the game.

Add to that the Duff Racer, Fat Tony, Cool Homer and Cool Brown House, Gorgeous Grampa, and Fruit-Bat-Man episode promotions and it’s quite a list of stuff that people want in their towns but have missed out on.

But that’s the way the game goes. And it’s an important part of getting people hooked and keeping them hooked – because if you don’t play regularly, you may miss out for good on something you really want. And it’s interesting that, largely, EA haven’t chosen the obvious route of putting all the limited time items in the donut store and making you buy them with real-world cash – they really want you to keep coming back even if you’re not a heavy donut-user.

And, honestly, in the short-term, I think it’s unlikely that any of these past limited-time items will show up in the premium store for either Apple or Android players. But if Gil ever turned up and offered any of the items I missed for donuts, I’d be the first in line!

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Categories Christmas, Donuts, EA, Easter, Episode promotions, Halloween, Limited time, Special items, St Patrick's Day

The rivers are still green but nobody can drink at O’Flanagan’s anymore!

By TSTO Tips
March 21, 2013 //
39

The green rivers are still there, but the O’Flanagan’s tasks have gone. Tom O’Flanagan’s pub is about to become a sad and lonely place – nobody can go there to drink and Homer can no longer promote the bar. Tom can still work there, of course, but he’ll be all alone from now on.

The question still remains – will the rivers change back to their normal blue and will we see an update sometime later on Thursday US time? Nobody but EA knows for sure.

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Categories EA, Level 27, O'Flanagan's Pub, Tasks, Tom O'Flanagan, Update

For how much longer will Springfield’s rivers be green?

By TSTO Tips
March 20, 2013 //
33

St. Patrick’s Day is going on a little longer than most of us expected. While there was an update on Monday US time, it was a little like the pre-St. Patrick’s Day update – with nothing new happening immediately. That means players still struggling to get to level 10 in regular gameplay to build Willie’s Shack had a bit of extra time to do so and still finish the St. Paddy’s Day quest, your Springfield citizens had a few extra days to drink pints of Guinness together at O’Flanagan’s – and Springfield’s rivers remain a nauseating green beyond St. Patrick’s Day itself.

So when will we get our blue rivers back? The best guess based on recent experience is sometime in the afternoon of Thursday, 21 March US time. Apart from re-bluing the rivers, exactly what will happen then is still anyone’s guess – it may be level 27 or it may be an Easter update or it may be both (I’m taking the fight between the Easter Bunny and the Leprechaun in the opening credits of last week’s episode as an indication that an Easter update is still a possibility – but maybe I’m reading too much into it!)

And for those who are still not sure why the rivers are green in the first place, it’s a Chicago St. Patrick’s Day tradition. Here’s a link sent in by Edd explaining everything: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/odd/news/a466465/chicago-river-is-dyed-green-for-st-patricks-day-pictures.html

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Categories Easter, Groundskeeper Willie, Level 10, Level 27, Limited time, O'Flanagan's Pub, St Patrick's Day, St. Paddy's Day, Update, Willie's Shack

What happens when you tap on the Leprechaun in a friend’s town?

By TSTO Tips
March 19, 2013 //
14

With St. Patrick’s Day still around in Springfield, here’s a quick one before it all disappears…

About a week ago, I wrote a post explaining that there’s unfortunately no cash or XP bonus when you tap on the Leprechaun when you see him in a friend’s town (and you can see that post here). But there’s still a little fun to be had. And that’s because Tapping on a friend’s Leprechaun has the same effect as tapping on your own (only without the money and XP) – he curses unintelligibly, then runs away.

So if you want to leave a friend with some erratic Leprechaun behavior as you pass through their town, give it a try. It’s not instant, which means you won’t be able to see it right away if you’re sitting next to your friend, but it’s a nice random little surprise. And you’ll still be able to do this even when St. Patrick’s Day is just a fond memory.

…and apparently you can do the same with Santa’s Little Helper and the Funzos.

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Categories Funzo, Leprechaun, Santa's Little Helper, St Patrick's Day

It’s still St. Patrick’s Day in Springfield!

By TSTO Tips
March 19, 2013 //
9

Despite today’s update, it’s still St. Patrick’s Day in Springfield. (Fruit-Bat-man and the Fruit-Bat-signal are no longer available, though). And that means that if you haven’t completed all 9 parts of the St. Patrick’s Day storyline yet, there’s still time. That also means that if you haven’t got your Shamrock Topiary yet, there’s still time for that, too (it appears at the end of the quest).

But be quick, as there’s no telling when it will end and the rivers will turn blue again (it could be in a few hours for now or it could be later in the week). And don’t forget to look at the St. Patrick’s Day posts page for everything you need to know about this particular event.

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Categories Limited time, Shamrock Topiary, St Patrick's Day, St. Paddy's Day, Update

The Wishing Well and Leprechaun: the final poll results

By TSTO Tips
March 18, 2013 //
14

The rivers are still running green in Springfield, but it won’t be that long before they turn blue again. Exactly when things get back to normal is anyone’s guess (it could be anywhere between now and Thursday afternoon US Central time). But, whichever way you look at it, there’s very little time left to use your donuts on the limited-time Wishing Well and Leprechaun.

As you can see, readers of this blog were a little more evenly divided over this than they were over Fruit-Bat-Man:

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In the end, 51.03% wanted to add the Wishing Well and the Leprechaun to their towns and the remaining 48.97% wanted to hang onto their gold…er…donuts. All the way through, the voting stayed as close as a US presidential election.

There’ll be a new poll next weekend (or earlier if an update doesn’t come quickly!).

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Categories Donuts, Leprechaun, Limited time, St Patrick's Day, Wishing Well

5 free donuts just because it’s St. Patrick’s Day!

By TSTO Tips
March 17, 2013 //
27

When you log on to your game today, Homer temporarily interrupts whatever task he’s on, and this is what you see:

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5 free donuts – just because today is St. Patrick’s Day (ignore my unseasonably dressed Homer!).

Enjoy the day!

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Categories Donuts, Free, St Patrick's Day

Will we get level 27 or a new event on Monday?

By TSTO Tips
March 17, 2013 //
17

“Simpsons tapped out level 27” is currently one of the most popular search terms hitting this blog. And with St. Patrick’s Day soon to be a memory and episode promotions traditionally only lasting a few days, it’s a very good question.

You can see some of the speculation about what the next update might contain here and here, supported by Lisa’s locked meditation task. But will we see these on Monday? Or will there be a new event – perhaps for Easter. They’re both possibilities – but it’s also possible that we’ll have to wait a few days and we won’t see anything until later in the week.

It’s been just over a month since level 26, so it’s likely that level 27 is due. It’s also possible that there’ll be an Easter event – but at this stage it’s anyone’s guess. And in recent times, updates have come through on Thursday afternoons US time (usually when I’m busy with other things), so it may be that there will be a few days of “business as usual” before something new happens, as was the case after the Gorgeous Grampa promotion.

If nothing new comes through on Monday, my advice would be to keep checking into your game at around mid-afternoon US Central time throughout the coming week. Something is on its way – but exactly what and exactly when will probably remain a secret until we see it in the game.

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Categories Adult Education Annex, Carl, Easter, Episode promotions, Lenny, Level 27, Mount Carlmore, Springfield Buddhist Temple, St Patrick's Day, Themes, Update

Poll reminder! Will you be buying the limited-time premium items?

By TSTO Tips
March 16, 2013 //
4

Just a reminder that there are two polls happening on this site at the moment, both to do with whether you’ll be spending your precious donuts on the limited time premium items that are currently available – and they both close in the next couple of days.

The first is for the Wishing Well and Leprechaun. If you haven’t voted, please do so and see what others have done, are doing, or are planning to do (the voting has been very close on this one):

The other is the Fruit-Bat-Man poll – and it seems that many readers of this blog are not so convinced by this offer (particularly as it’s a costume that costs the same as a stand-alone premium character). Again, please vote if you haven’t done so yet:

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Categories Donuts, Episode promotions, Fruit-Bat-Man, Leprechaun, Limited time, St Patrick's Day

How long do I have to decide whether I want the Leprechaun or Fruit-Bat-Man?

By TSTO Tips
March 16, 2013 //
5

The Leprechaun and and Fruit-Bat-Man are both limited-time items, so if you want them, you’d better decide quickly. That’s because Monday, 18 March is quite possibly the day they’ll no longer be available in your premium store.

St. Patrick’s Day is Sunday, 17 March and we’re all assuming that the event will wind up sometime on Monday. After all, it’s not really a big event, and there’s no reason for it to be around much after the day itself. You’ll get to keep everything you’ve acquired once the event is over, though. But the quest will probably end and nobody new to the game will be able to get Tom O’Flanagan, O’Flanagan’s Pub, the Wishing Well, or the Leprechaun. That means you’ll need to hurry through the quest so that you can get the Shamrock Topiary before the event ends if it’s still going on for you.

Fruit-Bat-Man is part of an episode promotion and, if the past is anything to go by, this costume for Mr. Burns will also no longer be available after Monday, 18 March. If you’ve bought it, it’s yours for the life of the game – but new players and those that haven’t bought it will no longer be able to do so. They’ll also be wondering how you got the Fruit-Bat-Signal.

When on Monday will this happen? For international players, we’re taking Monday, 18 March in the US – and exactly when on Monday is anyone’s guess. Again, based on past experience, updates seem to come through in the afternoon or the early evening. But it could be any time.

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Categories Episode promotions, Fruit-Bat-Man, Fruit-Bat-Signal, Leprechaun, Limited time, O'Flanagan's Pub, Shamrock Topiary, St Patrick's Day, Tom O'Flanagan, Wishing Well

I’m at level 10 but I can’t build Willie’s Shack! Is there something wrong with my game?

By TSTO Tips
March 14, 2013 //
0

I guess I haven’t quite finished with the St. Patrick’s Day posts as this is a question I’ve been seeing a lot of. While I’ve answered it in Part 3 of the walkthrough (which you can find on the St. Valentine’s Day post page here), I haven’t really addressed it in it’s own post: you’ve been asked in St.Paddy’s Day Pt. 7 to build Willie’s Shack – so why can’t you?

A problem often comes up in special events when, as in the St. Paddy’s Day quest, you need a character you haven’t unlocked yet to make any progress. But special events never unlock regular characters – you can only do the through your regular gameplay and only if you’ve unlocked all the other buildings and characters that come before it in your building menu.

The problem comes from the fact that the game developers didn’t really take account of exactly how addictive the game can be – which means that if you play several times a day and have lots of friends you visit friends regularly, your XP bar fills up much faster than you can move through the game levels. And that means that your XP level and your game level will be forever out of sync. When that happens, you have to begin treating the levels that your buildings are supposed to unlock as minimum levels only, because this will be the case throughout your game.

So, if you’re at level 10 and you haven’t unlocked Willie’s Shack yet, don’t worry – there’s nothing wrong with your game. Just keep plugging through the tasks that come up. Hopefully, you’ll get to it before the event ends shortly after St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) and be able to complete the last 3 parts of the St. Paddy’s Day quest.

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Categories Buildings, Characters, Gameplay, Groundskeeper Willie, Level 10, St Patrick's Day, St. Paddy's Day, Willie's Shack, XP

Why wasn’t there more to the St. Patrick’s Day event?

By TSTO Tips
March 14, 2013 //
14

A couple of people have commented that they were a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more to the St.Patrick’s Day event, and I’ll have to admit that I am, too. But, don’t be too disappointed, as this has really been the order of things in the last 6 months or so.

Since September 2012, the pattern has been this – a new level released every month to six weeks and a full event one month, followed by a “lite” event and a promotion or two the next. For those new to the game, this has been the event pattern over the last 6 months:

September 2012 – the first major game update since the initial launch (and a season launch decoration)
October 2012 – Halloween event (a really big one)
November 2012 – a small Thanksgiving event and a couple of episode promotions
December 2012 – a very big Christmas event
January 2013 – some winter decorations
February 2013 – a biggish Valentine’s event
March 2013 – an episode promotion and a short St. Patrick’s Day event (so far)

Here’s hoping for something bigger in April.

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Categories Christmas, Episode promotions, Halloween, St Patrick's Day, Themes, Valentine's Day

Are there any rewards for tapping on a friend’s Leprechaun?

By TSTO Tips
March 13, 2013 //
4

This is probably the last question I need to answer on the St. Patrick’s Day event…

Unfortunately, the Leprechaun doesn’t work like Sideshow Bob – which means, if you see him in your friend’s Springfield, there are no hidden rewards from tapping on him, no matter how many times you do it. He just says something unintelligible and runs away. It’s a shame, because it would have been a nice idea.

And don’t forget, you can see the answers to all your St. Patrick’s Day questions on the St. Patrick’s Day post page, which you can find using the menu bar at the top of the page or by going here.

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Categories Friends, Gameplay, Leprechaun, St Patrick's Day

Don’t forget to vote in the St. Patrick’s Day poll!

By TSTO Tips
March 12, 2013 //
3

If you haven’t voted in the St. Patrick’s Day poll, please cast your vote. Will you be buying the Wishing Well and Leprechaun – or will you be saving your donuts for Mount Carlmore (and we don’t know yet whether Carl will come with it as a premium character or be a regular character in the game)?

Once you’ve voted, take a look and see what other readers of this blog will be doing! At the moment, the results look like something you might see in a US presidential election.

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Categories Donuts, Leprechaun, Premium characters, Premium decorations, St Patrick's Day, Wishing Well

I want all the characters! Can I still unlock Shauna?

By TSTO Tips
March 12, 2013 //
8

It may seem a little late to be talking about a limited-time premium character from the Valentine’s Day update, but this question has been coming up a lot.

The sad news is that you can’t unlock her (and you shouldn’t even be able to see her in your premium store anymore). In The Simpsons Tapped Out, “limited time” means just what it says – you have a certain amount of time to get the limited-time character, costume, building or decoration and then it seems to disappear forever. EA treats these things as a reward for donut-users and regular players.

There’s no guarantee they will ever return, either. After all, there are many, many Springfield residents still to appear in the game, which means we’re a long way off recycling. And, sadly, that means that your Toughies set will probably never be complete.

The small comfort is that if you’re playing now and have Tom O’Flanagan and his pub (and maybe the Leprechaun), there will be new players next month who’ll be asking how they get them – and they’ll probably be envious that you have them, and they don’t.

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Categories Characters, EA, Leprechaun, Limited time, O'Flanagan's Pub, Shauna, St Patrick's Day, Tom O'Flanagan, Valentine's Day

Is there a pattern to the Leprechaun bonus?

By TSTO Tips
March 12, 2013 //
4

No – no pattern at at all. It’s completely and utterly random.

For those of you who haven’t spent your donuts on the limited time Wishing Well and Leprechaun, tapping on the Leprechaun gives you a base of either 2XP or $5 every time you tap (more with a higher bonus multiplier). You can tap as many times as you like with a few seconds gap in between taps.

But occasionally, you’ll get lucky and score a base either 20XP or a $20 (again, the higher your bonus multiplier, the more you’ll get). Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing when you’ll get the extra amount. It’s completely randon, there’s no pattern to it, and you’ll get it or you won’t. In fact, I’ve only got it once in hundreds of taps – other members of my household seem to get it with annoying frequency. I’m as lucky with this as I am at the Scratch-R, which is not very lucky!

So, I hope you get luckier than I have been. Have fun trying!

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Categories Donuts, Leprechaun, Limited time, St Patrick's Day, Updates, Wishing Well

Does the Wishing Well earn a regular income?

By TSTO Tips
March 11, 2013 //
6

While the Wishing Well seems to be a building that comes with a character, it behaves very differently from other character-associated structures. In fact, the Wishing Well itself is much more like a decoration than a building.

When you add the Wishing Well to your Springfield, you get a 4% boost to your cash and XP collections (in the same way the Police Car, the Ambulance, and Burns Limo work). But it doesn’t give you a regular income in the same way that your buildings do. The added value, however, comes from the Leprechaun, who you can tap as many times as you like (with a few seconds in between) to collect extra cash and XP.

You can read all about the Wishing Well and lots of other information on the St. Patrick’s day event here.

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Categories Leprechaun, Limited time, Premium decorations, St Patrick's Day, Wishing Well, XP

What happens in the St. Paddy’s Day Quest (part 3)?

By TSTO Tips
March 10, 2013 //
13

When we left off in part 2 of the St. Paddy’s Day walkthrough, your characters were partying for the second time at O’Flanagan’s Pub. But now the party’s over, everyone’s seriously hungover, and you’re into the final stage of the quest. This stage only involves Willie, Homer, and Tom.

An important note to new players: you won’t be able to complete the St. Paddy’s Day quest until you reach level 10, build Willie’s Shack, and unlock Willie. The St. Paddy’s Day quest won’t unlock him – you can only do that in regular gameplay. If you don’t have him yet, take a look at the walkthroughs page to see how far away you are from getting him – and then spend lots of time on your game over the next week or so to make sure you unlock him in time.

So, on with the quest:

1. St. Paddy’s Day Part 7 Homer and Willie need to be free at the end of the second party at O’Flanagan’s Pub to kick off the next stage of the quest, which begins with Homer putting his foot in it:

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Needless to say, this doesn’t make Willie very happy…
Willie: I’m not Irish, I’m Scottish! We’re totally different kinds of English-haters!
Homer: You both talk funny. that’s pretty strong evidence you’re the same people.
Willie: Now I’m looking for a fight!
At that point, Willie’s task comes up. If you already have Willie, this is what you’ll see:

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If you don’t have him, you’ll need to go back to your regular gameplay and progressively unlock all the buildings up to Willie’s Shack until you do (level 10 is the minimum level you’ll need to be to do this – it may come later.) Once you have him, though, you can send him to drink and look for a fight at O’Flanagan’s Pub (4 hours – keep both Tom and Homer free as he finishes to be safe).
2. St. Paddy’s Day Part 8 Homer encourages Tom and Willie to put aside their ancient cultural differences, which leads to Willie going for another drink at O’Flanagan’s Pub – this time without looking for a fight (4 hours – keep Tom and Homer free when he finishes)
3. St. Paddy’s Day Part 9 To thank Homer for helping them to resolve their differences, Tom and Willie make Homer a Shamrock Topiary, which they put in your inventory:

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All you need to do then is place it. As you can see here, I’ve put mine outside O’Flanagan’s Pub:

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And that’s where the St. Paddy’s Day quest ends. Time for a drink!

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Categories Gameplay, Groundskeeper Willie, Homer, O'Flanagan's Pub, Shamrock Topiary, St Patrick's Day, St. Paddy's Day, Tom O'Flanagan, Walkthrough, Willie's Shack
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