Forza Horizon 5

Klinn

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Hmmm, when buying the Falcon for the crash landing challenge, if instead of choosing somebody's vinyl design I scrolled through the factory paints, the game would crash. Buying it with the default factory paint and then using the feature to repaint the car, that worked fine. Odd.

BTW is there any way to lower the pop-up headlights in photo mode? I would have thought that turning the lights on/off would make them rise up/retract but it doesn't seem to work that way. I'm probably missing something obvious.

Looking forward to what will appear in the next series!
 

skazz

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BTW is there any way to lower the pop-up headlights in photo mode? I would have thought that turning the lights on/off would make them rise up/retract but it doesn't seem to work that way. I'm probably missing something obvious.
Did you try changing time of day in photo mode?

The new free cars this season are all interesting, and all new to Forza:
1718659711523.png

The Yaris was most requested and arrived, including 2 different body kits.
For me the 900hp Taycan Cross Turismo is probably most interesting. The new gen styling is quite reasonable, and the off road element is going to be fun to try.
Edit: The Ionic 5 and KIA EV6 are both hugely popular EV company cars over here. So it's nice to see them in game, in their expensive powerful variants.


But more importantly, what do you guys think of the new cars and car pack?
1718659810619.png


It's going to be one of the most divisive car packs ever, with "5" cars for $10.... Of which 3 are Back to the Future Delorians from films 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Universal no doubt had a big role in this choice and the cost.

But they did them well:
  • The Delorians have complex film-based interior, and of course light up at 88mph. Sadly the one from film 2 doesn't fly though :(
  • KITT's light obviously flashes like in the series, plus it comes with a pursuit mode bodykit with working air brakes (hopefully the pursuit mode bodykit raises the PI to X class to hit that original 2s series 0-60mph time)
  • The Jurassic Park Jeep is from the first movie, the one which was chased by a T-Rex. Hopefully it's got a nice big engine since the one in the film definitely didn't have just a 200hp standard engine :D

So what's the verdict?
 
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Klinn

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Did you try changing time of day in photo mode?
Yup, see my pics on the previous page of the 944 and the Toronado. Lights are popped up no matter time of day or how the lights on/off option is set in Photo Mode. I must be overlooking a button somewhere. You can see the lights go up or down when they're in that Festival mode so the models are rigged correctly to function, just need to figure out how to do it myself.

The new free cars look great but the DLC pack is kinda meh for me, especially considering the price. A great iconic movie car (well, TV car) would have been the original Batmobile as created by George Barris but I guess that's not one of Universal's properties.
 

skazz

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In the past little while I've received two in-game emails which gifted me two super wheel spins each. I assume these are sent automatically when players accomplish something or play long enough or ??? Anyone know what triggers these emails?

Signed, a curious noob still building his car collection.
Mails with 2x Super Wheelspins are a perk of owning the VIP pack. You should get one every Friday.
 
  • The Delorians have complex film-based interior, and of course light up at 88mph. Sadly the one from film 2 doesn't fly though :(
  • KITT's light obviously flashes like in the series, plus it comes with a pursuit mode bodykit with working air brakes (hopefully the pursuit mode bodykit raises the PI to X class to hit that original 2s series 0-60mph time)
1718881262937.gif

Argh ok no just like this.. Sigh..

1718881501585.png

I was gonna say I was looking forward to seeing the new cars in multiplayer races, but if it's just for the light blue glow, I would never notice it anyhow...

That's a bit underwhelming... I had imagined the effects as above from the movie would or could be triggered, and that would have been exceedingly cool. Well 'exceedingly'... I mean, it's paid DLC, and for cdn$12.99, 1/3rd of the current price of the game, I'd be expecting yes a little bit of fireworks...! As always, the rating for the car DLC are Mostly Negative and worth reading, for a chuckle!

Their trailer for the cars are cool though, and some are testing audio, the [insert name of showcase thing where you turn around or go in the car] is kinda cool, but don't think I've ever used the showcase thingie in FH5, nor have I ever worried about the sound of the car, nor am I using the sitting inside the car view when driving or the drone view while driving since I only use hood view... So I guess, most of these new cool things are just not useful for me! shrug

And I was just thinking.. Imagine if you could have triggered a sort of BTTF teleport where you triggered the movie effects, vanished, then 3s later re-appear further out on the track! (Back from the future, or past?) That could have been a bit OP, and maybe banned from multiplayer play unless special race/event, but why the hell not? The whole point of the game is just fun. Why not make something super cool and fun? (would act like replay, but instead of stopping the car, you keep momentum, plus appear later further on the track)

Their retro thing was decent, but driving the retro highway was also a bit underwhelming. Guess that's my reaction to all the car packs, FM announcements/release, etc.!
 
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skazz

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I buy every DLC car pack to support PG and Horizon, and because I decided I will get 100% garage completion in FH5.

I also watched a lot of Knight Rider when I was very young, so having K.I.T.T. Even with just the red flashing light is neat.


But yeah, if you are thinking in terms of value for money then no DLC car pack ever makes sense. Not for you then :)
 

Klinn

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When they started talking about lighting effects for hitting 88 mph I was expecting to see flames on your tire tracks. For about the last 40 or 50 feet, then they fade away.
Mails with 2x Super Wheelspins are a perk of owning the VIP pack. You should get one every Friday.
Thanks for the info, another reason to look forward to Fridays!


Edit: Do they ever put the car DLC packs on sale? The game and the Hot Wheels and Rally Adventure add-ons are on sale currently but none of the car packs, not even the older ones.
 
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Not just un-owned cars, un-driven cars... Who doesn't already have hundreds of cars in their garage that they've never driven? What's adding a couple more cars going to do for me? It's like +3 = ∞

And in all honesty, I think the FH physics are a bit overhyped in the sense that cars tend to all feel pretty darn the same, especially with upgrades. If upgrades weren't a thing, and instead driving stock cars was a thing, then more cars would be more significant, as each car would add a unique driving experience. But with the S2, S1, A, B C classes, it's almost guaranteed that if you need to drive a car for an event, you'll swap out the drivetrain for AWD, suspension, transmission, upgrade this or that in the engine, reduce weight, etc., and woila, mostly now feels the same as every other car you own, especially after you add some wings and downforce..

Sure, in some instances the difference in PI doesn't allow many changes, but overall, once you've applied a couple of upgrades, I'm 99% sure that if you replaced the car model with a blank model and asked someone to guess what car is being driven just by the driving physics, there's not enough uniqueness or character to differentiate cars.

BUT, FH does great at somehow hiding it, I mean with the car models, the sounds, the driving physics, etc., cars do feel like you would expect them to feel; if you get in a 1980s Camaro, it does feel like driving an old heavy slow Camaro that doesn't want to turn. Same for modern/old BMW, Ferrari, etc. or even modern super/hyper cars. Not that I've driven any of those cars, but like I would expect, for that it's fantastic. But once upgraded to say class A, Camaro won't feel that different from other class A cars; maybe its specs won't allow certain characteristics, but if you went blank model, asked what car is that, or even is that a BMW, Miata, a Ford Focus, 1980 Camaro or a Truck? You probably would have trouble guessing just by driving characteristics..
 
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skazz

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Thankfully FH5 lets you race any car stock and is very fair about adjusting the AI to match you. I tend to only upgrade cars for the Trial, and then I want them to accelerate fast and not exhibit understeer, so I don't really mind if they lose their uniqueness. Every other race in game I just leave cars stock and enjoy them like that.

Also, here's my garage % completion from just at the end of last month, highlighting the rather understeery Countach:
1718891203657.png

Yup, still going well with collecting here :D
 
Nice! Yeah in the end this game really is a sand box. Think I'm playing it a bit wrong, in FH4 I completed all races before getting into the weeklies, and I think that even if that wasn't optimal in terms of rewards, it might have been a better gaming experience.

Main gripe with FH is stilll AI/gameplay; start last and forces 1st place finish, worse for 3 race events, as nothing more frustrating than wasting your time having done 3 races and finishing 2nd in championship having to redo the entire thing... But again, that's a me issue; if I used replay, used lower difficulty, assists, etc., winning would be much easier/possible.. Given certain cars and races, sometimes winning just isn't really plain possible. Sometimes do a stock race just to see, but since FH uses other players cars, stock cars are just all too often lacking to be really competitive (1st place), all too often that 1 car which is way faster, so I just lose, then upgrade, then win somewhat embarrassingly easily (~5s ahead of AI cars)... :\
 

Ecmaster76

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Main gripe with FH is stilll AI/gameplay; start last and forces 1st place finish, worse for 3 race events, as nothing more frustrating than wasting your time having done 3 races and finishing 2nd in championship having to redo the entire thing... But again, that's a me issue; if I used replay, used lower difficulty, assists, etc., winning would be much easier/possible, given certain cars and races, sometimes winning just isn't really plain possible. Sometimes do a stock race just to see, but since FH uses other players cars, stock cars are just all too often lacking to be really competitive (1st place), so lose and upgrade...
Stock cars are usually fine unless you are going up against something that min/maxes the PI to optimize very specifically for your track. Thats more of a problem for PVP races; the drivatars are pretty random picks of cars similar to yours

The always starting last thing is really annoying of course and this last weeks mixed surface popup headlights championship really rubs in how badly the AI is artificially glued to the racing line. Those cars shouldn't be able to hold the line with street tires on the dirt/mud but there they go leaving my ass behind as I slide all over.

Keep in mind too that some of the assists actually hold you back. You have a lot more control once you switch to simulation steering. Its still doing some black box stuff to your inputs with that on but you can push the cars a lot harder. And definitely turn off the Hot Wheels stunt assist setting if you play that DLC. I'm not sure how forcing you to steer into the wall of a high speed turn is an "assist" nor why such a horrible mess of a feature is still left enabled by default if they can't be bothered to fix it.
 
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skazz

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yeah, competitive racing and enjoying the uniqueness of cars is rather clashing. I've long opted for a nice comfortable AI pace so that I can cleanly overtake the AI while driving cars stock and not having to stress about getting ahead of that final AI in the last corner or anything like that.

It all depends what you want. To me FH5 is an Xbox controller game I play to just chill and enjoy cars and car culture. I want to drive around with a smile on my face (which I do most of the time) not struggle to catch up and beat the faster AI. I go race PC sims if I want realistic and challenging.
 

Klinn

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I really like the new intro video when launching the game. Lovely scenery. Does it change with every new series?

...cars do feel like you would expect them to feel; if you get in a 1980s Camaro, it does feel like driving an old heavy slow Camaro that doesn't want to turn.
Heh-heh, I was having fun with the El Camino in mostly stock form. One of my friends used to own one so I modified it Cragar SS wheels to more closely match his, but I didn't touch the stock springs or sway bars and man, does that thing lean in the corners!

ForzaHorizon5-26-Medium.jpg


Felt like one of those 1970's movies with cars cornering practically on their door handles.
 

skazz

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Edit: Do they ever put the car DLC packs on sale? The game and the Hot Wheels and Rally Adventure add-ons are on sale currently but none of the car packs, not even the older ones.
Car Packs don't go on sale much if ever. They are entirely optional and are just for people who love cars and are willing to pay extra for specific ones.

Here are all the paid DLC car packs (screenshots taken on Steam because it's easier):
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My favourite DLC pack was without doubt the European Automotive because it gave me the Jaguar Project 8, which is one of my all time favourite cars. And it didn't disappoint, what an awesome car it is (and it still holds the 4 door/seat saloon Nurburgring track record iirc). And the pack even gave us the Conti GTC as well, so it was definitely the best pack.

I also liked the Racing car pack for the superb Lotus Emira, the Super Speed car pack for the Porsche Cayman GT4 and the Acceleration car pack for the Ginetta. I was also very happy to get the Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye Widebody from the FastX pack (it's the ultimate silly overpowered supercharged muscle car with a whine that outpaces even the Exorcist). But the other car packs all had something fun included.

Far out cars are also often fun. Like the Chinese EV cube which can get a Taycan electric motor for utterly insane wheelspin (I recall it spinning it's wheels all the way up to like 250kph when I tried it).



As you can tell, DLC packs are for people who just like cars. $5 for a typical pack is basically the equivalent of a nice cup of coffee. They definitely have to pay hefty licensing to feature these cars in game, so I will not complain about the price of a pack.
 
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skazz

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Well the paid DLC packs in total have added 48 new cars, whereas the rest were either part of the Premium Edition (base game, VIP, welcome pack, expansion 1 and 2) or came completely free as part of seasonal rewards.

And buying the paid DLC Packs all at release cost me in total $65. I.e. a full new game worth of money.

Since the current car total is 857, that means that you can have up to 809 cars without spending any money on the DLC packs.


Yup, DLC car packs make zero financial sense :D
 
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Klinn

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My favourite DLC pack was without doubt the European Automotive because it gave me the Jaguar Project 8, which is one of my all time favourite cars. And it didn't disappoint, what an awesome car it is (and it still holds the 4 door/seat saloon Nurburgring track record iirc). And the pack even gave us the Conti GTC as well, so it was definitely the best pack.

Sounds good, and I like the idea of the Hammer Wagon even though I already have the sedan. I may be tempted some day, although I've got more than a few left to go in the standard game.

So I was zipping down the freeway / motorway today at a reasonable clip and I heard a police siren behind me. My first thought was that the devs had added police chases with the latest patch. Yowza! Turned out it was another player whose horn was a siren. Pretty funny.
 

Klinn

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Today I went on a bit of a shopping spree buying inexpensive cars including a Datsun 510. Now in stock form they may be kinda whimpy but they acquired a reputation as a giant killer when BRE raced them in the Trans-Am series. Amazingly enough the "body kit" for the 510 was a conversion into that race car. Not exact, but pretty well done.

So I bought that upgrade and entered it into a circuit road race. I couldn't believe the cars in the field. The game took a bunch of other D-class cars and modified the hell out of them to match my class A 510. There was a Peel P50 just ahead of me which, ahh, peeled out, and it wasn't the only three-wheeler on the grid, not to mention things like a VW Microbus on pole.

The really interesting thing was that a Back To The Future 3 Delorean was in the race too. I didn't realize the game would drop in DLC cars even though I don't own the requisite pack.

It was a pretty bizarre race but hilarious.
 

skazz

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I've played FH4 and FH5 alongside each other since FH5 launched.

For me:
  • FH5 has slightly more refined driving, which is most felt with S1-S2 road cars. They just feel a little more stable somehow so I prefer road driving in FH5.
  • FH5 graphics have the edge, especially in the quality of the ground cover and lighting models.
  • FH5 map is larger with more roads, but not necessarily better. FH4 is a good rendition of the UK and feels more like home to me than Mexico.
  • On the other hand, I think FH4's map is great especially because of the seasons (which change the entire map unlike FH5).
  • And I prefer Cross Country in FH4 by a lot since the routes are just far more interesting and less silly jumps than FH5.

You will miss quite a lot of recent modern cars by going back to FH4, but you can enjoy the entire career mode and the large number of stories (many of which are actually difficult to 3-star). Plus Treasure Island expansion is great (with a lot of stuff which later made it to FH5 being tried there first). Lego expansion is.. um... different...... But you might like it too.

Also FH4 didn't have the Eventlab so what you get is pretty much just what was made by the developer Playground Games.


In the end, FH4 and FH5 are very similar games with very similar experiences, however they are set in totally different maps so you can happily enjoy them alongside each other like I've been doing for well over 2 years now.
 
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Q: Will I still be able to play FH4 even after it gets delisted?

Yes, you will still be able to enjoy playing the game including its multiplayer and online functions. Players who already own the game and its content will be able to download and play it as normal, including its offline, online, and multiplayer features; physical copies of the game purchased after this date will also work and will be able to use online features.
...
Q: Why are you delisting the game from digital retailers?

Due to agreements with licensing and other partnerships ending.
...
Q: Does this mean you are shutting down online servers and features?

No, even after the Festival Playlist ends and the game is no longer available at online retailers, you will still be able to use every offline and online feature of the game.

Ha, I was wondering why they'd delist the game..

I'd say grabbing FH4 Ultimate edition is probably still worth it, mainly for the map and 2 expansions at about $5 per expansion, great value!
The Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition digital bundle includes the full game and Car Pass, VIP Membership, Formula Drift Car Pack, Best of Bond Car Pack, and the Fortune Island and LEGO® Speed Champions game expansions.

As mentioned, the driving isn't that different.. I probably could go back to FH4 and would have great fun driving, but yeah I kind of remember also that the fastest cars (~S2 & X) were harder to control than FH5; they felt more like you were about to lose control at any second (likely more realistic though given the insane speeds lol). But the gameplay of FH4 is still great. FH4 graphics are great too, probably would have trouble telling the difference with FH5.

But the best reason is simply for the hundreds of new tracks! The 2 expansions were pretty fun too from what I recall; The Treasure Island map had a nice mountain with sinuous roads, the Lego was ... different lol But overall, I think the lego expansion was more fun than the FH5 Hot Wheels expansion; so yeah, everything said, FH4 is a great game worth picking up!

If you get bored of FH5, or once done with FH5, 3 entirely new worlds to explore. Also, from what I recall, the story & events were better in FH4 than in FH5. More involving. Better scripted.. Not sure what it was, maybe it was just me too, but seemed to me like I had more fun in FH4 events than in FH5.
 

Klinn

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Thanks folks for all the advice. Sounds like FH4 Ultimate with all it's extras for only $26 CDN is a great value and will be an enjoyable experience. I just have to be careful not to let the new shiny distract me from "completing" FH5. Maybe by the time I've had my fill of both of them, FH6 will be on the, ahem, horizon.
:)
 
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skazz

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This week FH5 had a rather fun little challenge: "Photograph a world's fastest car".

Ignore the Jesko on the picture, that may be the fastest car in FH5 after being upgraded, but it has never held the production car fastest speed record.


For reference, there are 16 cars in game which FH5 rates as having held the world's fastest car official record at some point over the years. Don't be boring and pick the Veyron/Chiron though :D
 

BigLan

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The Lego expansion brought in a lot of the
This week FH5 had a rather fun little challenge: "Photograph a world's fastest car".

Ignore the Jesko on the picture, that may be the fastest car in FH5 after being upgraded, but it has never held the production car fastest speed record.


For reference, there are 16 cars in game which FH5 rates as having held the world's fastest car official record at some point over the years. Don't be boring and pick the Veyron/Chiron though :D
xj220 and F40?
 

Klinn

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I went with my favorite old-school Ferrari 288 GTO, although in this case known as the Foggy Ferrari:

ForzaHorizon5-40-Medium.jpg


(stupid pop-up lights ruining the lines :mad: )

Edit: Being the resident FH5 noob, this current series was the first time I've experienced an autumn storm. I ran into a fierce storm when over on the Rally Adventure side of things. Really wicked wind tossing the palm trees back and forth with sheets of rain blowing across the road. Very nicely done effects, although maybe not the best conditions for setting a high Speed Trap score. ;)
 
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Klinn

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I did the V10 story today. If you recall, it starts off with a conversation between the actor and your character along the lines of "You look exactly like me" "It's like looking in a mirror". The thing is, I was wearing my new shark outfit at the time so the dialogue didn't exactly ring true.

By sheer coincidence around the time I got the shark outfit I also picked up this Corvette from a wheelspin. Seemed appropriate to combine two shark fins into one shot:

ForzaHorizon5-41-Medium.jpg


Oh crap! Yes, I think this is the start of some fast travel all right:

ForzaHorizon5-42-Medium.jpg
 
Any tips for the current weekly S1 offroad event? I failed once by finishing 1st, 6th and 2nd for total 2nd place overall with the Racing Forza Puma Edition, first it was stock, then changed its tires to offroad tires, but it doesn't seem to have enough speed to keep up with the other cars...

Asked AI:
Based on the search results and player experiences, here are some of the best S1 class off-road vehicles in Forza Horizon 5:

. Jeep Trailcat: This vehicle is described as "quick as fuck" for off-road racing, though it requires skill to handle in corners
. Ford Coupe FE: Highly recommended for off-road racing in S1 class, but it's a controller DLC car, so not all players may have access to it
. Ford Puma FE: Noted as brilliant for dirt racing, though it might be a VIP car
. Corvette C8: Considered a good option for off-road racing
. Hot Wheels Bone Shaker: Ranked as one of the top S1 class cars for dirt racing due to its speed and acceleration, though it can be challenging to handle in corners
. Koenigsegg CC8S: Listed among the best S1 class cars for dirt racing
. Lola #6 Penske Sunoco T70 MkIIIB: Another top performer in S1 class dirt racing
. Lotus Elise GT1: Versatile car that performs well in both road and dirt racing
. TVR Cerbera Speed 12: Included in the list of best S1 class cars for dirt racing

It's worth noting that some players also recommend using modified supercars with off-road tires for mixed surface races, such as the Lamborghini Huracán. The choice of the best vehicle can depend on personal driving style, specific track conditions, and individual skill level.

The Bone Shaker is OP as hell, but I think I have it on A class, hmm, yeah I think there's 2 Bone Shakers though in FH5, might try upgrading one of them to S1.. Sigh.. Supercars for offroad.. 🤦‍♂️ Or.. I might try doing it via multiplayer; seems good workaround as team games seem much easier to win, especially when a few players join and some leave.

Maybe there's an engine swap or something I missed.. Hmm. . ok looks like there's good tuning setups which fixes the stock version (speed), going with my tune of offroad tires likely wasn't the correct idea!

[edit] lol yeah that multiplayer was FAIL !! .. That 1st track is really unforgiving, 6 joined, and even if by the end of lap 1 we were 3 players in top 3, by the 3rd lap everyone had wiped out and we were 2 players left; first & last place, and I wiped out too.. :cry: Yeah think it's the nature of the game, just have to be really careful not try to go too fast since any jump taken slightly sideways will most likely end in disaster... Think it's a Git Gud issue.. :\ Kinda hilarious though seeing all players wipe out one after the other LOL
 
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