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Reading on a mobile or tablet? Read the official SMag iBook or the mobile-ready PDF for a better experience. Click h
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This issue we celebrate two years of SMag. Two years!? That’s crazy. To think that something I started as a stupid little project to see if I could actually finish one issue has turned into this is kinda crazy. Of course, there’s only one person that I need to thank, and that’s you. Yep, you! If you’re reading the magazine then you’re helping us, you’re supporting the magazine. It’s thanks to everyone in the community that SMag has grown to become a large part of the community with hundreds of supporters. So, if you’ve read every issue (including Issue 1, and we don’t speak of that) or you’ve just become a part of our community, thank you for your support. Enjoy the issue! GEORGE B Editor-in-Chief
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For this issue, the team had complete creative freedom. Enjoy seeing what they did when they got to choose what they made!
06 #BaeGoals 14 Skyline Style
New
20 Quick Faves 29 How It’s Made New 36 Quick Tip 38 The Mod Pod with SimsVIP New 44 Downtown Apartments 52 Top Five 54 SimGuruLyndsay Interview 60 Ask Dan 70 Dear EA 80 Thought of the Issue 82 XSimSugar
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Welcome to #BaeGoals, Willow Creek’s least mainstream bagel store and pub (because there’s too many restaurants). The store is designed to be a hipster haven, and we all know that hipster means loads of random trinkets all over the place! 9s
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The pride and glory of #BaeGoals (the whole restaurant was Alex’s idea, by the way - see his version a little later) is the Simstagram Studio, where you can take perfect pictures of your food - and wait for it to be completely cold before you tuck in. That’s the hipster way to eat, right? 11 s
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There’s plenty of seating and plenty of random rubbish to look at whilst you eat your bagels. There’s also a small area off to the side of the restaurant for parties, where you can enjoy your bagels and locally-brewed ale (because beer is too mainstream) in peace. 13 s
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Well this is all very exciting, isn’t it? A brand new segment? How novel! Welcome to Skyline Style, our new segment that is all about Cities: Skylines. We’re going to look at some of the best new cities and maps that have been made in the community, as well as getting a little closer and seeing how those small details can bring a whole city together. So, without further ado, let’s get going! 15 s
Welcome to Renaissance Charm, a beautiful European city inspired by the great works of the Renaissance. Inspired by cities such as London which have preserved their historical beauty, Renaissance Charm is a beautiful city where all styles from all time periods meet. The city’s beautiful architecture and s 16 layout is framed by the mountains in
the background - an excellent choice of map (the map is Boreal Bay). The city uses a quite uniform road layout, but remains interesting to look at thanks to the different buildings and excellent use of different assets.
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Every city needs some green space - in real life, it helps reduce pollution and makes citizens happier. You can use green space for the same effects in Cities: Skylines! For happiness, you’ll need to plop parks, but you can use paths and trees to make your own custom designs right in the city.
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Alternatively, you can get the same effects with a bit of work in the Asset editor! For the best results though, you can use a mixture of both methods.
Increased happiness Ploppable parks increase the happiness of your citizens, and encourage people to move in and upgrade Reduce noise pollution and increase health Trees contribute a little bit in reducing noise pollution, which in turn increases the health of your citizens. Make your city beautiful Break up uniform grids and blocks of high-rises with some unique and interesting green space 19 s
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Welcome to this beautiful modern haven in the town of Oasis Springs. With pools, verandas and modern design throughout, this is a perfect home for a family that loves to entertain. Turn the page to watch an exclusive video and see how it was made!
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No space for an in-ground pool? Get an above ground one! Not every Sim has the money or space for an in-ground pool. Want an above ground one instead? Easy! All you have to do is place some foundation and build a pool on that foundation to make it look like you have your own above ground pool. Remember to leave a tile for the ladder!
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When we get a new game, playing it in its “vanilla� form is exciting for a while, but there comes a time where we want to add new gameplay elements to increase our interest in the game, or to tweak elements of the game that may be a nuisance, or necessary to maintain a healthier game.
One of the greatest assets to any gaming community are the players who spend their free time creating custom mods and other content for the game. This is especially true for The Sims series. In this series we’ll take a look at some of the fun and helpful mods created for The Sims 4.
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SIMPLE MODS Simple mods, as I like to call them, are mods that provide minimal tweaks and additions to the game. These mods come in all shapes and sizes and allow for a truly unique gaming experience.
BLUR BEGONE
No Mosaic Mod The no mosaic mod removes the “blur” or “censor” that appears around a Sim when they are performing tasks that require them to run around in the nude. Some players, including myself, find this to be a major eye sore so using this mod helps eliminate this nuisance.
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IT’S WHO I AM
Custom Traits
Originally programmed by com modder Zerbu, the custom trait allows players to add new traits game that shape a Sim’s perso Community modder Drew Shive a great example of how comple unique these custom traits can has an plethora of unique traits range from “Lawyer” to “Grease key” to “Narcoleptic”.
mmunity t system s to the onality. ers is ex and n be. He s that e Mon-
Use mods at your own risk. SimsVIP and SMag do not assume any liability should 3rd party content damage your PC or game
TOO MANY TO COUNT
General mods
Sometimes mods are required to alter gameplay elements that may be a nuisance to players. Good examples are “Removing Plant Sparkles”, “Keeping a Doctor at the Hospital”, “Increasing the Action Queue”, and “Stopping Autonomous Actions”. Other types of mods will also fix game bugs until players wait for official patches. Shadow and Mesh fixes are among the most popular fixes.
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ADVANCED MODS Advanced mods, as I like to call them, are mods that provide new gameplay and advances changes to the intended programming of the game. These mods come in all shapes and sizes and allow for a truly unique gaming experience.
S TAY T H E N I GHT
Hotels
Created by SimmytheSim, this mod adds a new venue type for Sims to live on. The mod comes complete with additional hotel guests, a repairman, a chef, and hotel staff that makes the experience even more realistic.
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BABIES FOR ALL
Genetic Transfusio
Created by Aren’s Sims, this m players to create their own ba out pregnancy! Select any two and the gender of the baby fo cost, and a few days later you your very own baby.
Use mods at your own risk. SimsVIP and SMag do not assume any liability should 3rd party content damage your PC or game
In conclusion, whether it’s simple or advanced, mods play an important role in maintaining unique customization in The Sims. Stay tuned as we continue to explore the world of mods and the possibilities they bring to our games.
on
mod allows aby witho Sims or an extra u will have
STUDY HARD!
Go To School Created by Zerbu, this mod allows players to send their Children and Teens to an actual school, AND you can join them! Included with this expansive mod are Costume Days, playing Hooky, and even the occasional field trip. The Go to School mod is one of the most advanced mods we’ve seen to date.
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Welcome to martinessimblr’s Downtown Apartments. These beautiful townhouses are framed by the Willow Creek landscape but will fit in in any built up area! The townhouses are an amazingly blended mixture of contemporary
and more traditional decorating styles. Pops of colour through wall coverings, paintings and furniture give the interior a much fresher feel and look great when they’re blended with traditional masonry and hardwood flooring. 47 s
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Different rooms of the house have seemingly different styles, with the master bedroom conveying a very traditional theme, down to the wallpapers and furniture. The mixture of wallpaper and exposed
brick works really well in this situation; as does the clothes rack next to the dresser.
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In the bathroom, Martine has opted for a less conventional wall covering - exposed brickwork, which brings an interesting twist into what could otherwise be the hardest room in the house to make unique. The
whole house is a shining example of styles that work well together, right down to the plants and decorations she’s used. You can download this lot, and the CC, by clicking the images. 51 s
Unfortunately there will be no Eye on Mods this issue. However, enjoy this very condensed version - here’s our top five favourite bits of custom content this issue.
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Meet Lyndsay Pearson, a producer on The Sims since The Sims Unleashed. Hello! My name is Lyndsay Pearson and I’m the Senior Producer for The Sims 4. I’ve been a fan of the Sims since the beginning and working on it almost as long! My first expansion pack was The Sims Unleashed and I’ve been part of The Sims family ever since.
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Hi Lyndsay! First of all, what does your role at the Studio entail? It’s my job to take all the pieces – design ideas, style concepts, pack themes, research, fan feedback, history, brand values – and put it all together in a plan or a roadmap. I work on laying down a path for the ongoing development of The Sims 4. It can change and fluctuate as we learn more or build new technologies but I work on making sure we always know where we’re headed. I am also fortunate to head up our excellent production team who is entirely focused on making each part of the game feel good. What’s the best part about your job? My favourite part of the job is releasing games to you – our fans. It’s so exciting to see things that my team has talked about on paper get
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out into “the wild” and to finally get to talk about it with you! Seeing your reactions, your creations, where you take the games once they are out of our hands is thrilling every time. And getting to interact with you all about it, being able to be on Twitter or do interviews like this, makes it even more special. Something that was ours, becomes yours. That’s pretty cool. And what about the worst? The hardest - not the worst - part of my job is not being able to talk with fans ahead of time about what we are making. There are many good reasons why we don’t talk about our future plans, but I’m just as excited as I know you are and I want to be able to share that excitement with you! I am still proud though that we’re able to build such close relationships with you and can share things as early and often as we do.
We spoke to SimGuruLyndsay about developing The Sims, getting into game development and even the parts of her job she doesn’t like! What has been your favourite project to work on? This is a really hard question to answer! I love so many different things about all the projects I’ve worked on. If I have to pick one I’ll say being able to work on Makin’ Magic.
I love so many different things about all the projects I’ve worked on. If I have to pick one I’ll say being able to work on Makin’ Magic.
It was my first job as a producer, I had pitched the concept originally and also got to work as a designer (I actually got double credited!). It was a small, tight team and we just had so much fun making that pack. I’m fortunate that I still get to work with a number of those people today!
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It’s important to learn anything and everything you can. Take any opportunity and get something valuable from it. What’s your favourite memory working on The Sims? I don’t know if it’s my favourite but the first one that comes to mind was from working on The Sims 2 base game. I remember working on an E3 demo late, late, late into the night. It was probably around 1:00 am, we were all exhausted and getting a little giggly (as you do late at night). We were practicing the run through and found a weird camera issue where the camera ended up popping down into the Turkey on the buffet table. What
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we discovered late that night was that inside the turkey was another SUPER TINY turkey model!! I don’t even know why but at that time, after our probably 50th run through of that demo I found the tiny turkey hilarious and could not stop laughing at it. How did you get into game development? I had originally wanted to get into movies, I LOVE movies! In my senior year of college I went to a Game Developer’s Conference with my
Game Design Major friends and realized video games were using all the same tech as movies AND were interactive! (Lightbulb!) I started out in the Quality Assurance Department (video game testing) and ended up on The Sims. I worked really closely with the developers while I was in QA and after about a year made the transition into Production Finally, what tips do you have for people wanting to get into game development? It’s important to learn anything and everything you can. Take any opportunity and get something valuable from it. I didn’t start in QA knowing I’d end up in production but I asked questions, tried to be as helpful as I could and took opportunities to challenge myself and grow. It’s important to keep trying, keep learning and keep growing. Don’t settle on something you don’t want to be doing but if you aren’t exactly where you want to be yet, you should still give it your all. Game Developers come from all sorts of backgrounds and have a huge variety of skills and it takes all of them to make a game. Good luck!
Lyndsay’s tips for
getting into games Learn all the time. It’s important to learn anything and everything you can, says Lyndsay. Take risks and opportunities, and learn something new every time.
Challenge yourself. Challenge yourself - it’s how you grow. Don’t be put off by failure.
We’d love to thank Lyndsay for taking part! If you’d like to hear more from her, she’s on Twitter @SimGuruLyndsay. 59 s
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Alright, before I start I want to mention one thing... We all might have really different opinions about the sims games but probably everyone reading this article loves the sims be it Sims 4, Sims 3, Sims 2 or Sims 1.
Sims since it was first launched in 2000 to clear that up. Neither I have been there when the games ‘first launched’. In fact, it was my first time playing a Sims game, vanilla, with everyone else.
When Sims 4 was first announced, I literally cried of happiness. My Twitter timeline was full of hype and so was I. I had so many expectations for the Sims 4, but well the sad truth is that nothing can ever make anyone and everyone happy. This has been the case with every Sims title that has ever launched.
However, I have had the taste of vanilla Sims 3 for about 6-7months. And I have to say that when I played The Sims 4, I was rather upset. Now the cause of this wasn’t the game itself but rather the lies we had been told prior to its release.
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I hope everyone remembers when we were promised that ‘all life stages from previous games will be in the Sims 4’ and then the devs announcing that toddlers won’t be in the game. I know for some people the lack of toddlers is not a big thing because of how ‘annoying they were in the previous games’ and of course, there are people who are to this day upset that they have not been included in the game even after a year since Sims 4 has launched. But no matter how much you dislike or like that fact, you have to agree that it feels a bit odd that they are not there. It is very strange to see babies (will be coming back to babies in a minute here) to just jump out of their cribs and become a walking and talking school going 10year old kid. Now I am sure everyone knows why people like or dislike toddlers so I am going to leave that alone!
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The babies are lifeless. Really? Is this girl stupid? You get so many interactions with them, what the hell is she talking about?! Yes, it is true that we get more interactions for babies than we got in The Sims 3 base game, but in Sims 3 you could carry your babies around and when Generations was added, you could take them on strolls, you had baby swings that you could get from the sims 3 store and the fact that you can TAKE THEM OUT OF THEIR CRIBS AND ACTUALLY CARRY THEM LIKE REAL BABIES allowed the devs to add all this content for them. Also, what happened to actual b a b y s i t t e r s ?
No matter how much you dislike toddlers, you have to agree it feels odd without them
I don’t understand how there being NPCs in the game would have harmed the game’s performance?! NPCs have been such a huge part of the Sims franchise and there have been in the game since Sims 1! Also, what is the point of the police and doctors that came with Get To Work if they don’t even effect your gameplay at all when you are not playing with those careers! I mean come on, you are giving me 3 playable careers (out of which 2 should have been in the base game by the way) and then telling me that they can’t act as NPCs?!
charm. There were curfews for teenagers in Sims 3 and you could sneak out in Sims 2 but in Sims 4 the teenagers are almost like young adults. Story progression? Alright, if you are playing on a really bad computer and the computer cannot handle proper story progression then I would have liked the devs to add in story progression with options to just enable aging for the town, to enable the whole story progression like in Sims 3 and to disable story progression completely.
In Sims 3 you could go to jail! Though, it is another minor detail, it was a part of that
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Remember how Sims 2 didn’t have create-a-style but you could change the colour of the frame of the beds and bed covers separately? Did this never strike in the minds of sims devs when deciding that they would leave create-a-style out of the game? Or what about a colour wheel? Is it too hard for them to add even a colour wheel?! I do understand that create-a-style made the CAS in Sims 3 a bit laggy but just completely ditching it out was a bad idea, especially for the builders. And the open world? Here we go. I am not saying that give me an open world like in Sims 3 (although I would’ve loved that) but what about the open neighbourhoods we were promised?! Why lie to us devs? I wouldn’t have been so upset about the lack of an open world if they had just told us that it wasn’t going
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to be there at all and we will be going to Sims 2 style. Although, it is just a shame that they could not even implement the open neighbourhood system. I was quite excited for that to be honest. Also, who the hell thought that this atrocity of a design was a good idea?! Even sims 2 had proper 3-D maps! And why did they not include the proper edit town option in the game?!
The worlds in The Sims 4 we have received with DLC are so small as well. Just look at how big Sims 3 worlds were or even The Sims 2 neighbourhoods! It is absurd.
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We have had 7 packs (EPs,SPs and GPs) and we have received only 2 new traits out of which one was given to us in a free update. Get To Work could have added so many new and interesting traits and lifetime wishes in my opinion. We got a few traits with Ambitions related to the careers so it would be fair to expect new traits with get to work as well. But no, we didn’t receive even ONE TRAIT! I think the developers really have forgotten the definition of an EXPANSION PACK. Giving me 3 new careers and a halfbaked retail store where most of the time my sims keep talking to each other instead of working the store or buying stuff doesn’t make an expansion pack. These careers don’t even have an effect when I am not playing with these careers. (Absence of police NPCs,etc.)
Yes, we got aliens in the game as well but just compare get to work to Ambitions or Open For Business and tell me what you think about Get to work when compared to them. In my opinion, it is lacking of content. I wouldn’t say that get to work is totally a piece of garbage but it is not a piece of delicious cake either. Ever since the Sims 4 was announced it has only mainly been about partying and just the main focus has been young adults, not even elders. Cool Kitchen was also quite disappointing considering that it was supposed to give us new content for our kitchen but it rather gave us more items in CAS (though the CAS items were nice but you get what I mean).
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I just want to conclude by saying that Sims 4 is not a bad game. Oh hell no. I absolutely adore the CAS and every single CAS item we are given in all these packs. It runs better than Sims 3 for a lot of people and its animations are really amazing too. Sims 4 has its pros and cons but unfortunately there are more cons than pros. For every step taken forward in one category, the Sims 4 goes 2-3 steps backward in other categories. This is the bitter truth about the Sims 4 that a lot of people still seem to deny. But if you like the Sims 4 for what it is then more power to you, but people who don’t enjoy the game but feel like they are entitled to like it just because a majority likes it, hey don’t be scared
to state your opinion because in the end, even if EA/devs don’t care about your opinion, if
there won’t be any ‘simmers’, if
there wasn’t such a big fanbase for the game, the sims would never have been successful. I haven’t bought any Sims 4 DLC because of its lack lustre content. Although, just a single person not buying their games doesn’t affect EA but if a large number of people stop buying such half-baked packs only then EA would probably listen to us because for them, money matters the most. This is another sad truth about most of the companies out there.
- Divya Rustagi
Thanks Divya! Follow her on Twitter @DivyaRustagi10, and you won’t regret it. Trust us.
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Meet Laura, a YouTuber from Scotland who’s bubbly personality and unique content has helped grow her fanbase of over 50,000 people. My name is Laura and I’m known as xSimSugar on YouTube. Born and bred in Scotland I naturally have an accent which most people tend to appreciate :) I am married and have two cats called Indy and Sam who are literally my babies - and I treat them like that!
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Hi Laura! When, and why, did you start your channel? I started my channel in August 2013 and it was quite unexpected! I was off work recovering from a gallbladder operation and I was beyond bored, so I decided to install The Sims 3 again on my laptop, so I had something to do in bed all day! I was trying to figure out how to do the move objects cheat and, as most people do, turned to YouTube and it was then I found Jenn’s (xUrbanSimsx) channel and I was hooked! I loved what she did with the game and thought it was genius! It led me to binge watch her videos and I subscribed! It completely changed the way that I personally played The Sims and I started to
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look at the whole story telling aspect and it made the game much more interesting so eventually I decided to get a mic and some recording equipment - and the rest is history. How long have you been a Simmer? What do you love about it? I have been a simmer since The Sims 2 Pets came out so however many years that is. I love it because you can be anything and do anything and a lot of it you would never do in real life! You can own a mansion, have an affair with your butler AND your maid while owning 20 dogs! There really is no limit in the sims and that’s why I love it! I like a nice simple drama free life so it’s good to be a little crazy through The Sims!
I decided to get a mic and some recording equipment...and the rest is history! What do you think of The Sims 4 Get Together? I like the fact that the Sims 4 team isn’t just churning out the same old expansions we had in The Sims 3, could you imagine how cheated you would feel if they just did The Sims 4 Pets, Generations, Supernatural? I would hate it so I am delighted that they are trying out new stuff. Yes I would love some pets, witches and toddlers BUT it’s still very early in the series so I’m willing to wait. The expansion looks pretty cool and I will definitely buy it but the proof will be in the pudding, I will as always be reviewing it on my channel with my honest opinions!
Do you ever build? Yeah I love building - the question is, am I good at it? Haha! I am no Deligracy, that’s for sure, but I think my stuff turns out OK! I love building in The Sims 4 WAY more than TS3, it’s so much more intuitive. It’s fabulous! I find myself doing a lot more and practice makes perfect, so they say!
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Last but not least, which of your series on your channel is your favourite? I have TWO favourites and I just cannot chose! I recently completed the 100 Baby Challenge and that was TOUGH but I loved the family that I made and I got so attached to them all and it didn’t just feel like a baby factory at all! I also love my Runaway Teen Challenge - I think that’s where you really see my story telling starting to develop on my channel! Thank you to Laura for taking part! You can find her on YouTube and Twitter alike; her username is XSimSugar.
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I’ve considered making a video on this multiple times but I guess the number one thing I need to say is be realistic. Not every channel is going to blow up overnight and if yours doesn’t, don’t be discouraged and give up. I’ve seen lots of talented simmers come and go over my years on YouTube...people who are great giving up because they put too much pressure on themselves to hit some magic subscriber target but honestly - stick with it. Good luck, believe in yourself, and do it for enjoyment. Make friends in the community, reach out to people, get to know them, watch their videos and support their channels. I have made the best friendships through YouTube!
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THE TEAM Inside this issue... George Bishop Editor in Chief Martymor - Ask Dan Alex - Contributor SimValera - Skylines Style
LEGAL
SMag is not endorsed or funded by Electronic Arts, or it’s licensors, in any way. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All creations shared inside this magazine were shared in the belief the creator would not object to us doing so. You can find out more by emailing the editor, george@ smagazineofficial.co.uk We will not hesitate to take action against those that plagiarize the content of this magazine. SMag, this issue and the content inside it is protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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