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Sega Saturn. What do I do with this thing?

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    ZiggymonZiggymon Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    That box looks identical to the one I have.

    My Saturn is hooked up to an LCD HDTV via s-video, could that have anything to do with it?

    Might be the same problem a few pal wii ownders are having with snes and megadrive downloads. Pal region games might be fixed on a resolution that the LCD tv doesn't recognise?

    Ziggymon on
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    UFOffUFOff Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Hazz, I see from your location that you live in England.

    This does not matter.

    Get World Series Baseball '98.

    Within 2 weeks of owning this game, you will move to America, plant a pink flamingo on your lawn, and drink Bud Light, utterly forsaking your Carlsbergs and your Newcastle Brown Ales.

    UFOff on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]...yeah
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    ArugulaZArugulaZ Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    What do you do with a Sega Saturn? You PLAY it, of course! And you stock up on import games, because most of what was released here wasn't that special.

    http://www.segagagadomain.com/saturn.htm

    Also, read this site to learn more about the system and the wealth of awesome games available for it in Japan.

    ArugulaZ on
    JR

    Same old site, great new look! Check out The Gameroom Blitz at:
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    TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    UFOff wrote: »
    Hazz, I see from your location that you live in England.

    This does not matter.

    Get World Series Baseball '98.

    Within 2 weeks of owning this game, you will move to America, plant a pink flamingo on your lawn, and drink Bud Light, utterly forsaking your Carlsbergs and your Newcastle Brown Ales.

    I have WSB 98. Best baseball game EVER. No baseball game since has come close.

    WSB 2k2 on the Dreamcast was shades of WSB 98, but even it wasn't as good.

    TheSonicRetard on
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    TrikoTriko Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I so dearly want to replay through Panzer Dragoon Saga again after I got nostalgic for the game and downloaded it's soundtrack recently. If you can afford it, "rent" the game from Ebay (goes for close to $200), and resell it back when you need the money. I held onto my copy of PDS for over six months, played through the game extensively twice, and loved every minute of it.

    Triko on
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    GrimCalaveraGrimCalavera Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    CRUSADER: NOOOOOOO REEEEMOOOOOOORSE

    GrimCalavera on
    There is a moment of sheer panic...
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    XieflowXieflow Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Buying an action replay 4M will let you play almost every import on the Saturn... except... the Japanese version of Panzer Dragoon Saga. Which is unfortunate, because you can easily get a Japanese copy of the game (called Panzer Dragoon Azel) for under $40. On the other hand, a Japanese Saturn will only run you $40, so $80 = Panzer Dragoon Saga, instead of $200... albeit in Japanese, but a good way to try the game out first to see if you like it. Personally I couldn't really stand it, and am glad I only spent that much.

    These have most likely already been recommended, but my favorite Saturn games are :
    Dragon Force
    Three Dirty Dwarves (3 player coop!)
    X-Men Children of the Atom
    Fighters Megamix
    Fighting Vipers
    Saturn Bomberman (10 players!)
    Nights
    Daytona USA


    I haven't played Guardian Heroes and a bunch of other games yet, which is why I didn't list them.

    Edit: Also, if you have an Action Replay 4M, you can't directly save to it while in-games. You have to exit to the front end Saturn dashboard and copy the saves over from the Saturn's internal memory. Still, it's really the only must-own Saturn thing everyone will agree on.

    Xieflow on
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    ArugulaZArugulaZ Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Sadly, that's true. You can't save the games you created in Dezaemon 2, either, which is a much bigger problem... see, you're actually MAKING games, so you can't save them to your Saturn's internal memory. If you've got an Action Replay instead of an official save cartridge, you can't use THAT to back up your games, either.

    I think the Saturn would have fared much better if the cartridge slot on the back had been compatible with Sega Genesis games. I mean good grief, they've got the cartridge slot right there... they should have made the most of it!

    ArugulaZ on
    JR

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    SurikoSuriko AustraliaRegistered User regular
    edited April 2007
    The only game I really play on my Saturn is Panzer Dragoon Zwei. Must pick up the others some time.

    Suriko on
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    LewiePLewieP Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    ArugulaZ wrote: »
    Sadly, that's true. You can't save the games you created in Dezaemon 2, either, which is a much bigger problem... see, you're actually MAKING games, so you can't save them to your Saturn's internal memory. If you've got an Action Replay instead of an official save cartridge, you can't use THAT to back up your games, either.

    I think the Saturn would have fared much better if the cartridge slot on the back had been compatible with Sega Genesis games. I mean good grief, they've got the cartridge slot right there... they should have made the most of it!

    I always thought that too. Had they made it able to play Saturn games, Mega Drive Games, 32X games, and Sega CD games it would have done much better.

    LewieP on
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    CouscousCouscous Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    LewieP wrote: »
    ArugulaZ wrote: »
    Sadly, that's true. You can't save the games you created in Dezaemon 2, either, which is a much bigger problem... see, you're actually MAKING games, so you can't save them to your Saturn's internal memory. If you've got an Action Replay instead of an official save cartridge, you can't use THAT to back up your games, either.

    I think the Saturn would have fared much better if the cartridge slot on the back had been compatible with Sega Genesis games. I mean good grief, they've got the cartridge slot right there... they should have made the most of it!

    I always thought that too. Had they made it able to play Saturn games, Mega Drive Games, 32X games, and Sega CD games it would have done much better.

    I remember reading in a book that the Saturn was originally meant to be able to play Genesis games but it would increase the costs too much for them. I might be misremembering it.

    Couscous on
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    ArugulaZArugulaZ Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    The only issue is manufacturing cost. Back in 1994, when the Saturn's hardware was finalized, it would have cost them a lot of extra money to drop a Genesis processor under the hood. They could have designed the system's native processor to make it compatible with the Genesis AND Saturn, but performance would have taken a hit... and the console was already tough enough for developers to program as it was!

    I think MAYBE the Genesis would have been a possibility, but the Sega CD and 32X would have been much too costly. All of those consoles together would have cost you nearly as much as a Saturn back in 1994.

    ArugulaZ on
    JR

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    cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    there was this game, i think it was for the Saturn...

    you were this kid or something, in a cave that had collapsed. I specifically remember "punctured lung" being something one of your comrades suffered. it was first person, and you would walk around, confronting baddies. only, you had these little guardian thingies that would come out and attack at the beginning of the battle. each little guardian thing only attacked certain parts of the screen. so if the baddie was on the right, and you sent out a guardian who attacked people on the left, she would just fly right past.

    sorry if I am vague, but what the hell was this game?

    cooljammer00 on
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    JayrodTremonkiJayrodTremonki Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    If you can somehow find the dual-joysticks Virtual On is the greatest game ever. EVER.

    JayrodTremonki on
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    TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    If you can somehow find the dual-joysticks Virtual On is the greatest game ever. EVER.

    If he got the Twin Sticks, it'd be smarter to pick up a Dreamcast, a saturn-pad adapter, and VO:OT. It's way better.

    but the saturn version is also great.

    TheSonicRetard on
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    polarbluepolarblue Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    titmouse wrote: »

    I remember reading in a book that the Saturn was originally meant to be able to play Genesis games but it would increase the costs too much for them. I might be misremembering it.

    when i was a kid i was reading some magazine that reviewed the playstation and the saturn, and i specifically decided i wanted to get the saturn because the article said it would play genesis games.

    color me pissed.

    but i did get to play NiGHTS so that made the console worth it to me. i'm still trying to find a real copy of shining force 3 :\

    polarblue on
    lost.jpg
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    GrimCalaveraGrimCalavera Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I'm sorry, but I just have to repeat myself.
    http://cgi.ebay.com/Crusader-No-Remorse-Sega-Saturn-RARE-Game_W0QQitemZ140112042473QQihZ004QQcategoryZ62053QQcmdZViewItem
    Crusader: No Remorse for Sega Saturn. Crusader: No Regret wasn't made for the system iirc, but seriously man ... the Crusader games are a BLAST. Anyone gonna back me up on this and second that the OP should snag this title if possible?

    GrimCalavera on
    There is a moment of sheer panic...
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    SixfortyfiveSixfortyfive Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    ArugulaZ wrote: »
    it would have cost them a lot of extra money to drop a Genesis processor under the hood.
    The Saturn's sound processor is the same chip as the Genesis's main processor (Motorolla 68000).

    Sixfortyfive on
    poasting something foolishly foolish.
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    FyreWulffFyreWulff YouRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2007
    ArugulaZ wrote: »
    it would have cost them a lot of extra money to drop a Genesis processor under the hood.
    The Saturn's sound processor is the same chip as the Genesis's main processor (Motorolla 68000).

    Looks like the Saturn was missing a Zilog Z80, though. Also, it appears it's a later 68k chip, which is not 100% backwards-compatible with the 68000.

    FyreWulff on
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    Bouncing_SoulBouncing_Soul Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Xieflow wrote: »
    Edit: Also, if you have an Action Replay 4M, you can't directly save to it while in-games. You have to exit to the front end Saturn dashboard and copy the saves over from the Saturn's internal memory. Still, it's really the only must-own Saturn thing everyone will agree on.

    So do you have to copy the save back to the Saturn evey time you want to load that game?

    Bouncing_Soul on
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    TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    FyreWulff wrote: »
    ArugulaZ wrote: »
    it would have cost them a lot of extra money to drop a Genesis processor under the hood.
    The Saturn's sound processor is the same chip as the Genesis's main processor (Motorolla 68000).

    Looks like the Saturn was missing a Zilog Z80, though. Also, it appears it's a later 68k chip, which is not 100% backwards-compatible with the 68000.

    The saturn uses an M68EC000 processor for it's sound chip. This same processor is used frequently in sega genesis overclocking projects. It's not 100% backwards compatible, but it provides enough backwards compatibility for genesis overclocking projects.

    And the Z80 is a cheap as hell processor, even in 1994. There's a reason it's one of the most used processors of all time.

    TheSonicRetard on
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    FyreWulffFyreWulff YouRegistered User, ClubPA regular
    edited April 2007
    what was it's footprint though? Maybe that's why Sega didn't put it in there.

    FyreWulff on
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    TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    FyreWulff wrote: »
    what was it's footprint though? Maybe that's why Sega didn't put it in there.

    The reason I've heard thrown around is that sega didn't include genesis backwards compatibility because it could have potentially cut into sales of the 32X and the then-upcoming neptune stand alone player.

    I've heard that a couple of times, but I'm unsure if that's the official reason given by sega. At one time, however, the saturn was supposed to be backwards compatible.

    TheSonicRetard on
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    HewnHewn Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Dragon Force was mentioned earlier. That's one of the best games for the system, from my memory. Every now and then I hear somebody mention a metal band of the same name, and it brings back the fondness I have for that title.

    A lost Sega gem: Legends of Oasis. I loved that game. So hard. Sequel to the Genesis classic Beyond Oasis, Legends was an adventure game that tickled me in all the right places. It always reminded me of Zelda in many aspects, and as such I never understood why it didn't get more praise.

    Hewn on
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    TheSonicRetardTheSonicRetard Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Hewn wrote: »
    Dragon Force was mentioned earlier. That's one of the best games for the system, from my memory. Every now and then I hear somebody mention a metal band of the same name, and it brings back the fondness I have for that title.

    A lost Sega gem: Legends of Oasis. I loved that game. So hard. Sequel to the Genesis classic Beyond Oasis, Legends was an adventure game that tickled me in all the right places. It always reminded me of Zelda in many aspects, and as such I never understood why it didn't get more praise.

    I'd lime it twice if I could.

    Beyond Oasis was actually BASHED when it was released. Only Tips & Tricks gave it a good review. I have very much love for the Oasis games.

    TheSonicRetard on
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    JazzJazz Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    I need to hook up my Saturn again... and, Dear God, a Burning Rangers sequel would be nice.

    Jazz on
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    ArugulaZArugulaZ Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    FyreWulff wrote: »
    what was it's footprint though? Maybe that's why Sega didn't put it in there.

    The reason I've heard thrown around is that sega didn't include genesis backwards compatibility because it could have potentially cut into sales of the 32X and the then-upcoming neptune stand alone player.

    I've heard that a couple of times, but I'm unsure if that's the official reason given by sega. At one time, however, the saturn was supposed to be backwards compatible.

    Missed opportunities. If Sega had been smart, they would have forgotten about the 32X entirely and just made the Saturn backward compatible with the Sega Genesis. But Sega was Sega, and we were treated to the fickle hardware support that resulted in their eventual surrender in the console wars.

    The 32X pisses me off so much. There was no need for another upgrade to the Sega Genesis when the last one sold so poorly. By the end of its life, Sega had released so many add-ons for the Genesis that it stopped being a game system and turned into a fucking Constructicon!

    ArugulaZ on
    JR

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    cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Jazz wrote: »
    I need to hook up my Saturn again... and, Dear God, a Burning Rangers sequel would be nice.

    My Saturn never leaves my setup. I used to keep the DC active, but there's way more I need the Saturn for. I've never finished DF2, Lunar Magic School(who knows if I ever will), or Shining The Holy Ark.

    cj iwakura on
    wVEsyIc.png
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    JazzJazz Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    cj iwakura wrote: »
    Jazz wrote: »
    I need to hook up my Saturn again... and, Dear God, a Burning Rangers sequel would be nice.

    My Saturn never leaves my setup. I used to keep the DC active, but there's way more I need the Saturn for. I've never finished DF2, Lunar Magic School(who knows if I ever will), or Shining The Holy Ark.

    Mine's in my setup, but it's not actually plugged in. My console rack holds six machines, and at present they are: Xbox 360, Turbo Duo, Xbox, Saturn, PS2 and Dreamcast, and the Saturn's the only one not actually hooked up. It does feel a little odd to not have a single Nintendo machine set up right now (I've got 'em all except the Wii), but they're all easily get-at-able...

    Jazz on
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    MC MysteryMC Mystery Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Jazz wrote: »
    I need to hook up my Saturn again... and, Dear God, a Burning Rangers sequel would be THE GREATEST.

    Limed, and Edited, and all that, Jazz.

    I think Burning Rangers is insanely underated.

    However for the OP, if you don't have Guardian Heroes, thats the first game (In my opinion mind you) that you should track down. One of the best Co-Op Experiences out there. Also, I would say best 2D brawler of all time.

    EDIT: Also, Gunvalkyrie on Xbox played similarly too and the character designs reminded me of Burning Rangers.

    MC Mystery on
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    slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Someone recommended Raidant Silvergun?


    Might as well look for the Holy Grail while you're at it!

    slash000 on
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    MC MysteryMC Mystery Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    slash000 wrote: »
    Someone recommended Raidant Silvergun?


    Might as well look for the Holy Grail while you're at it!

    It's totally an easy to find game, it's just not easy to find for under $100, and often, won't come with any of the original packaging.
    Hewn wrote: »
    Dragon Force was mentioned earlier. That's one of the best games for the system, from my memory. Every now and then I hear somebody mention a metal band of the same name, and it brings back the fondness I have for that title.

    A lost Sega gem: Legends of Oasis. I loved that game. So hard. Sequel to the Genesis classic Beyond Oasis, Legends was an adventure game that tickled me in all the right places. It always reminded me of Zelda in many aspects, and as such I never understood why it didn't get more praise.

    I'd lime it twice if I could.

    Beyond Oasis was actually BASHED when it was released. Only Tips & Tricks gave it a good review. I have very much love for the Oasis games.


    Was the Saturn edition released in the US?

    MC Mystery on
    Your sig is too tall. -Thanatos
    l_cd41a4eb4e2844f196a9c3046df33f47.jpg
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    slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Ah, fair enough :P

    slash000 on
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    astroboyastroboy Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Xieflow wrote: »
    Edit: Also, if you have an Action Replay 4M, you can't directly save to it while in-games. You have to exit to the front end Saturn dashboard and copy the saves over from the Saturn's internal memory. Still, it's really the only must-own Saturn thing everyone will agree on.

    So do you have to copy the save back to the Saturn evey time you want to load that game?

    From what I understand, yes. The Saturn doesn't load saves from the cartridge. Rather, it defaults to loading and saving to internal memory.

    But if you use the official Sega backup RAM cart, some games give you the option of loading from/saving to the cartridge directly. I know offhand Marvel Super Heroes allows for this.

    astroboy on
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    XieflowXieflow Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    there was this game, i think it was for the Saturn...

    you were this kid or something, in a cave that had collapsed. I specifically remember "punctured lung" being something one of your comrades suffered. it was first person, and you would walk around, confronting baddies. only, you had these little guardian thingies that would come out and attack at the beginning of the battle. each little guardian thing only attacked certain parts of the screen. so if the baddie was on the right, and you sent out a guardian who attacked people on the left, she would just fly right past.

    sorry if I am vague, but what the hell was this game?


    Sounds like Shining the Holy Ark?

    Xieflow on
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    cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Xieflow wrote: »
    there was this game, i think it was for the Saturn...

    you were this kid or something, in a cave that had collapsed. I specifically remember "punctured lung" being something one of your comrades suffered. it was first person, and you would walk around, confronting baddies. only, you had these little guardian thingies that would come out and attack at the beginning of the battle. each little guardian thing only attacked certain parts of the screen. so if the baddie was on the right, and you sent out a guardian who attacked people on the left, she would just fly right past.

    sorry if I am vague, but what the hell was this game?


    Sounds like Shining the Holy Ark?

    i wikied it. that seems right, with the mine collapse and the pixies.

    cooljammer00 on
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    XieflowXieflow Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Xieflow wrote: »
    there was this game, i think it was for the Saturn...

    you were this kid or something, in a cave that had collapsed. I specifically remember "punctured lung" being something one of your comrades suffered. it was first person, and you would walk around, confronting baddies. only, you had these little guardian thingies that would come out and attack at the beginning of the battle. each little guardian thing only attacked certain parts of the screen. so if the baddie was on the right, and you sent out a guardian who attacked people on the left, she would just fly right past.

    sorry if I am vague, but what the hell was this game?


    Sounds like Shining the Holy Ark?

    i wikied it. that seems right, with the mine collapse and the pixies.

    Be warned, it has not aged well.

    Xieflow on
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    HazzHazz Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Yikes. Thanks for the advice, you sexy people; even the baseball ones (I do like me some rounders, so maybe I'll like it :P).

    I just picked up Panzer Dragoon for a tenner ($20), as it was the only game in the shop that wasn't a bloody football or racing game.

    Hazz on
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    ArugulaZArugulaZ Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    So you're in England, huh? That's a stroke of luck... the European Saturn got Wipeout XL, a game we Americans had to do without.

    ArugulaZ on
    JR

    Same old site, great new look! Check out The Gameroom Blitz at:
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    ViscountalphaViscountalpha The pen is mightier than the sword http://youtu.be/G_sBOsh-vyIRegistered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Jammers wrote: »
    The cartridge is for memory cards, which you don't really need to worry about since it's got a built in memory. The in-built memory runs off of a battery tho, which might need replacing after all these years. If the clock resets itself whenever you switch off the console then the batteries dead.

    As for games, there was an awesome RPG called Mystaria which I would strongly recommend. I'll second the recomendation for Saturn Bomberman as well, probably the best Bomberman I've played.

    I'll 3rd that. Martian viking brought 2 multi-taps and his sega saturn and had a 10 man bomberman at pax last year. It was truly epic. I would have to say the neatest thing about that Bomberman is the fact that you can get little critters to ride on occasionally. It feels fast enough and on a projector 10 man bomberman is sight to behold.

    Viscountalpha on
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