OMSI 2. Real dashboard, Arduino and writting plugins (1 Viewer)

Hello everybody,

I have been playing OMSI 2 intermittently for several years. Recently, I got myself a Logitech G25 steering wheel in order to build a real dashboard to play the game. My idea is to hack the steering wheel to a full-sized bus one with turning indicators switch and to design and 3D-print a dashboard with all the indicators and switches and connect it to the game.

So, this post will have 2 main parts.

First one: OMSI 2 community status.
I have seen that the official Marcel's OMSI forum does no longer admit new registrations since a new game, LOTUS-Simulator, is being developed. However, I have seen that the activity on that forum as well as on this forum and on the OMSI WebDisk forum (the ones I have found to be the most important and active ones besides from Marcel's) is still going on... So my main question is: Do you think it is worth spending time and effort in developing such thing in a game not officially supported? I mean, I don't mind that the game is not supported as long as the community is still active so that I can get help and new addons will still be released... Also, am I missing any other OMSI 2 active forum?
Actually I am going to post this on the WebDisk forum as well.


Second one: Technical details and help regarding my idea.
I have done some research on how to interface a real-life dashboard with the game.
From one side, inputting actions to the game is pretty straight-forward. I can hack a USB keyboard (or use an arcade USB interface or a U-HID) to connect my own switches to the game and assign each switch to the corresponding key in the keyboard, so that it will be basically as if I was playing with a keyboard.

On the other side, pulling data out of the game to activate gauges, lights and even displays, is a little bit trickier...
Gazz did a great step on the development of such systems back in 2012 by using an Arduino and a custom-made OMSI plugin as it can be seen on his Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcxjbphxuIE1KMpMgyqxk0w). Although his website is not working (http://www.kampenwagen.co.uk/), I have been able to read about it and download the Arduino sketch and the OMSI plugin through the Internet Archive (Gazz's Omsi Dash). I have not tried Gazz's plugin yet since I think it is for OMSI (1) only... Might give it a try on OMSI 2 anyway, we'll see...
Later, in 2014, a german guy named Lars Jobst developed KOMSI, an OMSI plugin designed to specifically do this. Plus, it is very costumizable (you can choose which variables you want to get from the game to the Arduino and it comes with some helpful tool to test your setup). KOMSI can be download from http://pulle76.de/. Actually, Gazz has a video showing KOMSI working (). I have tried it and I can not get it to work. At first, the plugin itself (KOMSI client) was not communicating with KOMSI Server. After reinstalling the game and the plugin I got them both to communicate. However, the KOMSI Server freezes as soon as I connect to the Arduino board. It happens that the official channel to get support for KOMSI (Fehlermeldung - OMSI deluxe) is also down... Anyone here has experience with KOMSI and can help with this?
Another option I have found, but not tried yet, is SimHub (SimHub, DIY Sim Racing Dash and Hardware - Bring Your Sim Racing Rig To Life) Anyone here has experience with SimHub? I will try it soon and report.

Is there any other way of getting data out of OMSI easily?

Finally, my last option is to write my own plugin.
I have not been able to find much documentation on that (even in German)... From what I've read so far, it looks that plugins can be written in Delphi (the language the game is written in) and in C++. For C++, Holmexx developed a framework to develop OMSI plugins (Programming of the plugin interface - Marcels OMSI-Forum). There is more explanations and tutorials on this framework on this website: OMSI Plugin Framework I – OMSIWiki. The tutorial is incomplete and the link to download the framework (https://omsi.sovoma.de/downloads/opf.zip)... you guessed it right: it's down! Does anyone here has the ZIP for the framework or a link to download it?
Do you know where I can find more information on how to develop a plugin or any example?


Well... this has been a long post, sorry for that. I just wanted to put you in situation of the research I have done so far.
To wrap up:
I want to build a custom dashboard. I am looking for a way to drive the lights and indicators of the dashboard. I have tried KOMSI so far without success. Anyone knows of an alternative way to get variables out of OMSI? My last hope is to write my own plugin... Any tutorial or example on this?

Thank you very much.
 
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Unfortunately the Komsi forum closed down a few years ago, that was the best place to get help with this kind of thing,

BTW, i replied on the other forum you posted this in, mentioning komsi v2.4, which should get komsi working with omsi2 again.

i also used to use the aussieX forums, and a few technically minded people on there helped me produce the gazz.dll that was used on omsi 1,

Unfortunately, i am good at mechanical stuff, but software and programming i struggle with, so even my gazz.dll was not written by me (im sure i mention that on my old site)
someone on the aussie-x forum took what i wanted to do and wrote the plugin, i tested it and gave him feedback and he altered things.

omsi2 came out, and Lars wrote Komsi, i helped a bit with things on that project, 2014 came....and life then went and screwed me over and i had to put my bus sim hardware into storage,
i only managed to get it out earlier this year, and i'm finding all the old technical / bus simulator rig building forums have closed, and i'm now stuck too trying to work things out.

i do plan on re making the pcb that goes on an arduino mega, and switches the 24 volt light bulbs and the gauges on the dashboard, when i do i must remember to publish the pcb file so others can make them if they want, easier than sticking transistors on breadboard connected to the arduino.


However i am re-building the whole simulator rig from the ground up, right now i'm waiting on getting a TIG welder (the mig makes too much mess) and i will be making a lot more out of steel this time and getting the entire replica bus cab built ,
i think the last photo's on my site, and my videos on youtube were of me using my dashboard at a computer desk,
so i'll post a photo here of the mock up i have so far (i actually made that base in 2014, it's being replaced soon), the simulator rig is being built in a new shed i've just finished building, that's taken all summer to build and get what i wanted in it.

I still need real german bus parts for my simulator, and one of the bus breakers seems to have gone that i got a load of stuff from, i'm stuck trying to locate the steering column bracket that holds the column to the dash frame... it incorporates the tilt mechanism... i've made a very basic column holder myself, but i need the genuine MAN item, but no bus breakers have replied to me asking for that part :(

i've had a quick look at lotus, but they seem to be modern times based, i drive a 1990's MAN NG272, and i like maps of Germany from that era, as it's re-living me growing up in Germany.

Hopefully omsi will keep going for a little while longer, and the few people still left building sim rigs for it can find a forum together and share knowleage again.
1606253741843.png


Yeah i know, the seat isnt right, but i got that brand new from an iveco truck for 20 quid, i got a genuine german train drivers seat sent over once, and that was hell to arrange and sort out when the english courier refused it for being too heavy for him, and sent it back to germany!! so this'll have to do, might re-cover it one day.
 

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Unfortunately the Komsi forum closed down a few years ago, that was the best place to get help with this kind of thing,

BTW, i replied on the other forum you posted this in, mentioning komsi v2.4, which should get komsi working with omsi2 again.

i also used to use the aussieX forums, and a few technically minded people on there helped me produce the gazz.dll that was used on omsi 1,

Unfortunately, i am good at mechanical stuff, but software and programming i struggle with, so even my gazz.dll was not written by me (im sure i mention that on my old site)
someone on the aussie-x forum took what i wanted to do and wrote the plugin, i tested it and gave him feedback and he altered things.

omsi2 came out, and Lars wrote Komsi, i helped a bit with things on that project, 2014 came....and life then went and screwed me over and i had to put my bus sim hardware into storage,
i only managed to get it out earlier this year, and i'm finding all the old technical / bus simulator rig building forums have closed, and i'm now stuck too trying to work things out.

i do plan on re making the pcb that goes on an arduino mega, and switches the 24 volt light bulbs and the gauges on the dashboard, when i do i must remember to publish the pcb file so others can make them if they want, easier than sticking transistors on breadboard connected to the arduino.


However i am re-building the whole simulator rig from the ground up, right now i'm waiting on getting a TIG welder (the mig makes too much mess) and i will be making a lot more out of steel this time and getting the entire replica bus cab built ,
i think the last photo's on my site, and my videos on youtube were of me using my dashboard at a computer desk,
so i'll post a photo here of the mock up i have so far (i actually made that base in 2014, it's being replaced soon), the simulator rig is being built in a new shed i've just finished building, that's taken all summer to build and get what i wanted in it.

I still need real german bus parts for my simulator, and one of the bus breakers seems to have gone that i got a load of stuff from, i'm stuck trying to locate the steering column bracket that holds the column to the dash frame... it incorporates the tilt mechanism... i've made a very basic column holder myself, but i need the genuine MAN item, but no bus breakers have replied to me asking for that part :(

i've had a quick look at lotus, but they seem to be modern times based, i drive a 1990's MAN NG272, and i like maps of Germany from that era, as it's re-living me growing up in Germany.

Hopefully omsi will keep going for a little while longer, and the few people still left building sim rigs for it can find a forum together and share knowleage again.View attachment 74803

Yeah i know, the seat isnt right, but i got that brand new from an iveco truck for 20 quid, i got a genuine german train drivers seat sent over once, and that was hell to arrange and sort out when the english courier refused it for being too heavy for him, and sent it back to germany!! so this'll have to do, might re-cover it one day.
Wow. I remember watching you on Youtube years ago showcasing your desk dashboard setup with your little magpie xD. I'm pretty sure you were the reason I got into OMSI, the realism from just that setup alone made me instantly want the game! And here we are years later and you're doing a full on rebuild. I love it, I really do. I wish you luck on trying to put it all back together and working again, fingers crossed you get those parts!
 
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i've got komsi working with omsi again, but i am wondering if other people who still use komsi can tell me if theirs is working?

http://pulle76.de/KOMSI/KOMSI2 V2.4.zip is the link to v2.4 of komsi, which is supposed to work with the latest and last omsi release,

But when i start omsi, it starts up v2.3 of the komsi server, and if that has the 'auto connect at omsi start' check box ticked, it crashes omsi like everyone mentioned.

i've found a work around. it's a bit of a faff first time, but after it's set up it's just 2 clicks to start omsi, and a click to start the data transfer:

so, you've put the komsi v2.4 contents in the plugins folder, set up your opl files and all that to get the right lights on your arduino's etc,

So start omsi, it will hang with an error message, click the button to dismiss the error message, then open the komsi server that's running along side omsi (windows key, then hover over the omsi2 button on the taskbar, and click the Komsi server window)

Now click the 'auto connect at OMSI start' box to GET RID of the tick,
Then click the tick box for 'switch experimental mode?' and at the very bottom, click 'Save'

Close the komsi server and omsi (crtl alt delete and kill it in task manager... as it's still crashed from earlier)

Now, in windows, navigate to the omsi plugins folder where you put komsi, double click on 'KOMSI server'
You'll get 2 files, RIGHT click on the 'komsi server 2.4 exe' this brings up the window of things to do... move down to 'send to' and click 'Desktop (create shortcut)'

You now have a shortcut to komsi v2.4, move it next to the button you use to start omsi2 if you want, then before you start omsi, double click the 'komsi server v2.4.exe .. shortcut'
This starts komsi server 2.4, you can click the tick box's to enable the com ports your arduino's are connected to.


Then double click the omsi2 button to start omsi (or however you usually start omsi up) load your bus etc,

Now, to get omsi talking to komsi and it in turn talking to your arduino's, hit the windows key, hover over omsi, and click the komsi server tab, you'll notice it's still komsi server 2.3 (i have no idea why 2.3 starts up when we put 2.4 in the plugins folder), but wit komsi server 2.4 running, when you click the connect button, your arduino's should spring into life and your dashboard will work again,

For some reason, the instance of komsi 2.3 that starts with omsi will work through the instance of komsi 2.4 we started manually.

If you stop the komsi 2.4 server, and try to connect with komsi 2.3 thats running with omsi, it'll hang with that error message again 'no connection could be made, the target machine actively refused it'

But start the komsi 2.4 server first, THEN the 2.3 server, and it seems to work.

As on other forums people don't mention this faff to get komsi working again, i can only presume they have an updated version of the komsi 2.4 server thing, but i can't seem to find it... or maybe they are running both 2.3 and 2.4 together like i've done, bod knows, most of the omsi forums that are still left havent had anything posted about komsi for over half a year, other than the link to the 2.4 zip file.
 
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Unfortunately the Komsi forum closed down a few years ago, that was the best place to get help with this kind of thing,

BTW, i replied on the other forum you posted this in, mentioning komsi v2.4, which should get komsi working with omsi2 again.

i also used to use the aussieX forums, and a few technically minded people on there helped me produce the gazz.dll that was used on omsi 1,

Unfortunately, i am good at mechanical stuff, but software and programming i struggle with, so even my gazz.dll was not written by me (im sure i mention that on my old site)
someone on the aussie-x forum took what i wanted to do and wrote the plugin, i tested it and gave him feedback and he altered things.

omsi2 came out, and Lars wrote Komsi, i helped a bit with things on that project, 2014 came....and life then went and screwed me over and i had to put my bus sim hardware into storage,
i only managed to get it out earlier this year, and i'm finding all the old technical / bus simulator rig building forums have closed, and i'm now stuck too trying to work things out.

i do plan on re making the pcb that goes on an arduino mega, and switches the 24 volt light bulbs and the gauges on the dashboard, when i do i must remember to publish the pcb file so others can make them if they want, easier than sticking transistors on breadboard connected to the arduino.


However i am re-building the whole simulator rig from the ground up, right now i'm waiting on getting a TIG welder (the mig makes too much mess) and i will be making a lot more out of steel this time and getting the entire replica bus cab built ,
i think the last photo's on my site, and my videos on youtube were of me using my dashboard at a computer desk,
so i'll post a photo here of the mock up i have so far (i actually made that base in 2014, it's being replaced soon), the simulator rig is being built in a new shed i've just finished building, that's taken all summer to build and get what i wanted in it.

I still need real german bus parts for my simulator, and one of the bus breakers seems to have gone that i got a load of stuff from, i'm stuck trying to locate the steering column bracket that holds the column to the dash frame... it incorporates the tilt mechanism... i've made a very basic column holder myself, but i need the genuine MAN item, but no bus breakers have replied to me asking for that part :(

i've had a quick look at lotus, but they seem to be modern times based, i drive a 1990's MAN NG272, and i like maps of Germany from that era, as it's re-living me growing up in Germany.

Hopefully omsi will keep going for a little while longer, and the few people still left building sim rigs for it can find a forum together and share knowleage again.View attachment 74803

Yeah i know, the seat isnt right, but i got that brand new from an iveco truck for 20 quid, i got a genuine german train drivers seat sent over once, and that was hell to arrange and sort out when the english courier refused it for being too heavy for him, and sent it back to germany!! so this'll have to do, might re-cover it one day.
Hello Gazz! Thanks for writing me back! Sorry for not answering earlier on the other forum. WebDisk forum won't notificate you through email on thread updates and I haven't checked the forum for days... Anyway, I have read both of your replies. Thanks a lot, man! It's good to hear that you are back to OMSI gaming!! ;)

So finally I got Komsi to work. I had to reinstall OMSI 2 (maybe too much playing around with plugins messed some critical files up). This solved the communication problem between Komsi Client and Server. After some testing I noticed that the problem with the Arduino communication was the Arduino itself (I was actually using an Arduino UNO with a modified code to just drive 10 outputs, but the UNO had some problem with the serial communication). So I got my hands on a Mega and some LEDs on a protoboard and everything worked fine. I was able to configure which LEDs corresponded to each vehicle variable and it is working correctly. I am running OMSI 2 and Komsi 2.1 on a Windows 10 PC.
Thank for posting the link to Komsi 2.4! I will give it a try soon to see what's new in this version and try your workaround.

Also, thank you for introducing me to EMC FFB, that surely looks promising.

I have some other project that I have to take care of before starting to really build my dashboard... So it will be a couple months since I can get my hands on that.

My idea is to build a 'custom' dashboard that can be universal to all the buses. I will 3D print some parts and probably use modular aluminum extrusions to build the structure. Once I start working on it and get something to share, I will update you.

As of now, I know that I will stay with OMSI 2 and not change to Lotus...

Cheers!
 
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Is there anyone on here using komsi 2.4?

is it just me that gets it showing 'komsi server 2.3' with no options to select com ports, when omsi starts, komsi server 2.4 is the only one in the plugins folder, so i dont know where it gets 2.3 from,


scrub that, i'm being a cock, ignore my previous post too about that so called work around to get komsi working... what i was doing is totally normal and how it's supposed to work, i'll leave the post intact just to show everyone that i screw up more often than not, and hopefully others can learn from my mistakes (like when i blew a usb input board by allowing 24 volts get onto it)

it's been 6 years since i used this stuff, and i'd forgotten how to use komsi,

the procedure IS to start the server first, then start omsi, which starts the 'client server' which talks to the main server that connects to the arduino's,

That's how the main server that talks to the arduino's, can be on another physical computer, linked via the network to the computer running omsi... this was done to remove all extra resources from the main computer that's running omsi, as omsi is so resource hungry (i remember now i used to use a game booster app on my omsi computer, this shut down anything not needed for the sim to run, even shut the windows desktop down, and it really helped boost the fps i got in omsi.

Anyay, all this stuff about how to work komsi it all there in the handbook thats in the komsi folder... albeit in german, i've run the handbook pdf through a translator and got an english version, most of it makes sense, i just needed to read it properly.


i'd been faffing about with an arduino uno getting some basic led's working, then thought maybe it's the need to be a mega (only reason for that is for the gauges... the uno dosent have a spare clock to set at 31khz like the mega does... this stops the gauges buzzing in the human hearing range as they work)

but i'd removed the code that sets one of the mega's clocks different, so it would run on an uno.. but lights only, then i pulled the mega off my bus dash,

..........and nope, wasn't that... good job i didnt re-program that mega and found another one (so old it needed the ftdi drivers loading in win10 to work)

now i've gotta figure out what on earth i was doing with the dashboard arduino, as i've got more than the stock 32 outputs for lights in that sketch, plus an lcd connected... i believe i was testing the ticket printer bits back in 2014 before lars got them working on seperate arduino's and released komsi 2.3.
 
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So, I've been thinking,
Maybe i should video the things i am doing to get omsi and komsi working again, as 99% of the stuff on omsi and komsi is in german, the stuff on websites can be translated via google, but the videos not so easy for a non german speaker to understand it.

I believe i was one of the few youtube omsi dashboard builders that were english, and that chanel died in 2014 (i got a stalker who kept trying to hack the videos and all kinds of crap like that)

But i never went into much technical detail on that channel.

So i'm thinking of starting a new youtube channel, and i'd start from the beginning with a video on how to get komsi working, then how use a simple sketch on an arduino uno to link to komsi (and hence the bus in omsi) and how to connect some led's to the arduino and have them mimicking the bus dashboard in omsi.

Then people can follow along and build a replica dashboard... dosent have to be the expensive route of buying real bus parts from germany (or england if you like driving other buses)
like when i started in 2011... i printed out the dashboard texture from omsi, stuck it to a bit of wood n propped that on my computer desk, then i added cheap switch tops with label printer legends on them with led's stuffed up the back of them for the warning lights and built it up from there.

It'd be even easier nowadays with 3D printers easily accessible (if you don't have one, look for your local hackspace, they will have one along with a laser cutter and other cool tools for you to use for a small monthly fee)

Let me know if that kind of thing would interest people? i know it's like 6 years too late, and some people are moving onto lotus, but i rekon omsi will be around for another 10 years or so, due to it's modability, the base program works... sorta, everything else can be made by others... like the london addon thats being released for omsi in a few days,
 
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So, I've been thinking,
Maybe i should video the things i am doing to get omsi and komsi working again, as 99% of the stuff on omsi and komsi is in german, the stuff on websites can be translated via google, but the videos not so easy for a non german speaker to understand it.

I believe i was one of the few youtube omsi dashboard builders that were english, and that chanel died in 2014 (i got a stalker who kept trying to hack the videos and all kinds of crap like that)

But i never went into much technical detail on that channel.

So i'm thinking of starting a new youtube channel, and i'd start from the beginning with a video on how to get komsi working, then how use a simple sketch on an arduino uno to link to komsi (and hence the bus in omsi) and how to connect some led's to the arduino and have them mimicking the bus dashboard in omsi.

Then people can follow along and build a replica dashboard... dosent have to be the expensive route of buying real bus parts from germany (or england if you like driving other buses)
like when i started in 2011... i printed out the dashboard texture from omsi, stuck it to a bit of wood n propped that on my computer desk, then i added cheap switch tops with label printer legends on them with led's stuffed up the back of them for the warning lights and built it up from there.

It'd be even easier nowadays with 3D printers easily accessible (if you don't have one, look for your local hackspace, they will have one along with a laser cutter and other cool tools for you to use for a small monthly fee)

Let me know if that kind of thing would interest people? i know it's like 6 years too late, and some people are moving onto lotus, but i rekon omsi will be around for another 10 years or so, due to it's modability, the base program works... sorta, everything else can be made by others... like the london addon thats being released for omsi in a few days,
I think a video showing what you are doing would be an excellent idea.
 
So, I've been thinking,
Maybe i should video the things i am doing to get omsi and komsi working again, as 99% of the stuff on omsi and komsi is in german, the stuff on websites can be translated via google, but the videos not so easy for a non german speaker to understand it.

I believe i was one of the few youtube omsi dashboard builders that were english, and that chanel died in 2014 (i got a stalker who kept trying to hack the videos and all kinds of crap like that)

But i never went into much technical detail on that channel.

So i'm thinking of starting a new youtube channel, and i'd start from the beginning with a video on how to get komsi working, then how use a simple sketch on an arduino uno to link to komsi (and hence the bus in omsi) and how to connect some led's to the arduino and have them mimicking the bus dashboard in omsi.

Then people can follow along and build a replica dashboard... dosent have to be the expensive route of buying real bus parts from germany (or england if you like driving other buses)
like when i started in 2011... i printed out the dashboard texture from omsi, stuck it to a bit of wood n propped that on my computer desk, then i added cheap switch tops with label printer legends on them with led's stuffed up the back of them for the warning lights and built it up from there.

It'd be even easier nowadays with 3D printers easily accessible (if you don't have one, look for your local hackspace, they will have one along with a laser cutter and other cool tools for you to use for a small monthly fee)

Let me know if that kind of thing would interest people? i know it's like 6 years too late, and some people are moving onto lotus, but i rekon omsi will be around for another 10 years or so, due to it's modability, the base program works... sorta, everything else can be made by others... like the london addon thats being released for omsi in a few days,
Absolutely! I am shure it would be of great help to many! It is true what you say about the extensive german community and the rather small english one...
 
Great to see you are ok Gazz and are still tinkering with Komsi, you got me right into it after I watched your YouTube videos so thankyou, I got an arduino and an old ticket machine and got it sort of working but then also had a break. I have since got an wayfarer tgx 200 but no idea how to wire that up.
I did recently try Komsi again but gave up because it would not connect, will try again with your latest instructions.
 
Hi again,

Komsi does work fine, i was being a dumb Kopf and forgot how it works when i wrote that 'work around, that is actually how you use komsi,

You need komsi 2.4, which i linked to in a post above,

You do the usual komsi things... place the relevant files in the plugins folder of omsi, set up your OPL files using the OFK in the tools folder, test them etc. load the sketches onto your Arduino's and so on, just as was done before.

When you start omsi, the Komsi Client starts too, click the tick box for 'auto connect at OMSI start' and that takes care of that bit, maybe press the connect button if you want.

Then you need to separately start the komsi server, and set it to your Arduino's com ports and click the 'on/off' box so the tick shows, and that's it, it should show the data being received from the komsi client in the control monitor part of komsi server.

Remember to switch between komsi server, komsi client and omsi using the windows key and selecting them from the start bar, a recommendation is to have omsi start in full screen windowed mode, this allows the komsi client to show whilst omsi is loading.

I put a start icon to the komsi server on my desktop next to the icon i have to start omsi, and i double click the komsi server, then omsi, whilst omsi is loading i connect the komsi server to my Arduino's, then go to omsi (windows key and select omsi from the taskbar) and drive a bus.

Just in case its missing from the download of komsi 2.4, I've attached the English handbook for komsi.


The big thing i am wondering, is there a komsi client 2.4? as the download of komsi 2.4, it's the komsi server that's 2.4, it still used komsi client 2.3, and as such there's no data for the bus temperature display, or an output for the bus interior display, i have seen video's of people with those things working, so maybe they got hold of a 2.4 version of the komsi client?
 

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