GSL Prep: Operation Overdrive

As usual, when ever I come up with a goal for myself, I have to call it "Operation" something. It's dumb, but over-dramatic titles for my goals give me more motivation to see them to the end than if I said, "Hey, I should probably get busy on X." Since it's a personal habit that I know works, why stop?

Welcome to the not-so-glorious side of trying to be competitive in a GSL...

The newest operation in my list of them is Operation Overdrive, effective NOW through Feb. 18th (conveniently when the GSL starts). Overdrive isn't a glorious operation, indeed, it'll be a long, boring slog of an experience. Basically, from now until the league starts, I'm going to be spending double or more the amount of time I normally do on homework, so I have time to play without setting myself back academically. This means getting in the habit of doing the whole week's homework on Sunday night and Monday, when the GSL would be in recess. With my light schedule this semester, that's really not as hard as it might sound to someone with a 15+ credit load. I'm also trying to jump-start the long-term projects, like the two short stories I need to write for my 400-level creative writing class.

The real beast of this goal will be plowing through my sociology research. During the weekdays, I'll be spending obscene amounts of time in the sociology research lab, reading World of Warcraft blogs and coding all that data. As someone who's never played WoW, it's not something I can do for more than an hour or two before losing all interest. This project is time-intensive, and I'm contractually obligated to complete it (I'm being paid $2100 after all), so failing to get it done because I was busy with a videogame league would be an extremely retarded thing for me to do. So, between now and the GSL start, I'll be spending about 6-8 hours a day on my research, every day Monday through Friday, which means a minimum of 42 hours invested by the time the GSL starts. Hopefully, that'll be enough progress that I'll only have to work on it Mondays and Tuesdays during the GSL and meet the deadline, but we'll see. Work comes before points. I may be scheduling my weeks on the bench around my research needs.

I haven't even wanted to play games much lately, when the league is so close. I'll continue to chip at Stranglehold every now and then, as well as Lego Star Wars, and possibly Blue Dragon and Dynasty Warriors 6. DVDs I've been meaning to watch but have not are more likely to get my attention though. There will be more than enough gaming later.

Since there probably won't be much gaming progress to report, I'll try to work up some special topics and commentary to fill the space until the league starts.

Afro Samurai and 100Ks

I received Afro Samurai yesterday, and I've begun playing that on an offline account, as I take notes and prepare to write the review. Normally, I'll throw anything on my card so I get the points for my time, but this close to the GSL starting, no free addition to my game stash is going to be wasted. I'll get those points "for real" in a couple weeks. Instead of even thinking about the points, I've just been playing the game. Having familiarity with the game before the league starts should allow me to get through it again in better-than-average time. I'll do my best to have the review complete by Sunday night, but make no guarantees. I also downloaded a couple episodes of the show off the video marketplace, so I'm more familiar with the original material.

According to TrueAchievements, my score is 99,758 (TrueAchievements calculates your score based on how many other people have the same achievements you do. Achievements fewer people have earned are worth more points). Since I'm so close to getting my first 100k, I might take some time away from reviewing to load up Stranglehold and try to get a few more points out of it. It's not as sweet as the "real" 100k, but it's a start.

Fabruary-March will be the "100k Blitz," as I anticipate watching my friends Silva, Derek, Bishop, and Buck Wyyld (he only needs 300 or so, surely he can get that in 2 months) reach that milestone, and I shouldn't be too far behind them. I'm looking forward to it.

That's the Friday update, folks. Happy gaming.

Another (Golden) Brick in the Wall

With the GSL just a couple weeks away, I've really been slowing down my gaming. I want to get as much work done on my 400-level creative writing short stories and Sociology research as I can before the league starts, so I have more time to play. The off-days of Monday and Tuesday will be the days I spend in the career center, I reckon. With my gaming hours so cut, my roommate is probably spending more time with my Xbox playing Puzzle Quest. I don't mind, since in a couple weeks I'll be pretty much hogging the thing.

When I am playing, my gaming has been extremely casual. I've been playing Stranglehold from Gamefly as something to tide me over until the league starts. I needed it for Operation Jedi anyway, as it was sitting at a 25/1000 for a long time. I'll mess around with it some more, then ship it back about 7-10 days before the league starts, so I can get an easier game back.

Puzzle Quest has been getting some love as well, as I completed the entire DLC quest line, and finally reached level 50. Now all I need to do is defeat Lord Bane and forge a Godlike item and that game is completed. As you can see from the number of days Puzzle Quest has been played (via my 360voice profile), I love the game. Hopefully Galactrix, the sequel, will be out pretty soon.

Also an the gaming roster has been Lego Star Wars II. I'd love to get this one done so I can start The Complete Saga when the GSL is over. I've been merrily replaying levels to meet the "True Jedi" stud requirements, for the most part, and earn those gold bricks. Having the x2 stud multiplier turned on makes those a lot easier. I'm now saving for the x4 multiplier. With both enabled, all studs are worth 8x as much, as I'll be able to get the most expensive items more easily. I really want to go on a shopping spree at the store now, but it would take too long to replenish my funds, and thus I'm saving for the multipliers.

I recently noticed that Venture Brothers season 3 is available on the video marketplace, while the DVDs won't be out for another month. Since I have the hard drive space, I've begun downloading the season. Stefan and I have been laughing our asses off... I've got to get Amy interested in this show LOL. I've also noticed that episodes of Afro Samurai cost half as much as if I purchased the DVDs, so I'll probably end up downloading an episode or two to check out the show. Since the Afro Samurai game is my next review, getting to know the original material probably isn't a bad idea.

That'll cover me for today folks. Happy gaming everybody.

How Playing Bad Games Can Be Fun

First, a blog note: I've temporarily enabled comment moderation, so comments won't appear on the blog right away. Hopefully it's only a temporary measure. If your comment has a name on it and is reasonable, it will be posted, even if you're completely disagreeing with me and calling me a moron =P I'm more critical of anonymous posts, flames, pointless comments, or comments unrelated to the topic of the post.

Today, I felt like talking about why I play come crappy games. The majority of gamers out there play only what they want to play for fun, and would not subject themselves to games like Jumper or Golden Compass, as I have. These gamers probably wonder why I waste my time on such garbage for some stupid points. It's a fair question to have, and I'll try to provide my answer to it.

First, I want to distance myself a bit from the Stallion, Rogue, and Hayden type of gamer. Those guys will play anything at any time for points, and I believe they all own multiple xbox 360s. I'm not suggesting that they only play games for points, and don't play games for fun (I'm sure they play some games for fun), I'm saying that have much higher and persistent crap-tolerances than I do. While they seem (to me) capable of playing crap whenever to boost their scores, I can't do that. More power to them, I guess. I personally need a little more motivation to spend my time on junk.

If I'm going to play crap games to boost my score, I need to have fun doing it. Sounds impossible, right? How could Golden Compass possibly be fun? There are several ways in which I find playing garbage enjoyable:

1. Playing bad games helps you better appreciate the good ones

I wish all those people who bitch about how horrible Gears 2 is would go play Hour of Victory for a couple hours. After you've played a real turd of a shooter, it's easier to appreciate Gears. While the game certainly isn't perfect, the Gears 2 cry-babies don't realize they're bitching about an excellent game, and have no idea what garbage really is. They're like a bunch of spoiled princesses whiling over trifles. Mini-rant aside, I enjoy the quality games more if I just played something mediocre or bad. They make you realize that excellence isn't a given, and a quality game takes a lot of time and talent to pull off.

2. The art of mocking

Playing bad games is an exercise in creativity. You're always thinking of new ways to chain swears together, or coming up with clever ways to describe how poorly made a game was. This may sound like an exercise in masochism, but it's actually great. As a writer, I'm pressing myself to come up with better metaphors to depict the horror, and generally trying to exercise wit. When I'm playing crap, I'm critically thinking about it. While enjoying quality games, I'm not doing much thinking at all.

3. Social context is key

The vast majority of bad games I've played have been done during a GSL. I did have to review a few lame ducks, and a few games I rented to try out turned out to be horrible, but they are the exceptions. Everyone has heard the saying "misery loves company" and it's true for playing bad games, among many other things. The fun of playing in a competition against other teams, while chatting and working with your own team of people, easily compensates for the misery of a few bad games. How else would I have met awesome guys like Silva, Ducky Dan, and Derek? We've played games together for fun as well as points both in and out of GSLs. Other people make bad games more fun. One of my favorite memories of GSL VI is when four of us boosted some of the MP achievements for Viva Pinata Party Animals at 2am on a Saturday night. It's an absurd time of day for 4 grown men to be boosting a party game for children, and we spent the whole time joking about it. That gaming session was nothing but a couple hours of torture metaphors and slinging gay jokes and your mom jokes at each other, among other juvenile antics. It was pretty hilarious. The game may have been bad, but I had a great time anyway.

4. Perverse pride

I'll admit it, knowing that I was able to sit through games that other people couldn't stand amuses me. I have a strange respect for people capable of seeing bad games through to the end. That requires more dedication than getting to the end of a masterpiece like Fallout, in my opinion. It's easy to ride through a game that draws you in; it's much harder to ride through a game with broken mechanics constantly pushing your interest elsewhere.


In these four ways, I can enjoy playing games that are pretty bad. So remember, if you see me playing garbage during GSL VII, like (heaven forbid) My Horse and Me 2 or Rapala Fishing Frenzy, remember that, in my own way, I'm actually having fun with it, or I wouldn't have bothered.

GSL VII Preview: Meet The Hand of Thrawn

Today, I'd like to introduce you to a team that's going to be making waves in this season's GSL. It really shouldn't come as a surprise, when you consider who is on the team. The Hand of Thrawn represents the reunion of three members of the GSL VI Champion team, The Silent Assassins (ThrawnOmega, BL4CK SiLv4, and Derek1337). We all have experience with a GSL, and know what you have to do to win it, which gives us an advantage over most of the other teams in the league. Of course, every teams thinks they're going to win, and I have no problem with that, but you're a fool if you don't think we'll be competing with you every step of the way.

For those of you out there who didn't follow GSL VI, or don't remember, let's review some stats.

How about MVP totals for the whole season (Black dot by name = Assassin):
As you can see, all 4 members who were on the team the whole season made the top 10 in the league. There was a revolving door of subs in the last 2 spots, but once Silva found his way into the ranks, he definitely made some noise. He nearly cracked the top 10 as well, despite having 2-3 less weeks of play than almost everyone else.

Or how about some weekly totals from returning members of the Hand of Thrawn? We clearly know how to score, and we can and will do so again. While other teams can talk trash based on their potential, we speak from know-how.

Week 7:
Derek: 5,964
Silva: 6,298
Thrawn: 7,750

Week 8:
Derek: 7,260
Silva: 7,395
Thrawn: 7,530

Let's meet the members of the Hand of Thrawn:

Captain: ThrawnOmega
You've seen my numbers from GSL VI. I lived up to the pre-season hype I threw about myself, and was the 2nd overall pick in the draft that season. Now I'm taking that experience and using it to lead a team to the best of my ability. Whatever the outcome of the league, I promise you the Hand of Thrawn will be one of the most organized and cohesive teams in the league. We will have fun, and won't self destruct if we fall behind. Since this whole blog is about me in some form or another, I don't want to spend any more time on myself.

BL4CK SiLv4:
Unquestionably the best sub ever for TSA. He showed up and came to play. A resident of New York City, he's used his mad photoshop skills to make our team sig. He knows how this game rolls, and his advice will be invaluable to our team's success. Look for him to crack 100k early in the competition.

Derek1337:
He's Mr. Reliable. You can count on him for consistent points, which is extremely valuable in GSL competitions. When he tells us how many points he's going to put down in a week, we can count on those points showing up.

Bishop024:
This guy has the gaming hook-ups. If he wants a game, you can count on him getting it. Where some captains may see the high scores he, Derek, and Silva have as I liability, I know that means they know how to score points. Bishop is already well on his way to organizing his plan for GSL domination. He'll crack 100k not long after Derek and Silva do. He's someone to keep an eye on in the MVP race, I reckon.

Sabre x360a:
Sabre is a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, which means instant respect from me, for his service to our country. As one of the "low" gamerscores on the team (compared to the rest of us), he has a ton of potential games to play to boost his score. His ability to put down over 5k points in January convinces me he's serious about scoring points, and I know he can kick it up a notch in this tough competition.

DarkTharen:
A fellow Minnesotan and Star Wars fan, I consider him my apprentice for GSL VII. We shall teach him the ways of point whoring, and his sub-10k score represents enormous potential. In his own words, "I hope to play with some of the best so that I too can become one of the best." You're on the right team for that, no doubt.


The Hand of Thrawn even has a team silly enough to take us on as rivals. The team Rogue Squadron has taken it on as their mission to take us out, no matter what. We don't tolerate rebellions, and will therefore do our best to utterly dominate them, as well. I think, even if neither team wins it all, taking out the other will still feel satisfying. I wish the best of luck to all the members of Rogue Squadron. May you bring your A-game, and suffer absolutely 0 RRODs. You'll need that luck... I'm not sure you knew what you were getting into when you chose us as rivals. =) God, I can't wait for this league to start.

Gamerscore Inflation: How More Points May Be Bad For Us All

Before writing this post, I did a Google search on "Gamerscore Inflation" to see what turned up. I wasn't too surprised to see that there wasn't much, and existing sources use the term differently than I'm about to.

"Gamerscore Inflation" has been discussed in two different ways that I found. The first usage refers to people who hack/gamesave/profile glitch their way to more points, thus artificially inflating their scores without really playing. People offering to boost other people's score for them, sometimes for money (and possibly using one of the methods earlier mentioned) fall into the second usage of the term. Both involve a single player's account, and what happens to that score.

My definition of Gamerscore Inflation has ramifications on the entire gaming industry, and every Xbox owner. I'm talking about Microsoft-sponsored Gamerscore Inflation, in the form of raising point caps on games, and rising uncertainty on where they'll draw the line on how many points a game can or should have. As gamers and consumers, we need to keep a critical eye on this trend, as its development over 2009 will define the future of the achievements system. More points isn't always a good thing.

Microsoft has changed is policy on achievements more than once. I believe the initial rules were that a game must have a minimum of 5 achievements, a maximum of 50, and could have up to 1000 points. Most games took all 1000 they could, but there were a few weird exceptions. To polish things up, and make for easier comparison, Microsoft changed the rules so every game must have 1000 points available on the disc. The Shivering Isles expansion of Oblivion marked the first time DLC was given achievements, and a new cap of 1250 was given to games, where developers could add up to 250 points through DLC, and could make that content free or for purchase, as they wished.

Now comparisons start to get sloppy again, though it isn't Microsoft's fault. Developers don't have to add all 250, so now that nice line of 1000s on your card has been replaced with 1050 for Mass Effect, 1100 in Bioshock and Lost Odyssey, 1220 in The Force Unleashed, and 1250 in Oblivion, as an example. At this point, perhaps you're thinking I'm a neat-freak of sorts who wants all games to look the same in points, that's not the issue here. I love getting points in DLC like most other achievement junkies (though I'm not part of the "No points = No purchase" crowd). While it's nice that every game now has 1000 original points, this DLC policy has undone the "ease of comparison" idea that was part of the original intent of the first policy revision.

So far, the system has worked well enough, as most of the DLC content that comes with new achievements is substantial content that deserves to have points attached to it. At this point, developers don't seem to be abusing achievements as a way to get people to purchase DLC, though I know some whine about Gears of War 2 or Fallout's 800msp cost for 100 points in Operation Anchorage. If you're only playing Fallout 3 for the points though, you really have issues. Certainly, some developers aren't as good as others about providing good DLC, but if asked the question, "Are developers ripping us off on DLC or exploiting achievement whores?" my answer for now would be, not YET, for the most part. 2009 will be a telling year for DLC though, and things could shift in that direction.

The change in the system that truly has me concerned is the rise of new "super games," or games that are allowed to ascend beyond the 1250 cap. First, Halo 3 got the obscene raise to 1750 points. Obscene is the only word to describe Halo being worth almost any 2 other games, especially since its DLC is only a series of map packs, but since Halo is one of Microsoft's biggest cash ponies, it's not too surprising. Next up is Fallout 3, which is reported to have 100 points in The Pitt, and 150 in Broken Steel, making for a total of 1350, with the possibility of more points if they make more content. Fallout raises an important question; how should episodic content be treated? Should all such releases of content get points? What will the standard be? Right now, there doesn't seem to be one, but Bethesda doesn't appear to be abusing their exception status.

You're not worth 1750 points, sorry.

Halo and Fallout will not be the last games cracking the 1250 cap. With Microsoft shelling out millions for the exclusive rights to GTA4 DLC, I promise you they'll push that title by offering up more points, so count on GTA4 getting to at least 1500 total. I'm also expecting Gears of War 2 to push beyond 1250 before Epic releases Gears 3. So far, it looks like things are being handled on a case-by-case basis, which is good, but this trend is only beginning. How far will it go? What happens if more and more developers want to break the 1250 cap?

GTA4: The next achievement super-game

If the number of games granted exceptions remains rather small, it's not too big a problem, but there are several possible outcomes to the system as a whole if more and more games were to be allowed to go beyond 1250. Enter the dark potential futures:

1. Gamerscore Inflation:
As games continue to have more and more points, the games released before the cap raise would mean less and less, compared to new games offering up hundreds of points in DLC. Suddenly, everyone has higher scores, and hitting milestones like 100k aren't nearly as hard or impressive as they once were.

2. Developer exploitation:
Some could argue we're already being over-charged for DLC, but further point allowances could make things worse. What's stopping developers from making "Get X kills with Y DLC-only weapon" achievements? We already have "On X map, do Y" achievements in Halo and Gears, among others. If you think developers are using achievements to push some people into purchasing content now, imagine how much more they could do it if they're given more points to work with. Remember Microsoft gets a cut on DLC sales, so if it helps their bottom line, they could be more generous in allowing games to have more points. And of course, the more points attached to a piece of DLC, the likely you are to buy it, if you care about points.

3. Stringing along gamers:
While Bethesda's releases for Fallout should all be quality, odds are not everyone will be so good. Episodic content doesn't really exist on the 360 yet, but the idea of monthly content packs, each with a fee and a few more points, is certainly possible, if Fallout 3 turns out to be an example of the future. Could developers keep using points to sell strings of mediocre DLC? Add an achievement or two to a bunch of DLC pieces, so people have to purchase all of them if they want all the points? What about games like Rock Band or Guitar Hero? Would they take advantage of higher point allowances, and the 99 achievement limit introduced by the Orange Box, to keep attaching an achievement to whatever track pack they want? I'm a little surprised they haven't tried that already...


Ultimately, who has control over how points for DLC are utilized going into the future? Microsoft, for starters. They'll be the ones to decide just how many points a game is allowed to have, and whether games with more than 1250 become common or not remains their decision. However, it's up to us, who buy that DLC, to decide how far we'll let developers go. If we live up to the moniker of 'whores' and buy anything for points, could you blame developers for wanting to exploit that? If we're smart, and don't succumb to the temptation to buy any crap for a few more points, perhaps developers will be responsible in their usage. We can only hope.

In the February issue of OXM, Achievement Whores are listed as #35 in a "Top 100 for 2009" article. They write, "They're Microsoft's most valuable resource: The gamers who will do, buy, or play anything for another 1000 points of Gamerscore. Mediocre budget software of 2009, you have found your new target audience. Please milk it with care." We'll have to decide on our own how badly we let them milk us...


Images:
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/screenshots/274/med_014Halo3new14.jpg
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/screenshots/324/med_Street_sweeper_2_tif_jpgcopy.jpg

Achievement Generator: http://achievements.schrankmonster.de/Achievement.aspx

2 Years Later..... Oblivion Complete At Last

Today's post is a little... odd. I'm going to be writing about how I finally completed Oblivion, in two parts. Part One is a fictional rendition of how I got the last achievement, told from the POV of my character. It's meant to be more amusing than "good" as I'm writing it in one shot, off the cuff, and won't be editing it. It's supposed to be dumb, since I'm making fun of Oblivion's NPC AI. Great game, but very unrealistic in some ways (and I'm not talking about the Fantasy setting). Part 2 is my actual thoughts/opinions on the accomplishment.

Part 1: Training Sneak Skills

I've received the quest from Sheogorath to poison Thadon with Greenmote, and assume my rightful place as the Duke of Mania. However, getting through the royal guards requires a sneaking skill I altogether lack. In order to pull this off, I'm going to have to seriously train in the arts of sneaking up on unsuspecting foes.

The Waterfront district of Imperial city seemed the natural place to do this training. With the guards busy inspecting incoming ships, I was able to easily pick the lock of the home of a man named Jair, who was to be my prey. There he was, sleeping and vulnerable... I spent the 4 hours sneaking around his house, completely undetected. Jair didn't even twitch in his sleep.

Everything was going fine until someone else entered the house... a guy by the name of Isleif the Open Handed... whatever the hell that was supposed to mean... Amazingly, at first he didn't notice me, but stood in the middle of the house, as if unsure what to do next. Eventually, he spotted me, so I did what any would-be-assassin would do in that situation... I acted like I was supposed to be here. Isleif the Dim-Witted actually believed me! Somehow, the fact that their locked door was unlocked upon his arrival, and that a stranger was huddled in the corner, pacing back and forth near his roommate's bed, didn't seem strange to him.

Well, I could not have this interloper getting in my way, so I said goodbye to him, and made my way for the exit. Once I was behind him, I turned around and snuck up on him. This idiot must have the memory of a goldfish, as he seemed as oblivious to me as if I was long gone. I cut him down with one swipe of my sword, then continued my sneaking around the house.

Unfortunately, I overstayed my welcome, and happened to be pacing next to Jair's bed as he woke. I thought I was doomed. An unknown intruder in a house that was supposed to be locked, with a dead body on the floor? I expected the gallows to be my fate, but to my great surprise, he looked around as if I wasn't there. He made his way to the dead body of his friend, and examined it with little real interest, before leaving for the day's work... Maybe this guy is even dumber than his friend.

I shouldn't have pressed my luck, but I returned the following night to train some more. Jair slumbered on his bed, while the body of Isleif remained untouched on the floor. Was there no inquiry? Did Jair do anything about the murder of his friend? I spent the whole night sneaking. Again, Jair awoke and left without seeing me.

For a week, I continued to sneak Jair's house... and the place really started to stink near the end, since Isleif's body never moved...

Part 2: Thoughts on Oblivion

Oblivion was one of the first two games I ever put on my card, and my first regular 1000/1000 points scored. I've invested about 100 hours total between the main game and the Shivering Isles expansion. It was a fantastic game, and I loved it, even though this post has a mostly mocking flavor to it. During the Shivering Isles quest line, there's a branch point where you must choose to be the Duke of one of the two factions. You can't do both in one playthrough. I accidentally saved over my save file of the branch point, so I could not go back and do Mania after finishing Dementia. This meant I had to do a whole new play, at least of the Shivering Isles quests.

While Oblivion is a great game, it holds for me absolutely no replay value. After 100 hours, I just had no desire to go back to this game, but as a completionist, I knew I would have to eventually. I made a new character, and played with the difficulty slider turned all the way down. I only wanted the last 30 points by now, nothing else. Then, to my horror, I learn the Mania quest involves stealth! The character I had already made was a master ninja, and could have done the quest easily, but my new person was a conjurer, and not meant for stealth... So, I had to waste a ton of time upping my sneak skill to have any change.

To do that, I went into the house of a sleeping person, as depicted above, and snuck around all night. After getting tired of pacing back and forth, I wondered if there was an easier way to do it, and came up with a great idea. I pulled out some sticky blue poster putty from my desk (used to attach posters to walls), and broke off a decent sized piece of it. I then used that putty to stick my controller's left stick in the "up" position, so my character would keep running up against the edge of Jair's bed, so I could put down the controller and do things (like type this post), while still gaining sneak skill. Once Jair woke, I'd go outside, wait 18 hours, then re-enter his house and repeat the process, until I got to full sneak skill. The putty trick worked great, and there was no sticky residue on the controller after (unlike when using tape).

I sneak well... lol

Will putty-grinding sneak, I:

1. Listened to Dream Theater
2. Ate Lunch
3. Shaved
4. Changed clothes
5. Wrote this post
6. Surfed x360a

But you want to know the best part of this story? As previously mentioned, I had the difficulty sliders all the way down. When I messed up on the sneaking and a Golden Saint saw me, I killed her in 3 hits!!! I cruised through the whole quest without sneaking! I didn't have to do that damned sneak grind at all! /facepalm

When simply looking at dates, Oblivion took over two years to go from first played to fully completed, as the dates below show. That time period is the longest of any game currently completed on my card, and it's a record that probably won't be undone any time soon.

Earliest Date-Stamped Achievement: Pit Dog, Arena (12/27/06)
Shivering Isles Completed: (06/20/07)
Oblivion 1250: (02/01/09)

How about that time delay?