American Psycho in London: District 8 5/24

These are the new jobs in District 8

More Bandits to watch out for

We will be collecting Jekyll and Hyde (consumable) in the second job the district

We will be collecting Ancestral Crest (consumable) in the last job in the district

Ancestral Crest is needed to do these bonus jobs

What I Call a Problem.

                                                         Before you read this know that I still hope the game can be saved.

The problem that mafia wars faces, as far as attracting new players, is that Mafia Wars has a reputation.  I know people who have never even played MWs that are aware of how involved the game is (Mafia Wars junkies have been identified by society lol).  I have been told that Mafia Wars does not seem like it would be fun, and my friends and family have told me many times they believe the game ultimately causes me stress and anxiety.  So why would they start playing? Wouldn't they be crazy to volunteer to play this game? Who would sign up for this crap?

I guess the main reason I still play now is because I played back when it was fun. I'm like a drug addict chasing that first high, only it is becoming more and more obvious that those days are long gone.  The game really is not that much fun anymore.  It is a job with an asshole employer. A full-time job for many, and at the very least, a part time job for most - and the pay is crappy...  Really it is the people I have come to call my "family" and friends that keep me playing.  And yes, I still enjoy a good fight.  But as for most of the actual game? It is a burden.

The game is in its death rattle.  Only the most radical changes in the players' favor will entice players back and new players to start, and I doubt even that would save the game. I think ANYTHING Zynga does will be too little too late. The game used to be simple and fun. It has now become something that requires you to sacrifice nearly everything in your life to maintain, even to a mediocre degree. MAFIA CHORES.  Full of timed events, clocks and timers, reward points, limits, limited this limited that, pop-ups and spam, on and on. It just makes me sick.  And really, I'm not sure there is much I can do about it, besides not spending anymore money.

You can't reason with a moron.  At every turn Zynga has run counter to reason.  Misty herself said it best last night:  "Can't Zynga find a bigger target than their own foot? ::facepalm::". Their next brilliant move should be to stop giving out a reward point for every other level up.  Maybe also take away the energy and stamina packs.  And double the energy and stamina timers.  And how about adding TWO new limited time properties at once with even shorter beg period and more parts per level.  In light of all the other things Zynga has done, those seem like excellent ideas that should be implemented immediately all at once.

I want to thank Mafia Spirit for their latest guest article which inspired tonight's diatribe against Zynga: http://tinyurl.com/community-divided
Visit Mafia Spirit: https://www.facebook.com/MafiaSpirit

yours truly,
a very depressed {ℳ} ßrµ†µ§ =Ʀ²Ƒ=

Two New London Districts 5/24

London District 7: Baby on Board

Of course there will be job bandits and experience bandits.

Complete these exciting new jobs to get cool loot!

Bonus Job: Choose Your Weapons

Bonus Job: Make The Impossible Shot

Loot drop item from District 7

American Psycho in London: District 8

Mafia Wars – A Community Divided?

At this juncture, if you still play Mafia Wars it is most likely because you still love the game. Maybe you have spent countless hours and investing your time into trying to build your character into fighting machine. Maybe you have spent countless hours and investing your time into trying to build your character into an energy machine. Maybe you have invested unknown amounts of money on building your character into one or both (a fighting and/or energy player). Maybe you spend money just to collect all the loots. And maybe you made many friends just because of playing the game and you still play because of the social aspect.

No matter what reason you feel why you still play Mafia Wars the truth is that many of us are fearing that the game we love to play is in real danger of becoming history. And for too many of us it already has (as shown below).

Mafia Wars DAU as of September 12, 2011

Mafia Wars DAU as of May 24, 2011  

The charts above indicate a 41% decline in daily active users (DAU) for Mafia Wars in 8 months. That is a huge decline in the DAU. One that has many of us fearing that Mafia Wars will soon be in the same classification as Vampire Wars.

Vampire Wars DAU as of May 24, 2011  

If we the players and Zynga want this game to survive then we need more players to play this game, not less. Whether these players spend money on the game or not is not the issue even if it takes money to run the game. The reason is that if there are no players left then there is no one to spend money anyway. If there were more players then there simply would be a greater chance that players would spend money on the game. I being one of them.

I began playing Mafia Wars 2 years ago and at that time I would spend money on the game. Now, there is no way in hell I would spend money on Mafia Wars. Why? Because I simply do not have thousands of dollars laying around that I could pump into a game that I still cannot be competitive in even if I did. I, for one, would rather go to that movie that many of you compare spending money on this game to. I’d get more enjoyment out of the movie.

I am not resentful to those of you who do spend money on this game. In fact, I envy you. I only wish that I could too.

The fact is that it can be a real struggle to play Mafia Wars if you don’t spend some money or use RP to buy your way through some parts of the game. Especially when nearly every feature that is released into the game demands, seemingly, the use of RP purchases that many of us simply do not have nor can we purchase. 

For us lesser fortunate players to continually to be told to go play Farmville if we don’t like what is going on in Mafia Wars is simply the wrong thing for us to be told if you want this game to survive. In reality, you just might get us to go play Farmville. In reality, Farmville is kicking Mafia Wars’ ass in DAU and MAU.

I can just hear the Farmville players saying “If you don’t like Farmville, then go play Mafia Wars!”.

Yes, it is necessary for Mafia Wars to have players who spend money on the game. But, it also needs players (free players or not) or there will be no game.

We, the players, need to start standing tall and understand both sides. We, the players, need to become a community that is not divided by money nor power nor fame.

 

Guest Article Written By; Timothy Payne Author/Owner Of http://mafiaspirit.blogspot.com/

Two New London Collections 5/24

Two New London Collections

Items Drop from Jobs in London

Day Care Collection will get you +35 Defense Points

Credited Collection will get you +35 Attack Points

Pit Lane Limited Time Property 5/24

Pit Lane: 15 days left to complete

Click Union Hall Ask for parts to get "any" part from your mafia. 

Click View Parts to ask for specific parts.
New Items we will be able to make.

Let's get to the begging, we have a long way to go!

Zynga Iced Themselves - UPDATED

I am so pissed off right now I can't see straight. I am not even bothering with a graphic (maybe add one later).  This new property crap has me fuming mad.  If you read the new FAQ carefully you will see that the reason all the timers are jacked up and still at 12 RPs, regardless of the time, is because that is a new improvement to the property feature. HUH? Yeah.....follow this link http://tinyurl.com/GLOBAL-FAQ and about half-way into the FAQ you will see:

Q: How many Items can I build in a day? How many RPs do I need to spend to craft beyond free Limit?

The very last sentence of the answer they give is all I cared about in the whole stupid long winded FAQ:

A: If you want to build more items, you will be charged 12 RPs for every craft.

Again...HUH?  Are they trying to ICE themselves??? (BTW thanks David Tucker and Co. for that phrase).  I am a chronic speed builder.  I build almost every day when the timers are at 6 RPs per build. It is almost the only thing I spend money on regularly in the game besides the crate sales. And now they have nerfed it.  Now i have to pay 12 RPs to speed build no matter what the time says.  HUH? ARE YOU SMOKING CRACK ZYNGA??? Are you NOT aware of the rapidly dwindling number of players???  This is almost the last straw for me.  I am not going to quit playing, but my wallet is gonna quit paying.  They just don't deserve any more of my money - period.

YOU HEAR THAT ZYNGA? NO MORE MONEY FROM ME!!!! And I won't be the only one.  This type of speed building that they nerfed is, or, i guess i should say, WAS, wildly popular.

Zynga, you are a bastard.  I hope Mark Pincus goes bankrupt, LOL.  Zynga is run by the stupidest of the stupid, and the greediest of the greedy.  They have managed to stumble upon good ideas here and there like a blind chicken pecking for corn.  No vision. No pulse on the players. No clue how to appease the masses. No concern for anything other than money.  Which is a really bad approach for a social gaming company.  Me thinks being socialable might be a good trait for such a company, yet Zynga is better personified as a conniving and sniveling DICKHEAD.  It disgust me that i have spent thousands of dollars on this game.  Makes me want to vomit in Mark Pincus' face. Repeatedly.  I'm sorry ya'll. It's just, I've had enough of this bull.

{ℳ} ßrµ†µ§ =Ʀ²Ƒ=

Addendum: I forget to mention there is survey you can take. I suggest you take it and help the retards understand how bad they suck at life:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDZTSDRVaGZVZ3lGaEtVbHlzZkpCM0E6MQ

FROM A LIVE CHAT I JUST HAD:
"Jonathan: And when mafia wars dies, I will not play any other zynga title PERIOD. not even words with friends on my iPhone. if zynga is even remotely associated with it, I will not be playing it. period.
Xxxx X.: I will let your voice know by all Zynga Mafia Wars support.
Xxxx X.: And that's why we have that survey.
Xxxx X.: Because, we can change it.
Xxxx X.: So my advise, is to keep filling that survey.
Xxxx X.: And I will pass all your un agreement.
Jonathan: ok, sorry for they delay i suddenly had to step away. but pretty much unless this is reversed i am on the war path. no disrespects to you Xxxx I understand this is just your job. I will let you go.

New Contest: Design Crates 5/23

Just announced on the Official Mafia Wars Blog

New Contest: Design Your Mafia Wars Crates from May 23rd to 11:59 pm Pacific Time, May 30th.

Here's what you have to do:  think of a unique theme and one piece of loot (weapon, armor or vehicle) that will fit in this crate.

What you can win: "a chance to win some awesome Mafia Wars Prizes."

See the post on the Mafia Wars Forum 

Tattoo Crate was the previous winner.

Sombrero Mystery Bags 5/23

Sombrero Mystery Bags are back!

Collect up to 20  Sombrero Mystery Bags 5/09 per day.

Get exciting loot drops!

I collected these items this morning:

Sombrero hat (x3)

+1 RP (x2)

+5 attack points

+5 energy points

+1 skill point

A stamina Boost

Miscellaneous boosts (x11)

Family Progression: SNAFU 5/23

S.N.A.F.U.

It's what happens whenever Zynga "fixes" something.

Like in Chaos Theory, when Zynga moved a butterfly with our properties, the Family Progression got jacked up for some of us. Because I was able to stay up late last night, I got to collect my Family Progression bump before midnight. 

Funny thing is, when I collected, my timer said I had 6 hours left. Imagine my surprise when I got on  this morning and saw this

Well that sucks. So, before I send a frantic message off to Customer Service, I checked the Known Issues Forum .  

The first thing I read was "We believe the following issue has been fully resolved". *Not*  Keep Reading, there is a spot a little lower where they ask us to "report here" if you are having an issue with family progression. Which I did. We'll see how long this takes. Good luck!

*UPDATE*
09:42 a.m. Pacific Time:
 The In Game Support Page now has a post on this issue. It links back to the same Survey

Don't forget to click on the bandage so they know you want it fixed!

Zynga'd: NY & Limited Time Properties: Revamped UPDATED 5/23

Congratulations! You've been Zynga'd! We were able to build in New York Properties every 18 hours. Now it will be every 24 hours at *MIDNIGHT PACIFIC TIME*.

The flip side is this, instead of building only 5 items, we can now build 6. (Four New York and Two Limited Time Properties).

London (Nightclub), Chicago (Warehouse)  and Brazil (Black Market) are now on a 23 hour build schedule.

However the consumables properties there:  London (East End Pub), Chicago (Speakeasy) and Brazil (Workshop) are on an 18 hour build cycle.

London, Chicago, Las Vegas and Brazil were already on a 24 hour build cycle, so there is no change to those properties., so there is no change to those properties (except they will *probably* be reset to the new 24 hour clock based on pacific time USA). We can also do all of our building from the Home page. I don't like that option too much so I will stick to the properties page.

(don't forget to click those cute little tiny Question Marks for information)

The properties page has changed a lot as well. It is now called the Global Properties (In New York) you will see these images.

(Oh look, another tiny Question mark)

If you click on the TAB that says "City Properties" you will see these properties:

Since it is 10:30 P.M. Pacific Time now, we get to build again in an hour and a half, I *think/hope*.

There was a little glitch for a very brief period, and some players were able to take advantage of this and build more items for 1 to 2 RP each, over and over. As soon as this information was publicized, the glitch was removed. Oh well, ya win some ya lose some.

I hope you have found this overview to be helpful. If you have, please click share at the bottom of this post. Thank you.

Just now, the Official Mafia Wars Blog has posted about this property change.