New Family Features

Some updates from the Mafia Wars blog (most of which we already know): 

 GF/GMs and Underbosses can now customize the 'title' of any Family member. I've already seen some fun variations in my own group :P 

 Of course, the Family filter when sending Free Gifts.

 The number of members is now shown on the Families tab.

 Titles will show up on the Fight List.

You now have the ability to add a player to your FAMILY rival list.

FIXED: unable to remove Family members

Several family leaders will be relieved to know that they should now be able to remove family members. And this time they should stay gone! If for some reason group leaders still cannot kick out and remove members, a workaround that has worked for most is to log into the game from mafiawars.com and remove the member from there.

Families: bug discussion

We've been told that later this week, some alpha testers of the Families module will be able to talk with someone at Zynga to talk about the common bugs and issues. Depending on the time, I plan to sit in. Presumably, we'll be able to get some progress updates too, but that remains to be seen.  

What are issues that you have with it?

1. Group limit of 100 is way too low.
2. Enter New Name field needs to require player input.

Comment here or email me at mistyfiedmafiawars@gmail.com

Families: old idea and -- player requested!

The introduction of the Families module this past week seems to have created a lot of debate, maybe not unsurprisingly. I've heard some pretty wild claims  and conspiracy theories about the origin of the mere idea, but the fact is, it seems that Zynga really was just listening to the players about this one.

Don't like the ingame tags? Blame mrsimy ;) He, along with I'm sure many others, suggested ingame tags way more than a year ago in this forum thread. I would hazard a guess that such an idea had been floated many times previously, so maybe you better not blame mrsimy.

In fact, official tagging came up more than once in that thread.

Don't like the limit of 100 members to an ingame Family? This player actually liked the idea of exclusivity.

Although in that vein, players have made it abundantly clear that 100 is WAY too low, and I agree. Due to the amount of feedback on that subject, I would really be surprised if Zynga didn't raise the group limit in the near future, so I would hold off on creating a second Family group for now.

For all the suggestions in that thread, there were also several players saying that Zynga had no business meddling with the clans. Kind of like they are now.

As the Families tags are an optional feature, I can only say that perhaps it's not for everybody. Legitimate concerns have been raised, but at the same time, these features have been specifically requested long before now. Also, the in-game Family group and tags are features that have had some success in other games as well. With the emergence of Mafia Wars clans, why wouldn't they have eventually looked at doing this, especially if it was being requested by players?

It boils down to a catch-22; if you don't like it, there is no obligation or requirement for you to use it. For those who wanted this feature, now you've got it, and Zynga has been very communicative about bugs and issues as they are worked on. If you didn't want the feature, there's no requirement for you to use it, and at least for right now you're not missing out on any real advantages.

how to leave a Family

The ZMC icons for Family requests have been changed so as to be more recognizable, but it's still easy to accidentally click on them, especially if you're fast-clicking to clear gifts. As a result, many players are ending up in Families that they did not have any desire to actually join.

One of the more common questions I've been getting lately is "I didn't mean to join this family, how can I leave?"

Don't worry, it's actually very easy, although perhaps not obvious if you don't know what to look for.

 

In Mafia Wars, click on the My Mafia tab on the upper right of your Mafia Wars page. Then you will see the new Families tab; click that next.

 

Scroll down until you find yourself in the member list, and click the little red X.

 You'll be prompted to confirm the action.

You'll then get the message "You have left the family."

Families: updated request icons, new ad

By popular demand, the Family icons have been changed in the ZMC. You should see the above icon, instead of the one that looked like a Brazil crew request.

You'll probably also be seeing this ad on your Mafia Wars home page soon.

Families: early release CLOSED

The sign-up for clan leaders to participate in pre-release of the Families module has been closed. Zynga has the list, and those clan leaders who signed up for early release should start looking for the Families module under the My Mafia tab in your Mafia War game. General release be will taking place tonight, provided there are no hold-ups.

Families module name change issue

Those joining the new Families module are finding there are still some issues with it, which is to be expected. This is definitely beta, please remember that. Additionally, contacting Customer Support about Families issues will not get you anywhere. As this is beta, Customer Support probably has very little information about it. Myself and many other alpha testers have been doing our best to answer questions and forward bugs and issues.

Here is one bug that has been an issue for at least one player I know personally. Read on to see how you can avoid it when you join a Family.

After being accepted into a Mafia Wars Family, players will find a Families tab added under the My Mafia tab in the game. The first time you visit, you'll notice you have the option to change your name for free.

The reason for this is, many players already have their family tags in their character name. When joining a Family from within the game, that family tag will be automatically applied to your character name - in red, resulting in duplicate tags. I've seen a lot of people asking about what the red tags are, now you know :)

*Although before you remove your family tag from your character name, be aware that the Family tags are NOT currently showing up on Facebook posts such as ices. I imagine that will likely be fixed, but for now when posting to Facebook, it's only picking up the character name and not the red Family tag.* As a result, some players are choosing to keep both tags for now.

Anyway, in the field where you are to enter your character name, DO NOT CLICK 'CHANGE' WITHOUT ENTERING YOUR CHARACTER NAME. Doing so will give you the mafia name "Enter New Name." I was able to duplicate this issue.

 

Obviously, the person that this happened to was not happy that he had to spend 15 points to re-change his name, and I don't blame him.

I have turned this issue in, I don't think it should let a player proceed with a name change without the player actually entering any text into that field. In the meantime, be aware of that and don't pre-maturely click Change :)

Families: Mistyfied

With the roll-out of the new Families module, I've been asked many times if there will be a Mistyfied family, and the answer is yes! I was a part of the initial release of the module and have already claimed my tag - I really just wanted the tag :)

Mistyfied is not a clan. But we are a family, in a sense. By no means do we represent each others' game play styles, ethics, or opinions, but we do share some important common views of the game. Most of us have been friends for a long time.

Some have also expressed interest in joining the Mistyfied Family tag. If you are a part of our network, I don't necessarily mind that, but you should aware that the game only supports one Family tag currently. If you are a member of an actual clan or family, you will probably want to wait to tag with them when your group leader is added to the Families module.

Contact an admin or Feature Contributor if you would like to get an invite ~ if you're in our network, then chances are  you know at least a few of us :0)

Families: updated clan leader sign-up form

There were over 200 entries from clan and family leaders submitted for Phase 2 of the Families rollouts. It may take awhile to get everyone added, and obviously there will be delays as new issues and bugs are found and addressed.

The form to sign up for Phase 2 has already been turned in and is now closed, so rollouts will likely begin soon. If you are the Godfather/Godmother/leader of your group and you still want to be included so that you can claim your Family tag, please use THIS form to submit your information. We haven't been told how further rollouts will be handled yet.

Be aware that there will be a cost of RPs in order to first establish the Family tag. When you get the Families tab in your game, you will have the option to create your Family, and it's at that point that you would pay the RPs.

Group leaders are obviously not required to participate or sign up or use the feature at all. Participation is voluntary and there are still bugs and issues that are being ironed out. This is very beta at this point.

One reason that Zynga is reaching out to group leaders first is to reduce the occurrence of "tag stealing".

Families module enrollment form for Clan/Family heads/leaders

If you are the head of a clan or family, and would like to participate in the new Families module in Mafia Wars, they are getting ready to do a phase two rollout to another group of players. This is not an open enrollment currently, it is for existing families and clans. From what I understand, this round of enrollment will only be open for the next 2.5 hours, and will be turned in at approximately 2pm Pacific/Zyngon time. You can access the form HERE. 

Familes: more on slow rollout, Family requests, and Family titles/positions

I've been looking at the new Families tab a bit more today.  Remember that this is a very limited roll-out right now. It was first released to a few players very late last night, including some members of PAC and a handful of clan/family heads/leaders. Today, Zynga is still working to get all of that group up and running, and understandably there have been some early issues that have held things up some. Known heads of families will likely be added first as the feature continues to roll out, to reduce any risk of "tag stealing".

This morning I found I had some requests waiting for me in my ZMC from my friends and admins to join my "clan". The term "Family" applies better to us, I think :)

 

I noticed here that the Family requests show the same as a Brazil crew request in your ZMC. I don't think I've seen any in my Facebook requests, so these requests may be just through the game. At any rate, make sure you pay attention to what you're clicking on.

There are three titles so far: Godfather/Godmother, Underboss, and Soldier. Only one person can be the Godmother or Godfather currently. It's been pointed out that many families have co-founders, or even a council of group leaders, so I hope to see Family positions be made more flexible in the near future. Underboss would be your group officers. If you try to promote someone to the position of Godfather and you already have that position, the game will advise you that doing so will cause you to step down and promote the selected Family member in your place.

Families: some more screenies

A few things of interest on this screen. It appears there will be Family-related badges in the near future.

Also, and something I think is a good thing, you get a free name change since most of us had our tags in our character name already. As you can see, the new Families tags will show up in red on a player's Mafia Wars profile.

Additionally, down at the bottom, it says "Real time Family chat is coming soon!" That I can't wait to see.

Also, that Copy button we saw appearing on Mafia Wars profile is also found on the Families page - and now it works. After clicking on it, it will change to say "Link Copied!" and you can then paste the link by right-clicking and pasting like normal.

From the Families tab you can also access Mafia Wars profile information of players. I like that it includes Operations information.

 Recruiting on/off? Hmm, I'll have to mess with that.

new Family feature begins rollout

A new feature just started rolling out - this one geared toward clans and families.

Under the My Mafia tab, I now have an additional option called Families.

I like this little option over here to preview how your family's tag will appear by your character name.

• Create a unique Family tag
• Recruit and select new members for your family
• Post personalized daily messages for your family
• Promote members to officers
• Demote or kick members from your family
• More leadership perks coming soon...