Last night the PAC2 had another conference call with representatives of the Mafia Wars Team including developers, game designers and community managers. I can’t go into details but many topics were covered. I can tell you what we asked for and ensure you that some planned releases and changes have been based off widespread player feedback. The Property Module is an example of a player requested change. I don’t know if our requests will be granted but feel the meeting was a productive use of time.
Some of the changes we asked for are listed below.
1. Get rid of the Free Gift popup every time you enter the game.
2. Add Taskmaster activation to the Home Page Property Module.
3. Allow the Taskmaster bonus to work as it did before the nerf so you can get a double take when you collect from properties individually.
4. Incorporate damage based on skills into the fight equation.
5. Add an alternative to icing to Family Progression.
6. Make robbing more fun and consider bringing back the old style that players enjoyed.
7. Increase the stats of giftable loot.
8. Cool it with the Limited Time Properties. If you can’t get rid of them, consider adding more levels to existing properties instead of adding new ones or offer events for players to be able to upgrade incomplete properties.
9. Do something about the health issue. This is a self induced problem and has made getting ices more difficult for players.
feeling sad that these items are not on the list...
ReplyDeleteproblems with healing, when your health is greater than 100%, it suddenly shoots down and the game prompts you to heal even though your health is still over 100%.
family battles have issues with the same healing mentioned above, as well as when trying to attack the safehouse, the attack button jumps all over the place... these are LONGSTANDING problems that still need fixed.
PLAYER UPDATES! PLAYER UPDATES! PLAYER UPDATES!
been fubar for too long and IMO, the worst bug in the game... very frustrating not to get the proper updates we need... the whole game centers around fighting, but we are not allowed to know who is attacking us. :-(
This wasn't an all inclusive list. There was only limited time on the call so not everything was discussed. These are only the things we recommended. I wasn't able to include the areas in which Zynga asked us for feedback, only what we asked them and I couldn't supply the answers. Just because the pac recommends something doesn't mean they will do it either. They have lots of factors to take into consideration other than what players would like to see in the game.
Deletethank you :-)
DeleteMEH - this is the list PAC 1 gave them save for some specific new feature like Home page property module - that has never been fully designed/implemented.
DeleteI appreciate you spend time on this to try and make the game better but the more ZYNGA does not listen the worse it gets -- for instance, now to allow family progress on other than icing up to family progress level 10 is VERY UNFAIR to families that made it there by icing.
Now after level 10 - success in family battles would be a way to allow for progress. But that is so glaringly obvious to anyone, let alone an actual game designer that I have little hope ZYNGA will ever get any of the great ideas done correctly. ZYNGA has just been sucking wind and blowing smoke for so long now
obligatory - and I am now one of the MAU/DAU drops but liked the game of a year or so ago that I still check on it sometimes
All good suggestions
ReplyDelete4. Incorporate damage based on skills into the fight equation. Oho....i'm not a vip player maybe i'm gonna quit this game if zynga will work on this...my attack is high but defense is only 2k but if this will take effect my healt will drop fast so, how can i enjoy this game now. :(
ReplyDeleteIt's skills not loot score. If your def I'd that low then it's your problem. You have to have def as well as the others. You like a lot of ppl just saying I'll quit this quit that. VIP just gives loot, which is not doing anything for fighting anyways. Just quit and spate me the bs you've just typed ok.
Deleteyou noob? my skills are green loot red.i'm lost...mafia att=298,000, my opponent 340,000..10 mafia loot equivalent to 1 skill point..340,000 - 298,000 = 42,000. 42,000 is equivalent to 4,200 skill point.. how could you say that is not doing anything to fights...lol!!!
DeleteYes, of course, it's YOUR fault if you have low skills in a particular area. Who's fault is it but yours?? Sheesh.
Deletefor the past years i'm a tanker account...high in attack, health and stam..but only 2k def..i build it for the CC players. if your account is balance how can you beat those CC players? HIDE..LMAO
Deletewhy try?always bigger fish,the balanced and midlevel fighters have herds of others their size out there so why try and win a fight u wont win regardless,and dont be mad that people habve $ to burn,jealousy get you nowhere,they also have kept this game for us to play far past its expiration point,so we should be thankful as free players that cc players exist,and we should know where and when to not attack some1 who can clearly whoop us,now keeping defense at 2k is your choice,kinda naive but ur fault if they change the game,and the vuip p0layers are msotly 1s who paid b4 so they probably whooped our tails b4 vip too,but in the end we ,well i know i can still tear a lot of vip'ers up,5,000 extra skills or not,not all knew how to bu8ild right,in fact i'dd say 50% of which just like loot scores and are generally weak,either way how we build comes down to us,our fault,if they change the game then u adapt much as u would for anything else,or..quit
Deletei'm just saying that i don't agree on these one (Incorporate damage based on skills into the fight equation). the damage must be fair to all players.
Delete9. Do something about the health issue. This is a self induced problem and has made getting ices more difficult for players.
ReplyDeletenot really as those of us with high health an stam set lets say certain scripts 2 attack high health players 2 burn the stam ur just makin an issue were there aint 1 if anythin chicargo health helps us as most scripts go off max hits so after using mine within an hr or 2 have my 150 ices
SPELL much? :/
DeleteThe Health Issue is more like an epidemic. I personally think there should be a Max Health (20,000 for example) and it cannot be increased past that. That's enough Health to hold off one or two attackers but not a coordinated attack. Any players with over 20,000 Health should have their health lowered to 20,000 and then they get credited with RP based on how much was subtracted (maybe they get 12 RP for every 20 Health removed).
ReplyDeleteMaybe 20,000 is too high but it's just an example. It's an alternative to annoying gradient heal timers and such and ensures no one is un-iceable.
If you are suggesting that route, which I don't agree with anyway, 50K would be more realistic.
Deletewhat they should do is take the health builds out,or down to plus 5s,and increase attack,its zyngas fault this happened,so they should clean the mess up,yeah i'd hate to lose my health builds but overall the game would improve
Deletehope they fix number one and nine :-) maybe number 4 :-P
ReplyDelete1. Absolutely.
ReplyDelete2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. Yes.
5. Yes, if the alternative is Robbing.
6. No to "bringing back the old style". Many players certainly *did not* enjoy it.
7. Yes.
8. Absolutely.
9. No. Health is a strategy like any other. If it's to be devalued there needs to be a one time option to convert any/all of a player's existing health into skill points that can be reallocated to other stats. Then people can complain about hitting players with super high defense and getting no skill points instead of hitting players with super high health and not getting ices.
The real answer is to reduce the emphasis on ices. Allowing Robbing to count toward family progress is a step in the right direction. Cancelling any future "Ice Seasons" or similar trash goes farther. Modifying future Missions to be based on fights one instead of ices is still another.
Thank you! I agree, health is a strategy. The game is viable for all levels because of strategy. Those who don't have CC complain about those who do, but you can counter it with strategy. So taking out the strategy will eventually kill the game.
Deleteno,it'll put the game back where it was with millions playing,when defense and attack skills were king,that was strategy right where was meant to be
Delete1. Not really a big deal and doesnt effect gameplay...just 5 secs to get past it
ReplyDelete2. If done good, if not thn also OK
3. Yes, it shud be done, ppl shud be able to collect individually
4. Hell No
5. Will be good for energy players
6. Robbing isnt much fun anyways
7. Yes
8. Yes, its become irritating now
9. Gonna be a little cheeky, but zynga shud let people reallocate whenever they want and for free. Its only fair coz the player has build those skills on his own and he shudnt have to pay or wait for reallocations
why allocate skills? now that I am over level 3,000 I have stopped allocating the skill points that come from leveling... I have 1,800 so far... and can still get 500 ices in a day.
ReplyDeleteAnd I "only" have 5k health...
Incorporating damage into the fight equation based on A/D skills would kill off a lot of the lower level accounts. There isn't really any way a level 500 account is going to have the defense to stay alive when attacked by level 2000 accounts. Zynga would shut off the pipeline of new players.
ReplyDeleteThey would have to create separation in the tank, which would cause further difficulty with the ices - Which would be okay, as long as they incorporate the Robbing into the Daily Ice Family Achievement - Coordinated correctly, it can be fixed, but those steps have to be taken or else you're right, the lower players will get beaten down until they quit.
DeleteOr ... after making damage commensurate with A/D skills, make rewards (XP return and loot drops) commensurate with difficulty.
DeleteBeat an easy target with less than 25% of your own skill level, get minimum rewards.
Beat a slightly more difficult with 25% to 50% of your own skill level, get good rewards.
Beat a target closer to your own neighborhood with 50% to 75% of your own skill level, get better rewards.
Beat somebody within 25% of your own skill level, get excellent rewards.
Will go a long way toward ending the "bully" problem, eliminate the advantage of having dummy "whipping boy" accounts, etc.
+1 for the "difficulty" formula
Deleteyes another example of glaringly obvious - look at the difference in level and if it is large then the bigger account gets nothing for attack/ice but adding an ice to their profile stat. No count to family progress, or ice season, no loot etc.. Minis become useless unless the time to play them to the right level is spent.
Deletesome easy analysis of player levels would let ZYNGA figure out what gaps in level to set.
but the obvious always seems to escape ZYNGA
1) Agreed - it is extra "fluff" that jams the servers and does, whether directly or indirectly, cause the game to slow down.
ReplyDelete2)Agreed
3)Agreed
4)Def. Agree - A game that uses attack/defense scores but doesn't base the damage on that score differential seems odd to me - But, you need to split the shark tank again - Being attacked by level 7000 fighters when you are level 1800 is going to turn into a constant beating on the lower players
5)Def. Agreed - Keep the 150 but allow Clearing the board in Robbing to be = 2 ices or something -
6)I've seen a lot of people state that the old style was better - far more than those who say it wasn't - Honestly, I don't remember the difference, so on general consensus, agreed.
7)Agreed
8)Agreed
9)A max. would be fine - what's the number, who knows? What do you do with the people above that number, who knows? What effect will changing #4 (Skills differential meaning something) have on the high health players, who knows? I saw one person recommend "so that a player can be iced in a coordinated attack" - Though I agree, how do you quantify that? How many players? How Strong is each attacker? It seems like a very complicated problem.
i disagree,most of who 1 win against now are top levels from 3k to 15k,the 1s who whoop me are all from level 1500 thru 3k,everyone learned how to build or built good minis so now the low levels are full of super strong players,the higher levels are the easiest to beat
DeleteFor the Limited Time Properties, has it ever been discussed to change the helping clicks to a Give One/Get One format. Instead of just giving help, you can get help with the same click. Wouldn't this be the simplest way to get people interested in these properties again?
ReplyDeletethere is no pac there never was. all you ppl are unbelievably to feed into jennifers so called pac.
ReplyDeletelol, what you think I just make this stuff up for my own personal amusement? I must have gone to SF and took fake pictures and just write this crap because blog posts about the pac are oh so popular. If you could see my metrics on these posts, you would understand why I rarely update about the pac. The majority of people don't really care. With out without the pac, this blog and those who comment on it are also helping get feedback to zynga. What Zynga does with all our feedback is not under our control and unfortunately stupid and useless comments like yours just make more crap for them to read through.
Delete1- agree
ReplyDelete2- agree
3- agree
4- agree
5- strongly disagree most of us have built our profiles around fighting if you cant get your 150 ices then its down to you to use your skill points in a way that that benefits you when your fighting ie cant get the ices dont attack folk with high health or build up your stamina,cant beat anyone build up your attack skills.at the end of the day zynga doesnt tell us how to allocate our skill points its down to every individual to choose where to put them
6-disagree robbing is pointless unless your robbing properties for weapons/car/armor parts or animal feed for extra builds on your properties
7-disagree as FHEL should be earned not gifted
8- they cant as new players need another property outside the standard 4 for there 5th build
9- disagree if you cant change the way you build your account as the game changes then thats down to the individual as i said earlier zynga doesnt tell you where and how to allocate your skill points you choose that yourself
overall i can only surmise these point were brought up by folk who dont really fight much sorry if there some fighters putting these points across but thats how it comes across
the main problems with the game are with the fight module,it doesnt work during family battles,the burst attack needs changed back to 7 again and higher damage ratio's are needed.health is the new defence many have pointed this out to those whining about getting iced and prompting the developers into making stupid changes
bro ever heard that robbing gives much better exp then fighting lol? add rob squads there the exp ratio is doubled just because you so much love & enjoy click "fighting" doesn't mean every single mw player love it & they can fix limited time problem if they just add a 5th henchmen prop (no time limit) & upgrade the original ny props with lvl 20-30 then no new player have to go through all this begging & see unbuild props in his page
Deletethe main problem with the begging properties is timeline and i dont click fight i use assassinator which gives me no unfair advantage as it is free and available to all,i set max attacks to 20,max health to 8k and i cant beat anyone stronger than me with it plus i get my 150 ices everyday.i agree fighting is not for everyone but im really not a fan of robbing,as for a 5th property it would make sense but then when does anything zynga does to mafia wars make sense lol
Deleterobbing ihn certain places give better exp,but not overall,and of course if use rob squads gets better,but i get 2.20 up thru the .30s from fighting,why would i want to change that to a lower rate from robbing..olnly ny has a good ratio robbing rest blow
DeleteHated the old style of robbing. People would get PO'd and sit on the high-paying properties for days, causing cash intake to decrease, and there was absolutely no way to stop the robs.
ReplyDeleteyes there was - the old style of robbing was based on skills not random chance. So you work on skills and do not piss off players that can hammer you. when ZYNGA stopped that style of robbing, because of whiners versus folks playing a competitive game, it was the first step down the path to the boring game MW is today
DeleteWhatever happens just give it a try before crying over here on this blog that your gonna quit! Put it on the official mafia wars blog or your own timeline where nobody can see it because nobody cares!
ReplyDeletemost of the suggestions I like (although I am not crazy for the old style of robbing). Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeletejust curious~ I've never really been much into robbing. I have taken it to the max level and stopped. Unless a mission requires robbing, I forget it's even there. What I am curious about is what is this old style robbing people are talking about?? I have been playing for a couple of years, but I have NO clue what is different in that part of the game. Could someone explain it to me??
ReplyDeleterobbing used to do real damage to the original NY properties and they stopped collecting money. Also money was obtained from robbing and it came directly from the players stash and was significant money. It also cost money to rebuild your properties once burned down.
Deletethe best thing though - robbing was based more on skills difference versus random chance like it is now. However folks that pissed off higher levels got a more severe beat down than icing alone does now and whined and robbing was nerfed - much like icing is now nerfed due to folks still pissing off higher levels and then whining about it
Two suggestions...
ReplyDeleteOn Robbing and Family Progression ... only if a change is made so that players Health has to be >20 to rob.
On Health ... make a change to the "new" cities so that when they use 5/25 Stamina they also do 5/25 damage.
Can anyone tell me what is old style of robbing.....Jen if u have a post regarding it yrs old , can u give me the link ??
ReplyDeleteA lot of the older players loved trading items, and helping out their Family.....We used to all work together to help out people in our family who were struggling. Since Zynga stopped allowing the trading of all items, numbers have really dropped off the charts. This one little thing could have kept many players active for a long time. Since they stopped this, players have left in droves.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Unlimited gifting of all but the "most current" generation of loot in all categories would go a long way to increasing player interaction in the game - and for most of the players left that's the real reason they're still playing.
DeleteOne More Issue: The free boosts dont work for me anymore. (the button next to the 50 free fights in brazil, etc
ReplyDelete