Aug 25, 2015

Fight Carnage: Developer Speak

Share:

The following was posted on the Mafia Wars Blog and is by the developers addressing their findings of the 'Fight Carnage' thus far [1]. The post doesn't say how long the feature will be around but it sounds like it's having a positive impact on the server and performance metrics. Those who don't like the feature really need to fill out the survey and address WHY. Don't just say it sucks, tell them why it sucks and maybe they can change certain aspects.



Mafia Wars Devspeak: Fight Carnage

Mobsters,

Last week saw the release of the Fight Carnage feature in Mafia Wars, which included several core changes on the Fight system in the game. These changes were successful in significantly improving the performance of the game.
This post aims to address some player concerns as well as provide clarity on the thought behind Fight Carnage.

Purpose of Fight Carnage
Fight Carnage was designed to directly tackle two core issues:
1. Performance issues within Mafia Wars
2. Amount of time it takes to burn Stamina in Fights

Performance Issues:
Performance and loading issues have been a long-standing concern for our players. We identified the primary cause as a high amount of server requests originating from Fights – over a period of time, server calls have grown exponentially due to the number of Attacks required for players who want to burn through their Stamina pools. While we have pushed multiple technical fixes to address this issue, an intervention to core gameplay mechanics would address the issue directly.
We have been carefully tracking player feedback on this feature through various channels as well as monitoring the game performance. Over the past few days, we have continuously iterated on Fight Carnage and have pushed multiple fixes and changes to enhance gameplay experience based on player feedback.

Impact:
Fight Carnage has streamlined Fights and reduced load on servers, and as a result, we have observed and received feedback from our players about improvement in the game performance during the course of the event.
While some players are still facing issues, we are seeing widespread improvement in performance metrics across our player base. Our team continues to look into addressing these issues.  

Stamina burn in Fights:
As players’ Stamina pools have increased over the course of the game, the amount of time it takes to burn that Stamina has disproportionately increased. This has resulted in Fatigue amongst players in the long run and disinterest in core Fighting.

Fight Carnage attempts to address this issue by allowing players to burn higher amounts of Stamina per click, and inflict a proportionate amount of damage.
Impact:
The amount of time spent by players Fighting has reduced significantly while other Fight metrics have remained consistent – players are no longer required to spend hours clicking to burn their stamina, but still earn proportionate rewards and XP.

The initial roll-out of Fight Carnage led to a few issues and bugs that impacted XP ratios and Cash payouts in specific cities, but we have pushed changes over the last week, which have resolved these issues.

We want to thank you for your support and valuable feedback regarding Fight Carnage.

In order for us to keep improving this feature, please do let us know how Fight Carnage has impacted your gameplay experience.

Click HERE to participate in this quick survey.
Thank you!
-The Mafia Wars Team
























45 comments:

  1. the server performance increased because a lot of players have unpaid versions of a certain script and the fight option is not working with Carnage. server performance has also increased because many loyal players like myself have quit after 5-6 years due to fight carnage. I'm done. fk it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm with ya. If this stays permanently, I'm done. I'm not going to spend 600+ stamina to ice an account with less than 1000 health. F it.

      Delete
  2. YAY! I knew it would stay and I love it so I'm a happy camper.
    I see a lot of hate in my news feed from people who hate it as much as I love it... No one can put a finger on why though they all just keep saying it sucks, lol
    I have a few accounts all build differently, and they all have one thing in common, they run better. Kamis kami faster, serial levelers level faster and fighters with a reasonable ratio runs super fast and smooth.So this is definitely better.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree that server calls have been impacted by people quitting or fighting less, but you can't deny that the introduction of Carnage has significantly reduced server calls. We can only do one attack every 5 seconds now, instead of up to 40 in 5 seconds if you were using a script, and probably up to half that fighting manually. That is a HUGE difference, and reducing the player base has a fairly small effect compared to that.

    People were warned this would become permanent feature , and instead of offering constructive criticism all the feedback was whinging. So in a way its our fault its still here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. People were warned? Our fault? Dude... seriously... stop drinking :D And FYI: a paying player (customer) doesn't give a fuck about server calls. He pays and he wants what he's paid for, You have server issues, well it's not my problem, upgrade them or refund money.

      Delete
  4. I can guess that obviously it would improve server issues, however I don't like how it works.
    This isnt particularly a Demon script or any script dislike. Clicking manually now is just about the most boring thing . It's a little like repeatedly flushing the toilet and waiting for it to refill before flushing again. The monster accounts with lots of health still have plenty of time to heal, so you don't ice targets in a mock war any better. I guess there are more kills now instead of ices. These usually come from a single hit on a fight list target that is just above the 20 health mark.
    Very boring and monotonous but really the whole game has been like this for some time. I will probably still play now and again but I will certainly never spend another penny on this game. Im thinking that this game will slowly dwindle into non existence and then be put to bed by Zynga.
    This fight carnage thing might have made it easier on Zyngas servers but it will not get more money out of players.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "It's a little like repeatedly flushing the toilet and waiting for it to refill before flushing again."

      What a brilliant analogy! It is exactly like that.

      Delete
    2. I liked your perfectly-fit anatomy of game function.... Carnage is really a shitty idea, quick flush flush flush before it is already stank

      Delete
  5. I told them that Carnage has had little effect on my game [more kills than before is all], but that I continue to experience game freeze and extended failures to reload the game. I told them it was the fault of their tracking cookie. There's certainly some file that fails to load when I try to get back in after a freeze. So I don't think Carnage is helped much at all.

    ReplyDelete
  6. just another watershed moment designed to even the playing field for the masses while providing the usual collateral damage to the monster accts who once again find themselves vulnerable and either pry open the wallet a little wider or put it away for good.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The best way to stop the server problems in fighting is to go back to when you were fighting and you could NOT attack a person that was already in a fight with someone else. We used to get a message saying you cannot attack that person or that person is already in a fight..... When Zy'anger introduced the ICE STOLEN feature that is when my game went all wrong and has never worked the same again.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The truth is that you now can't any longer play decently unless your stats are under the 2.2 ratio and you have an insane amount of health (I have 220k+ and I'm suddenly back like I had 20k). That's something I just can't afford. My interest for the game has dramatically dropped anyway during the last months, quite glad to cancel my membership and be done with this scamming company.

    ReplyDelete
  9. No point in filling out a survey that Zynga will ignore. We all know the track record of this company. This game is done. Mark it dude...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I completed the survey and told them right in it, that I expect them to ignore feedback that goes against what they want to do, but at least by completing it, they know what is on my mind.

      Delete
  10. ratio needs to be back at same level prior.
    Only people who upset are those who needed more time for passive experience to level.
    Now can burn all stamina in few minutes and have to wait for passive, where before could fight non stop in new york and by time all stamina burnt, passive from kami would easily level them.
    whaaaaa, cry me a river about how it sucks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Usually there are only two reasons why somebody would post such a crap:
      1. you use kami yourself (you seem to know well how they work) and hence you are just a troll.
      2. you work for Zynga and hence you are a donkey.
      3. if anything fails read 1 and 2.

      Delete
  11. Last one to close the door,make sure you turn the light off..R.I.P Mafia Wars.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fight carnage has ruined the game for me and most everyone else I know that still plays. My is VIP cancelled!!
    If fight carnage is still around next week I will quit!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Zynga have wiped out yrs of my gameplay of adding to my stamina so i can fight for longer with this crap. Not happy. Stamina is gone in minutes and i get no where near the same amount of ices in one run of stamina. Today i used full stam (15k), stam pack (19k) collecting cities (maybe 12k) and levelled up and still had not completed my daily ices. WTF CHUCK!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have held out, despite suffering game performance issues with the decrease in exp ratio for winning fights (and consequently no longer able to self-level despite a considerable investment over time to ensure my account can do that. I wanted to believe what now appears to have been lies from Zynga Customer Service that they were going to be removing Carnage once they were sure the programming to do so was correct. However, today I cancelled VIP since the developer's post appears to confirm everyone's fear that this change is here to stay, with the negatively impacted fight ratio.

    If they don't listen to what is posted in surveys, CS support emails (since apparently MWs chat reps have disappeared), and various forums and blogs to which they have access, and restore the ratios at least, then I doubt I will be the last VIP cancellation and no doubt not the only person who will be quitting sooner than expected.

    It's very sad to see the game we all loved being run into the ground by the very developers and company who should care above all things to retain its customer base, rather than alienate it. But for them, their server performance will continue to get better and better with fewer people playing. I guess they can take credit for accomplishing that, although perhaps not in the way they expected.

    -●M●- SPÎĐΞЯ

    ReplyDelete
  15. High amount of server requests from fights? Back in the day you had a much bigger pool of players and the only thing available was fighting and yet we had no issues...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. EXACTLY! I did mention that to them to which there was no explanation. They have continued to ask for more money from players, while clawing back service (reducing the number of servers, for example). There is no other business on the face of this planet who operates like this. Certainly no other business could get away with it the same way Zynga has.

      Delete
  16. while not enamored with Fight Carnage, there are certain advantages with it and I hope that they keep some version of it. Game loading issues have dramatically decreased

    Kathie E

    ReplyDelete
  17. what a tard zynga is, it is due to their stupid features , too many of them currently and their crappy bloatware, how do you explain that with only 90k daily users? you will lose even more players by saying bullshits

    ReplyDelete
  18. I agree ... servers are responding better because we did robbings and arenas only ... and we'll continue until the end of this "carnage"
    mafia was a social game and now it's for lone players (and their clones) : is it fun? we want to have fun, fighting each others not running the game 24/7 burning our stamina faster
    I don't have stamina to waste: I'm not selfleveller and I don't want to be like that. I want to play and have fun
    pretty easy eh?
    ty

    ReplyDelete
  19. I hate this feature so much, I can't even get cash from fights anymore because they take too much stamina... Zynga I hope you realize not everybody here has over 100,000 stamina

    ReplyDelete
  20. I could live with the carnage if the exp return for fight wins was the same as before 2.3 not 2.2. I am just not too keen on taking a haircut on stamina skills i paid for.

    Deal loot lady could you help me out a little here and, relying on abundant expertise in peddling Zynga's bs on this one, please tell me how reducing the experience one receives from fights won improves server speeds and helps loading issues.

    ReplyDelete
  21. i'm thinking about quitting after 6 years myself.. all that will be left are those who have stupidly had zynga wealthy

    ReplyDelete
  22. I read their response as: "Well, we didn't get the feedback we wanted, so we're going to justify keeping it in a lying missive, and ignore players once again to do our own f*cking thing."

    The loading and other performance issues are coming back, so there really is no excuse to keep carnage.

    I guess losing their jobs when people quit paying for the game and they're forced to close it, is less of a priority for them to try and properly fix the problems that have been with the game since it opened.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I play this game for the fighting. Now that the fighting goes so quickly I am quite bored with the game especially sitting around waiting to level again. You state this has resolved some issues and that is great but when most of your player base is against what has been done yet you continue to keep it, you are thumbing your nose at your players. I can tell you this much, if this stays the way it is currently, I will be gone before my next VIP renewal. I will waste no more money on this game whatsoever.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Your all a bunch of whine asses. You all sound worse than a room full of 2 year olds!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you're going to troll, you might as well use proper grammar while doing so. It's "You're a bunch of whine asses," and not "Your a bunch of whine asses." You're is a contraction for you are, and your is possessive, for example, I will kick your ass if you continue to whine.

      Delete
  25. I take that as you are refer to Zyngtard developers

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hey Mr Z Dev, so in reality you fool all those people that carnage will fix the servers overload when in fact you cut back servers silently and blaming the fight was the culpit.... very smooth move buy you're busted

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder if the number of servers they use is public information. It would be curious to know how many servers support this game. I have been wondering that for a long time, given they always blame overload when something goes wrong, and of course they always blame the players, rather than themselves. As many have observed, there are far fewer players now than there were a few years ago, and we experienced far fewer problems, yet, even as early as year 2 of the game, the majority of serious players were using fight scripts.

      Delete
    2. they have close their data center in May and are now subcontracting to Amazon. so it's all about reducing the bill and increasing profitability. the surveys (like those you are systematically receiving as soon as you take a plane or have any contact with a company) are not read. they are just there to make you believe you care and customers matter for them. satisfying customers require work, sending surveys none and it's free

      Delete
    3. Closed their centres in May and subcontracted to Amazon... and curiously that is around the same time all the serious loading problems started. Interesting.

      Delete
  27. Glad i took up pot farm i can quit this game now :).

    ReplyDelete
  28. I am a mid level player (Level 7510) with 11K stamina and 50K attack strength. Prior to the roll out of Fight Carnage, I would easily get my 150 ices over the course of the time I was on with a combination of manual fighting and using a script. If this was an attempt to remove script players, fine, I can go back to icing manually, however, based on how it is operating now, I'm only getting about 25 to 30 ices in a manual fighting mode and even less if using a script. I have given this a fair shake and have sent comments to Zynga with specific concerns/issues, however, if this is to be made permanent, my nearly 6 year run will come to an end. VIP Account to be cancelled, MW accounts shuttered, and my entertainment dollars will be spent elsewhere....and not on any other Zynga product. This may, indeed, be the end of MW.

    I, for one, will be taking a 24 hour hiatus from the game as my personal "strike" against Zynga. Perhaps others will do the same.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There was a strike of several hundred players today, plus people continuing to cancel their VIPs. If this doesn't send a clear message to zynga that people would rather shut the game down by cutting off their money, than to play with the fight carnage scheme, then zynga is more stupid than anyone could have imagined.

      Delete
  29. Whether using a script or icing manually, the yield is very low. If Carnage is permanent as it has been suggested on a MW blog, I'm not sure if I will stay. I will not be playing August 27--and perhaps for a couple of weeks. So many changes to the game have basically taken the fun out of it. The so-called streamlining has NOT improved my game play. The game works no differently from the way it worked before Carnage, except that I cannot easily make my dailies. And I have over 20K stamina. Apparently, they have rewritten the software to penalize everyone. I have taken to using Arena, because I can't spend all day on MW, but I hate Arena. It's really just guess work, pushing buttons--when they work. The rest of the game play has not improved--buttons still sluggish, boss fights often just don't work, trying to do jobs in cities doesn't always work. Sometimes I have to go open a new window because I can't keep clicking on jobs. Too bad that between FB and MW, the joy of playing and interacting with friends has been ruined. When I try to help people by clicking on posts, I often have to click 4-6 times to get there. Ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I only have 3300 stamina and used to be able to count 75 per power attack. Manually that was 44 clicks and took me a minute of play. Now it's been reduced to 45 per attack, which takes over 70 clicks and 6 times as long. I just can't be bothered with fighting any more.

    ReplyDelete
  31. just stop it, carnage is useless. even it's hard to get event loot, i got only 17 face choppers spending more than 20k stamina

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated and will not be published until they are reviewed. Please don't use bad language or insult others. For faster feedback on questions, visit our fan page.