Yesterday The Official Mafia Wars Blog Was Updated With A Post About The New Mafia Wars VIP Program. The Following Is A Reprint Of That Post;
Hello Mobsters,
The Mafia Wars team is constantly working on introducing new features in the game as well fixing existing performance issues that have been reported by the community to enhance the overall game-play experience. The VIP program is one such initiative that we are considering over the next few months. Some of you may have already seen the pop-up messages with the details about this program. However, at the moment, this program is not available, and you will not be charged for clicking on the confirmation messages. If & when the program is rolled out, you are not obligated to enroll in it, but you will have priority enrollment at that time.
We have also taken serious note of certain performance issues due to violation of Terms of Service, whether reported by the community or otherwise. While we work on introducing new features like the VIP program, we will always prioritize working on fixing performance issues that affect game-play. Please stay tuned for further announcements in this regard.
We would like to reiterate that we are constantly listening to you & working on improving the game.
Thank you.
The Mafia Wars Team
The First Thing I Get To See When I Logged Into Mafia Wars This Morning Was A Pop-Up And A New Banner In The In-Game News Module That Are Informing Me About The VIP Program.
If You Look Closely At The Bottom Right Corner Of The Pop-Up Banner You Can See That This Is Only A Test. Thank God It Is Only A Test Because I Fear That This Program Will, In Many Ways, Be Detrimental To The DAU Of Mafia Wars. Some Of The Reasons Include (But Are Not Limited To);
Those Of Us Who Can Not Afford Another Monthly Bill Will Drastically Fall Behind In The Game Since Those Who Will Purchase A VIP Membership Will Gain Un-surmountable Amounts Of Skill Points. Therefore, Making The Game Virtually Pointless To Play For The Free Playing Players. Ultimately The DAU Will Drop Even Further Pushing The Game Ever So Closer Into The Internet Gaming Wasteland.
The Ability To Craft Loot 40% Faster Would Mean That I Would Have To Be On The Game (Up To) 4 Specific Times A Day To Maximize My Builds. The New York Properties Currently Build At A Rate Of Once Every 18 Hours. In Brazil, Chicago And London The Current Time Between Builds Is 23 Hours. With The Ability To Craft 40% Faster The New York Craft Clock Would Fall Somewhere Between 10 And 11 Hours. In Brazil, Chicago, And London The New Crafting Clock Would Be About 14 To 15 Hours.
This Will Also Inspire More Use Of Scripts Which Will Enhance The Already Unfair Advantages That Script Users Have Over The Rule Abiding Players. The Script Developers Will, Or Already Have, Develop Scripts That Will Build These Shop Loot Items At Pre-set Time Intervals Automatically.
Does The 40% Faster Fighting Mean That I Will Lose Fights 40% Faster Also? Or Only If I Don’t Buy My Way Into The VIP Program? Will I, If I Don’t Buy A VIP Membership, Still Be Able To Fight And Get My Ices Or Will I Be Iced As Soon As I Regenerate My Health? How Difficult Will It Become To Fight And Ice Those Who Buy A VIP Membership?
More And More Players Will Not Be Able To Complete Things Like ‘Ice Seasons’. The Stronger Many Players Get The Tougher Fighting And Icing Get. And, This Is Already A Problem For Many Since ‘The New Defense Is Health’.
For Those Of Us Who Have ‘Real’ Jobs We Are Going To Feel Even More Pressured To Have To Play The Game. The Game Should Be Able To Fit Into Our Schedules, Not Make Our Schedules Around The Game.
Ultimately The End Result Of The Game Is That It Will Not Be Able To Be Played Without The Use Of Scripts. The Game May As Well Become A Pay To Play Game. We, The Free Playing Players Shouldn’t Even Bother Anymore With This Game Since We Have No Chance.
i am personally excited about this. i am eager to see what it will end up being. hell it might even save me money in the long run.
ReplyDeleteThank you Brutus. We appreciate your view. This is exactly what we need is open dialog stating all viewpoints.
ReplyDeleteI stated one set of viewpoints and concerns within the post. I am not opposed to Zynga making money or players spending money to improve their game. I simply believe that an even playing field may be lost with such a program as the VIP program.
well it may or may not. keep in mind that there things out there that may uneven the playing field that are not from Zynga, such as UnLocked Toolbar, which i personally do not use or like, and this may be partly a move to reduce the utility of scripts such as Unlocked. Unlocked is very different from MWAddon or Assassinator when it comes to fighting and puts a tremendous strain on the servers. but please understand, i do not take a diametrically opposed view to yours. i too want this game to be fair and fun for the non-paying player. of course, how to accomplish this is no small task and i do not envy those in charge of trying to figure it out! and of course i do like to encourage people to not be soooo opposed to buyin a gamecard every now and then :P like i've said before, its like going to the movies - a ticket popcorn a drink, and if you brought a day it's even cheaper than the movies lol.
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