Loading
MAFIA SPIRIT

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Zynga Launches Hidden Shadows

Hidden Shadows Logo

Play Hidden Shadows

Zynga launched a new game today. The new game is called Hidden Shadows. It is a hidden object game that is similar to Hidden Chronicles, but with a different flare.

The following text is a description of the new game that was posted on the Zynga Blog;

Hidden Shadows

Hidden Shadows 7Hidden Shadows 4

 

Hidden Shadows Launches for Global Audiences

by Zynga

 

Welcome to Hidden Shadows, Zynga’s newest game, launching today on Facebook and coming soon to tablets. Hidden Shadows is our second hidden object game and our first game developed by Zynga India.  Players will dive into a supernatural crime story full of mystery, dark secrets, and new ways to connect with friends and play together.

Hidden Shadows 3

Hidden Shadows will transport you to the corrupt streets of Gracetown, where you’ll encounter mysterious benefactors, powerful enemies, and the spirits of the dead – the victims of murders that only you can solve. With the help of your friends and your own supernatural abilities, you’ll close cases, uncover corruption, reveal secrets about the past, and unlock new content that may prove to be a bit unsettling…

Hidden Shadows 2

Here’s what you’ll find when you play – those afraid of the shadows, please proceed with caution:

  • Find: Each murder case will lead you through new crime scene locations – some beautiful, some disturbing – where you’ll find evidence, tools, and secrets to help you crack the case, bringing you deeper into the overarching story of Gracetown and your supernatural abilities.
  • Uncover: Tasked by the mysterious Michael Alder, and placed constantly at odds with the flinty-eyed Chief Havers, you’ll experience the game through multiple seasons, each involving a series of murder cases that don’t stop with just one victim.
  • Solve: Luckily, you are not alone in the shadows – you’ll work with Michael Alder and Marina Graves to gain access to off-limit locations, analyze evidence, and tap into your supernatural powers. You can also lean on real-life friends to help you solve cases and unlock new ones, bringing peace to the unlucky victims.

Check out the Hidden Shadows trailer:

 

The murders in Gracetown won’t wait – do you have what it takes to find the truth? Hidden Shadows is available today in fourteen languages to play here on Facebook and coming soon to tablets.

Gracetown Gazette

 

 

 

 

Hidden Shadows 5Hidden Shadows 8Hidden Shadows 9Hidden Shadows 6

 

Hidden Shadows

Click Image To Play Hidden Shadows

Hidden Shadows 10

Sunday, June 23, 2013

How To Get Double Cycloptics For Challenge Mission: Moscow Robbing

Cycloptic

 

Challenge Mission: Moscow

 

has proven to be a challenge in many ways. We have gone from not being able to collect Cycloptics while robbing [1] to being able to collect the appropriate number of Cycloptics [2] to now being able to collect double of them (The video below shows you how).

 

 

How To Get Double The Cycloptics For Challenge Mission: Moscow While Robbing.
http://www.screencast.com/t/WuBYxnrUL0l Unable to display content. Adobe Flash is required.

 

 

** Note ** This Might Not Work For Everyone And/Or Zynga Could Fix The Ability Or Rollback Players Accounts.

 

Chapter 2 – The Great Escape – Is now unlocked and it requires (as expected) more Cycloptics than Chapter 1 – There Is No Plan B – did per click.

CHAPTER 2 – THE GREAT ESCAPE

Challenge Mission Moscow Chapter 2 Jobs

CHAPTER 1 – THERE IS NO PLAN B

Challenge Mission Moscow Chapter 1 Jobs

If you cross-compare Chapter 2 with Chapter 1 the jobs listed from top to bottom require(s/d) the following number of Cycloptics for 1 click

  Chapter 1
There Is No Plan B
|
|
Chapter 2
The Great Escape
Job1 2 | 3
Job 2 4 | 4
Job 3 3 | 6
Job 4 5 | 9
  ------ | ------
Total 14 | 22

(before you alert the KGB – which increases the required number of Cycloptics)

If you stuck to the clock and did not click jobs once the KGB was alerted you would have needed a total of 159 Cycloptics to complete chapter 1.

If you stick to the clock and did not click jobs once the KGB was alerted you will need a total of 250 Cycloptics to complete chapter 2.

That means that Chapter 2 will require a minimum of 91 more Cycloptics than Chapter 1 did.

Through 4 days of this event (including today, Sunday June 23, 2013) you should/could have collected 445 Cycloptics (not including the double Cycloptics from the Robbing bug/glitch nor the Crew).

4 Day Total Cycloptics

An additional 70 (15 + 15 + 15 + 25 ) Cycloptics should have also been added to your count if you have collected your daily Cycloptics after you added Crew Members.

Crew

The grand total (or final tally) of possible Cycloptics should be 445 + 70 or 515 Cycloptics. If you utilize the double Cycloptic bug/glitch then you can add at least 20 more to that total (40 if you utilized the bug/glitch yesterday).

Barring any other bug/glitch, no one should have collected more than 555, maximum, Cycloptics to this point.

Our final thoughts;

If you collect all the Cycloptics possible and stick to the clock’s and don’t complete these jobs once you’ve alerted the KGB (meaning only while the Heat Meter is green) you should be able to complete all 3 Chapters. Your risk would be running out of time.

If you collect all the Cycloptics possible and complete these jobs once you’ve alerted the KGB (meaning only while the Heat Meter is yellow) you should be able to complete all 3 Chapters. Running out of time should not become a factor unless you forget to complete these jobs.

If you collect all the Cycloptics possible and complete these jobs once you’ve alerted the KGB (meaning only while the Heat Meter is red) you might be able to complete all 3 Chapters. However, you risk running short of Cycloptics since we do not know how many will be required in Chapter 3.

Your best to complete all the jobs while the Heat Meter is green.

We recommend that you minimize doing these jobs when the Heat Meter is yellow if you can. It’s ok to complete these jobs when the Heat Meter is yellow, But shouldn’t be the practice.

NEVER complete these jobs when the Heat Meter is red! The only exception would be if the end of the event is drawing near and you are certain you have enough Cycloptics to complete the jobs.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Updates - Challenge Mission: Moscow

 

Challenge Mission Moscow Banner Cut

Challenge Mission: Moscow has been in the Banking Business for just over 2 days now. Like many events in features in Mafia Wars this event has not been a smooth or error free. Within our Un-Lucky Streak Ends - Discouraging Events post, posted yesterday, I covered an issue with accruing Cycloptics while robbing. I had posted the following image and statement;

Robbing For Cycloptics 1

Take the ‘new’ Challenge Mission: Moscow event, for example. We are ‘supposed’ to be able to accrue 20 Cycloptics from clearing Robbing Boards and 20 more by fighting in The Arena. Players are reporting having difficulty acquiring Cycloptics when doing both of these tasks. This will leave players up to 40 Cycloptics short each day of the event. Thus making this event that much more difficult to complete. Thus making the event that much less exciting.

My experience with clearing robbing boards is that you ‘must’ have 9 successful robs on a single robbing board to collect just 1 Cycloptic. Even then the Cycloptics do not get rewarded every time. In addition, If I use a Rob Squad or a Burner to clear a Robbing Board I have found that no Cycloptics drop for me at all. I have burned through 30,000+ stamina while robbing to only accrue 5 Cycloptics. From this alone I have derived that this is becoming yet another event in a growing list that I will not completely master.

This issue appears to have been fixed. Today (As shown below) I have been able to collect a Cycloptic from each robbing board.

Robbing For Cycloptics 2

I did not test the issue while using Rob Squads and/or Burners for there was no need. I simply needed to rob all 9 properties (win or lose) on 20 Robbing Boards.

Hopefully everyone who had this issue will find that this task is now much easier.

As for the issues of an inability of collecting Cycloptics within The Arena I have found no issues on my account, yet. Yesterday I was able to collect 20 Cycloptics in The Arena relatively easily. I collected the 20 Cycloptics after fighting in 4 Arena’s. On average I collected 5 per Arena fought in. This could vary from player to player so don’t be alarmed if you collect less. If you fight in 2 or 3 Arena’s or more and collect zero Cycloptics then your account might contain a bug.

Chapter 1 Complete

Most players should be able to complete Chapter 1: There Is No Plan B now (if they haven’t already) and begin stockpiling the Cycloptics for Chapter 2 (which will unlock at 3am EST Sunday, June 23). Chapter 3 will unlock on Wednesday, June 26 at 3 am EST. 

There Is No Plan B Chapter 2 Locked Chapter 3 Locked
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
From Moscow: Episode3 – Chapter 1
Chapter 1 big
From Moscow: Episode 3 – Chapter 2
Chapter 2 big
From Moscow: Episode 3 – Chapter 3
Chapter 3 big

Now if they would only bring Moscow back in it’s entirety….. Along with Cuba, Bangkok and Italy and the ‘new’ city then we could get back to business……

Friday, June 21, 2013

Un-Lucky Streak Ends – Discouraging Events

 

Lucky Streak Final Spin Spin Rock Star

The Lucky Streak (or more appropriate; The Woeful Streak) has come to a close. Not all players (free and otherwise) won a Rockstar. I guess I can say I was ‘Lucky’ since on my very last spin I received the Lion’s Mane Fish which was the last loot I needed to collect to win the Bronze Rockstar.

It’s a small consolation prize since this game is more like a runaway train heading for a washed-out bridge that used to span a deep gorge.

Back in 2010, when I began playing Mafia Wars, I was able to complete nearly every event just by putting in some effort and only a little time (I didn’t need to play the game 24/7). Ironically, Mafia Wars generated much more revenue for Zynga back then and the game was still among the top 50 games on Facebook in DAU and MAU.

The game has changed drastically since 2010. Although my character has grown to level 4458 I find the events much more difficult for me to complete. I couldn’t even get 20% of the way through the Robber’s Delight event even though I sit at my computer for many more hours than I did in 2010.

Robbers Delight Reward

When tasks within the game become impossible to complete one begins to ask themselves; ‘Why am I playing this game and wasting my time on it?’

Robbing For Cycloptics 1

Take the ‘new’ Challenge Mission: Moscow event, for example. We are ‘supposed’ to be able to accrue 20 Cycloptics from clearing Robbing Boards and 20 more by fighting in The Arena. Players are reporting having difficulty acquiring Cycloptics when doing both of these tasks. This will leave players up to 40 Cycloptics short each day of the event. Thus making this event that much more difficult to complete. Thus making the event that much less exciting.

My experience with clearing robbing boards is that you ‘must’ have 9 successful robs on a single robbing board to collect just 1 Cycloptic. Even then the Cycloptics do not get rewarded every time. In addition, If I use a Rob Squad or a Burner to clear a Robbing Board I have found that no Cycloptics drop for me at all. I have burned through 30,000+ stamina while robbing to only accrue 5 Cycloptics. From this alone I have derived that this is becoming yet another event in a growing list that I will not completely master.

I have not tested The Arena, yet.

Then there are the events that have the Leaderboards. These include Ice Boards, Job Boards, Family Inheritance, etc…

Let The Ices Begin Winners 6 13 2013

We will be told that if ‘we don’t like these events then we should ignore them’. That’s all great and good for those who continue to reap the rewards from those events. It IS also counter-productive!

The point of the game (or so I thought) is to grow stronger as you progress through the game. One can’t, however, grow stronger IF they can’t achieve the goals and tasks that are within the game. For players to be dominated and urinated on, as Susej states is his thrill of playing Mafia Wars,

Forum Post Bad Sentiment Against Poor is NOT enticing to us ‘Peasants’ to continue to play this game.

Yes, we could spend money on this game to grow our characters as others may or may not have;

More MWLL Lies And Deception

RPs Regular Price

 

But, how much money would we need to spend to become competitive with these juggernauts?

Since many players are reaching toward 100,000 personal skill points allocated to their attack, defense, health, energy, and/or stamina this would simply be impossible for the average player to achieve. The cost could easily be more than a years wages for most.

For a player to reach 100,000 personal skill points in each skill set they would need to spend;

20 Health –

100,000 / 20 = 5,000 --- 

5,000 * 12 RP = 60,000 RP ---

60,000 RP / 1000 = 60 Purchases ---

60 * $200 = $12,000    ($6,000 @ 50% off)

 

6 Attack/Defense/Energy Stamina –

100,000 / 6 = 16,667 ---

16,667 * 12 RP = 200,004 RP ---

200,004 RP / 1000 = 201 Purchases ---

201 * $200 = $40,200    ($20,100 @ 50% off)

$40,200 * 4 = $160,800   ($80,400 @ 50% off)

----------------- ----------------- --------- -----------------

TOTAL

$12,000 + $160,800

= $172,800
@ 50% Off

$6,000 + $80,400

= $86,400

** Calculations based on starting at 0 and would be lower depending on skill points already on hand **

That’s a fairly expensive movie, if you ask me.

Consider that those numbers above DO NOT include loot purchases from sales events, crates nor events where players buy their way through. They have no bearing on a players Mafia Attack/Defense strengths.

Yesterday, June 20th 2013, Zynga asked for players inputs as to what they might like to see in a Mafia Themed game.

Mobsters! We’re trying out ideas for a new mafia themed game. Please share your feedback here-->http://zynga.tm/hpH 

Question 4 Answer

All I can say, at risk of repeating myself, is that IF Zynga wants to improve upon this game then they MUST make the game playable by ALL players. That means make the events reasonable and achievable with the paid perk buying a players way through it quicker than working a players way through it.

SLOW DOWN the pace! NOT everyone can be on their computers 24/7.

MAKE THE GAME AFFORDABLE!! Not ALL of us have Donald Trumps bank account! If we did we, most assuredly, would NOT be playing a computer game.

MAKE THE GAME FAIR!! All players should have the same opportunity to complete and compete in ALL events regardless of the money they’ve spent or not.

LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES!!

I have tons of ideas that would make this game (or a Mafia Themed game) a much better game than this game is in its current state. I just don’t have the computer knowledge to code it nor the money to hire someone who can. I won’t be giving my ideas out for free however. I have seen how they are taken and twisted into something you end up not liking (The Arena, for example).

I will continue playing Mafia Wars, for now, because I love the concept and I believe the game still has great potential.

I hope you all enjoyed my rant. Thank you for taking a few moments to read it.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Zynga Needs Ideas For A New Mafia Themed Game

Mafia Wars th4  

On the Mafia Wars Fanpage on Facebook Zynga announced that it is looking to develop a new ‘Mafia’ themed game. The announcement was accompanied by the image shown to the left and reads as follows;

Mobsters! We’re trying out ideas for a new mafia themed game.

Please share your feedback here-->http://zynga.tm/hpH

Zynga does NOT state the state of Mafia Wars (which is clinging to life with a DAU hovering just above the 200,000 mark).

DAU 6-19-2013

May 30th, 2013, was the last time Mafia Wars had a DAU that crested above 240,000. May 19th, 2013, boasted the highest DAU in more than a month now.

This continued downward spiral of the DAU has many players concerned as to how long Mafia Wars will continue to be updated with loots and events.

The ever-declining DAU has been attributed to many things from many differing perspectives. Players decide to play or quit based on their own reasons. None of which are wrong.

When it’s all said and done, All things come to an end and new things take their place. This may be what Zynga is hoping to happen. Zynga may be looking to create a new ‘Mafia Themed’ game to replace Mafia Wars.Zynga is asking for your cooperation in providing ideas for this new ‘Mafia Themed’ game.

The first question of this questionnaire leaves me cold since Zynga is asking about our experience with other games. If you look at the list of games ALL the games (except Mafia Wars 1) are ‘Flash’ based games where you have a character(s) running around a screen doing tasks.

Question 1

It implies that Zynga wants to design another Mafia Wars 2 type of game. Mafia Wars 2 failed miserably. If this is the case then I am NOT INTERESTED!

I can reasonably assume that millions of players once liked Mafia Wars (and possibly still do) since the Mafia Wars fanpage on Facebook still has 18 million ‘likes’. If Zynga could just figure out why an estimated 17,800,000 (+/-) former fans no longer play Mafia Wars and correct those issues then they might find that they don’t need a ‘new’ Mafia themed game at all.

Questions 2 and 3 of the questionnaire try to do just that by asking what you like the most and least about Mafia Wars.

Question 2Question 3

Question 2 asks what you like the most about Mafia Wars 1 and provides the options;

  • Gearing Up (Constant Loot Updates That Become Useless Too Quickly! Never Able To Catch Up Unless You Spend Tons Of Cash!!)
  • City (The Only Obvious Choice)
  • Property (Most Despise Them Due To Constant Begging – Yet Adds To The Game)
  • Mastery (Mastering What? The Impossible Things Like Family Progression? Missions? The Lucky Streak?)
  • Earning Money To Level (When Did We Have To ‘Earn Money’ To Level?)
  • Fighting (It’s A ‘Mafia’ Game – NOT A STREET THUG GAME! – One Of The Biggest Reasons Players QUIT! SHOULD NOT BE THE FOCAL POINT OF A MAFIA THEMED GAME!)
  • Marketplace (Necessary Evil)
  • Collections (?? Limited And Some Have Ridiculous Requirements! Yet Provides Purpose To Do Certain Things)
  • Becoming Stronger (EVERYONE WANTS TO BECOME STRONGER! – Isn’t That The Point Of The Game?)
  • Arena (You F***ED THIS UP ZYNGA – Be Ranked In Top 1500 To Receive Certain Loot?? Impossible Feat For The Vast Majority Of The Remaining Player Base! Ridiculous Achievements! Script Use Is The Only Way To Fight In It – Otherwise You’re F***ED! Unless One Finishes First The XP SUCKS!!)
  • Power Ups (Unnecessary – Counter Productive – I NEVER Use Them)
  • Do Jobs (Isn’t This Or Shouldn’t This Be A Part Of ‘City’?)
  • Other

The true answer to question 2 is ‘NEXT TO NOTHING’…. Which is kinda funny since I love this game…..

 

Question 3 asks what you dislike the most about Mafia Wars 1 and provides the options;

  • Power Ups (Unnecessary – Counter Productive  – I NEVER Use Them)
  • Graphics (One Of The Best Things About The Game Is The Graphics – When They Load Properly)
  • Too Many Numbers (Not Clear As To What You Mean?)
  • Mastery (Mastering What? The Impossible Things Like Family Progression? Missions? The Lucky Streak?)
  • Do Jobs (Isn’t This Or Shouldn’t This Be A Part Of ‘City’?)
  • Earning Money To Level (When Did We Have To ‘Earn Money’ To Level?)
  • Gearing Up (Constant Loot Updates That Become Useless Too Quickly! Never Able To Catch Up Unless You Spend Tons Of Cash!!)
  • Marketplace (Necessary Evil)
  • Fighting (It’s A ‘Mafia’ Game – NOT A STREET THUG GAME!) – One Of The Biggest Reasons Players QUIT! SHOULD NOT BE THE FOCAL POINT OF A MAFIA THEMED GAME!)
  • Property (Most Despise Them Due To Constant Begging – Yet Adds To The Game)
  • City (Most Players WANT MORE)
  • Collections (?? Limited And Some Have Ridiculous Requirements!)
  • Becoming Stronger (EVERYONE WANTS TO BECOME STRONGER! – Isn’t That The Point Of The Game?)
  • Arena (You F***ED THIS UP ZYNGA – Be Ranked In Top 1500 To Receive Certain Loot?? Impossible Feat For The Vast Majority Of The Remaining Player Base! Ridiculous Achievements! Script Use Is The Only Way To Fight In It – Otherwise You’re F***ED! Unless One Finishes First The XP SUCKS!!)
  • Too Hard To Compete With Players Who Have Been Around Forever (NEED TO LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THE LEADERBOARDS!! WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU?)
  • Other

green = things I Like

gold = thing I am neutral on

red = things I believe need fixed or I dislike

I know many will not agree with my synopsis of each of the options in the previous 2 questions. I do hope that those who disagree with my thoughts above will agree that the one great thing about Mafia Wars is that the game offers options for many styles of game play and appeals to a broader audience than most other games do. It’s not a game where all players have to complete task A before they can move onto task B and then task C and so on. Each player builds their characters accordingly to their style, likes, and desires of how they see best to suit their in-game goals. It is these widely varying characters that makes Mafia Wars a great game.

Most players do have their own ideas of what they like or dislike and their own ideas as to what they believe might improve the game.

Question 4 provides a comment box where you can express these ideas that you believe would improve a Mafia Themed game.

Question 4

That’s all great and good. But, many players do not believe that Zynga will listen to them.

Allow me to say that Zynga does listen. To a point, at least. In my response to this question I provided Zynga with evidence as to how they took a couple of my suggestions and then modified them into what they felt was either suitable for the game or what they wanted in the game. It is possible that the original ideas may not have been programmable into the coding of the game.

Question 4 Answer

Unless you plan on developing your own games, or you just don’t have any ideas, we encourage you to complete question 4 with as much detail as possible. It, also, would be recommended that you screen shot your response for future reference. You never know if you might need to fall back onto your idea.

Questions 5 and 6 ask you to rank the importance of some of Zynga’s ideas of a Mafia Themed game.

Question 5 AnswersQuestion 6 Answers

Since it is my belief that true ‘Mafia’s’ are more about money and power than fighting I answered accordingly. Fighting, to me, is more of a means to an end and is done out of necessity as opposed to being the practice of Mafia’s. 

Answer these 2 questions as to your likings, not mine. Hopefully you’ll agree with my ideologies and Zynga will make a much better game than we are playing now.

When you are done with the questionnaire let Zynga know who you are and submit your responses to them.

Question 7

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Robber’s Delight – Overview And Analysis

Robbers Delight Banner Active

The Robbers Delight Event is just about half over. It is just another one of those event's that are too easy for some and too difficult for others. It is also just another event designed to try to get you to spend money on this game (but ain't they all).
As usual, many players are either struggling to get the 50,000 Plunder Points or they just aren't bothering with the event.


Since you need 50,000 Plunder Points to fully master this event and the event will last 7 days you will need to acquire on average 7,143 Plunder Points a day.

Some are proclaiming that it will take about 300,000 stamina to master this event. I can assure you that this IS NOT completely accurate. For example, If you take the assumed 300,000 and divide by your total stamina you should derive to your presumed number of stamina refills (or level ups) that you will need to purchase or achieve in order to master this event. An example; An account that has 10,000 stamina would need to purchase or level up 30 times (300,000/10,000).


Those proclaiming that everyone will need 300,000 stamina didn't factor in other players stats that are a determining factor in whether you will win or lose a rob. Also, the amount of Plunder Points awarded for a successful rob in relationship to which types of properties (easy, medium, hard) were not factored into the estimate. Not to mention the cost of stamina needed to rob certain types of properties. In other words, if you see more properties requiring the use of 20 stamina to rob as opposed to 5 then you will likely need more stamina overall to master the event.


Other factors that need to be considered are the stats of those who you are trying to rob and whether their properties can be robbed. In addition, some players are finding that they need to waste stamina points to refresh their robbing boards since all the properties have already been robbed.


On my account I have been averaging about 700 Plunder Points per round of stamina (which is 10,000 +). Therefore, if I maintain this rate I will need to level up (since I don't purchase stamina refills) approximately 72 times for me to master this event. That would equate to more than 720,000 stamina needed by me to master this event.


All-in-all I find that this IS NOT a well designed event and that it, like most events in Mafia Wars, favors the already strong players and/or money players. It leaves little incentive to entice players to want to spend real money on this game.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

.

.
Animated Social Gadget - Blogger And Wordpress Tips
Receive Free Updates Via Email. Subscribe Now!