But he should also know that you’re responsible for pushing away the very kind of players this game desperately needs. Shame on all of you.

 

This is how the "Sloppy R Us" squad operates and for too long now. The Data Wanted thread is a good spot to visit if you have not already. 

It is disgraceful. 

I’ve just returned to Mafia Returns after a 20-year break.

Look on the plus side, you now have your first grudge after 20 years.

Despite being new again, I threw myself into the game with full commitment.

Your idea of full commitment and someone else’s may be completely different, if I am not mistaken you had an interim retirement about a week ago because you were frustrated about being held back (apologies if this was a private matter you shared with me in confidence) but look at it from another perspective, you’re back after 20 years, less than 30 days in and you want / expect the highest privilege the game has to offer.

Another thing about full commitment, you burn bright and you burn fast, this is a marathon, not a sprint, you went full tilt and made sure everyone knew it. Slow is fast and fast is smooth.

And yet, I was killed by my own family. For what? 

It wasn’t your family, you were an associate, they don’t have to give a reason, you’ve been drinking Isa’s Kool-aid if this is your viewpoint, you have no divine right to know anything and it smacks of entitlement.

If there was an issue, you could have spoken to me instead of resorting to cowardly backstabbing.

They spoke in bullets, the upper echelon doesn’t have to make enquiries. They didn’t trust you and after your knee jerk reaction to air your dirty laundry, you can kinda see why.

Izzy should be able to verify that I’m genuinely new. But he should also know that you’re responsible for pushing away the very kind of players this game desperately needs. Shame on all of you.

I can tell you thoroughly enjoy this game and I think you’ll be back, hopefully sooner than 20 years, I enjoyed your presence in main, I think you’re a nice bloke but I can separate the coffee shop and the game itself. Izzy really doesn’t need to concern himself with another player being killed, it’ll happen to us all sooner or later, I don’t know why all of a sudden it’s in vogue to complain to the admin because you aren’t winning.

Create a fresh account, get your head down and go again, you've made enough friends / acquaintances in the past 20+ days to find a different style of family, you tried on a single pair of shoes and they didn't fit, perhaps the next pair will be the ones.

You say I should come back, but how does that even work now? It feels like I’m obviously on some kind of list, and I don’t know why. I can’t help being a mouthy bastard in main chat, so I’d stick out like a sore thumb and probably meet the same fate again. My OCD won’t let me half-ass the hours either, so I’m all or nothing.

Honestly, it’s a simple process, you just put one foot in front of the other. You don’t have to concern yourself with lists, worrying doesn’t get you anywhere. 

When I said get your head down, I meant work hard, same as before, forget this idea that you’ve got to be incog, continue to be true to yourself, it’s corny but be undeniable, your personality will come through for you and will bear fruit at some point in the future.

The people here who keep claiming to be the persecuted have been doing it for so long they’ve forgotten how to exist, block that noise out, it’s a poisonous and odious way to live.

The thing is, I don’t have any allegiances, any agenda, or any recent history. I was just trying to play and enjoy the game, but now I genuinely don’t see how I could justify the time commitment given how this all played out.

Only ever put the time in you can afford to do, at the end of the day it’s just a game and doesn’t have any impact of actual real life and if you’re really not enjoying it then so be it, but you’ve shown otherwise with your enthusiasm. You should try having an allegiance, maybe even an agenda, or maybe just enjoy some RP in the business districts, the whole point is do it your way and see where the chips fall.

Dust yourself off, put this down to a learning curve of being away for a couple of decades and go again, I can guarantee there isn’t a single user who hasn’t made past mistakes, made poor judgment calls or been out manoeuvred at one point or another, death is part of the fun, once you accept it as an occupational hazard the place doesn't feel so bad.

Oh and apologies again, just for the record you did say you wouldn’t make a fuss.

See you in the next life, I hope.

All this you are saying KGB would be good advice and true in any other era on this game. However, you are leaving out what is exactly going on around here. And there is no denying it. I know you feel special and all but so do I and many others. You see this "Sloppy R Us" squad you got going on has gone overboard on killing. There's nothing challenging or right about it. Where was your calm demeaner on the Data thread? I was not the only one speaking on it and certainly it is being watched and viewed by many quite often.  

 "Let them build and then kill them, so it kills their spirit, and they don't want to return." And "Blood for the blood God"

You are delusional if you think anyone is buying this cap. 

Sterling sat quietly in the corner of the room, his pipe resting between his fingers, a thin wisp of smoke curling upward as he exhaled slowly. After some sleep, he had somehow found the time to calm down. He set the pipe aside and rose to address the gathered crowd, his voice calm but steady as he spoke.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been made aware of some discourse stemming from my earlier remarks. Allow me to clarify something important. My aim is, and never was, to stir conflict or revive grievances or tensions that I neither know of nor understand. My words are my own and carry no weight or intent beyond what was said. I am a man returning to this fine establishment from distant shores, North Africa and Sicily to be precise, seeking nothing more than a fresh start and good company. Any quarrels or conflicts before my time are no longer of concern to me. The past is the past, and I have no interest in rekindling old flames that are no longer mine to stoke.”

He paused for a moment, taking a deliberate puff of his pipe before continuing.

“I would also like to make my stance perfectly clear. Real-life cruelty, in any form, should never be tolerated, regardless of the circumstances. We may deal in business and bloodshed here, but some lines should never be crossed. Let us remember that behind every name, there is a person, and cruelty outside these walls has no place among us.”

Sterling offered a nod in KGB’s direction, a flicker of appreciation crossing his face.

“KGB, I thank you for your candid advice. There is wisdom in your words, and I’ll certainly take you up on some of your suggestions moving forward. Your honesty does not go unnoticed, nor unappreciated.”

He leaned forward slightly, his tone softening as he concluded.

“As for myself, I hold no ill will or hard feelings toward anyone here. My aim is not to dwell on grievances but to find my footing among new friends and old traditions. This life is harsh enough without dragging the weight of unnecessary grudges behind us. So, I’ll raise a glass to fresh starts and civility. May we all find our way forward, together.”

Sterling settled back into his chair, puffing on his pipe with a faint smirk curling at the edges of his lips.

“And before I take my leave, let me say, coming back as Sterling, after formerly being Englander, and expecting to go unrecognised? Well, that’s about as subtle as achieving 33 units in less than 14 hours and thinking no one would notice. Turns out, blending in isn’t my strongest suit.”

He gave a small chuckle, raising his glass in a casual salute before leaning back, his pipe smoke curling lazily upward once more.

The classic full RP out-of-character post, this man is undeniable

I received a huge text message on Lounge of this Englander character, after i asked him on main if he was incoging. It was a simple question, yet, there he was, whining in my private messages. I erased it, the only thing i remember correctly was:

"How can you expect new people to play this game, when you're asking them if they are incoging and blablabla?"

My advice to you: stop whining like a sissy. If you dont like it, leave, simple as that.

what a pussy lol

OOC As the Pig Sees It? How delightful.

You’re as one dimensional now as you were then and the fact you’re here with your dated edgy rhetoric, 11 days safely in, with your bland character is fitting, you must be finally feeling safe to address the community with your usual condescension.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do anything that wasn’t calculated and didn't involve punching downwards, propping up a CL playing the surly hand with your wry humour, I bet you can’t wait to be playing that oh so familiar role once more.

Have you got the capacity to even be anything else? You’re always tactful enough to be standing behind someone, perhaps you should consider facing your fears in your old age and 'ranking up and doing something about it'.

Thanks for your input, WetGuts. I checked off every box of things I wish to do, and I ranked up and did something about it more times than I can count. I've been basically retired for 15 years. That's right. This is me not trying and I'm still a 60+ unit Don on every account. As you mentioned, I'm old. At this stage I'm an observer and my passion is reserved for the overall health and longevity of my favorite hangout rather than wanting any opportunities for myself. If I wanted those opportunities, they are still there. I do not. I am crass because it gets people's attention and I want their attention in this matter. Call it "tough love" or just me being an asshole. I don't care.

You're not worth getting in a back-and-forth with, but I will still say that you don't really know me if you think playing it safe has ever been in my playbook, regardless of rank or associations. Punch downward, punch upward, punch side to side. In the face.

Could it be projection? I did notice you were ONE DAY "safely in" and hiding behind anonymity, so you can take your psychiatric evaluation and shove it up your ass. Your biggest claim to fame was being shot by me.

It’s pretty pitiful from any player perspective, new or old. Numbers are dwindling, effort seems minimal from the majority. It’s the same old faces rinse and repeating auth and building guns. This game has taken a shift away from the casual player more and more, groups eliminate potential threats when they become an older account and so that would cover a lot of casual players who are a fair amount of days old but yet not really building a significant gun.

It’s become more attractive to rogue than to get a crew, the latter comes with too many hoops to jump through else you lose it. The ease in which it takes to build a gun capable of doing damage is crazy and leaders can’t deal with the rogues when they do pop up, hence the longevity of the rogues when they do come around. 

Honestly, it’s a shame. I wish I knew a way to bring it back to a place where it was fun to be but I’m out of ideas and all I can see are the multiple problems with it. There’s more than the above but it would likely result in some kind of punishment so I’ll keep shtum.

The game works as it should.

The problem is the motive of the players.

There is a large group of players hell-bent on maintaining the power they have, while giving little to no thought about how their overall actions affect the player community as a whole. You know, tyrants. Despots. Authoritarians. Opressors.

What this has spawned, as it has throughout history, is a string of rebels- rogues as we call them- who each have tried to plant their swords into the ploughshares and make a stand by attempted coups. Of course, they are stamped out because, though the ruling class is full of despots and tyrants, they have a solid operation that is damned hard to kill. They are united while the rogues are generally just that; individuals who believe that somehow their attempt will make a difference. But they are all missing the writing on the wall. The strength of the opressors is in their numbers; it's in their unity and in their camaraderie. They rebuild and return because they keep each other strong. Like them or not, that's why you can't keep them down.

Rogues and selfish squabbling gets you nothing. It keeps you weak. It keeps you controllable by those who know how to remain a united front. What are your motives? Do you really care where the game is going, or are you just out to spill blood on your own behalf? No one rogues because they care about everyone. People go out on that limb for themselves, and thus will never bring change for everyone.

So, unless you're enjoying endless months of rogues and dozens more of these bitching posts where nothing is solved and nothing is spawned but more animosity, find some common ground and start to work together to fight back. Stop wasting your life on a sure-fire meaningless death. Don't be a stone in the path, be a stone in a wall. Put aside your ills against each other long enough to fight for what you wish to see again. Otherwise, you're all going to end up moaning and withering in a cesspool of your own excrement, crying that no one is cleaning it up for you.

Grow up, stand together, and fucking fight- or keep whining like a bunch of tit-starved babies.