It's been suggested recently that Start up location should  be randomised, else a physical choice, as Detroit's slice of the pie is just too great. This, in principle, is something I agree with - as one city having such an advantage over others does create an imbalance. However, randomising start up location will not solve anything - Philadelphia will then be the city that has the massive advantage with the superior crimes.

Therefore, it is my suggestion that every city is given their own advantage, or bonus, which differentiates them between other cities.

Currently, the state of play as I see it is thus:

New York and Philly - The East Coast Bonus.
In both cities players receive substantially higher money and experience for profit related activities and jailing than in other cities.

Detroit - The New Blood Bonus.
As the default starting location with cheap grain alcohol, Detroit receives far more inactive accounts than any other city.

New Orleans - The Ports Bonus
Geographically, being located so close to both the Mexican border and sea routes to other nations, the drug prices are far more attractive than any other city.

LA - No Bonus

LV - No Bonus

Chi - No Bonus

Obviously, this needs to be rectified, and I had a few suggestions which are both RP accurate and viable to the game.
 
LV- Being the sin city, it stands to reason that the bonus here should be casino related. Maybe a wider range of payout options, a more complex betting scale, or simply 10% is added to every vault deposit.

Chi - The city made famous the St. Valentines Day Massacre, it makes sense to me that any bonus should be in connection with shooting ranges. Either a cheaper cost, or a shorter training time would be the first things that come to mind.

LA - Obviously, famous for the glitz and glam of Hollywood, LA was the city in which entrepreneurial Mobsters pumped money into the businesses and made their fortunes; so any business in LA should receive more points than the same business in any other city. I know I know, this is the weakest suggestion of all - but I'm sure someone can come up with better.


Pros
-  I feel the idea is pretty solid and further enhances the position of Godfather, though I realise someone may come up with some better suggestions for the actual bonuses.
-  Better value for Jbs. Sounds daft but with a scenario as this, people are going to be spread across all cities, so it's less likely you'll feel jipped when you spend a credit in LA and only 70 some people get thrown in.

Cons
- The difficulty of coding this could be a big issue.
- Making all cities 'equal' could create a fair amount of stagnancy. We've seen many times in the past Leaders starting wars to stake a claim to another city, if no leader had a reason to ever move city, it could create a whole lot of boredom

If you've anything to add, please just brainstorm away - this is a pretty ad hoc thread, and I'll probably have more to add myself when I think further on it.

Cheers in Advance for any feedback,
Sprozz

I like this idea very much. It is indeed needed to spread the wealth of benefits among the cities so each spot has its own unique distinction.

I don't think there will be much stagnancy by this. There will always be people willing to take over a city even if it's not the city of their dreams. So there will always be somebody willing to move.

I love it, and I sincerely hope that this is given due consideration.

love it brilliant idea

Awesome idea, very well thought out well done.

This is a really amazing idea. I hope to see it go into affect in some way.

I still believe that this idea deserves serious consideration.

This is definitley an addition that this game could use and it would be great. But I think that if there are city bonuses then they should be fair and not give one city a better one than another. So this idea should definitley be considered.

wow..its been awhile sept. 06 the date of the post..and now, no admin response??

P.S. :another great idea noah keep em coming..

About the LA thing, what about, how about the illegal immigration from Mexico? Could cheaper bodyguards be in order?

I think cheaper bodyguards would be too playing-field altering, unless it was a very small price reduction, in which case it would be a pointless bonus.

I think, with the addition of the MRSE, natives of LA could enjoy more benefits from the MRSE - maybe discounted share prices, or reduced cooling off periods between buying/selling? Something to consider either way.

I like this idea, as long as it's not used as a workaround for leaving Detroit as the default city.

Speaking of default cities and city sign up, I hear there is a very nice suggestion here: http://mafiareturns.com/comm/thread/64723

~T~

This is still excellent, by the way. Has it been given any consideration?

This seems to be a well worked and thought out suggestion and it looks good on paper too i hope it gets the attention it deserves  !!

FYI Chicago has/had a major harbor via Lake Michigan and a major, almost essential railway. Maybe 10% more drugs in the pocket than the prescribed amount because of rank?

I have always been up for giving each city a bonus, in fact, I believe it used to be that way. I do not see this suggestion creating stagnancy in the game, for if a Godfather/Mother decides they want the bonus of a different city, they are very likely to try to take it.

Admin response please?

Thank you for replying Squishy!

Alexander does a happy dance

Chi - No Bonus

It's been rumored, though I suppose never confirmed in any sort of reality(save for the masses of hitters starting there...) that it gives a slight boost to your wack skill, as it's also rumored NY does for Defense. Of course these aren't exactly tangible, but nonetheless... Great idea.