Bear with me - it's a big one.  A series of suggestions with one central aim - to give each rank something 'special', and to give users different choices and paths they may wish to take. I realise a few of these features will be a long way away, if they are ever integrated, but I just wanted some feedback!

1. Pickpocketing/Mugging

The new graverobbing feature got me thinking about this. In reality, pickpocketing was a petty ol' crime. Mugging, by comparison, would really be undertaken by someone with the clout to get away with it. Therefore, my suggestion is to limit pickpocketing to Wise Guy and below and (when it eventually goes live) Mugging should be limited to those above made.

2. HQ Purchase

HQ's are only purchasable at Made to highlight the significance of the rank. Now we have the sponsor scheme, these is no longer appropriate. HQ's should be purchasable at Boss. I challenge anyone to find a reason against this other than 'MADE MAN IS HOW IT'S ALWAYS BEEN'. Boss can now be achieved in 17 days, ranking is undisputably easier. And realistically - at made you recieve the ability to buy an HQ, you are able to start an MUC, sponsor an associate, gain a new felony. These are only the coded advantages. It's worth mentioning the increased respect and remit you receive from a userbase point of view too. In contrast, after this promotion you will receive 1 new felony and 2 new MUC's. Yay.

3. Associates are for Made Men. 

This one will probably be contentious given how underused the Associate/Sponsor system already is, but eh.  In the mob, associates worked for made guys because the made guys acted as a buffer. That way, if an associate squealed - the made guy got sent down, rather than someone essential to the running of the family like a capo - or worse! RP wise, it's ridiculous to have the 'really' higher ranked members sponsoring associates. Even if a Capo, for instance, wanted to talk to an associate, he'd do it through a made guy rather than directly. The only counter argument I can see here is that it might well have a detrimental effect on user numbers.

4. What about the Capos?

Bosses get HQ's, Made guys get associates...what about the poor old Capos? :( Well; how about they get the made men? That's how it worked after all, Capos had a small band of made men; and the associates came under that.

People will argue that coded subcrews will ruin RP, I say the opposite. A separate coded forum will surely lead to more integration and RP within each capo's crew - surely? So; if the above are implemented we now have Capos running a band of made men, thus preparing them for any leadership role should they be promoted to Boss.

I admit the cons are varied and numerous. It would be extremely difficult to code. It would arguably make the game overly complex, especially for newer members. Again, from an ease of use standpoint - this way of doing things would make Crewleaders jobs harder, a modicum (cum lol) of organisation and management would be required. But too much? To the extent that it would take away the fun? I don't know.

On the plus side, I think that this would make for a much richer tapestry. Look at most of the successful cd-rom type games out there now, a good majority offer the option of freedom and multiple paths. The same is arguably true here, but in terms of code there is only one real way to progress in my opinion. This would change that and give users even more freedom. It's long been argued that more features = less freedom. Not so. In this particular scenario, even if only *some* of the ideas were implemented, users still have the freedom of open ended roleplay in addition to the freedom of 'choosing' a different path.

I understand these ideas may be considered radical to some, and I obviously would massively appreciate feedback and constructive criticism, but if the only thing you have to say is 'This never happened on org' or 'This game is a tribute' or any of that gubbins then you can pop it up your bum; this game has quite clearly deviated from the original message of being a mafia.org recreation and I personally think it's time that the idea of it being a tribute was abandoned fully so we can move forward; as at the moment the game is straddled between being something new and something old - and the compromise is less appealing to both demographics in my opinion.

THANKS FOR READING GUYS

P.S. Sorry if this is garbled, I wrote it at work and haven't really had a chance to thoroughly proofread.

1. Pickpocketing/Mugging

I've always been vocal about my issue with limiting things to below a rank, I just don't see the reality in it. It's not like we forget how to do something just because someone respects you more. I do see peoples reasoning behind it, but yea. On the other hand, I do see limiting things until you reach a certain rank. So I do agree that mugging should be limited to above made.

2. HQ Purchase

The issue I have with this is that it forces reliance on sponsors. This is a very minimally used feature currently. The idea has got some thought to it, and isn't to be dismissed entirely, but I don't see it working in the near future. I do agree fully that we give too much to the Made Men right off the bat. We flood them with new features. Limiting more things to higher ranks will give more reason to rank.

3. Associates are for Made Men.

I see your logic in this, but it would severely limit the capabilities of a family to grow, especially coupled with the idea of HQ purchases that you expressed directly before. If we gave each made a percentage of invites to send based on the HQ size, this might be different, then we would force all invites to be sent by made men, effectively allowing them to sponsor 100% of the under made members.

4. What about the Capos?

I've always been a great supporter of the Captains idea, and I really would love to see them fully realized. It's been talked about so much, but I'm not sure what anybody else feels about the idea. Like I said, I'd love to see it. Using the Sponsor/Associate logic, I'm not sure it would be all that difficult.

To do what you are suggesting, it would mean that the money in the family would be forced to fall into a "trickle up" effect.

Associate earns for Sponsor earns for Capo earns for Underboss earns for Crewleader. It's like a pyramid. One CL, one or two Underbosses, 2 or 3 each Capos for the underbosses, unlimited made for the capos, unlimited associates for the made (limits would be on HQ size alone)

Is this what you're suggesting? Or am I slightly off track?

It's not like we forget how to do something just because someone respects you more.

The same could be said about graverobbing.

Die_Clause isn't afraid of visiting a few corpses in the middle of the night just because he's a Consigliere now.

1. Pickpocketing/Mugging

No no no no no no. Correct me if I'm wrong, but pickpocketing was introduced to be an almost entirely harmless alternative to mugging. Pickpocketing is a quick way to pick up insignificant (for any mafioso who has been in business for more than a day) pocket money and to be able to test yourself and potentially rub a friend's nose in it. Whereas mugging is an attack in which someone gets their ass kicked and most of their bankroll stolen.

Two totally, totally different things that should not be mutually exclusive. This would be like saying "Well, Wise Guys below should be able to mug, and Made Men should be able to wack".

2. HQ Purchase

This, I love. I'm behind it 100%. I mean, there's really no distinction in rank right now between a Made Man and a Consigliere... a Don, even. Truly, when you own your own HQ you're almost certainly filling the role of a "boss" in some sense. I think this would be an excellent addition that would bring a lot of positive elements, with no good argument against it other then "But wait, it's always been like THIS!"

3. Associates are for Made Men.

I hate this. I hate this as much as I loved #2. Maybe more. If you're doing this, you're essentially destroying the associate/sponsor system. You say it's underused- I say it just takes time. I know for a fact that there are at least a few crews out there that have heavily integrated the associate system into their overall organization. This suggestion epic sucks.

4. What about the Capos?

I don't really see the need for this, to be honest. If you're making the "multiple paths" option, I would tend towards GingeAle's "career focus" concept.

Here's an easy compromise, though. Made Men get 1 associate. Capos get 2. Eh? I just don't see anything positive with coding in captains/subcrews. If people were still running around with 300 person crews, then sure, do it up. But we're at the point where a CL should be able to know all of their members if they so choose. And if they don't so choose, then what's wrong with roleplaying the appointing and running of a caporegime?

To review:

1: Blows so, so much. 2: Is ridiculously good and should be implemented immediately. 3: THIS IS A ROLLER COASTER OF EMOTION BECAUSE THIS IDEA SUCKS SO BAD. 4: Meh. Why?

I think we need to Impliment 2, 3, and 4.... immediately.