Mafia Discussion Thread: Calling Each Other Idiots in the Name of Fun

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Mafia Discussion Thread: Calling Each Other Idiots in the Name of Fun

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EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

Modding A Game: Dos and Don'ts and What Am I Even Doing

So you want to mod a game of mafia! The most important thing to know is the basics: how the mechanics of different roles work and how they affect each other in tandem. For instance, a Cop is a standard town role, as well as a Doctor. But if the Cop claims, the Doctor can protect the Cop while the Cop investigates and clears players, meaning the Mafia can only stop the Cop once they find and stop the Doctor! This makes the game a lot harder for the Mafia than the moderator might have otherwise intended. However, giving the Mafia a Roleblocker or Godfather are helpful ways to organize the game so that, in case the Cop and Doc team up, the Mafia aren't left totally high and dry.

Ultimately you want a game that's balanced: a game where everyone has an equal chance of winning the game through roles alone, meaning players win or lose based solely on luck and skill. General pointers and balancing strategies:

The Mafia are always at an inherent advantage over the town because they alone already know everyone's alignment and have a team of players upon whom to rely. One Goon should be considered the equivalent of 2 or 3 Vanilla Townies for balancing purposes.
It can be tempting to fill your game with plenty of roles and powers, but doing so makes the game a lot more chaotic, making it that much harder to keep a game balanced.
Beware roles working in tandem; the above Cop-Doc combo is one example, but a Watcher-Doc combo can be even more devastating for the Mafia without the proper counters.
It is common practice to give the Mafia a role to dodge each town power role: a Roleblocker against a Doctor, a Godfather against a Cop, etc. Be careful with this however, since if you essentially nullify all the town's power roles, the Mafia - with their inherent advantage over the town - will steamroll the game.
Ask yourself: "what if everything goes absolutely right for the town. How quickly would the game be over? What if for the scum?" If your answer is "the game could end before Day 3," your setup is probably not balanced. Dumb down some of the power roles or take a mafioso or two away.
Also try to avoid a game that "plays itself." It's hard to describe what that is precisely, but it's easy to describe what it's not. Player agency should be tantamount: the game should be decided based on what the players do, the alliances they form, the posts they make and the cases they produce. If a game lacks agency - if players are just following roles to their inevitable conclusions - it's a less fun game.
Finally, don't be afraid to experiment! Especially if you're a newer mod, people will be very forgiving if you make an imbalanced game, even more so if they had a lot of fun playing it. Without experimentation games get dull and repetitive. But the best game is one that has new elements combined with solid, predictable balance, and a healthy number of vanilla townies round out the setup.

If you are someone interested in running a setup by an experienced set of eyes, feel free to message any of the following mafia players, who have in the past been more than willing to offer advice and guidance:

- Retro Futurist
- CapitalistPig
- Asiina
- MMM Whatchya Say
- eccotheraven

Good luck!!

=============

here's a permanent discord link
https://discord.gg/yPuEJgX

EccoRaven fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Jun 20, 2017

# ¿ Jul 4, 2015 23:52

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 03:33

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

I am the best

# ¿ Jul 4, 2015 23:53

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

Met posted:

Ecco, since you have the first and last post in the last thread, mind tossing some links on either end of the thread to this one?

I edited my last post with the link.

Also I am gonna edit my (personally hilarious but objectively inappropriate) third-post sniper with something substantive.

# ¿ Jul 4, 2015 23:56

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

Dexanth posted:

I am going to say hi and then disappear for another year that sounds fun

Counterpoint: sign up for my game I just opened a few days ago it needs one player.

Also mafia thread! If you are someone who wants to field questions from newer players about modding games, post here or send me a PM saying as such and I will add you to my newly-updated third-post-sniper post about modding!

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 00:18

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

I invite people to join me for an "America" themed evening in the DJ room, and to update your spots on the Mafia Map! I know I'm not where I was a year ago, and have updated it appropriately.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 00:40

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

snip

EccoRaven fucked around with this message at 09:03 on Mar 27, 2020

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 01:05

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

Kumbamontu posted:

The Last Airbender

I can attest that it is actually as bad if not worse than everyone says it is. I would say The Village is better.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 02:10

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

BottleKnight posted:

Good games:

- Gone Home
- Stanley Parable
- Sunless Sea

:regd08:

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 05:19

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

snip

EccoRaven fucked around with this message at 09:03 on Mar 27, 2020

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 07:10

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

snip

EccoRaven fucked around with this message at 09:03 on Mar 27, 2020

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 09:52

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

Somberbrero posted:

it was in headhunters. which, you know, not a great episode really.

Oh he was Sherlock Holmes, cool.

I like Gravity Falls but more so than the other "shows for children that adults watch" it seems definitely on the "for children" side of things. I'm sure that's mostly a Disney thing though.

I like the ciphers at the end of each episode, too, they're easy but also fun.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 10:01

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

snip

EccoRaven fucked around with this message at 09:04 on Mar 27, 2020

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 11:47

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

snip

EccoRaven fucked around with this message at 09:04 on Mar 27, 2020

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 19:42

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

uranus posted:

unless god is some neckbeard looking over the simulation we're living in. that would make sense

you read too many science fictions!!

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 19:54

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

Counterpoint: modern art is actually good. Like all art forms there are better and worse examples slash artists.

Nobody says painting is bad because of Kinkade.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 21:15

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

snip

EccoRaven fucked around with this message at 09:04 on Mar 27, 2020

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 23:00

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

if anyone here is a true american but isn't watching the our soccer team destroying Japan in the women's world cup final, I question how true your americanism is.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2015 00:15

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

uranus posted:

i'm at work. is there a stream that isnt some stupid amount of money

google.com probably has one.

WHICH WAY MADNESS posted:

All nationalism is stupid and divisive. World sports is just televised nationalism.

ok don't cut yourself on that edge there

Amoeba102 posted:

Holy poo poo, a hattrick in 16 minutes.

"first half onslaught" is what Fox Sports just called it.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2015 00:50

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

JakeP posted:

i need a mafia game

JJ's game needed a replacement a few days ago.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2015 03:46

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

All of these posts are bad and I am an expert on bad posts.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2015 20:03

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

BottleKnight posted:

I'm watching Steven Universe on Hulu. It owns.

Yeah. Be sure to watch it in the proper order:

http://theworldofstevenuniverse.blogspot.com/p/steven-universe-season-1-english.html

# ¿ Jul 6, 2015 22:13

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

uranus posted:

what is the best show on earth. i would like anew show but i only watch the best show ever made

my so-called life is really good.

# ¿ Jul 6, 2015 22:51

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

snip

EccoRaven fucked around with this message at 09:04 on Mar 27, 2020

# ¿ Jul 6, 2015 23:29

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

snip

EccoRaven fucked around with this message at 09:04 on Mar 27, 2020

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 03:13

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

Max posted:

Christ, people though I was as serious as grondemar?

it's a really stupid chart don't worry about it. it would have been forgotten already were it not for someone(?) bringing it up every so often for some reason (???? mysteries)

Pinterest Mom posted:

Oh man it's almost as if having a new thread is less intimidating for people to post in.

and in a month we'll be at page 100 something anyway.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 03:19

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

Byers2142 posted:

It's not still about 75% scum wins? When did town start picking it up?

Of the past 20 minigames and 10 big games listed on the wiki, 14 of them are town wins. Recently there have been more town wins than in the past but the general trend holds up.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 17:02

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

the problem with the wiki isn't really editing privileges (though that's certainly a problem whose solution is to cause twelvebaud to reappear into existence), the problem is lazy people who don't want to put in any effort once their game finishes. This has always been the case and will continue always being the case unless something fundamentally changes.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 17:28

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

JakeP posted:

would be a good start

not really.

in previous Discussion Threads before I lost all the fucks I would have to post every month or so reminding people to add their games to the list. the problem is :effort:

and has always been.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 17:53

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

CapitalistPig posted:

We need a wiki thats private like the one that exists that still had some sort of ability for sa mafia members to sign up in order to edit it, thats the main problem is that for some reason the one we have is unable to take signups for whatever reason.

The current wiki had a massive spambot problem (something like a dozen new spam accounts a day who would edit the most popular pages with their spam), so Twelvebaud decided to close registration so he could install new Captcha software or whatever, but unfortunately Twelvebaud disappeared off the face of the earth about the same time. As far as I know there is no way to get in touch with him to transfer ownership over to someone else.

JakeP posted:

I think if people had the ability to add their games they would

unfortunately you're wrong!

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 17:56

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

JakeP posted:

We could just make a new wiki and copy all the content over

this is a solution.

GUISSEPPE PIZZAPIE posted:

Guys, the old wiki is all ecco has left now that Asiina is the OP. Give her just this one thing.

the wiki is Important but I don't own it, The Community does abstractly and Twelvebaud does literally.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 17:59

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

JakeP posted:

Most game results do get posted to this thread though

I don't think this is accurate either. However your 15% estimate is actually close to truth, I just went through the last two pages of the New Game Announcement Thread and cross-referenced it with the wiki it's pretty abysmal.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 18:09

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

CapitalistPig posted:

because people who have access to the wiki dont read through every single post and obsessively make sure they have every game?

former mafia player Tagov actually used to do just that, and I did too for a while (again back when I cared). it's tedious though.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 18:13

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

JakeP posted:

the issue is not enough people have access to the wiki

you can say this as many times as you like and while it's a problem the effect it has on "Games Added to Wiki Percentage" is minimal at best and negligible at worst.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 18:14

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

JakeP posted:

You saying that is as speculative as me saying that if more people had rights it would be better.

except it's not!! I already said we've had wikis in the past that were easily editable and people still never added their games to it. the problem isn't the wiki being editable, it's people's effort/attention, and short of a massive community shift to rewarding good actors and punishing bad ones, it's just not going to happen.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 18:17

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

JakeP posted:

I have a feeling that it wouldn't be very difficult to allow votefinder to post completed games to the wiki

unsurprisingly you are not the first person to think this and unsurprisingly the answer is "it's actually way complicated."

Additionally it's worth reminding that it doesn't actually post anything to the wiki, what you see is just the result of elaborate (and very temporary) scripting.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 19:07

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

merk posted:

It would be incredibly easy if votefinder kept the master record of completed games instead of the wiki.

Technically it already does, but it doesn't actually sort properly for some reason. It also obviously lacks the game's result (or whether the game actually happened at all for the occasional dud that never gets off the ground).

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 19:18

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

JakeP posted:

In the end game screen it could be an option to enter who won

there already is :v:

again the problem is lack of effort.

merk posted:

These are easily fixable issues I'd think.

if it is nobody has taken the effort to do so.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 19:23

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

Kumbamontu posted:

I have no idea what it's coded in but that should be something pretty easy to add I'd think and I'd take a stab at it

e: it's in python and jquery

also program an option to require unvotes before revotes.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 20:11

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

BottleKnight posted:

I am now much more okay with getting really into Steven Universe now that I know it was just renewed for a 3rd season. I hate getting into a show right before it's cancelled. Not worth the risk!

if it's any help it's Cartoon Network's like second most popular show.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 23:26

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 03:33

EccoRaven: Aug 15, 2004; there is only one hell:
the one we live in now

Met posted:

Look at me, I'm so edgy I hate the thing everyone enjoys.

- mafiathread.txt

# ¿ Jul 7, 2015 23:48

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Mafia Discussion Thread: Calling Each Other Idiots in the Name of Fun

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