Hey everyone! We’re excited to share a major new feature with you: we've just implemented a police and justice system that will bring a whole new layer of realism and strategy to the game. You’ll need to carefully manage your criminal operations, as law enforcement investigations and trials are now a constant threat. Here’s a detailed breakdown of how this new system works and how it will impact your gameplay:
🔍 Police Attention and Secret Investigations
Every crime your mafia family commits increases the level of police attention. Once the attention reaches a certain threshold, the police will secretly launch an investigation into the most active members of your organization. Up to four of your most notorious members could be under scrutiny.
- The number of members investigated depends on the scale of your criminal activity—the more aggressive you are, the higher the chance that multiple members will be under investigation.
- The investigation lasts one in-game year, after which the police will carry out a raid.
🚨 The Raid: Arrests and Seizures
Once the investigation concludes, the police will conduct a raid. All members under investigation will be arrested and sent to Randall’s Island Prison.
- Lost Zones: If any of the arrested members were controlling a zone, that territory will be lost and will revert to neutral status, open for other families to seize.
- Money Seized: Along with the arrests, the police will confiscate a portion of your dirty money. The amount seized depends on how many members were arrested—the more arrests, the greater the financial loss.
💼 Legal Expenses: Play Your Cards in Court
Once your made men are arrested, you’ll have to make a critical decision: how much are you willing to invest in legal defense to save them?
- At this stage, you’ll be prompted to decide how much you want to spend on lawyers. The more you invest, the higher the chances your men will be acquitted at trial.
- Legal expenses scale with the number of arrested members—if several men are arrested, you’ll need to invest more to increase your chances of success.
⚖️ The Trial: Discover the Fate of Your Men
One month after the raid, the trial will take place, and you’ll learn the fate of your arrested men.
- If you’ve invested enough in legal defense, there’s a chance they’ll be acquitted. In this case, your men will return to the family, and you’ll recover the seized money. However, any zones lost during the arrests will remain neutral and must be reconquered.
- If the defense fails, your men will be convicted. Once convicted, they’ll spend the rest of their lives in prison and will no longer be available to manage the family’s operations.
👤 The Risk of Informants: Betrayal from Within
There’s another risk to consider. During the investigation, one of your men might turn informant and cooperate with the police.
- The chance of betrayal depends on the wiseguy tax: the higher the tax, the more likely it is that one of your men will break under pressure and cooperate with law enforcement.
- If one of your men becomes an informant, their testimony will be damning: all arrested members will be convicted without exception. But you won’t know if there’s an informant until the trial, adding a layer of tension and uncertainty.
🏢 Special Buildings: Police Station and Prison
This is where two key buildings come into play: the Police Station and the Prison.
- Police Station: If you control the local police station, you’ll be able to gather intelligence on ongoing investigations. This allows you to find out which family members are under investigation and, by bribing corrupt officers, you can even learn the identity of an informant (if there is one). Knowing in advance who’s betraying you can be critical to your strategy.
- Prison: If you discover that one of your men has turned informant, controlling the prison becomes essential. You’ll be able to attempt to eliminate the informant before they testify against you. However, this is a risky move—if the assassination attempt fails, police attention on your family will increase significantly, leading to further investigations and arrests.
- Courtroom: Owning it, you are going to have a bonus on acquitted chances.
🗣️ We Want Your Feedback!
This new police and justice mechanic adds a fresh layer of challenge to managing your mafia family. You’ll need to carefully balance your criminal activities, keep an eye on law enforcement, and plan how to defend your men if things go south.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on this new system! Do you have any suggestions, adjustments, or improvements you'd like to see? Let us know your feedback and ideas—your input is crucial in making the game even more engaging and strategic!
Thank you, as always, for your support!
The Development Team