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Mafia

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Mafia
Mafia cover
Developers
Illusion Softworks
Publishers
Retail Gathering of Developers
Digital 2K Games
Engines
LS3D
Release dates
Windows August 28, 2002
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Mafia guide on StrategyWiki
Mafia on Wikipedia
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Mafia
Mafia 2002
Mafia II 2010
Mafia III 2016
Mafia II: Definitive Edition 2020
Mafia: Definitive Edition 2020

Key points

Licensed music tracks have been removed from the digital versions.[1] See Restore original music (digital version).

General information

MafiaScene.com - Game fan site
GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
GOG.com Support Page
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
 SafeDisc v2 DRM[Note 1]
Windows
Amazon.com
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Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg
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Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Windows
Green Man Gaming
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Windows
Humble Store
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Windows
Steam
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Windows
SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
A demo version is available.

Essential improvements

Patches

Patch 1.3 updates the game to the latest version. Some sources list this patch as version 1.2.

Increase draw distance

Increase the draw distance via the widescreen patch[citation needed]
  1. Install Mafia Widescreen Fix.
  2. Open Mafia.WidescreenFix.ini.
  3. Set New Distance to a high value (e.g. 1000).

Skip intro videos

Delete logos[citation needed]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>
  2. Delete all files starting with logo

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Illusion Softworks\Mafia\[Note 2]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/40990/pfx/[Note 3]
Stored as binary

Save game data location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\savegame\[Note 4]
Steam Play (Linux) <Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/40990/pfx/[Note 3]

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video settings

External options menu.
External options menu.
In-game audio/video settings.
In-game audio/video settings.

Template:Video settings

Widescreen resolution

The game supports multiple aspect ratios and arbitrary resolutions, but has stretched HUD elements outside 4:3.
Ultra-widescreen resolutions have HUD issues, misplaced subtitles and left aligned cutscenes by default.[4]
Use Mafia Widescreen Fix[citation needed]
Contains additional options such as draw distance tweaking and FPS limiter

Field of view (FOV)

Changing FOV[5]
  1. Download MafiaDataXtractor.
  2. Extract MISSIONS data with MafiaDataXTractor (place in the installation folder).
  3. Download BScriptView and download MSVBVM50.DLL from this page.
  4. Put MSVBVM50.DLL and the included .OCX files in same folder as BSV6.exe.
  5. Load each scene2.bin file in all folders in <path-to-game>\MISSIONS with BScriptView.
  6. Add camera_setfov XX to the GameInitEnd script (replace XX with your chosen value).

Notes

70 files need to be edited, and not all of them are named GameInitEnd. Some files are named GameInitStart etc.
Pre-edited scene2.bin files with different values are available from WSGF entry.

Borderless fullscreen windowed

Run in borderless fullscreen[citation needed]
  1. Install Mafia Widescreen Fix.
  2. Create blank wndmode.ini in <path-to-game>.

High frame rate

Remove 63 FPS cap[citation needed]
  1. Install Mafia Widescreen Fix.
  2. Open Mafia.WidescreenFix.ini.
  3. Change FPS Limit = 0 to the desired frame rate (e.g. FPS Limit = 120).

Input settings

In-game control settings.
In-game control settings.
In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.

Template:Input settings

Controller support

Some users have reported success with using an Xbox 360 Controller but there are often issues with the use of the thumb-sticks.[6] This can be fixed by using a program such as antimicro to rebind controls, using the D-Pad to steer, and disabling the thumb-sticks.

Audio settings

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Czech
French
German
Italian
Polish
Russian
Retail only. Patch for digital release here.
Spanish

Issues fixed

Shadow flickering

Use the ENBSeries DX8 to DX9 converter[7]
  1. Download ENBSeries DX8 to DX9 converter v0.036.
  2. Extract the downloaded package to the installation folder.
Set ingame shadows to Very Low[citation needed]

Restore original music (digital version)

Licensed music tracks have been removed from the digital versions.[1]
Restore original music (simple install)[8]
For those who don't have the original version installed
  1. Download this package.
  2. Extract the SOUNDS folder to the installation folder.
Restore original music (manual install)[8]
The following requires a copy of the original version
  1. Install the digital version and CD version of Mafia.
  2. Download MafiaDataXtractor.
  3. Copy MafiaDataXtractor.exe to the CD version's installation folder.
  4. Open MafiaDataXtractor.exe and select ab.dta - Music from the list. Wait for the program to extract .ogg files.
  5. When extracting is finished, copy the SOUNDS folder to the GOG.com version's installation folder.

Game crashes on startup (GOG.com)

Set Fullscene antialiasing to "OFF" in setup.exe[citation needed]
MSAA can be forced in the graphics card control panel.

In-game settings are not saved correctly in Windows 10

In Windows 10 settings are loaded from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Illusion Softworks\Mafia
The config launcher correctly saves in this location but the in-game settings are stored in: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Illusion Softworks\Mafia
Copy over registry value[citation needed]
  1. Make your desired changes via the config launcher and save
  2. Start the game and make your desired changes in the in-game settings and save and exit
  3. From the start menu, run the Command Prompt as administrator
  4. For Windows 10 x64 with no compatibility options enabled; paste the following and click enter: 
    REG COPY "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Illusion Softworks\Mafia" "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Illusion Softworks\Mafia" /s /f
  5. Start the game normally. Repeat the steps again after changing any in-game settings


  • *UPDATE* Topic needs updating detailing the different registry paths for x86 Windows 10 and the different paths used by running mafia in compatibility mode (Windows XP, Windows 7, etc). For Windows 10 x64 with Windows XP SP2 compatibility mode? (Please verify the compatbilty mode used for this) try entering the following : 
    REG COPY "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Illusion Softworks\Mafia" "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Illusion Softworks\Mafia" /s /f

Red blocks/black lines on screen

Example of the issue
Example of the issue
Change rendering method[9]
  1. Open <path-to-game>\Setup.exe
  2. Click on 'Open expert settings...'.
  3. Select 'Multipass rendering' rather than 'Hardware Transform&Lighting'.

Game always runs with default settings (Steam)

Non-English Steam versions of the game have a bugged settings launcher whereby adjusting options has no effect, with Mafia always running with default values. In some cases, this has also led to Mafia not running.
Swap game language[10]
  1. Set Mafia's language in Steam to English
  2. Wait until download is complete
  3. Start Settings launcher
  4. Select desired settings
  5. Save and exit launcher
  6. Set Mafia's language in Steam to your desired option
  7. Wait until download is complete
  8. Start the game - it should run in your desired language with your desired settings

Error 4205 Generic

Download the freeware Indeo codec[11]
Input your actual screen resolution and refresh rate in the Setup launcher[12]
Set Fullscene antialiasing to "OFF" in setup.exe[citation needed]
MSAA can be forced in the graphics card control panel.

Error 4214 Unsupported

Install DirectPlay[13]
Copy SysWOW64\dpnhpast.dll to <path-to-game>\dpnhpast.dll[citation needed]
If you don't have such dll in your SysWOW64, install DirectX.

Error 8815 Generic

Input your actual screen resolution and refresh rate in the Setup launcher[14]

Exploding Celeste/Bridge Bombing Zeppelin frame rate bug

The Free Ride Extreme missions Exploding Celeste and Bridge Bombing Zeppelin are bugged at higher frame rates, causing the bombs to explode earlier than usual.
Limit the frame rate to 10-15 FPS[15]
This will allow the explosions to go off at a normal rate.

No fullscreen mode on Windows 10

Run in borderless fullscreen[citation needed]

See Borderless fullscreen windowed.

Game doesn't launch, only opens setup (Steam)

On 64-bit systems, the game writes the configuration in the wrong path of the registry
Copy over registry value[16]
  1. Make your desired changes via setup and save
  2. Copy the following: 
    REG COPY "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Illusion Softworks\Mafia" "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Illusion Softworks\Mafia" /s /f
  3. From the start menu, run the Command Prompt as administrator
  4. Right-click in the Command Prompt window, choose paste, then press ↵ Enter
  5. Start the game normally. Repeat the steps again after changing anything via setup or game

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 8
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Cutscenes Bink Video 1.5p

Modifications

Footpath & Road Mod

Changes roads, sidewalks and parking textures to be better and more realistic. Requires MafiaDataXtractor to extract maps folder to Mafia folder.

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 98 ME, XP
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium III 500 MHz Intel Pentium III 700 MHz
System memory (RAM) 96 MB 128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 1.8 GB
Video card (GPU) 32 MB of VRAM
DirectX 8.1 compatible

Notes

  1. ↑ SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[2] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[3]
  2. ↑ Applications writing to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE will be redirected to other locations based on various criterias, see the glossary page for more details.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/40990/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (40990) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.
  4. ↑ When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

References