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Mafia

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games

This page is for the original 2002 game. For the remake, see Mafia: Definitive Edition.

Mafia
Mafia cover
Developers
Illusion Softworks
Publishers
North America Gathering of Developers
Europe, Australia, New Zealand Take-Two Interactive
Brazil GreenLeaf
Brazil Tech Dealer
Poland Cenega
China SunTendy Interactive
Russia, CIS, Baltics 1C Company
Retail re-release Sold Out Software
Digital 2K Games
Engines
LS3D
Release dates
Windows August 29, 2002[1]
Reception
Metacritic 88
IGDB 63
Taxonomy
Monetization One-time game purchase
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Third-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Action, Adventure, Open world, Shooter, TPS
Vehicles Automobile
Art styles Realistic
Themes Interwar, North America
Series Mafia
Mafia on HowLongToBeat
Mafia on IGDB
Mafia guide on StrategyWiki
Mafia on MobyGames
Mafia on Wikipedia
Mafia
Mafia 2002
Mafia II 2010
Mafia III 2016
Mafia II: Definitive Edition 2020
Mafia: Definitive Edition 2020

Mafia is a singleplayer third-person action, adventure, open world, shooter and TPS game in the Mafia series.

General information

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]. Released on 3 CDs.
Windows
GOG.com
DRM-free
Windows
Steam
DRM-free after installation through Steam client (notes may include more details)
DRM-free when launched directly from the executable.
Windows
GamersGate (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Gamesplanet logo.svg (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Green Man Gaming (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Humble Store (unavailable)
Icon overlay.png
Windows
SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
A demo is available.

Essential improvements

Patches

Version 1.0 contains eye animations and car scratches that were later patched out for unknown reasons.[4][5] It also contains a sound bug (always set to surround sound regardless of your speaker settings), although it might be possible to fix it by using DirectSound3D restoration software.
The latest version is v1.2.[Note 2] Digital distributions are up-to-date.

Skip intro videos

Delete or rename video files[7]
  1. Go to <path-to-game>.
  2. Delete or rename all files starting with logo.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

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

Save game data location

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Mafia\savegame\[Note 4]
<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

External options menu. <path-to-game>\setup.exe
External options menu.
<path-to-game>\setup.exe
In-game video/audio settings.
In-game video/audio settings.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
Vert- on digital distribution version. HUD is stretched. Use Mafia Widescreen Fix.[8]
Multi-monitor
Use Mafia Widescreen Fix.[8]
Ultra-widescreen
Native Hor+ support on digital distribution version (strange because 16:9 is Vert-). HUD is correct but FMVs are 4:3 and aligned on left of screen. Use Mafia Widescreen Fix to correct.[8]
4K Ultra HD
Vert- on digital distribution version. HUD is stretched. Use Mafia Widescreen Fix.[8]
Field of view (FOV)
See the WSGF entry.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Use Mafia Widescreen Fix.[8]
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
2x or 4x FSAA. MSAA can be forced in the graphics card control panel.
High-fidelity upscaling
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Vsync and triple buffering are available. Use Mafia Widescreen Fix or D3D8to9 to work on Windows 10.[7]
60 FPS
120+ FPS
Frame rate is capped at 63 FPS. See High frame rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)

High frame rate

Use Mafia Widescreen Fix
  1. Install Mafia Widescreen Fix.
  2. Set desired FPS Limit in Mafia.WidescreenFix.ini.

Notes

High FPS causes several issues.
Cars have unusually good traction, this results in much relaxed steering than intended.
It can be almost impossible to fully park car at mission marker without turning its engine off (game still thinks it's moving).
NPCs can get stuck on any elevated surfaces e.g. sidewalks, stairs, this can break any mission with NPC companions and cause Trams to stay in one place waiting for passenger indefinitely.

Input

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

The game has refined Force Feedback support (options presented on screenshots).

Analog control when using SteamInput

By default, using SteamInput disables the game's native analog controller support by mapping joysticks using XInput.[citation needed]
Xidi translates XInput calls back to DirectInput, restoring analog functionality.
Use Xidi[citation needed]
  1. Download the latest release of Xidi (check getting started for prerequisites).
  2. Extract Win32\dinput.dll into <path-to-game>.

Audio

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Sound effects, Music, Vehicles, Voiceover.
Surround sound
5.1
Subtitles
Option to turn it on/off its located in "control" settings in "other" menu.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support
EAX 3.0.[11]
Royalty free audio
Retail copies contain non-royalty free audio; digital copies only contain royalty-free audio.[12] See Restore original music (digital versions).

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
Czech
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Retail release only.
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Retail release only, official translation by GreenLeaf.[13][14]
Brazilian Portuguese
Fan translation for retail English version by GameVicio (was made before GreenLeaf distribution), download.
Russian
Spanish
Ukrainian
Translated by Ukrainian enthusiasts (Andrulko, InKviZ), download. Registration on the site is required.

VR support

3D modes State Notes
vorpX
G3D
User created profile, requires dgVoodoo 2, see profile introduction.
Note: Profile may not work with the latest wrapper, in case of issues please report to the vorpx forum.

Issues fixed

Game doesn't start/Settings aren't saved

On 64-bit systems, the game may write the configuration to the wrong path of the registry.[15][16]
Use Mafia Widescreen Fix[8]
All registry settings will be saved to <path-to-game>/savegame/settings.bin.

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.

Flickering shadows

Use Mafia Widescreen Fix[17]
The fix is pre-configured to have D3D8to9 enabled.[18] May not help in all cases though.[19]
Use DirectX 8 to DirectX 9 translation layer[20]
  1. Download d3d8to9.
  2. Place d3d8.dll into <path-to-game>.
Use dgVoodoo 2

Controller deadzone issues

Use Mafia Widescreen Fix[8]
Deadzone for sticks can be adjusted in Mafia.GenericFix.ini.

No fullscreen mode on Windows 10

Use Mafia Widescreen Fix[8]
If windowed mode is selected in setup.exe, the game will launch borderless.

Free Ride Extreme frame rate bugs

The Exploding Celeste and Bridge Bombing Zeppelin missions have a bug that makes completion difficult when playing at a frame rate above 15-20 FPS.[21]
Limit frame rate to 15-20 FPS[22]
  1. Install Mafia Widescreen Fix.
  2. Open Mafia.WidescreenFix.ini.
  3. Change FPS Limit = 0 to FPS Limit = 15.

Red blocks/black lines on screen

Example of the issue
Example of the issue
Change rendering method[23]
  1. Open <path-to-game>\Setup.exe.
  2. Click on Open expert settings....
  3. Select Multipass rendering rather than Hardware Transform&Lighting.

Sky is corrupted

Change rendering method[24]
  1. Open <path-to-game>\Setup.exe.
  2. Click on Open expert settings....
  3. Select Hardware Transform&Lighting rather than Multipass rendering.

Error 4205 Generic

Register the Indeo codec; see Troubleshooting guide.[25]
Input your actual screen resolution and refresh rate in the Setup launcher[26]
Set Fullscene antialiasing to "OFF" in setup.exe[citation needed]
MSAA can be forced in the graphics card control panel.
Use DirectX 8 to DirectX 9 translation layer
  1. Download d3d8to9.
  2. Place d3d8.dll into <path-to-game>.

Error 4214 Unsupported

Fixed in the GOG.com version.[27]
Install DirectPlay[28]
Copy SysWOW64\dpnhpast.dll to <path-to-game>[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[29]

Low and unstable frame rate when sound is enabled

The issue may occur when the Sound checkbox in the Setup launcher is checked.
Use IndirectSound[7]
  1. Download and extract IndirectSound.
  2. Move the dsound.dll file to <path-to-game>.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 8.1
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Cutscenes Bink Video 1.5p

Increase draw distance

Use Mafia Widescreen Fix[8]
  1. Install Mafia Widescreen Fix.
  2. Open Mafia.WidescreenFix.ini.
  3. Set New Distance to a high value (e.g. 1000).

Restore original music (digital versions)

Licensed music tracks have been removed from the digital versions.[12]
All GOG.com copies are affected. Steam copies activated before November 2017 re-release keep licensed music as DLC.
Download audio files from the original game[30]
  1. Download the files from Archive.org.
  2. Unpack the files to <path-to-game> and overwrite when prompted.

Modifications

Mafia Water Shader Mod (updated) - Makes water reflect and refract on the city; there is also a simplified Fresnel effect.
Xbox Rain Droplets - Basic implementation of Xbox rain droplets from SkyGFX for other games.
Footpath & Road Mod - Changes roads, sidewalks and parking textures to be better and more realistic. Requires MafiaDataXtractor to extract maps folder to Mafia folder.
Mafia Community Modpack - Collection of carefully chosen graphic mods improving the game visuals, maintaining the game atmosphere.
Mafia Retextured - Changes textures to the higher quality counterparts, remade from the scratch, but retain the atmosphere of the original ones.
Busy Mod - More traffic, more pedestrians and therefore a more crowded city. Vehicles can now have passengers inside.
High quality characters mod - There are two types of character models in the game. Detailed, which we see in all cutscenes and the ordinary ones that we have the opportunity to admire during normal gameplay. The modification replaces those visible during the game with those visible in cutscenes.
Interface renovation - The modification improves the quality of fonts and the arrangement of some menu items. Polish language version of the game required (although it is possible that it also works with English) and patch 1.2
Updated interface - Interface textures created from scratch in high quality.

System requirements

Windows[31]
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 98, 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium III 500 MHz
AMD Athlon 500 MHz
System memory (RAM) 96 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 1.8 GB
Video card (GPU) 32 MB of VRAM
DirectX 8.1 compatible
Sound (audio device) DirectX 8.1 compatible
Other 16x CD-ROM/DVD drive
Windows 8 and above require DirectPlay. Windows XP 64-bit is not supported.


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. The patch installation program lists the version number as 1.3.[6]
  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. 4.0 4.1 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

  1. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Ships Mafia For The PC (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-06-04
  2. Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
  3. Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
  4. b0ys Essential Fixes mod for Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven - Mod DB - last accessed on 2023-07-07
  5. 5 Tips for Mafia 1 players - YouTube - last accessed on 2023-07-07
  6. Verified by User:Mystyle48 on 2023-10-29
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Verified by User:Orzelek303 on 2021-06-07
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 GitHub - ThirteenAG/WidescreenFixesPack: Widescreen fixes for old games - last accessed on 2021-06-07
  9. Mafia 1 Xbox 360 controller issues? - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
  10. Verified by User:Genesisbr on 2023-12-17
    Xbox Series X/S controller, wired.
  11. EAX Featured Game: Mafia - EAX.CREATIVE.COM - last accessed on May 2023
  12. 12.0 12.1 Release: Mafia - GOG.com (retrieved) - last accessed on 2023-10-30
  13. Novo Milênio, 24/12/2002 (archived)
  14. Big Box PC Games Brasil Wiki - last accessed on 2023-06-12
  15. mafia update · ThirteenAG/WidescreenFixesPack@0a25bf9 - last accessed on 9 June 2023
  16. can't start game - gfx settings menu keeps coming up for non-English versions - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
  17. Shadow Flickering Problems - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on May 2023
  18. Release Xbox Rain Droplets for Mafia · ThirteenAG/XboxRainDroplets · GitHub - last accessed on 2021-06-07
  19. [1] - last accessed on 2022-09-02
  20. Shadow Flickering Problems - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on May 2023
  21. Exploding Celeste (Mafia) | Mafia Wiki | Fandom
  22. Talk:Exploding Celeste (Mafia) | Mafia Wiki | Fandom
  23. Weird lines/colors - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
  24. Weird lines/colors - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)
  25. Mafia hlasi chybu - notebooky-forum.notebook.cz - last accessed on May 2023
  26. Mafia Error: Init error error: #4205 Generic... - ForumPlanet (retrieved)
  27. Mafia Error #4214 Unsupported, page 1 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on 2021-06-07
  28. Error: #4214 - Forum - GOG.com - last accessed on 9 June 2023
  29. error : #8815 Generic - Forum Bar Mafieuso - last accessed on 9 June 2023
  30. Verified by User:Jigen123 on 2023-05-10
  31. Mafia manual - last accessed on 2023-06-05