That's where this discussion always gets weird. The people who say "Dimples are normal" are half right...they are normal...but, to what extent? Some games it isn't that noticeable an those will smooth out over time. Sometimes though, new Sterns can look like wavy cratered mud. Those will never smooth out...that's just how those playfields will look. I don't know if it's soft wood or a certain type of clearcoat, but I know the difference between a "bad" dimpled playfield and a "normal" dimpled playfield. When someone posts a picture of a bad one, accept that they have a bad one...don't tell them it's just normal. These games are too expensive to accept poor playfields as normal.

Your premise is that every game dimples the same & smooths the same over time. This is not true.

-My local barcade had a lineup of a bunch of new-ish Sterns. Their TWD was BEYOND lumpy...the other games looked great. That was just the nature of THAT particular playfield. Not normal. I've seen other TWDs that look fine.

-My friend and I both got new STLE's around the same time. His looked like the lumpy TWD after about 100 plays. It was clearly a poor defective playfield. It would never smooth out. Mine got a few dimples, but generally looked smooth and glassy after the same amount of plays.

Not every playfield is equal. Sometimes dimples are "normal", sometimes they're not. I've seen games that flat out don't dimple (I had a beautiful WOF that looked like a sheet of glass). PF quality can be a crapshoot...if someone gets unlucky, let's not shame them as being newbs or complaining without merit.

Sorry, my real world experience is proof that it's not all the same. I know the difference between a lumpy cheese playfield and a glassy smooth playfield, and playfields that are somewhere in the middle.

Ok so this is a good example about the difference in dimples. When it’s really bad, you don’t need special light or angles. You just see it because it’s mega lumpy. For example, most of my games look glassy smooth in most situations - but with a bright light and certain angle, you can see the dimples. This is totally acceptable. However, when a game looks wavy and lumpy under any light or angle - that’s a different situation, not normal, and will not get better.

201286EB-1FBA-4EE2-9E38-8287127C8C16.jpeg

4CF4DDFC-47A7-4D1D-9DF1-B8D95D4B3E61.jpeg

6443EBB2-2791-4F3D-953F-A3828AB2AAA0.jpeg

72DB600F-F84D-4C79-99FD-7EB458C0131E.jpeg

C4E737CC-E8C4-4550-A6BD-CEC011E1CA9A.jpeg

E082C72B-0A20-428D-B778-B28D4928B1CE.jpeg

...and here’s an example of a bad lumpy playfield. This isn’t normal and will never smooth out:

17F3CA9A-97F1-423D-A409-EC34AD37C3DF (resized).jpeg

2F542B6D-D7AF-4E76-ADB3-0AE4E9FBDB14 (resized).jpeg

45E4DBB5-8FF3-4E59-B9C3-B35D14AABD03 (resized).jpeg

5A7F6E85-8CC8-4644-91D7-40E57D6F071C (resized).jpeg

9F21C128-3C01-4A23-9A21-831DE95057AE (resized).jpeg

Said it before...not all dimpling is equal. Williams dimpling is different than the way some modern games crater.

Go back a few pages and look at the pics I posted. There's normal dimples and crater dimples. Crater dimples will never smooth out.

It got cratered and then smoothed out before you noticed lol

I’ll play. Here’s my Tron. I’d call this “normal dimpling” as you don’t see it unless you’re really looking for it. Again I’ll post a picture of a cratered TWD. This is a different type of dimpling & should not be considered acceptable.

371883AC-8860-4D22-8760-E00E28BBFA97.jpeg854554E6-3658-4E6A-8080-EF0515C1ACFC.jpeg99CA72A8-7A2B-46E3-A1D6-9B32E42C96A9.jpegC296E296-EE01-406F-9306-0519B49F893A.jpeg
17C831D5-32C2-4C01-98E9-357F9A4A6956.jpeg

You're missing my point though.

There's Team "All Dimples are Normal", and they want to tell anyone who complains about crater dimples to stuff it.

There's reality: There are different types of dimpling, some is acceptable and some isn't. Some will smooth out over time, some won't.

I've seen and touched the lumpy games. There's NO WAY they will smooth out, EVER. You can't smooth out a playfield with a clay-like lump texture. Again LOOK at that TWD picture I posted...it's VASTLY different than other "normal dimple" games. It's on location surrounded by other games getting equal play. NONE of them look like that. Why can't you accept that SOME playfields are lemons?! Stop trying to gaslight people!!!

You have none that it will!!! Gaslighter!

Giant deep craters WILL NOT SMOOTH OUT. These types of defects are a RECENT phenomenon. Old games didn't have these types of deep cratering.

If I'm wrong, go find a lumpy clay cratered playfield, and make it smooth.

Yup. This is reality. These are facts. Playfields were generally better from the 2006-7 era, although they had more issues with color alignment back then...that issue seems to be gone now. The first time I saw full mushy cratering was on X-Men. Then on a STLE. Then on a TWDLE. Again - not on ALL modern pins...I've seen plenty of nice playfields on X-Mens & ST's & TWD's as well.

SOME playfields for SOME reason ARE mushy & crater easily and deep. Fact. They are DIFFERENT than playfields that do not exhibit this behavior.

Trust your eyes & don't let Vid GASLIGHT you!!!!!!!

Not really. Dimpling exists. Cratering exists. They are two different things. One is normal, the other is not.