Quoted from SkitBPinball:Completely off-topic, but this is my favorite "plate quote." It's something of a shop-joke around here, as well. Many times when something in the software doesn't work as intended, I'll go back over to my desk and implement what I think a fix for it would be. If it gets to the point where I've tried like three or four things and it's still acting up, I slouch and kind of 'crawl' out of my chair while lumbering towards the machine to test it again repeating "I'm gonna have me some fun" just like Mac does in the movie. We may be a lot of things over here, but admittedly, we're nerds first...
It's true I've seen it myself, might even have done it myself a couple of times.
Quoted from SkitBPinball:In short, no. We had a representative of the company come out to my home to talk about the project and what they could do. When he took a look at Shadow (my cleanest game), he pointed at the playfield and said "that's what I do." The best part was that he immediately noticed the sanctum wear (of course) and pointed out not only why that happened, but how his exact process would disallow such a thing. And yes, it's seriously a military grade process. When we went to pick up our prototype blank with the test application, we legally weren't allowed to enter the building further than the entrance doors and we had to sit with designated security personnel while we waited. Not to say it wasn't a pleasurable experience; everyone was very nice and professional, but it was certainly a 'different' day...
I was present both times we met with the suppliers who we have in mind for applying the playfield art and protective covering. Not only was I impressed with the reps enormous knowledge base but also with his ability to think outside the box and basically get down and nerdy with us about the project. When we went to have the prototype whitewood for the Chicago Expo covered we were led into an antechamber and told that without background checks through the federal government that we could go no further due to the fact that the same technology that is covering our playfield is also used in military applications i.e. tanks, missiles, planes, and pretty much all other kinds of badassery. Definitely an interesting day and so far no matter how we abuse it it's holding up with absolutely NO wear marking whatsoever. The adhesives being used to adhere the protective covering are to say the least high tech and have been rigorously field tested. If not in pinball machines, at least in much harsher environments. The joke that day was that this stuff was made to withstand biohazard threats, warfare, and small explosions. I doubt the rest of The Predator would survive one, but at least the playfield will still rock. As far as the art on the playfield that is being digitally applied/printed directly to the playfield itself.
-Steven Woods
Build Manager - SKIT - B Pinball