This is what it's all about, pretty much. We can take a salary, but it has to be documented and considered "reasonable" in comparison to the money flowing through the company, so while we will be able to survive, we won't be showing up to any shows with sexy foreign cars and slick suits or anything. My 15 year old American pickup truck and t-shirt-n-jeans will suit me just fine. For the people, by the people, I suppose...

Don't get me started on this one... The only reason I knew a bit about how non-profits work to begin with is because I saw a slew of commercials about the American Cancer Society and wondered, "If you're spending all your proceeds on cancer research, who the hell is paying for these commercials?" Well, a little Googling and statistic checking reveals that these "charities" use more than half of their "donations" to raise awareness of the organization (commercials & promotions) and to maintain the organization itself (pay people who work for them). We never claimed to be a charity, that's for sure, but the business model seems to work for us just fine. Even if we had a couple million dollars of profit sitting around, we would blow it on more manufacturing equipment and tools and stuff anyways, I'm sure

Just yours, Dan

You guys are insatiable! We're trying to get everything to fall into place for a really big update in video form, but it's taking a bit longer than we thought it would. We've added a couple things to the playfield and gotten the shots tweaked to where we think they are just about perfect, so that means yet another playfield swap. Gotta have this new prototype as close to production quality as possible before the show in Chicago next month so we can finally have a chance to show the game to the public without having to explain a bunch of future changes (ramps!) over the players' shoulders.

If I told you all of the changes we've made since the last time the game was out in the wild, this would look like the changelog section of a shareware readme.txt file, so I'll just hit the high notes for now.

Changes:
1. Balanced scoring issues across a few of the modes. Each mode, when completed properly, awards points within a 15-30M window of one another. This doesn't exactly apply to Unload or Reveal, which are more dependent on how they are played and how long they are active for their scores. As a refresher to newcomers to this thread, Unload is a mode which lasts 30 seconds with all 4 balls out on the field with unlimited ballsave and all shots on the field are worth their initial value +1,000,000pts. If played well, this mode usually nets between 95-145M. Novices seem to average closer to 50 or 60M or so. Reveal is handled a little differently now, which I will get into in a second.
2. Completing H-U-N-T inlanes and outlanes now adds four hunt attempts instead of one. One just simply wasn't enough. Game now starts with 4 attempts available at outset, as well, which I'm admittedly worried about but doesn't seem to have posed any balance issues just yet.
3. Hunt Multiball has been revamped in both scoring and playstyle. Previously, it would select a random shot and light it for 5 seconds then change to another shot. This required a level of control that I simply do not possess, and caused a lot of other players to become a little disappointed when they achieved the Hunt Multiball and didn't see much of a score increase afterwards. After the revamp, Hunt Multiball now selects a random shot (out of the two ramps or two loops, for a total of four possible), waits 5 seconds and selects another, leaving the first one lit, as well. This process is repeated until all four shots are lit or a successful shot is made on a lit ramp or loop, at which point it resets. The player is rewarded for making the shots it selects first by decreasing the value of the shot based on how many have been made lit. In short, if you hit the first shot before it adds another one, you earn a big 40M, but if you wait until all four are lit, nailing one nets you a quick 10M. Can you control the madness? Your scores will definitely show it.
4. Mystery is now lit after making 8 collective shots on the loops (4 left and 4 right, 2 left and 6 right, etc) instead of one of each shot.
5. Showdown Wizard Mode is now worth quite a bit more points overall, and the sounds have been balanced better to be louder and more obnoxious. Your wives will thank me at 2am.

Additions:
1. Mystery now has a 1-in-5 chance of starting Quick Multiball; a simple, two-ball mode in which all major shots on the field are worth 10M apiece. This mode is also stackable with the standard Multiball and Hunt Multiball modes, but not Showdown, Unload or Reveal.
2. If you remember the old Reveal mode, then you are one of the few. Originally, the mode would pick a random shot and, when the shot was made, pick another random shot and ended after six shots were made. As a player, I'll admit that this mode was just very boring and...blah. That being said, it has been completely scrapped and has been totally redone. Reveal is now something of an add-a-ball mode in which the Jungle Hole, Left Eject and Right Eject are lit as the active shots. A ball is added to play when the mode starts, and once for the first time either of the ejects are hit, for a potential of 4 balls in play at a time. Each of the three shots are worth the same point value, which increases when another ball is added and decreases when a ball is lost. Mode is over when the player loses all but one ball. Ballsave is active for 9 seconds after each ball is added, and if you have already lost one of the added balls when you add another, you get both of them back. Of course, this mode stacks with Hunt Multiball and standard Multiball, but does not stack with Unload or Showdown.
3. Login is now operating as intended. Login is optional, of course, let's just get that out of the way. Instantiate the Login screen by holding the Login button (located where most games have a buy-in button under Start) while you press start. If you're not yet in the list, you simply select new user and enter your initials as if you had just gotten a high score. If you are in the list already, just page over to your initials with the flipper buttons and press start or ball launch. Repeat this process for any or all other players who wish to log their stats. The entire process seems to take about 2 seconds per person, and the novice players around here are just as quick on the process as the veteran players. The next video will cover this system very in-depth.
4. Stat tracking is coming along very nicely, as well, but is not quite finished yet. When outside of normal play (i.e. not in the middle of a game), you can hold the Login button and press the Ball Launch button to instantiate the stats screen. Once you do that, you are presented with a similar screen as if you were logging in, only no new users are allowed here, obviously. Page to your initials and press start or ball launch again to view your stats. The stats screen shows every little bit of information the game collects about you and how you play in a series of screens which pans vertically. Here you can see how many multiballs you've gotten, how many jackpots and super jackpots you've collected, and how many times you've reached the Showdown wizard mode, along with all the little details right down to how many left ramps, right loops, center drains, etc that you've ever had whilst logged in, along with how many Wizard Points you've achieved and much, much more.
5. Added the ability to check two different users' stats side-by-side. While checking your own stats as denoted above, simply press the ball launch button again to select another user's initials to add them to the stats screen. After selecting the other user, the stats will be presented the same way as before, in the vertically scrolling manner, except there will be a line through the horizontal center of the display which divides the first user and the second user. This way, you can directly compare blunders and achievements against a friend. I would like to note that, of the 15 or so regulars that play Predator here, I'm currently leading in a few departments
6. Mini wizard mode has entered final testing. This is another mode I am quickly falling in love with. Mode is accessed "passively" by making a number of shots during regular play. When the requisite has been fulfilled, the mode starts immediately, regardless of what is going on, making this stackable with any and all other multiball modes in the machine, including Unload, Reveal and even Showdown, not to mention standard multiball, quick multiball and hunt multiball. I won't give away the meat of the mode at this point, though I can say that the mode appears to be pretty straight forward at first, but only a real fan who has watched the movie a few times will truly figure out and understand how to get the most out of this mode.

How was that, Adriano?

CIA got you pushing too many pencils?

I heard that. We have to live here LoL. You should have your game before it gets too bad

You guys will probably get the Chicago prototype after the show as long as nothing too major comes up with the hardware.

We have been focusing a lot on software in the last few months. Thanks to all of the suggestions and feedback we get, we are able to really nail down how we want the game to play and grind through the code to make it all happen.

There are a few. I'm sure you'll be able to get in touch with some of the guys who get one.

It's V8 butter jelly time?

If you are within reasonable distance, you should ALWAYS go to the Chicago show. Too much there to miss, if you ask me. PinBrawl is a blast for everyone, even novices and pros alike, the seminars are usually a lot of fun, devs and designers wander around the show floor all day and love to chat, the tournaments have giant payouts, the showroom has all of the wildest stuff in the world, and the casual game room is just full of great games in tip-top shape. I can't say enough good things about the show, honestly, I haven't missed the Chicago Expo in years. Oh, and we'll definitely hang out and play some pinball while you're there, as well