Awesome!! Keep up the good work. If you need any pointers when you get to doing the artwork let me know!

Great to play your game again Mark. Each year it gets deeper and deeper with code and amps up the already awesome fun factor. Looking forward to next year with art and more durable ramps.

Very cool to see the stripped down playfield - shows all the shot paths. You really came up with a fun new playfield design. Any thoughts on creating a vector playfield layout based on your scan so you can get one perfectly CNC'd?

Agree 100% - do not use photos. I've set up rigs from 15 feet high looking perfectly straight down and taken pictures of playfield projects to take as much of the angle of distortion out. Going back and measuring known holes and comparing back to the photo and they're always off. Registration will be terrible and all the wonderful work you're putting into this will end up not looking as professional as I'm sure you're hoping for. If you wanted to get really clever you could possibly add index points on your playfield at known positions and then transform your photo to match but then you're still playing a tweaking game.

Personally, I'd vet this wonderful network of people and find someone with a scanner that you can physically mail your playfield to... For the amount of time and money you already have into this project it will probably be insignificant in the whole scheme of things.

I'd be willing to bet there are some people in the vpforums that could help you out too. With all the playfield scanning that goes on to make those digital games there has to be some resources available.

For posterity, would you mind posting exactly what you did to create that playfield image? i.e. equipment used, resolution of scan, software for stitching, etc.? I can see many other home projects following this thread benefiting from what you have just done.

This is very surprising to me. I would have guessed that assembly of intensive ramps that require layers of laser cut plastic and metal sandwiched between fasteners all assembled by tiny little fingers suffering from repetitive motion issues would have been much more expensive than a simple sheet of plastic vacuum formed and CNC lasered or cut after the fact. Not to mention the fact that with all that assembly the product is more prone to quality issues with improperly constructed assemblies or assemblies coming loose for that matter...

Personally though, I like the layered approach from a prototyping perspective because that is easier to make, does not require tooling and capital to get done and allows for some downstream modifications to be made without losing money invested in tooling.

Always happy to help. Especially on projects as awesome as this. It was really fun to shoot again this year at EXPO and I think everyone that played it is looking forward to how it looks with all the lipstick applied.

This is looking great Mark!

Don't quote me on this, but I'm about 99% sure that "in production" you would just sand the entire playfield and inserts and get them level. There probably isn't any clear put on before that. The inserts are supposed to be pressed in where they stand slightly proud so that they can be sanded flush.

Are you asking because you are reusing your playfield? Or does the new CNC'd playfield have minor flaws?

My first WOOLY prototype I used an overlay as well. I had all my art printed on a clear adhesive backed film which allowed for text over the inserts. I also painted the playfield white before application of the overlay (partly because my overlay was printed on clear, but also to make the colors as vibrant as possible and to seal the wood). Do your homework though on which clear coat you end up using over the top of the overlay - - I've read a couple of homebrew threads where the specific clear that was used ended up reacting and eating away at the overlay. From my understanding there are at least two different types of clear coat.

If you end up doing direct print I would caution against clear coating the playfield first. I'm no expert by any means, but I would worry about the adhesion of the paint to a smooth clear coat finish as opposed to a slightly textured wood surface or primed surface.

You might also want to follow up directly with Dave who did the Buffy pin. His overlay and clearcoat job turned out as good as any printed playfield that I've seen. Maybe he's reading this and can chime in with some details?

Silence of the Lambs is epic. The key antagonist is a middle aged single man who lives alone in a house with a creepy basement and has an unusual hobby... Probably fits the profile for a lot of pinheads on this site!!

Is there a reason you decided to draw Lock, Shock and Barrel as compared to the rest of the characters that are screen grabs?

Keep it up Mark! Every update is looking better and better.

Sorry to ask again, but any chance you'll be bringing your game to EXPO this year? I'd love to see it in person again with all of this wonderful artwork and finish work you've done.

Awesome! FYI - it looks like EXPO is getting close to being resolved - at least it looks like there's only going to be one show and it'll be the traditional one but much improved.

https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2018/04/03/pinball-expo-2018-latest-news/

Any news on your awesome game mark?

Bummer news, you have an amazing game with a genuine layout. Hope something more can grow from it one day...