Edit Mar 9: Back from a successful debut at Louisville Arcade Expo - TFUV held up perfectly and won Best Solid State!

Edit: Feb 14: Gameplay video! https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/you-ve-never-seen-a-time-fantasy-like-this-/page/2#post-5470668

Edit: Feb 4: Ultraviolet Snail Time is working! Jump to https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/you-ve-never-seen-a-time-fantasy-like-this-/page/2#post-5452457

....

I’m finally at the point where I can reveal something I’ve been working on... and ask for a little help to take it to the next level. I tend to be a wordy mofo so I tried to let a video do the literal talking...

...but it's still 8 minutes (did I say I’m wordy?) BECAUSE after the frustration of having to abort no less than 4 previous takes, even this one got interrupted. Family! Kids! Cats! YAY!

BUT IT’S WORTH IT for the *reveal about 3 minutes in*. The rest is me explaining my approach and what I'm ultimately trying to accomplish:

I hope it’s a worthy effort. If you have suggestions or advice to solve the unique lighting issue (dare I say never before done in pinball?) toward getting this thing finished and ready for public display in a couple months, please share!

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A UV pinball *would* be cool! But it might be too much of a "tell" that something is lurking, if I can pull off the rest of the effect.

That would certainly be the most elegant / OEM solution to this problem, and Time Fantasy is certainly unique in that there are so many spare outputs. So I'm lucky to have that sandbox... however, leveraging those would require delving into the game code. Long term I want to attempt this but, near term, having never done so before, my deadline doesn't allow proper time for me to learn, understand, and debug that method.

I at least deemed this effort as worthy of finally changing my avatar after 5 years, if nothing else...

I had wondered about that myself, but there was "no way for me to know" without trying it. To that end your point about the GI interfering is well taken, however. This is why long term, I think the coding idea has some advantages because I could add a relay in place - and there's era-appropriate precedent for such in games like Blackout - to turn off the GI when the UV mode kicks in. But that's a different wholesale approach. At the very least for now I can stick with lower-output incandescent GI to give LED-UV the advantage when on.

It's funny how something as simple as "lighting" becomes anything but once you have to think about it. But this whole project has been like that, chicken-egg too: no point in worrying about lighting until I knew how the UV would look to merit the effort or not...

I hate colored GI too! Nothing but white GI for me. Like I said above, in this case I think "dim LED" or inca GI is warranted, pending whatever provides the UV. I have a feeling I'm going to have to settle for "quick and dirty" for the expo this year (2020), and then refine for 2021.

...or Condition Green in Space Station (I didn't know Atlantis had "red mode")! My whole intent on this painting exercise was to turn the Snail Time mode into UV.

~~~~~~

Experimenting further tonight before I pull the pf out of the machine for final prep/clear... I put the glass back on. The reflection from the overhead spotlight was there but not as bad as I thought; honestly DMD and Backbox glare is often worse.

And counter to my expectation, when I held a fresnel lens over the spotlight to act as a diffuser, it actually *enhanced* the over color effect while softening the reflection. Didn't expect that. So at least the "worst case" scenario might still benefit from some enhancements.

But I'll definitely be looking into these other suggestions in the coming weeks!

Just an update before I go back to the logic thread and finally touch base with some of the ideas there... I've been mostly AWOL around here the past few weeks 'til today.

But anyway, the clearing process has been very slow. I *severely* underestimated just how bad the condition of this pf was. In addition to the missing paint, a lot more of it was chipped, pocked, dare I even say *dimpled* down to the wood with tiny little flecks barely more than 1mm in most cases. These flecks were easy to touch up with paint, and I thought they would fill and self-level with a few coats of prep clear...

...but they did not. In addition, all the 3/4" inserts were sunk AND angled from 1/16 to 3/16 of an inch... AND... adding all the touchup layers, especially the build layers for the UV colors, elevated those portions of the art with hard edges.

So basically, after the first coat of clear dried a couple weeks ago, this is what it looked like... and it was actually WORSE than it looks!

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So I've been thrown into a very tedious process of filling insets and other damage, which always takes more fill layers than you think (a thick bubble of clear dries thinner than saran wrap!)... adding full sacrificial layers of clear in between to sand the perimeter of those areas, add feather layers, etc... I've basically had tunnel vision just trying no to rush other things ahead of myself. I'm really pushing my luck if this has any hope of being ready in 6 weeks. It's getting close though, and I actually need to make my decal set soon or THAT might kill the deadline.

I have identified the font as "GF Becker" but the files available online - which apparently are the same as one I got off a font CD in 1996 - are blurry garbage. So I need to sharpen the characters one by one, arrgh.

My wife got me an ultrasonic cleaner for xmas though, and that has been awesome. The parts that came off the pop and sling mechs look almost new again.

That's actually sport of what I have in mind... it's clear to me this won't be ready as a "hidden" mod for LAX but long term you and I are on the same page. I want to eliminate anything overhead if at all possible.

Well it's been a challenge and a half unlike the other pfs I've restored. But it no longer looks like a topographical map of the moon!

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Buffed out and plastics painted

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I covered that in the video. The original playfield was blown out with missing paint down to the wood along with a host of other defects. It needed to be repainted anyway, so...

...this guy gets it

I am working on a mod to trigger the UV effect during snail time. Someone is helping me with the code tweaks.

Oh wow... thanks Clay! Your guides were invaluable helping me get started out in the hobby blind with a project 5 years ago, and still a valuable resource. Everyone owes you a debt for making things "doable".

As for the GI relay, I literally had that realization a couple days ago, so we're headed in that direction. Thing is, as far as I can recall - and have attempted to confirm in videos since my game can't be turned on while disassembled - the GI relay is only used at the end of Snail Time, to flicker the lights briefly....

So to my understanding some code tweaking is still necessary:

1) Add a GI Relay trigger to the *start* of snail time.
2) Make that new mode start relay trigger say [ GI OFF (no flicker) -> Alt output (UV mod) ON ]
3) Modify the original code's "mode end" relay trigger to say, instead of flickering, [ Alt ouput UV mod OFF -> GI ON]

Not entirely sure how to wire in the UV mod in. I could probably figure it out, but my first thought of caution is will the stock relay support an external power supplied mod? I haven't determined the voltage involved but it's presently a 30W LED array mounted overhead. Plugs into service outlet. Long term I intend to do something more discreet.

You're right of course... I had feared very much the same when I was roughing out the idea and proof of concept in my head, and I think I even mentioned it in the video. I was also concerned that side-mounted lights would cast shadows with all the obstructions in the way. So to that end, for testing I bought a cheap roll of UV strips and most of those fears were confirmed... however, it was a cheap roll and loosely mocked with the PF out of the cabinet. A better roll and more optimized mounting might do better.

Either way, the problem stems from the fact that due to the low wavelength of UV light, a UV bulb of the same wattage as visible light, does not have the same intensity. So a strip of UV lights would be dim compared to standard lights, at the same power rating. Up the power output and you introduce all sorts of other issues (expense, form factor / size, etc).

Having said that, the intensity of the pigments I used did seem to be OK even with that strip. If I could aim them at about 45 degrees, it might even be acceptable... I will have to experiment more once it's back in the cabinet. Either way this is an interesting challenge. The good news is the game looks bone stock in natural light so no harm, no foul if I can't pull it off.

But the 30W flood - if not ideal for hiding - looks AWESOME when on. Honestly, that pic with the plastics on that I posted? The light was still mounted over the cabinet, over 3 feet off to the side! So the pf would be TWICE as bright directly beneath!

To that end, I think the code tweaks are necessary... what did you think of the logic I mentioned? I was kind of surprised to realize Williams went through the trouble of wiring a relay into GI - only to flicker it once!

Turning off the GI would also help low-powered UV lights enhance the intensity of the effect...

Clay,

Bearing in mind that long term I hope to solve the "hidden lighting" challenge, *for now* I am going to build a cantilever rig over the pf. Essentially use some angle stock and bend it into an "L" shape, mounted securely to the back and top of the backbox. It will extend over the pf, and I will mount the spotlight to that. Not hidden, I know... but it will be stable and secure, and still portable and removable. I'd might even be able to devise a shim mount to attach the rig between the head and the lower cab if someone were truly averse to holes in the backbox itself. Regardless, using angle stock is the key to preventing the light boom from sagging. Aesthetically, I could paint it to blend to the cabinet, and today people are familiar with streaming rigs over pfs too so that will help. The reflection on the PF glass is thus the main downside of an overhead mount, but when I tested this it was passable as a DMD or LED-backbox reflection is actually worse.

I actually hope to begin work on this in the coming week.

The paints are a custom blend. I used Wildfire pigments: expensive, but a little goes a long way and they are INTENSE. A bit of a learning curve in applying them, however. I didn't go with craft UV paints because I wanted to make colors that don't reveal themselves in broad daylight ("dayglo") and instead look like the stock Pantone or whatever inks that Williams used. You can do that with Wildfire by mixing with the $1 craft paints like I did. Red is the biggest challenge: all UV reds look "hot" and it's hard to get a "base" neutral red hue that still reacts well - I think I did, but need an intense UV light to give the best effect but it is not as reactant as the other colors. The purple I mixed is also "dull" as UV goes, but it's a dark tone as purples go.

I used the artist's 10 pack kit. More than enough to do a playfield... maybe even a lifetime supply for projects like this. It's not really a paint but a pigment, so you have to thin it... and a little goes a long way. So it seems expensive up front but you'd easily get at least 3 dozen typical 2 oz. craft-paint size bottles out of it, if not more.... so it turns out to be a great value IMO considering what Createx and some of the "premium" craft paints cost.

https://www.amazon.com/Wildfire-Artist-Black-Light-Bottles/dp/B00CH6AHUS/

If you have more questions I'd be happy to answer, if you want to PM.

@Frax: Sorry! I had no idea you did that; I think you posted that right around the time I first joined Pinside... and in all the time since I've never really seen folks talk about doing UV games (and after this project I understand why, oops). Guess I can't take full credit as the first but yours looks cool and is a great thematic candidate for UV. You did a great job on the clearcoat too.

Wildfire Artist Kit Black Light Paint, 1 Ounce Bottles, (Pack of 10)

Should have been a 10-pack of colors... search the above term.

It's not a pure UV crystalline pigment. But once you see how thick these "paints" are, I don't really want to call them paint. They are THICK like a paste so may as well be pigments (I may be confusing terms and for that I apologize... but I have in the past seen and used "pigment blocks" that you can crumble and mix into paint if desired... based on that experience this Wildfire stuff reminds me of somewhere between the steps. I have never seen another paint sold as thick as Wildfire. It is definitely not ready to use out of the jar, but it thins very well. So it's a little hard to describe. I hardly used any of it!)

The colors are usable out of the bottle (as they appear your eye, if you like them) but you would have to thin the paste first.

If those colors are too "hot" or otherwise not a match for your purpose, the advantage to Wildfire is their UV pigment is so heavily saturated, that you can mix them with other acrylic paints (or each other) to blend nearly any other color you might want, and yet they will still be more intense than your "dollar discount craft" UV paints. Disclaimers still apply of course, like what I mentioned about reds... some hues are just naturally more troublesome than others.

Put another way: as they come, the Wildfire look like any dayglo paint: you can tell they would glow, even under normal lighting. But by mixing them with other paints, I was able to hide that effect under normal light and create colors that look basically "stock" - as proven by how my Time Fantasy looks under normal light. But even those colors still majorly POP under UV, thanks to the wildfire pigments I mixed in. Does that make sense?

Got the pf back in the cabinet for mockup, with plastics in proper alignment, directly beneath the spotlight...

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Egad that's bright!

And here it is with LED GI installed. It's the same GI I had before.... I'll be dialing it down a little. But man, even then it still glows a bit... that rainbow really pops!

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Compare the special effect I added to the bubbles the snail is sitting on: I used a UV and a non-UV white. They blend together perfectly under normal light... the non-reactive reflects the purple UV spotlight, while the reactive paint I used for outlines, stays white.

All kinds of cool stuff you can do!

OK! Now the challenging part begins. Like so many other things, it's simple in theory, but not in practice when you haven't done it before. Yet if Clay says it's easy, I must be missing something.... so someone please, clarify for me! I'll copy some of what I told my code assistant:

The "GI relay" is actually on the power supply. If I'm reading the schematic correctly, it appears to be DPST with one side unused (the "OFF" side; by default the relay is set to "GI on" at rest). This relay is triggered by Solenoid 11, Q35. There's actually an input line connector on the PSU called "special relay" for this signal! So that transistor pulls the the relay in which turns off the GI (in the original game code, it only flickers briefly, at the end of snail time).

So, it seems it would be easy to get the GI to stay off in theory... but I'm now concerned that leaving a solenoid driver "on" for a long time might not be a good idea. Same concern for the coil inside the relay itself: Would either or both of those items burn up, being switched on for a few minutes at a stretch? Or would we be OK since they are not high-current items like a playfield coil*?

I'd still need to figure out how to connect an auxiliary component to that relay: since it is mounted directly on the power supply PCB, it may not actually be feasible. In which we would have to simply change the code to keep the GI "off" during snail time... and then use another solenoid output to drive an external light.

*Ugh, but I have another thought: that existing relay would only work to power the UV light, so long as the UV light was being powered by the same power supply board/circuit. I don't think that's feasible since it's a 30W spotlight! What was the total wattage of the original GI string? (I obviously need to do more research. Projects like this often reveal I only still know "just enough to be dangerous" on some things but that's why I try them, so I can learn...)

Oooh, I like this idea. Would two relays be too much of a draw for the single solenoid output signal, though?

As for putting the relay on the UV lamp: I think I understand your intent. But the power for the UV lamp has to come from somewhere, and the relay is merely in the line regardless of where it sits... so that line voltage still needs to get to the lamp... and since it'll be mounted over the machine, there will still be line voltage in that run. No way around that which I can see. Not a bad idea to put conduit in the cantilever to protect the line though.

Thanks for the advice and help, guys. I really appreciate it.

How does this look as a suitable relay?

https://www.amazon.com/Electronics-Salon-SPST-NO-Module-Control-Voltage/dp/B01B60RZPA

Looks like it would actually support two separate signals / devices. Of course right now I am only concerned with one. But the second option might prove handy in the future.