The Williams/Bally table validation process

[DopedToInfinity]

This is by no means a swipe at Farsight, but a swipe at Bally/Williams.

I get the impression that when a table is submitted to them for validation, a white-collar worker who has never played pinball in his life and deals mainly in slot-machines gets to check it over just has to tick a box that says "this looks pretty good".

I know Farsight try their best to get it right in a small space of time with a small group of employees, but surely if there was a rigorous validation process then WMS would have noticed the reversed slingshot art on TZ and the back-to-front spaceship on TNG?

Just a thought...

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

...but surely if there was a rigorous validation process then WMS would have noticed the reversed slingshot art on TZ and the back-to-front spaceship on TNG?

Not to mention the green left Spiral indicator light (it should be yellow), the Powerfield 750K and 1M inserts being reversed (the orange 750K bolt belongs on the right, not the left), etc.

 

[Carl Spiby]

Erm, I'm fairly sure Roger Sharpe still works for WMS.

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

Theyre correct on the flyer they show and those white posts.

 

[dtown8532]

I know some people turn it around but the Bird Of Prey does face away from the player in the original flyer.

 

[k88dad]

If Farsight has access to an actual table (and they do,) shouldn't they be able to catch these things themselves?

 

[Bowflex]

If Farsight has access to an actual table (and they do,) shouldn't they be able to catch these things themselves?

There is no way to fairly criticize some of the digital table without access to the physical table. Some errors have been stated to be attributable to the actual table they have on site. We can't see them so can only take their word but I imagine that is a legitimate source for quite a few of the issues. Of course there are some that could be chalked up to carelessness or simple mistakes.

 

[Sean]

I know some people turn it around but the Bird Of Prey does face away from the player in the original flyer.

No kidding - it might even look that way on the machine Farsight has or it might not even, you know, matter?

 

[dtown8532]

No kidding - it might even look that way on the machine Farsight has or it might not even, you know, matter?

I only mentioned it because the OP had it listed as a complaint.

 

[pezpunk]

I know some people turn it around but the Bird Of Prey does face away from the player in the original flyer.

yep. not a mistake.

 

[DopedToInfinity]

I only mentioned it because the OP had it listed as a complaint.

Yup, my mistake

 

[Mike Reitmeyer]

When we put together a table, the Xbox version is sent to Josh Sharpe who plays it and gives us feedback on what to fix. When we've fixed all his comments he approves the table, and then it goes to Roger Sharpe for final approval.

Few things to keep in mind. The game may not match our real table because tables sometimes have aftermarket parts, repaired parts, etc. So they need to match the flyer.

Another issue is that after we finish on Xbox, the table gets ported over to the mobile devices, which require new models and textures to be made. Sometimes those get messed up in that transition.

The process is done rather quickly so sometimes mistakes make it through.

 

[DopedToInfinity]

When we put together a table, the Xbox version is sent to Josh Sharpe who plays it and gives us feedback on what to fix. When we've fixed all his comments he approves the table, and then it goes to Roger Sharpe for final approval.

Few things to keep in mind. The game may not match our real table because tables sometimes have aftermarket parts, repaired parts, etc. So they need to match the flyer.

Another issue is that after we finish on Xbox, the table gets ported over to the mobile devices, which require new models and textures to be made. Sometimes those get messed up in that transition.

The process is done rather quickly so sometimes mistakes make it through.

Thanks for the answer Mike, I know it's hardly a pressing issue, but interesting non the less. I have to say I was kind of daydreaming when I decided to post this thread, I was thinking of the Father Ted episode which showed how the vatican chose which holy relics to upgrade ("yeah that will do, whatever").