(Topic ID: 106728)

ALIEN PINBALL - Game Over, Man, Game Over

By HeighwayPinball

9 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 30,029 posts
  • 1,091 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 6 days ago by TomDK
  • Topic is favorited by 292 Pinsiders

You

Linked Games

Topic Gallery

View topic image gallery

pasted_image (resized).png
pasted_image (resized).png
DSCN8668 (resized).JPG
DSCN7035 (resized).JPG
IMG_20240316_180704 (resized).jpg
pasted_image (resized).png
pasted_image (resized).png
pasted_image (resized).jpeg
pasted_image (resized).png
zKszZMu.gif
pasted_image (resized).png
pasted_image (resized).png
pasted_image (resized).png
pasted_image (resized).png
IMG_2530 (resized).jpg
IMG_2529 (resized).jpg

Topic index (key posts)

53 key posts have been marked in this topic, showing the first 10 items. (Show topic index)

There are 30,029 posts in this topic. You are on page 154 of 601.
28
#7651 7 years ago
Quoted from Wickerman2:

more asinine bullshit from a suspicious "new" user

Suspicious my (self-moderated body part*).

For the record, this account has been blocked. Tired of dealing with these dup accounts, really.
When a "new" user comes with this as a first post, no way we can allow it.
Not censoring the contents, just killing the messenger.

* which is fairly generous in my case

#7653 7 years ago
Quoted from jlm33:

Suspicious my (self-moderated body part*).
For the record, this account has been blocked. Tired of dealing with these dup accounts, really.
When a "new" user comes with this as a first post, no way we can allow it.
Not censoring the contents, just killing the messenger.
* which is fairly generous in my case

I like how you roll, brother!!!

#7654 7 years ago
Quoted from redundor:

Not sure why you are getting down voted for politely stating your opinion, but I'd tend to agree with everyone else that for the vast majority of people the large screen is the way to go. Maybe there will be a way the place the backglass over top of the lcd when it's turned off?

Thanks, I don't mind the downvotes at all. I know I'm in the minority as I stated and I understand it's just people that disagree with me. I just wanted to get it out there under Andrew's nose that at least one potential LE buyer is still all about the full 35th Anniversary translite art package and with some justification on why I feel that way.

Based on my position it will kind of suck for me if the 27" LCD becomes mandatory and the Anniversary translite art turns out to be trim around the screen and I have to pay the 27" LCD upcharge that comes with the extra LCD when I didn't really want it. That won't stop me from purchasing my dream theme.

But a 27" LCD as standard would increase the cost of the LE right? I hesitate to believe LE preorder people that tried to lock in their price so long ago could be "grandfathered" in and not have the extra charge of a 27" LCD, if it should become standard, added to their total bill.

#7655 7 years ago

I'm with ya there. Early pre-orderers shouldn't have to pay an upcharge on standard equipment. But what happens to those who already paid for the "upgrade"? I always thought it was odd that the vast majority of pre-orders were for LEs, yet the LE artwork was the last to be worked on...

Can't wait for the full reveal!

-7
#7656 7 years ago
Quoted from Yipykya:

I know I may be in the minority but I've known what I wanted since the medium and large LCD screens were introduced as options. No medium or large video mirroring LCD's for me please. Call me nuts but I'm still all about the simplicity and innovation of the original concept idea from so so long ago.

Couldn't agree more. I find it hilarious to call "lets slam a full size TV where the translite should be" innovation. Whats next ? Instead of a topper lets place a 4k projector so you can watch the movie during play!

I find it a waste of money and it adds nothing to the game. Played alot of JJP games in the last few weeks and the huge tv is still a stupid gimmick to me.

#7657 7 years ago
Quoted from Yipykya:

Thanks, I don't mind the downvotes at all. I know I'm in the minority as I stated and I understand it's just people that disagree with me. I just wanted to get it out there under Andrew's nose that at least one potential LE buyer is all about the full 35th Anniversary translite art package and with some justification on why I feel that way.
Based on my position it will kind of suck for me if the 27" LCD becomes mandatory and the Anniversary translite art turns out to be trim around the screen and I have to pay the 27" LCD upcharge that comes with the extra LCD when I didn't really want it. That won't stop me from purchasing my dream theme.
But a 27" LCD as standard would increase the cost of the LE right? I hesitate to believe LE preorder people that tried to lock in their price so long ago could be "grandfathered" in and not have the extra charge of a 27" LCD, if it should become standard, added to their total bill.

Just wanted to chime in to say that I completely agree with you about not wanting the large LCD to be mandatory on the LE. This is a dream theme of mine and I've had a deposit on an LE for awhile now, but i would strongly consider dropping down to a standard if it turned out that there was no "full" custom art package for the LE.

I'm sure my situation is a bit different than most people on here, but in my case, I have no basement or gameroom. My home just has a largish main floor that's mostly open so that my pins can be seen from basically anywhere but the kitchen. That means i really do care a lot what Alien will look like when its off (which, unfortunately, it probably will be fairly often because i never seem to have as much time to play as I'd like). Also, no one ever watches me play often enough for me to see much of a benefit in a large backbox LCD over a smaller one, and, since the art and topper were the primary LE-specific additions i cared about, I just don't see the cost-benefit being there for the LE if there isn't much art-wise.

Anyway, that's just my two cents and may certainly change after actually seeing the game. Who knows, I could be so freakin' impressed by the larger screen, fiber optic ramps, and powder-coating that I don't care about the art any more. Looking forward to it either way. Just thought I should offer an alternative opinion from someone that has a reason to want something other the the large LCD.

#7658 7 years ago
Quoted from HeighwayPinball:

There are people out there with alterior motives and who have interests in us failing, or trying to cause trouble on the eve of Alien's reveal.
I would put this right in the hands of my lawyers - but unsurprisingly, the poster is anonymous

Don't let it get to you. The naysayers and sceptics will have to find something else to bitch about when you are able to reveal the finished product. I've been following this thread since the beginning, seen the ups and downs and the "no news is bad news" posts. I rarely post but wanted to say that clearly producing a new licensed pinball machine is no easy thing but you should be commended for fronting up and providing honest information along the way.

I have only one pin, but Alien may be my second

#7659 7 years ago
Quoted from rubberducks:

Heighway have moved to their third factory recently, and been there for 4 months. This one seems like a better set up (better ratio of shop floor to office space) and better size (neither too small nor far too large). Also newer, in much better state of repair and significantly less costly than the huge 40,000ft2 place.

This appears to be the new factory based on the description. I find it interesting that something as big as moving factories again was never mentioned as that might explain a lot of the delays and the lack of a UK Pinball Party there this year....

#35 Heighway Pinball (resized).jpg#35 Heighway Pinball (resized).jpg

new heighway building (resized).jpgnew heighway building (resized).jpg

#7660 7 years ago
Quoted from bounoun:

..Played alot of JJP games in the last few weeks and the huge tv is still a stupid gimmick to me.

I find it really useful... when troubleshooting. When playing, I have to agree.

#7661 7 years ago

Just a shaming device which promotes censorship...Why can't it be something more friendly like a sliding scale?

oh wait, tried that and everyone was acting like stern just asked $15k for a vault.

#7662 7 years ago
Quoted from jlm33:

For the record, this account has been blocked. Tired of dealing with these dup accounts, really

Was the IP from Peru by chance?

I guess somebody is bored on holiday ....

rd

#7663 7 years ago
Quoted from rotordave:

Was the IP from Peru by chance?
I guess somebody is bored on holiday ....
rd

Did Peru celebrate Dinky's Fall Carriage and Antique Auction in Daviess County, IN as a holiday like we did this week?

#7664 7 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

Did Peru celebrate Dinky's Fall Carriage and Antique Auction in Daviess County, IN as a holiday like we did this week?

Ummmmmmm dunno! Unlikely I would think.

Everyone's favorite podcaster and dupe account poster is in Peru at present as per his podcast.

rd

#7665 7 years ago

Ugh, more nonsense. This thread is 7,000 posts too long.

10
#7666 7 years ago
Quoted from PACMAN:

Ugh, more nonsense. This thread is 7,000 posts too long.

7,001...

#7667 7 years ago

7 thous....

I better just quit right there.

I'm excited to see everyone at Expo.

#7668 7 years ago
Quoted from RandomGuyOffCL:

Just a shaming device which promotes censorship...Why can't it be something more friendly like a sliding scale?
oh wait, tried that and everyone was acting like stern just asked $15k for a vault.

i guess i just more used to down votes reddit where they indicate that the comment doesn't add anything to the conversation or are just bad. There they are specifically not for disagreement, at least in the theory. I'll have to keep it in mind that it's different here!

#7669 7 years ago

I just want to see the god damn game already.

#7670 7 years ago
Quoted from rotordave:

Was the IP from Peru by chance?
I guess somebody is bored on holiday ....
rd

Dupe may have been him, but the OP on RGP I'd place money on being a Brit by their mode of phrase.

#7671 7 years ago

As for the game being showed or not due to the licensing approval process: why not just put a decal on the game that says "Pending Licensing approval"? That's what Dutch Pinball had to do with Lebowski. The studio understood they needed to show something. The put a sticker on it, blocked a few images that were to be removed and they were good to go. So even if approval is not yet in, I do hope to see the game at Expo.

#7672 7 years ago

I really think the game needs to be at expo working well or it will be a big missed opportunity for heighway pinball. These guys should be working around the clock to get this done. Make it happen Andrew! I'm pulling for you guys see you at expo.

#7673 7 years ago
Quoted from dannunz:

I really think the game needs to be at expo working well or it will be a big missed opportunity for heighway pinball.

Same comment about the video. If not approved by Expo, just edit some blurs in and rest of the camera work could be enjoyed.

#7674 7 years ago
Quoted from dannunz:

I really think the game needs to be at expo working well or it will be a big missed opportunity for heighway pinball. These guys should be working around the clock to get this done. Make it happen Andrew! I'm pulling for you guys see you at expo.

agree 100%!!! I need to see and PLAY aliens!

#7675 7 years ago

I get that folks have been waiting a long time for this game but it is far more important "what" they show than "when" they show it. They only get one chance to grab the spotlight and a full reveal with everything as final and solid as they can make it is in their best interests.

They wouldn't want the post-reveal discussion to be centered around something relatively inconsequential to the big picture by showing something unfinished or rough ( eg. "yeah, but the giant space monster didn't work very well...", etc.)

Just look at momentum The Big Lebowski lost between their stunning reveal and when games started shipping. Everyone knows Alien is coming anyway, so if I were them I'd save the reveal until they were ready to start shipping games imminently.

As far as competition goes, there will always be other games freshly released to compete against so I don't see it as that relevant. ...though an overpriced rehashed B level game with a 50 year old super-hero theme, from a company that seems to have lost the ability to ship games without defective playfields probably does feel like a tempting opportunity!

#7676 7 years ago
Quoted from rotordave:

Ummmmmmm dunno! Unlikely I would think.
Everyone's favorite podcaster and dupe account poster is in Peru at present as per his podcast.
rd

You mean he started podcasting again? Thought he stopped after supposedly getting death threats on RPG?

I don't know what's more surprising: that he started podcasting again or that you actually listened!

#7677 7 years ago
Quoted from unigroove:

As for the game being showed or not due to the licensing approval process: why not just put a decal on the game that says "Pending Licensing approval"?

I think it's entirely possible such a decal could be on it for Expo, but it's not so simple as "just do that and show whatever", it still has to go through approval first. Fox could say something like "hey, we love it, looks great, here are the X number of things you need to fix and resubmit, but you can show it in the meantime with a disclaimer".

That's my understanding at least, I'm speculating a little here, call it an educated guess. From talking to Phil a couple years ago that's what DP went through with showing those first TBL prototypes I think, it's pretty standard.

#7678 7 years ago

Joining this late.... Any pictures or video of it yet? When will it be released?

#7679 7 years ago

If I recall, didn't DP "break the rules" with their reveal? I thought that was one of the issues with the licensor, before Phil left and Roger came in.

12
#7680 7 years ago

Also, I just want to say, I expect some rough edges on this game at Expo. Because, just being honest here, the US team has never touched this game. There's stuff that's placeholder in the sense that we did it based on a best guess, and when we see things in person we're going to want to adjust them. It's just the nature of this overseas process.

The plan was to have protos in the US before Expo so we could have some of that tuning time, and the schedule just didn't cooperate. That's pinball.

That said, none of it is a big deal. If something isn't working the way we thought it would with the code and some insert lights, or it turns out when you're standing in front of it the angle changes the way the art on a plastic looks, or anything like that, we'll just fix it. Making a new plastic, tweaking some code, it's all easy to do, we just need a little time with it all. Not to mention everything that the public always manages to break that worked fine in testing!

I think (I hope!) everyone will be really pleased with it overall, and impressed with what we're showing, and the vision will be clear. There's a legit game here, I'm not trying to undersell it. The whole team is really passionate about these films, and we really tried to do justice to them. It just makes me a little nervous that we didn't get a chance to work on polishing some things after experiencing them in person ourselves before we let everyone have at it.

So I guess I'm just saying that if something isn't quite right for whatever reason to understand we're going to make it right.

#7681 7 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

Because, just being honest here, the US team has never touched this game.

What is the US team, and how do they work alongside the UK team?

#7682 7 years ago
Quoted from jonesjb:

What is the US team, and how do they work alongside the UK team?

Ditto that. I didn't understand this either. Aurich, is there a separate group of Heighway employees/contractors in the U.S. that do something different with regard to code etc. that can't be done in Europe?

#7683 7 years ago

Full Throttle code writer "bcd" is in US. I think he's helping w/Alien as well.

#7684 7 years ago
Quoted from RobT:

Ditto that. I didn't understand this either. Aurich, is there a separate group of Heighway employees/contractors in the U.S. that do something different with regard to code etc. that can't be done in Europe?

Heighway has always had people outside the UK location working on the games.

The game's coders both live in the US. Aurich as art director and artist lives in the US.. David Thiel (sound) lives in the US.

The dev team for this project (and to a degree, FT as well) has been distributed. The US team members have not had full games to work with, but instead work with their individual elements or simulations.. and the assembled prototypes are loaded with that effort in the UK.

If you go back to August timeframe, Andrew was planning on building his 'pre-production' games.. and those were to goto the US guys to complete the work with. But since they've missed those deadlines.. now the game will goto expo before that period of 'hands on' has been done. So there will be portions of the game that are incomplete simply due to this.. that would be wrapped up afterwards.

#7685 7 years ago
Quoted from HeighwayPinball:

have interests in us failing

You will not fail!
Simply because you have the right attitude with your project. You and your team are an example for all the pin companies that are starting.

#7686 7 years ago

Thanks for the info guys, didn't realize so much of the Heighway team was in the U.S.

17
#7687 7 years ago
Quoted from jonesjb:

What is the US team, and how do they work alongside the UK team?

This has been posted in this thread before and isn't a secret in any way, but with 154 pages I can see how it would be missed.

Besides myself the Alien US team is -

Kelly Mazurowski - Animator
Joe Schober - Programmer
Brian Dominy - Programmer
David Thiel - Sound

Kelly is a professional animator and pinball player, you've probably seen some of his work if you've played Metallica, Star Trek, or Mustang as he contributed some dots to those games. Otherwise his commercial work has been outside of pinball. He's a good friend of mine down in SoCal with me, so we work together in person on ideas sometimes.

Joe and Brian share programming duties, and are both tournament players. Joe is more focused on the rules, and Brian more on the low level stuff, but they work together as needed, so whatever needs to be done is handled one way or another.

David Thiel I would think needs no introduction, he's been a joy to work with. Really the whole US team is awesome, love working with all of them, and we collaborate really well.

Brian wrote a simulator that allows us to test the rules, hear the sounds, see the animations, all that good stuff. But since we're not in Wales obviously we haven't had hands on time with the game yet. So that's what I mean by after we've had that time we'll start working on polishing things up.

And it's polish work, the heaving lifting is done. This game already has more complete code right now than some shipping commercial games have had for instance. Nothing I'm talking about from our side would delay production. But we're going to see the game for the first time as everyone else, so I'm just saying if there are any things that need some attention to bring it up to our standards don't worry, we're going to take care of it.

#7688 7 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

This has been posted in this thread before and isn't a secret in any way, but with 154 pages I can see how it would be missed.
Besides myself the Alien US team is -
Kelly Mazurowski - Animator
Joe Schober - Programmer
Brian Dominy - Programmer
David Thiel - Sound
Kelly is a professional animator and pinball player, you've probably seen some of his work if you've played Metallica, Star Trek, or Mustang as he contributed some dots to those games. Otherwise his commercial work has been outside of pinball. He's a good friend of mine down in SoCal with me, so we work together in person on ideas sometimes.
Joe and Brian share programming duties, and are both tournament players. Joe is more focused on the rules, and Brian more on the low level stuff, but they work together as needed, so whatever needs to be done is handled one way or another.
David Thiel I would think needs no introduction, he's been a joy to work with. Really the whole US team is awesome, love working with all of them, and we collaborate really well.
Brian wrote a simulator that allows us to test the rules, hear the sounds, see the animations, all that good stuff. But since we're not in Wales obviously we haven't had hands on time with the game yet. So that's what I mean by after we've had that time we'll start working on polishing things up.
And it's polish work, the heaving lifting is done. This game already has more complete code right now than some shipping commercial games have had for instance. Nothing I'm talking about from our side would delay production. But we're going to see the game for the first time as everyone else, so I'm just saying if there are any things that need some attention to bring it up to our standards don't worry, we're going to take care of it.

Exciting stuff Aurich....can't wait!!!

#7689 7 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

This has been posted in this thread before and isn't a secret in any way, but with 154 pages I can see how it would be missed.
Besides myself the Alien US team is -
Kelly Mazurowski - Animator
Joe Schober - Programmer
Brian Dominy - Programmer
David Thiel - Sound
Kelly is a professional animator and pinball player, you've probably seen some of his work if you've played Metallica, Star Trek, or Mustang as he contributed some dots to those games. Otherwise his commercial work has been outside of pinball. He's a good friend of mine down in SoCal with me, so we work together in person on ideas sometimes.
Joe and Brian share programming duties, and are both tournament players. Joe is more focused on the rules, and Brian more on the low level stuff, but they work together as needed, so whatever needs to be done is handled one way or another.
David Thiel I would think needs no introduction, he's been a joy to work with. Really the whole US team is awesome, love working with all of them, and we collaborate really well.
Brian wrote a simulator that allows us to test the rules, hear the sounds, see the animations, all that good stuff. But since we're not in Wales obviously we haven't had hands on time with the game yet. So that's what I mean by after we've had that time we'll start working on polishing things up.
And it's polish work, the heaving lifting is done. This game already has more complete code right now than some shipping commercial games have had for instance. Nothing I'm talking about from our side would delay production. But we're going to see the game for the first time as everyone else, so I'm just saying if there are any things that need some attention to bring it up to our standards don't worry, we're going to take care of it.

Coo, and from a workflow perspective, does the team in UK build out the machine and then it ships around to each of the US team person by person so they can review first hand?

#7690 7 years ago
Quoted from jonesjb:

Coo, and from a workflow perspective, does the team in UK build out the machine and then it ships around to each of the US team person by person so they can review first hand?

None of us have seen the game yet, outside of photos and video. We'll all be at Expo. After that we'll just do whatever makes the most sense. My personal priority would be for Joe to have a game, that's the most essential in my mind.

#7691 7 years ago
Quoted from hassanchop:

You will not fail!
Simply because you have the right attitude with your project. You and your team are an example for all the pin companies that are starting.

Correction: Charlie Emery and Spooky are examples. ALL others can learn from Chuck's Marketing.
Examples of room to maybe improve:
Heighway introduced WAAAY too early, separated from Dennis Nordy, and have hit the dreaded approval roadblock. Also there have been posts here of refund timeliness.

Strengths: Heighway picked a strong theme, we are all excited about quick-replace ideas on engineering and Andy is obviously excited about releasing this pin.

This is a strong contending startup company.

But it's not Spooky. Not yet.

#7692 7 years ago
Quoted from underlord:

But it's not Spooky. Not yet.

Not ever I hope, at least in terms of design, so far Spooky pins have looked like garage projects with sound to match, I agree that Heighway is taking too long to reveal but luckily the theme will hold the interest for most of us.

#7693 7 years ago
Quoted from Hazoff:

Not ever I hope, at least in terms of design, so far Spooky pins have looked like garage projects with sound to match, I agree that Heighway is taking too long to reveal but luckily the theme will hold the interest for most of us.

I disagree. I enjoyed AMH. Thought it was funny.

-12
#7694 7 years ago
Quoted from underlord:

I disagree. I enjoyed AMH. Thought it was funny.

You did? Well I guess its kinda funny, nope its terrible.

#7695 7 years ago

I personally respect the hell out of Spooky and Ben Heck.

#7696 7 years ago
Quoted from Hazoff:

You did? Well I guess its kinda funny, nope its terrible.

The "not" joke lives on in 2016. You have horrible taste in everything.

#7697 7 years ago
Quoted from Hazoff:

Not ever I hope, at least in terms of design, so far Spooky pins have looked like garage projects with sound to match, I agree that Heighway is taking too long to reveal but luckily the theme will hold the interest for most of us.

They're limited in terms of what they offer, but if anything they've under promised and over delivered, which seems unique in pinball. They've achieved a lot on limited resources. Future machines should hopefully pack better art, more features and improved sound and dmd animations.

I wouldn't want their products up until now, but they seem to be really well run and have established a very solid foundation.

10
#7698 7 years ago

Which of the 'new' pinball companies has been able to announce a game, and then ship it, as fast as Spooky? I think it's fair to say that they're making less ambitious games than Heighway, Jersey Jack, or Dutch Pinpall, but they're also not biting off more than they can chew. They're working hard, and working smart.

I briefly talked with Chuck about helping with art on Rob Zombie (before Alex Horley came aboard) but the talks didn't go anywhere. Right after that I heard from Andrew asking me to do Alien. Very close in the timeline. Both had early playfields already (the original Alien design by Dennis Nordman, and the Pinball Zombies prototype).

Rob Zombies are shipping. I dropped out of the waiting list, it wasn't the right game for me, but you gotta respect that they made the game and customers have it.

Pinball is complicated! Making a game from scratch is just an incredible amount of work. Anyone who finishes a game, and that includes all the from-scratch homebrew games (hope to see some great ones at Expo this year, especially Total Annihilation) has nothing but respect from me.

#7699 7 years ago
Quoted from jayhawkai:

The "not" joke lives on in 2016. You have horrible taste in everything.

lol I like this... I gotta steal it in the future. "You have horrible taste in everything". That's classic.

#7700 7 years ago
Quoted from Manic:

lol I like this... I gotta steal it in the future. "You have horrible taste in everything". That's classic.

That's why you think AMH is funny probably, I have respect for Spooky and I would buy a game from them if one was made to my liking but AMH humor is really bad as is the case in almost all pinball.

Promoted items from the Pinside Marketplace
From: $ 6.50
Playfield - Other
Rocket City Pinball
Other
$ 19.95
Playfield - Toys/Add-ons
ULEKstore
Toys/Add-ons
From: $ 12.00
Flipper Parts
Precision Pinball prod.
Flipper parts
9,995 (OBO)
Machine - For Sale
Burnaby, BC
9,999 (OBO)
$ 810.00
Flipper Parts
Mircoplayfields
Flipper parts
$ 299.95
Lighting - Led
Pin Stadium Pinball Mods
Led
$ 399.95
Lighting - Led
Pin Stadium Pinball Mods
Led
From: $ 11.00
From: $ 399.95
Lighting - Led
Pin Stadium Pinball Mods
Led
$ 35.00
Cabinet - Other
Rocket City Pinball
Other
$ 15.00
Cabinet - Sound/Speakers
Gweem's Mods
Sound/Speakers
$ 649.95
Lighting - Led
Pin Stadium Pinball Mods
Led
From: $ 8.00
Cabinet - Other
NO GOUGE PINBALL™
Other
$ 1,100.00
Lighting - Interactive
Evolution Mods
Interactive
There are 30,029 posts in this topic. You are on page 154 of 601.

Reply

Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

Donate to Pinside

Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/alien-pinball-official-game-thread/page/154 and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.