(Topic ID: 106728)

ALIEN PINBALL - Game Over, Man, Game Over

By HeighwayPinball

9 years ago


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  • 1,091 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 14 hours ago by Averell
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There are 30,026 posts in this topic. You are on page 228 of 601.
#11351 7 years ago
Quoted from jonesjb:

Any possibility of streaming Alien with deadflip? https://www.twitch.tv/dead_flip

I have asked/offered. Our game arrives on Wed if transport goes as planned.

#11352 7 years ago

I wish I knew how to achieve this with lighting and HD video. My job as an amusement operator leaves me to other things atm. I can contact the guy that does my family photos and see if he can offer any insight. I am also willing to purchase the right camcorder because I intend to supply a set up for those that attend our aracde.

Sorry, I just don't know enough about the specs and what is necessary.

#11353 7 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

I have asked/offered. Our game arrives on Wed if transport goes as planned.

Cool, are you team Dead Flip or Team Heighway?

#11354 7 years ago
Quoted from Deadpin:

Ok - question.
Pre order differences between directly ordering from Heighway and Cointaker?
Any preferences?

I went with cointaker. Price is the same as stated on heighways website and I like having someone I've dealt with before in the good old USA I can call just in case there are any issues.

#11355 7 years ago
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:

Actually no they won't help because those schematics are ancient history. The playfield & ramps look nothing like that now.
They never officially released the final schematic, but it sure would be nice if they did

Aside from the Queen-change, - If there's any other changes to the physical playfield, ramps etc., I'd love to know what that is.
I've watched the videos and it looks pretty much the same.

#11356 7 years ago
Quoted from chucksmith:

Aside from the Queen-change, - If there's any other changes to the physical playfield, ramps etc., I'd love to know what that is.
I've watched the videos and it looks pretty much the same.

Some of the ramps are different, for example there is no ramp that loops around the back behind the xenomorph head.

16
#11357 7 years ago
Quoted from chucksmith:

If its possible, please think about lighting and a mounted camera running in HD so we can really see what's going on. Many videos so far are shaky and dark which makes it hard to appreciate this beautiful looking machine.

We have done just this. I have a 10-minute video to release shortly that will answer many of your questions

#11358 7 years ago
Quoted from jonesjb:

I don't really get unboxing videos, can someone please explain the appeal?

For me, since my space is fairly small and rather awkward to navigate, I find it's useful to see how this pin is packed, so I can formulate a strategy to get it into place.

It's also kind of fun, the same way I like watching my kid open a present.

As has been said, though, diff'rent strokes.

#11359 7 years ago

Not sure if I have missed it but regarding the hyperspace chamber will it be able to lock physically as an option? Or has the mech been removed completely?

#11360 7 years ago
Quoted from J85M:

Not sure if I have missed it but regarding the hyperspace chamber will it be able to lock physically as an option? Or has the mech been removed completely?

Removed completely, all new design.

#11361 7 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

Removed completely, all new design.

That's not actually true. There 'is' a ball lock there - but it just locks a single ball, then releases it again

#11362 7 years ago
Quoted from HeighwayPinball:

That's not actually true. There 'is' a ball lock there - but it just locks a single ball, then releases it again

Thanks for the clarification. Just a quick question though is that lock physically able to lock more than one ball Andrew? Say if it was an option in the software for example? Could the lock withstand/function to do that task?

#11363 7 years ago

Are both Standard & LE , Wide Body? Its the exact same playfield design for both , right ?

#11364 7 years ago
Quoted from chucksmith:

Are both Standard & LE , Wide Body? Its the exact same playfield design for both , right ?

Yeah both playfields are physically identical, other than the LE specific fibre optic ramp lights.

#11365 7 years ago
Quoted from J85M:

Yeah both playfields are identical, other than the LE specific fibre optic ramp lights.

Thanks JonM,
Another question -- How will we do software updates? Is there a USB port behind the glass ?

#11366 7 years ago
Quoted from chucksmith:

Thanks JonM,
Another question -- How will we do software updates? Is there a USB port behind the glass ?

Along the same lines (apologies if discussed, I did a quick search only) is the source code available?

#11367 7 years ago
Quoted from HeighwayPinball:

That's not actually true. There 'is' a ball lock there - but it just locks a single ball, then releases it again

It can lock a ball, sure, but it can't hold more than one. Or well I guess it could but it has no way to release just one if you shoot it again without lock lit. So it's a different design.

I honestly prefer it. The old way was clever but felt too slow. Shooting the ramp with balls locked but lock not lit meant you had to wait. Now it's smoother and faster. I'll take the trade off.

And even though it's a "virtual" lock you still get a true lock experience since it does hold the ball with the post. Feels like a win to me.

#11368 7 years ago
Quoted from bhwolf:

Along the same lines (apologies if discussed, I did a quick search only) is the source code available?

No, it's not open source. I seriously doubt you will EVER see a licensed commercial game with open source.

I'd be surprised if any commercial game was open either, but especially not a licensed one.

#11369 7 years ago

Heighway Team: I really like how you use the LCD screen. I never feel like its just footage being repeated. The computer maps which are actually the playfield are great! Muthur voice is well done. Lots of good stuff here.

** I wish I could see what's going on in the little LCD. Maybe in the a future video we can have a camera on that little screen.

#11370 7 years ago
Quoted from HeighwayPinball:

That's not actually true. There 'is' a ball lock there - but it just locks a single ball, then releases it again

The best of both worlds would be to have a diverter (like the dragon lock on Hobbit)

The ball would go to the chamber when lock is lit, otherwise it would feed a return lane. But I guess, with all the stuff packed into this game, there was no room for that solution. The new solution sounds a lot better than the old one. and probably works just fine.

It really looks like a packed and fantastic playfield. But I feel that Aurich is giving too little credit to Nordmann. After all, this i all based on his idea. Changing a few bits here and there is not the same as a completely different layout. It is clearly an improvement but not a whole new playfield. like he says. I think that Nordmann should get credit for coming up with the idea in the first place

#11371 7 years ago

The design looks nothing like Nordman's game anymore, and plays nothing like it either. And he agrees, as I said I spoke to him about it. There's really nothing more to it. Not really looking to argue the point but it is what it is.

This is Dave's game now.

#11372 7 years ago

Nordman actually said that he was not the designer but that he did the initial playfield drawing:
http://www.pinballnews.com/news/nordmanheighway.html

Here's the original Nordman drawing:

8fa48c0cfaffcf4e305d2e6d4d42bb2e65db6ee2 (resized).jpg8fa48c0cfaffcf4e305d2e6d4d42bb2e65db6ee2 (resized).jpg

Quoted from karl:

I think that Nordmann should get credit for coming up with the idea in the first place

I agree he should still be given credit for the initial drawing and for being a better judge of how long it would take to produce the game.

#11373 7 years ago

I've watched a little of the 3 hour twitch stream but don't have time to watch it all. Are there any xenomorph tongue ball locks during the stream? I see it poked its tongue out as it died in the middle of the stream which is quite funny

10
#11374 7 years ago
Quoted from ezeltmann:

For some reason the lower pop bumper and the inserts on the right loop were not lighting.

Yes, several of the upper playfield lights on serial #1 seem to be not working. I believe Andrew's team is working to figure out why this is and get it fixed. Once fixed, it'll definitely improve game play, because some mode scenes (e.g. Find Jonesy, Acid Burn) really require the arrow inserts.

Quoted from ezeltmann:

The right loop itself seems to be a bit clunky; the only flow problem i could detect. The upper inner loop was fantastic as are the ramps flow.

I saw that too, and it surprised me... right orbit on my prototype game is smooth. In fact, all the shots on my game are really smooth, although the Chestburster lane (the lane above the upper-right flipper) and upper ramp are not easy shots... but feel great when you nail them. Mr. Thiel has provided unique combo sounds through 8-way, and it's very satisfying when you start hearing the higher-level ones.

Quoted from ezeltmann:

If the ball can be detected near the opening of the left outlane drain , an animation on the lcd showing to nudge to the lit lane might help newbies understand to do something.

Unfortunately that's not a thing, there aren't any switches between the upper-left flipper and the outlane switches that are on the bottom of the outlane post maze. The dev team is actively discussing software solutions to make the left outlane area be more player-friendly, I'll probably be testing code in the next day or two.

Quoted from ezeltmann:

Is there anything more planned for some of the mystery awards (not 100% sure if its mystery). They are indicated by simple text and a couple of lines on the screen (Like AWARD LOCK or 15 second ball saver). Seems like it could be jazzed up a little since the ball is being held and you actually can enjoy some graphics.

There's actually an A/V sequence that precedes the actual Mother award, representing Dallas going into Mother's interface chamber. The only expected change there is that the award text should get a teletype-looking presentation, closer to what Mother's Interface 2037 looks like in Alien, instead of just displaying instantly. I'll probably also expedite the award sequence during multiball, vs showing the whole thing when you've got other balls flying around and can't watch it anyway.

A couple other random comments about playfield layout. Besides what's already been noted, the ball launch now always kicks up to the right-side platform and then feeds to the right flipper -- it used to fly around the right orbit. (IMHO this is a great change, because it enabled multiple flipper skill shots, each of which has a distinct point value and feature boost.) The Vent 2 shot also returns directly to the right flipper now instead of feeding the launcher lane, which again is an improvement IMHO... I thought dropping into the launcher lane and then kicking it back out was kinda clunky.

#11375 7 years ago

Bill Paxton passed away today Game over man indeed

#11376 7 years ago

Such sad news. RIP Bill.

I suddenly want a Bill Paxton Pinball live stream.

#11377 7 years ago
Quoted from CobraClutch:

Such sad news. RIP Bill.
I suddenly want a Bill Paxton Pinball live stream.

I hope Ben plays the old pin in honor. RIP.

#11378 7 years ago
Quoted from sd_tom:

Bill Paxton passed away today Game over man indeed

Damn... that really sucks. RIP Bill

#11379 7 years ago

Sad to hear about Bill Paxton Only 61 too, wow. He was great in Aliens, Twister, Titanic, and Apollo 13.

Hopefully there is a lot of "Hudson" in Heighways game, including video clips from Aliens.

Edit: I saw a post earlier from David Thiel that so far there's 121 callouts for Bill Paxton's character Hudson in the game

Here's a cool video of the cast of Aliens reuniting after 30 years, Bill Paxton is there.

#11380 7 years ago

Bummer news about Bill Paxton - great actor that never took himself too seriously.

#11381 7 years ago
Quoted from PanzerFreak:

Sad to hear about Bill Paxton Only 61 too, wow. He was great in Aliens, Twister, Titanic, and Apollo 13.
Hopefully there is a lot of "Hudson" in Heighways game, including video clips from Aliens

Don't forget his great work in Weird Science! Very sad news, RIP Bill.

#11382 7 years ago
Quoted from PanzerFreak:

Here's a cool video of the cast of Aliens reuniting after 30 years, Bill Paxton is there.

Thanks for sharing...

#11383 7 years ago

RIP Mr Bill Paxton, what a damn shame. So glad we get to honour his work in Aliens.

#11384 7 years ago

Damn.....sad news about Bill.....rip

#11385 7 years ago
Quoted from solarvalue:

Nordman actually said that he was not the designer but that he did the initial playfield drawing:
http://www.pinballnews.com/news/nordmanheighway.html
Here's the original Nordman drawing:

I agree he should still be given credit for the initial drawing and for being a better judge of how long it would take to produce the game.

I wouldn't disagree with that. The geometry has been completely reworked from top to bottom, sometimes a little in places and sometimes a lot, but even though no component is going to be in exactly the same place by this point, Dennis gave me the sound foundations to work from. There has been a lot of trial and error along the way, but much of the thought process behind my revision has been along the lines of 'OK, this is a good idea, how can I make it work better or more efficiently and save some more space'.

#11386 7 years ago
Quoted from PanzerFreak:

Sad to hear about Bill Paxton Only 61 too, wow. He was great in Aliens, Twister, Titanic, and Apollo 13.
Hopefully there is a lot of "Hudson" in Heighways game, including video clips from Aliens.
Edit: I saw a post earlier from David Thiel that so far there's 121 callouts for Bill Paxton's character Hudson in the game
Here's a cool video of the cast of Aliens reuniting after 30 years, Bill Paxton is there.
» YouTube video

Don't forget Terminator, small part but still cool non the less. One of only two men in history to take on a Terminator a Predator and a horde of Aliens, what a career

#11387 7 years ago

"Get underground now!" ---Twister

#11388 7 years ago
Quoted from EalaDubhSidhe:

I wouldn't disagree with that. The geometry has been completely reworked from top to bottom, sometimes a little in places and sometimes a lot, but even though no component is going to be in exactly the same place by this point, Dennis gave me the sound foundations to work from. There has been a lot of trial and error along the way, but much of the thought process behind my revision has been along the lines of 'OK, this is a good idea, how can I make it work better or more efficiently and save some more space'.

Great post Dave, and let me just say that I, in no way, was trying to say that he should be named co-designer. I only meant he should have some credit for his original playfield drawing. (and that is just what you gave him in your post)

There should be no doubt whatsoever that this is your playfield design all the way. And from what I can tell, you once again did an incredible job on it.

Aurich missed my point completely (or I explained myself poorly)

It really does not matter, either way. All that is important is that this thing sell like hot cakes and that I get my playfield package soon

PS! So sad to hear about Bill. At least, I will treasure my pin even more now

25
#11389 7 years ago

Here's what some of you want to see: an export of the production playfield, simplified for clarity, and an overlay of the two versions so you can see what's been changed (or changed back, even) and how it's all been refined over the development time. My lines are in green, Dennis' are in blue.

260217CAD.jpg260217CAD.jpg

260217overlay.jpg260217overlay.jpg

#11390 7 years ago

So the chestbuster pop up target was removed, along with the RT upper loop magnet. Looks like there's a rubber where the magnet used to be, closing off the pops area.

Care to share what the original intention of those features were, and why you decided to finally remove them? Just curious.

Thank you so much for posting!

#11391 7 years ago

RIP Bill Paxton. Major bummer, a little to young for us to loose him.
Is Twister and Apollo 13 his only pinball machines?

13
#11392 7 years ago

Turned out to be largely cost, but it was also a case of overthinking and overcomplicating an idea that the team get so invested in, and put so much effort in to make work in a clever fashion, that removing it seemed inconceivable without any other alternative at the time. In the end, it was when Andrew was pricing things up and just asked the Skype group, 'what would happen if we took the magnet out'. There was a lot of initial scepticism from me since it involved a major element of the game's flow, but a look over the CAD later from a fresh perspective revealed a sizeable cause-and-effect chain whereby the top lane up-posts and pops could be used to do the job of the magnet if the orbit was then separated - and if the magnet went, the diverter became unnecessary; and if there was now an end point below the bumper, a regular target should be put there instead. Three for the price of one, and all the game would really lose was the trap, catch and 'fling' effect from the secondary magnet.

The immense sense that relief that everyone on the Wales side IMMEDIATELY felt afterwards also told us this was absolutely the correct decision to make.

#11393 7 years ago
Quoted from J85M:

Don't forget Terminator, small part but still cool non the less. One of only two men in history to take on a Terminator a Predator and a horde of Aliens, what a career

Don't forget the five years he spent married to three different women! (Or was that the horde of Aliens you were referring to?) Seriously, I thought "Big Love" showed he had some real range. I always loved seeing where he'd pop up next. I'll miss him.

#11394 7 years ago
Quoted from EalaDubhSidhe:

Here's what some of you want to see: an export of the production playfield, simplified for clarity, and an overlay of the two versions so you can see what's been changed (or changed back, even) and how it's all been refined over the development time. My lines are in green, Dennis' are in blue.

Quoted from EalaDubhSidhe:

Turned out to be largely cost, but it was also a case of overthinking and overcomplicating an idea that the team get so invested in, and put so much effort in to make work in a clever fashion, that removing it seemed inconceivable without any other alternative at the time. In the end, it was when Andrew was pricing things up and just asked the Skype group, 'what would happen if we took the magnet out'. There was a lot of initial scepticism from me since it involved a major element of the game's flow, but a look over the CAD later from a fresh perspective revealed a sizeable cause-and-effect chain whereby the top lane up-posts and pops could be used to do the job of the magnet if the orbit was then separated - and if the magnet went, the diverter became unnecessary; and if there was now an end point below the bumper, a regular target should be put there instead. Three for the price of one, and all the game would really lose was the trap, catch and 'fling' effect from the secondary magnet.
The immense sense that relief that everyone on the Wales side IMMEDIATELY felt afterwards also told us this was absolutely the correct decision to make.

I love this background info. Thanks Dave

#11395 7 years ago

Really mourning the loss of yet another talented/phenominal actor and human being! 2016/17 really blows!

'Aliens'
Vasquez: "Look, man. I only need to know one thing- where they are!"
Hudson: "Right, right. Somebody said "alien." She thought they said "illegal alien" and signed up"
Vasquez: "Fuck you man!"
Hudson: "Anytime, anywhere!"

Ripley: "How long after we're declared overdue can we expect a rescue?"
Hicks: "Seventeen days"
Hudson: "Seventeen days? Hey, man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last 17 hours. Those things are gonna come in here like they did before. They're gonna come in here, they're gonna come in here and they're gonna get us!"

Hudson is frantically mowing down aliens]
Private Hudson: Come on! Come on! Come and get it, baby! Come on! I don't got all day! Come on! Come on! Come on you bastard! Come on, you too! Oh, you want some of this? Fuck you!

#11396 7 years ago

#11397 7 years ago
Quoted from rlslick:

Really mourning the loss of yet another talented/phenominal actor and human being! 2016/17 really blows!
'Aliens'
Vasquez: "Look, man. I only need to know one thing- where they are!"
Hudson: "Right, right. Somebody said "alien." She thought they said "illegal alien" and signed up"
Vasquez: "Fuck you man!"
Hudson: "Anytime, anywhere!"
Ripley: "How long after we're declared overdue can we expect a rescue?"
Hicks: "Seventeen days"
Hudson: "Seventeen days? Hey, man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last 17 hours. Those things are gonna come in here like they did before. They're gonna come in here, they're gonna come in here and they're gonna get us!"
Hudson is frantically mowing down aliens]
Private Hudson: Come on! Come on! Come and get it, baby! Come on! I don't got all day! Come on! Come on! Come on you bastard! Come on, you too! Oh, you want some of this? Fuck you!

So many good lines in that scene from Bill Paxton as Hudson. I hope they are all in the game!

Heck, if anyone from Heighway is reading this it would be amazing to just have a special Hudson mode of him wasting Aliens

#11398 7 years ago
Quoted from PanzerFreak:

Heck, if anyone from Heighway is reading this it would be amazing to just have a special Hudson mode of him wasting Aliens
» YouTube video

Agreed. This would make a great midnight madness mode or hidden mode similar to the Peking duck mode in The Shadow. Andrew please give this some serious thought, as a dedication to Bill. It'd likely need just be a software update.

#11399 7 years ago
Quoted from jonesjb:

Agreed. This would make a great midnight madness mode or hidden mode similar to the Peking duck mode in The Shadow. Andrew please give this some serious thought, as a dedication to Bill. It'd likely need just be a software update.

It could be a pretty darn awesome mode. With Alien offering color changing GI and color changing inserts the entire game could be made to have a red glow to resemble that scene. Certain shots, maybe in white or green, could be the alien kills from Hudson. It could be a timed mode where a player has to kill as many Aliens as they can as Hudson in 30 seconds. Wasting aliens with Hudson yelling at that things and swearing. Damn does that sounds like fun.

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