Good news. I sent four emails the past month with no response. Hopefully things work out and we get our machines. Glad they are working on the issues and i hope the machines are reliable and the company can provide the service required in the event we need parts. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Wouldn't full throttle have to be the sales hit that WOZ was for this to be the case?

Don't believe we would have JJP today if not for WOZ.

Is the toaster in the goodie bag?? Oh, oh...got it. Good one. No actual toaster involved. Check.

Completely agree....Jack took the leap w a timeless first theme...a wiser choice, imho, than Heighway.

His first game will always be the landmark for JJP....Heighway will have Alien.

Parallel for me is they are both business people/ organizations, with the actual intent of producing quality machines ( not the pipe-dream vaporware like basement boy).

Both nearly tanked and needed new money and investors to pull it off. Jack nearly lost everything and was crucified on here..but came out on top.

Andrew didnt make it, but got the machine far enough that the new group finally has a landmark pin.

Pinball not only hard, but extremely risky for all, given we are such a small market.

I think a thread " early adopters, WOZ vs. ALIEN" would be a fascinating discussion...someday....

Not that it really means anything but Alien is a way better pin than WOZ (IMHO).

Im quite upset with this toaster discovery...

I want an Alien barstool....dammit

Raising expectations ... I want a free pet Xeno.

Absolutely agree. I bought a WOZ 75th anniversary and the wife and friends all loved it, but I grew bored with it pretty quickly. I feel the same about Hobbit. However, Pirates looks like a well done theme.
Alien has the lineage and game play to be a game of the decade. I certainly think it is better than AFM. But, if the new owners of Heighway are not careful, they will blow all the good will and trust, if any, that still exists. I cannot get over the fact that they do not send me my (paid for in full) Full Throttle. That is a mature game with stable code. I have been ignored on repeated requests for them to build and ship my game. At this point, I have given up, and asked for a refund. No answer. Silence. I honestly don’t think they have the money or intent to build and ship my Full Throttle, let alone fully pre-paid Alien LE’s (like me).

If something doesn’t happen soon, then I will initiate litigation. If they declare bankruptcy, then so be it. Perhaps early adopters like myself can band together and buy the I.P. from the bankruptcy judge. If that happens, all early adopters will be screwed (we are already screwed), but at least there will be a chance of getting the game to a reputable manufacturer.

The fact that Ferret doesn't have a pin at this point just shows how threadbare they are on parts, and funding..

Think he stated a few pages back he's got one now......

Owner of both WOZ RR and Alien - both are amazing in their own right. I would take Alien over WOZ but RR is def top machine out there. You're talking about two of the best machines. Can't go wrong with either.

Ok thanks. Ugh..

Yes u can, we are talking about Sci Fi Horror with a giant lizard that eats people vs my mothers and grand ma's favorite movie, sorry i couldn't resist but "somewhere over the rainbow", come on man.

Well, I've still got my year-old prototype, not a current production machine. daudioguy has a current production machine, though.

This is absolutely the oddest case that I've seen regarding the timeline/ refund thing. Guessing you were paid in full for both (how long, if I can ask?) then finally got tired of the wait and zero communication, so now pursuing total refund (again, how long ago, if permissible to ask?). I can't see them doing this intentionally, but obviously something is seriously wrong in you instance......

Too funny!!!!

oops...my bad.....knew someone on your team posted that they finally had a new game to use for further development......

So, not able to write proper code for beacons or shaker?

Correct.

Yes I do and everything works. However I don't have a shaker motor or beacons so we still are not at the point where they can be artfully added to our choreography. This will be rectified and Joe and Brian and Aurich and Kelly will all have machines sooner than later.

The Active Investor Group is solidly committed to building and shipping Alien and games beyond that. There are still major steps that need to be taken by them toward that end but there has been a lot of progress and I am very happy that Alien pins are in the wild and working.

ddt

Does that mean you are ready to stand up and be counted by posting info in the refund thread? It won't speed up your refund but it will record your new status. I think Heighway Pinball has been clear that refunds will be phased in as cashflow allows. Maybe the size of your desired refund will put you close to the top of the list. Maybe they are issuing in the order of request, there isn't any clear basis. GLWTR

Hey guys, just an update for you.

Really hit the Alien pin hard this holiday weekend. Had family and newbies over and they really bragged about the pin and the theme. I was FINALLY able to achieve the hyper sleep multiball. I know small potatoes to pro players, but a HUGE accomplishment for a guy like me who sucks at pinball.

Haven't made any adjustments to the pin yet because of new grand daughter time, but the ball every once in awhile will not shoot up the ramp at the beginning of the ball, but I read where Delt said adjusting the ramp or something about removing a lower screw possible on the ramp? Every once in a while the alien mech head wand acts up, but not bad. Also, I shoot the outer lanes to hit the pop bumpers, but it seems like the bumpers don't react as much when the ball hits them. Again, probably just minor adjustments needed on my part.

Still, I love playing this pin. It has shots on it that I haven't seen on a pinball before. In this day of age of players complaining about how one pin shoots like another (AS plays like MET, which plays like GOTG, etc), this is one pin that just plays so differently from the others. Not bashing Stern, because I LOVE that lay out regardless of the theme switching. I play Alien then walk over to another pin and it feels do different than say playing SW. I know.... I know....it's a wide body pin. But I played wide bodies before and I never felt the change before (in a good way).

The pin is dark and I'm still contemplating about getting the pin stadium lights, but the darkness really adds to the mood of the pin (and I'm the type who LOVES bright play fields).

Keep the faith fellas and I hope you get your refunds or your pins shipped, whichever you prefer. I would be lying to you if I told you I didn't get nervous on the long wait and broken promises, prompting me to drop my LE version to a standard version when the opportunity was given to me. Either way, you're going to want to play or own this pin and I'm glad I got it for my collection.

It seems like the pop bumper switches are poorly gapped from the factory, so they don't give the kind of action they should. If you adjust the switches they should work fine... and Derelict Ship and Queen's Nest will become much more reasonable.

Glad you're happy with the game!

Can't blame you, and super glad you're enjoying this very special pin.

I've never entertained the idea of switching my LE order, for some odd reason. Suspect because it's truly a grail theme for me (changed my avatar the day I ordered it), and knew it would be special......wanted the best version I could get. I also watched the WOZ story unfold here, and lived it with one of the first 5v versions. That damn machine was going to be great, and I was going to be a part of that journey (boy, was I ever). Turned out amazing.

Alien has been an amazing ride....large backbox screen wasn't even available, who was the true designer, artist, etc. Did they really even get the license? Would the game even be made? These, plus a million more factors (alot not in the threads), provided all I needed to stay the course, regardless of the outcome. Felt like I'm a part of the process, somehow, even though merely a customer.

The thread is actually a great read in the early stages, as many, many die hard Alien fanatics swarmed with ideas and visions of what this game could be. I'll wait and get my LE eventually, or lose my $1500.00 gamble, just is what it is. Will certainly have a great story to tell whether it sits in my gameroom, or not.

Been in way too long for any other outcome. I'm grateful it seems that things are pointing in a much better direction.

Completely agree w Jeff....if you're done, please post your $$$ and refund request date in the other thread so it can be included. Thanks.....

My sincere compliments to both of you for being excellent representatives of your employer.

Maybe they are just proud of the machine and their work for it ? I never saw them much before the new ownders took over.

Great to hear Indy. As for the ball launcher sounds like the problem I had occasionally. Check the bendy metal thing that the ball lands on to enact the launcher switch. The arch on mine was so high that the ball when entering the launcher would hit it and not lay in the center of launcher but side. Solution is to make the arch lower so when the ball gets put into the launcher it clears that bendy piece (same material as paper clip almost) and lays on top of it in the center.

As for the other things, haven't seen that. My pops really pop and are the nicest looking and sounding I've seen. Sounds like a simple switch adjustment. Good luck

I've also had some people over and everyone had walked away impressed. Once this game is out there more it will take off. I plan on reviewing it shortly more that I've had it for a month or so

Anyone know if that second batch of alien went out to CT bc more people should be getting it

To give credit where credit is due;

I emailed Daniel and he responded quickly to say he will straighten out my issues ASAP.

Indeed that is the only reason the pin is (still) alive. The license-approval process was just brutal because the licensor was in parallel producing a new Alien movie. Andrews biggest accomplishment was he got the pin fully approved before he left like Schettino the Costa Concordia. How did he accomplish that? With brilliant notorious lies and semi-frauds he collected and kept preorder money which kept the company alive until the pin was approved. It was just enough value for the investors to shoot fresh money in. The bad heritage of Andrew was a big trust loss so big that everyone in got out if the investment was no pocketmoney (like for me LE paid in full last year). The Investors underestimated the heavy trust damage Andrew produced not only with the customers but for sure also with many business partners as Andrew was a notorious lier. To heal the company the investers had to shoot in fresh six figures but they did so the pin will arrive.

Can't speak to any of the trust loss or "notorious liar" parts, as I have no insight, but even your post reflects the apparent progression and ultimate production of the machine. Very, very grateful that the investors stepped in to finish this thing proper.

Didn't you mention you would be getting a replacement machine out of this second batch? Nice to see you looking out for others "next up", however.....

This is soooo good to hear!!!!!

This is absolute nonsense, sorry.

Hey guys, just one more update.

I had the boys (Greg and Zach) from Straight Down The Middle over at the house today to do some filming of the Alien pin for a show review and overlook coming up. Greg noticed a couple of small little fixes on the pin and, after adjusting a few switches and targets, the pin is working great.

The guys really loved it and we had a blast with the pin. Don't want to spoil the show, so keep an eye out for their broadcast. Thanks again SDTM.

Now if can just get an invite to Chris Bucci's house.

Request for future code update. In family mode the word god damn it's not bleeped out. If you can include a bleep for that it would be great.

Which callout are you referring to, delt31 ? Just narrowing it down to a particular mode would be fine...

I think he's talking about starting acid burn goes something like "that's gonna burn through the god damned hull" I haven't turned on family mode, but that's the only time I've heard it.

that's exactly right. They say that each time the game starts and I have it on family mode but the kiddos get to absorb that one for now ; )

Ferret - I would also strongly suggest ensuring the target only option is given for the lifecycle mode shot (CB shot). Reason being, my switch works perfectly and so does the target however during gameplay the ball shoots so fast up that CB lane that unless it runs over that little spot with the underneath switch, even if it hits the target, the full CB shot doesn't register. I ended up testing this glass off for about 20 min and I can confirm it has to be in that exact sweet spot which doesn't always occur especially since there is a right metal wall that directs the ball away from that spot (and typically steers it up/left into the pops). Sometimes I get the CB shot to register after it comes back from the pops after a direct hit to the CB shot although it doesn't register initially.

To summarize, the target always registers b/c how big it is. If we have a target only mode, it would register much more consistently. It technically works now but I need it to be more consistent if possible.

Thanks!

Already done for next code release.

so impressive. thanks.

Gosh, I so wish I could update from 0.94. I know....broken record.

I'd be a little pissed at this point also.

To be honest, I'm not pissed. I knew I was getting a very early (pre?) production game, and was willing to take that risk to get the game. That said, I was told by Andrew that all the boards were production - and it was only the Xeno mech that needed replacement - and it would be ready in only two weeks! That may have been true, but over time they went with different GI lighting, different drop targets, different PC, etc...

UPDATE!!!!

I just zapped an email to Melissa at Cointaker asking if she had heard from Heighway. She replied within minutes (love that!!) We had a nice back and forth...long story short - we have worked out a solution that I am satisfied with. I'll update details later...but I'll just leave this little nugget here...

COINTAKER CUSTOMER SUPPORT IS AWESOME!!!!!

That would be really cool if you could add the option to censor that line in family mode. It does not bother me but when certain people are playing I would love to be able to turn that off.

What they could do if possible is have an option just to turn the movie quotes off. Or a volume control for them so I could just turn them down the wholeway when I was playing pinball with censtitive goof balls .

Is their a shot that feeds the upper flipper to hit the lock ramp shot?

DON'T POKE THE HORNETS NEST!!

Or you just pass on buying an adult themed pin based on a gory R-rated movie

I find this kind of "censorship code" ridiculous, and it's a waste of programmers time. Stick to family themed pins. Not all pins/movies/media/etc are made for everyone.