So are they now planning to include the cliffy protectors from the factory? Seems like some guys are getting theirs from HW.

I like the extra parts idea. They should send the same for each machine shipped for the exact reason stated.

I already put the protector on mine so if any owners need one (scoop cliffy), PM me and I can mail out mine. It's imperative to have one

Edit taken!

This is true. I've been trying to get parts for my FT since *May* of 2017..

Seriously?!?!?!?

At least it's proof that things are moving... Better than no parts going out for anyone.

I want a Full Throttle SO bad, but this is exactly why I don't take a chance on this company. Such a shame.

Only took 6 months to get, but the parts are here. Now I just need to figure out where all this stuff goes. Atleast they could have gave me some paint by numbers instructions

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I'll sell you mine at a fire sale price!

It's good to see parts getting out.

Hopefully this means some of the early 'beta' owners who have had busted games for a year or more and can't update the software will be hooked up soon!

How many machines are that for?

That is some funny stuff (probably just one). tdiddy what was postmark on your box? i.e. how many days was it in transit to you?

Shipped on monday because I blow them up on their Facebook page

Just 1 machine

So is tgere a service bulletin or something that I can follow to put all this stuff in? I got a bunch of cables 3 0r 4 boards and a bunch of odds and ends. The head,scoop and monitor I can figure out

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Oh Yeah the head was broken during shipping.....great packing guys

LOL well you got the mother load of parts there. Too bad they couldn't spare some bubble wrap for the poor alien head. The head scratcher for me is all the cables. Were the old ones bad or incompatible is some way to the new board?

Yeah I don't understand why all new cables, talk about a pita to change out

Old vs new design

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It looks like they sent you a new CPU, presumably to replace a Zotac. That would explain the video cables: the Zotac had several different connectors on the PC side (VGA, DVI, DisplayPort)... the new PC is DVI across the board.

So installed the new scoop on mine and it's def an improvement. Mine really didn't have a big issue but occasionally it would hop. Thus far it's a straight shot and quicker than the other (I believe I can make it slower though). The new design has a black piece that's attached and is on an angle so it forces the ball to shoot the same way each time. Def an improvement.

The only "issue" I still see on mine is the electrical noise that causes some icons to change color when I press the right flipper (not left). Only happens on bottom inserts so not a big deal but would love to see that cleaned up.

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From Facebook

Heighway Pinball added 2 new photos.
2 hrs ·
Roman Glass is now available an optional extra on Alien. Prices are as follows: £195, €220 and US$250.
Roman Glass on the green Alien, standard glass on the blue Alien.

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I'd order the glass but I dont want it to delay my game 6 months.

I'd be happy to get my game without any glass at this point. Amazing they can roll out petty little updates like this and probably expect applause but not give any substantial update on bigger news or where the hell all our games are for those of us waiting for years.

That green is hideous but the Blue isn't too bad, Black seems like the best choice.

How did they choose such a bad green

Just wanted to stop in and say that Helmut got me all taken care of for our route game, proto #2.

I am happy that support appears to be continuing to improve, parts are going out.

I always said that if the new team could:
Take care of original orders that had issues
DO better with support
REfund all people that want a refund
And make games...

Then they would be able to bail this out simply because the game is super fun, well coded, and the thiel sound track is phenomenal

They appear to be heading in the right direction and i look forward to hearing people get refunds. Once that is settled then I will be happy and I think they have the potential to sell lots of these.

We can only hope...but is it already too late? It's hard to come back from a bad reputation. Not impossible and I really do hope they pull off the improbable. This game deserves to get into more hands...hands that can trust parts will be there when/if they need them.

It's about time for me to send them another email even though I know what the reply will be. Are the communicating with you at all?

One thing I always wonder about is how much of the pinball market reads Pinside or actually follows this stuff? Sure, the hardcore collectors do, but if Alien is just now starting to show up on location and with distributors, for most potential buyers, isn't it just now showing up on their radar? Do you think they have any idea this project took years to happen, that there was a switch of ownership, or that the new owners have taken longer than expected to make things right for early adopters? I have a lot of friends that play pinball and some own a few games that really don't pay attention at all to what game is coming out next, they don't care about a game until it's out on location and they've played it a bunch.

That's why it seemed nuts to me to even be talking about game #3.

There are some companies, such as Heighway, that seemed to only be able to sell to Pinside, and some pinball shows, and not know how to extend past that. The new HP seems also stuck in that. It will be key to their success to solve that problem.

I don't think it's too late and maybe the ship is being righted. Parts going out and delaying game #3 to me says a lot.

Isn't that basically everyone, except Stern?

I've heard this many times in this thread.

Theres only one reason heighway are talking about #3.
Pre order money.

Yup and I don't think anyone who's honest would recommend that they pre order a game from HW at this point. I wouldn't even though it benefit me me them to get some money coming in.

I agree, but parts are being shipped.

Hopefully HW has learned and won't do pre orders anymore. And honestly if they get their shit together they should be busy building Alien games for a while. In my head money is the main thing holding them back, and I doubt they can get another investor now.

I just feel that this is a cant lose license, and its pretty well documented that the sounds, visuals, gameplay and artwork back up the importance of the license. Hopefully HW is done stubbing its toe and can get these pins moving and supported. It can be a cash cow if they do!

If they could build 2,000 Alien games, they could sell 2,000, distributors are just waiting for games to sell.

I simply want my $1500 deposit back. No response from Heighway in 6 months. This is the worse pin experience I have ever had. 3 years and still waiting. I would not send them another penny!! Andrew should be ashamed of himself for what he did to this company. How do I get these people to respond?

This would be my guess as to why they're not bothering to respond to you. Nothing more to get from you.

You can post your info here if you haven't already:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ok-an-alien-refund-request-for-clarity-thread

Good luck.

Exactly, if they can step up QC and get more parts and start putting them together who knows how many they'll sell. I just hope the damage isn't already done, my money has been with Cointaker if it was with HW I wouldn't be nearly as hopeful. The fact that people are still waiting for $1-2k deposits back doesn't feel good.

Funny this time last year all I could think was "I should have my game by the end of the year for sure" a year later and I'm thinking the same thing but less hopeful about the "for sure" part.

Usually takes 3 or 4 attempts and months and once I get rude sometimes that gets them to reply but then it is just the copy/paste response that they are sorry and have no updates, blah blah blah. I can promise they are 100% dodging the main part of my question which is I know I was one of the the first 10 orders ever made for an Alien(LE) which Andrew did confirm for me years ago and if I will get my game first or near the front. I was drug thru the mud with getting conned into paying in full cause it was "ready to ship" over a year ago, never once have they actually responded to that question or really addressed anything on early LE orders. There is no question they are looking for new money and will continue to bend over their original supporters. It honestly is a clown show, it is funny how people still try and put lipstick on this pig.

I'm at the point I have no confidence in their company so I really don't even care too much anymore, I just hope to someday get a game and them make things right for all the people and BS they have put us thru.

I make no excuse for the poor communication, but a few things: I don’t think many (if any at all) LE’s have been shipped stateside. They are likely to ship many in a batch when they are ready to ship to the USA, so I don’t think you have become circumvented. Secondly, they are likely to want to get the LE (and standard) design finalized from a QA perspective... they’d want all LEs to be consistent. And until that happens there is far more risk/cost shipping replacements to the United States than within Europe.

Oh I know I am not saying they have, I just have no faith since I ask the question direct and they won't even give me an answer on it knowing what order they will produce or when. They couldn't even tell or show the LE features until recently and still are fuzzy on it all. But just like the SEs, new money will seem to win the day I am guessing.

Update: looks like I won’t be trading in my Alien for a Houdini after all. I have been made whole after my lemon of the first game in VA before Christmas. I have had terrible rgb siezure due to the interference, a xeno that will not keep it’s tongue in, so it burns the motor out, an airlock scoop that wouldn’t shoot the ball out properly and ended up cracking my clearcoat and taking art with it, and an inverter that is loud as all heck powering my blades. Needless to say after nearly 2 months of not being able to play. The new code update has made the game playable and I will be getting a new pop pf with new xeno and newly designed airlock scoop with protector. I am satisfied with the outcome. That is, as long as it arrives. Supposedly will ship with next shipment of games. So we will see.

On to the next thing. After playing the new code, I wanna say good job! However I have a few ideas I’d like to suggest @ferret.

For the code, I think it could be slightly improved with the following:

1. When you have the super jackpot lit for ambush multiball, allow the posts to pop up when a player hits the orbits so that there is an additional way to feed the upper right flipper. Right now, only a direct CB can feed it which is extremely difficult with 2 or more balls. Give us a tad more hope aside from a stray shot.

2. In the mini wizard modes, my game doesn’t show time remaining for the mode on the mini lcd screen like the other modes. That would be nice to have.

Otherwise, fantastic job!

welcome back!

I REALLY like the idea of having the post come up as I feel MB ambush is really hard to hit jackpot. I know it's intended but that would be helpful.

There's no way they'll ever sell 2000 units.

However much it has been improved, and how ever much it improves henceforth, it will still always be a compromised product of Andrew's tenure. It's to their credit - staff and owners - that it is where it is now, but it still has a legacy, as Dave alluded to in the interview, saying that some problematic aspects would be done very differently for #3.

Moreover, I think most interested parties are cognisant of this.

Plus, as people continue to allude to, the cab head and glass magazine do the machines no favours when sitting in a showroom next to other games. Even if they don't look bad, they do look strikingly strange. 2000 is a lot of product for something obviously oddball.

The notion that if they can just build enough units of Alien everything will be fine is flawed. Their future rests on #3. IMO it will be a real achievement if they sell 500-750 Aliens.