Weird the pinball bros. have yet to speak on their own behalf of what the fuk is going on already ! Seems like it's been a while.. crickets

They're at the Winchester, something about waiting for this to all blow over.

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I see a little silhouetto of a man

Why does there *have* to be anything new to say right now, as opposed to wanting there to be? Especially when jumping the gun on promises you don't know if you'll keep has been the plague on this industry for years now.

Isn't your machine one of the newest revisions? Recently NiB?

Not really NIB...A few months old....But xeno never worked. Tongue gear always stopped before ball would reach white plastic...

I'm pretty sure the jump the gun option has expired.. I just wonder why they haven't even made a public statement claiming they aren't as big of a douche bag outfit that Andrew was when he was around

Why restate the obvious. They are just as big of douchebags..

Or bigger as they think they can start another company.

I have one of the earliest prototypes, fortunately it has been upgraded in a lot of ways, so it isn't the electronic mess that it was.

Unfortunately it also has metal ramps that have seen a lot of play, so they don't look very nice, so I decided I was going to take them out and and polish them up, I got about a half hour into removing things and realized that it was going to be an absolute nightmare!! I've been working on pinball machines for 30 years, so I've encountered some pretty daunting repair/removal tasks, but this one took the cake. The more I looked at what was involved, the worse it got, so for the time being, I've put it on hold.

It appears that very little thought was put into repair accessibility, I guess that can be expected on a prototype, I just hope that the later machines aren't as intimidating, or Alien could prove to be the most difficult pin to do playfield work on ever made. I honestly can't imagine putting a playfield protector on, would take an immense amount of work.

I've actually been to "the winchester" (which was actually "the duke of albany" in new cross gate, london
http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/s/Shaun-Of-The-Dead.php

I've got a photo somewhere from one of my trips to england

Haven't removed any ramps, but I have removed the flippers.

The removable design feature was a clever device making them easy to work on.

ayci gogi korean bbq in los angeles has a playable alien in the house. excellent food too. good beer.

i just said this in case you didnt know, and live in los angeles area.

Hoping to get through customs today and pick up tomorrow

Good luck ice

Hope its not a carton full of Bricks or Hydrofoil parts ICE?

Ha it is for sure an Alien

Certainly on a smaller scale, but the rerubbering to white was the most difficult ones I’ve done on a pin.

What about the screen in the middle of the playfield. Have you e.g. put mylar to cover the edges of the screen or something similar? I was worrying that the ball might chip the edge. I was planning to get the thing covered with a playfield protector, but that seems like a no go for me.

It is a difficult machine to put a protector on but it is doable. I have put protectors on about 75 machines and Alien took the longest. I did not time it but I think I spent around 6 hours. Take lots of pictures and line everything up in a long row. When you put it together just work backwards on the row and you will be fine. It is so worth it to protect the playfield and especially the edges around the screen.

You do not planning on taking a summer vacation trip to Finland by any chance?

When working the flipper area, you removed the circuit boards from below the playfield? When removing bolts, the t-nuts are dropping off and impossible to reinstall without taking the circuit boards off. Somebody installing the PF protector should make a guide on how to do it

In a weird parallel twist Andrew Heighway has just been blocked from the UK pinball sellers Facebook page. Odd indeed...

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Why has he got some Aliens to sell

Aside from various stories about past misdeeds (before even Heighway Pinball) and general doubts over his honesty, I would imagine the reports about him leasing, or buying pinball machines on finance at HW, then taking them into his possession are a concern .....

People have periodically posted that he has, or has been trying to sell some off. Obviously not a good idea to buy leased machines or potentially foreclosed financed ones.

Edit: See attached image. If it's a Stern Kiss, it may fall into the previously mentioned category. Also, see the guy who posts further down mentioning that people said he had a bad reputation, back in 2013 at the Daventry show he organised, and then said he stopped going to the show when it was moved to the HW facility. People on PinballInfo have posted that it was likely moved to Wales because he owed money to the venue hotel. The Daventry show is also where he was alleged to have 'borrowed' the Irish guy's machines, and then sold them without compensation or permission.

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Finally! One amazing pinball. So much going on...

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Very nice!!! Where did you get the beacons?

The guy who sold it to me I guess already got it like that . It wasn’t working initially but figured out where to put the wires in a different thread. Sure does add to the suspense of the game !

ebay.

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I dont know about you guys, but my Alien SE is freaking loud! even at 1 its like unbearable. Guess I will have to made adjustments in the menu system to 50% for music, voice etc. Anyone else experience this? I dont know how Im going to play this game at night, it kind of freaks me out especially the ambush and queens nest mode with the lights going off.. almost crapped in my pants.

Part of what makes this game special are the detailed sound effects. Ambush multi ball is just crazy loud.

You can adjust the amplifier under the playfield for better sound.

http://www.heighwaypinball.com/documents/

Aha! thanks for the tip! That did the trick. Amazing sound system, especially the bass.. wow. Are the lights supposed to off during ambush? Mine don't .. unless its at the end of ambush because I fail pretty quickly anyways.

Is it risky to buy an Alien machine now? Are there some mech issues known or whatever? Is the code completed? Is the code great? I always loved the theme but reluctant to buy coz of all the HP mess.
Thanks

I just picked one up yesterday and I'm not disappointed. I felt the same way you did until I did some research and found how how many people have been dedicated to keeping this game alive. One of the best games I have ever owned.

Dan

Picked mine up today, in the back of my truck.

Thanks to Jvspin, avoided customs broker, just took paperwork over to customs, got it stamped and boom boom.

Box is in great shape so hopefully the game is too. The opening happens tonight!

Thanks Wayne!

always happy to help!

You have an Impressive line-up...so you must have solids arguments for comparing
I was thinking to trade or sell my Tron LE as I can’t get into the atmosphere of this one and gets no particular interest of theme.
Was looking for a unique layout, a theme I like and well integrated, with great rules
Alien was a candidate but as I said i was afraid to get issues with it and not able to fix them with the HP bankrupt.
It does not help either to have a « free » market with this machine, buy and sell.
What kind of machine it is if you could compare with another machine or is it unique in all aspects?
Thanks

My game was one that came with no xeno, the first xeno they sent me did this too - seemed to be a bad tounge board, I tried replacing the stepper motor but that wasnt it - heighway sent me a replacement and it worked great afterwards, talk to the guys in the 3 aliens thread they are working on getting some built. Maybe they could help you out?

I find most parts on these games are surprisingly easy to find, there are a few key ones like the I/O boards and LEDs that you cant get (but are being reproduced) but stuff like the monitors, coils, pc's, transformers, stepper motors and such are all off the shelf components.

It's very unique in its own way. I don't really have a game I could compare it to. The 3 LCD screens are a big plus and the actual footage of the movie is integrated in the game design very well. I'm a big fan of the movie and that helps giving this game a positive review.

Dan

With which game you can compare the flow of Alien machine? That can help me to know if this a fast game, medium or stop and go machine.
Thanks

To turn it down to a better range I calibrated mine. Turn amp volume to 0 and set game volume to 3. Turn amp volume up until it plays lightly. You are set. Turn up game volume to 10 which is probably where you probably want it. Now adjust the dials on your amp to your preferred levels. Finished. When you turn volume down to 1 it will be silent. And you could strain to hear when playing game on 3. Crank it up to 11 on the dial.

Maybe Twilight Zone or Shadow?

Personally I would say STTNG

Maybe a little Demo Man in there as well.

Completely agree...the orbits can be blinding fast (left to right)....ramps are quick but also require accurate shot making...the upper right flipper on the inside of the right orbit really can throw you, and also is the key to several amazing combos, but the game will allow you to relax at times......truly a wide body that plays like a standard in certain aspects. combining gameplay w the sick video and audio (best I've seen and heard) makes this a definite stand alone type experience....

One of the best features is you can take a drink of beer while the mode videos play

While its very unique I would agree with jones on Twilight Zone. The right orbit feels very similar to the gumball shot. When shooting for the Hyper Sleep ramp it feels like a very difficult TZ camera shot. While the airlock is much further away than the Slot Machine scoop on TZ, it can sometimes have the same, catch and shoot style of play at times. Just my take.

Can't quite agree ( own a TZ for years)..3 distinct shots from top right flipper on Alien, 1 for TZ ( camera)...top left hits piano primarily, where Alien is lower and can combo several things... and while scoop can respond the same, positioning way different ( TZ scoop reminds me of TRON scoop at times)..left to right orbit can be untouchable at times...Alien does allow for brief alcohol breaks during video clips...

Love both these games

All good points.

Having my TZ sitting next to Alien probably doesnt help my bias.

Curious to know icemans take on the game once he gets its running.

Hopefully someday a good company gets the assets remaining and produces Alien. Until then...