Sounds like a South Park reference ... which might not be irrelevant to matters Heighway.

What is included in the swap kit ? and how much will it cost ?

It's rumored they have the license! Wouldn't that make for a great pin! From what I understand the old Sega version still does well on route!

from Clifford, one of my favorites.

Potentially awesome with the way SP Studios operate now. I'd expect them to be doing all the animations and have an active role in design ... much like the studio and Trey Parker & Matt Stone did with the recent Stick of Truth game (which was excellent).

Edit: in fact it wouldn't surprise me at all if it was loosely based on the Stick of Truth. Rules could be insanely deep given the arc of the story and content.

That theme is a gold mine...the old pin still kills on route. Surprised another hasn't been released. TONS of source material.

Artwork/Playfield.60%

So a fully populated and wired playfield ? Including lcd in playfield? Translite , and cabinet art . For roughly 60% the cost of a complete game ? How is different game code installed for the swap ? just new software into existing boards ?

USB stick I presume--that's how updates are done to Full Throttle

who you gonna call? heighway pinball! aliens drool!

So if I get the large LCD in the back box in the back of my Alien, do I still get the translite?

So all games will have wifi out the gate?

Need to jump over to the official Heighway thread to check out fiber ramp lighting, and chrome hardware...badass!!!

I can't tell you how exciting it is to finally start to see a printed playfield populating, with lights and goodies. It's still all prototype, but man, the potential is really starting to get realized in person, instead of just in our heads.

I know it's been a long wait, but lots of things are starting to move now, you're going to start seeing more tangible progress soon.

image_(resized).jpg

So the pin is in the "potential" stage? I find it a bit disturbing that the pin is just "starting" to show the capacity to become or develop into something...

I understand what you are saying but disturbing I would convert to long waiting.

I think the storyboard is packed with things they are going to implement. Do not forget that they have a virtual platform also. So the stage they are in now is making everything work in the real world.

I am an owner of a Full Throttle and it is hard to believe that this is Heighway's first pin. It is amazing in many ways. So the chances are high that it only gets better I think Heighway will not disappoint

No, he said the potential is starting to be realised. That is clearly beyond potential and into the realisation OF that potential.

Ha what a drama queen

Has it been confirmed who is doing the game design and programming?

There's a big difference between running code in an ASCII simulator vs seeing it start to be able to play on a real, printed playfield. Same code, same work and effort behind it, huge psychological difference for the team.

Been a ton of work to get it to this stage, allow us to be excited to see things "for really reals"!

And yes, potential is exactly the right word. The game isn't done yet. And it just keeps getting better as the team has more ideas, as we work things out and see new possibilities in the rules, as the toys become tangible, as you can see how the lighting actually works with the art, etc.

The doesn't mean we're just now getting around to thinking about things! Potential is realized by a lot of behind the scenes work to build a great platform upon which you can then iterate and polish and improve.

Game design by Dennis Nordman and Dave Sanders. Initial layout by Dennis, changed quite a lot by Dave (who did Full Throttle).

Programming by Brian Dominy and Joe Schober, with a lot of input from the whole group. It's a great team, and a very comfortable collaborative effort. There's a lot of code for this game already, and the rules are already in place for things that aren't coded, but at the same time as you have good ideas you adjust and make things deeper, you link together parts that existed more solo and get stronger with more strategic gameplay ideas, etc.

There's a long list of names involved in this game, some of which most people on Pinside will be very familiar with, some maybe not so, but either way everyone is bringing great ideas to the table. Sculpting, sound, animation, there's a lot people haven't seen or heard yet.

I'm not trying to tease, just being clear that there's been a ton of work going on, we just haven't been able to show it yet, so don't think that we're just now starting to make a game or something. The different parts have all been in motion for a long time, the exciting aspect of right now is we're finally seeing them start to interact with each other in the game.

Disclaimer I've been in the pub all afternoon, but just agreed out loud with that statement.

Enjoy

What are you talking about? Please tease!

Somebody give us something. What's that cat up to in the vents?

Anything is appreciated!

The Game just keeps getting better and better!
Awesome work by Everyone at Heighway!

Setting a New Standard is hard enough, but a Home Run looks to be coming!

Great News for Everyone!!!!

Thanks for keeping us up to date, Aurich!

No, he said the potential is starting to be realised. That is clearly beyond potential and into the realisation OF that potential.

I agree, but I think his point is that even though that's the case, the fact that they are only now putting things together for a prototype means that this pin is still quite a way from being released. It's definitely nice to see progress like this and it obviously means we are getting closer. But it doesn't mean that these will be shipping in the next couple of months either.

right....since they have said that they hope to have one at TPF I don't think anyone paying attention expected them to ship(!) in the next couple months.

I don't agree with the negativity, given that progress obviously is being made, but it's fair to make the comment ....

At the end of 2014 weren't Heighway pushing for an April '15 release? First complete prototype is now due for March '16 at TPF, with June-ish realease being mentioned in January at EAG. With 4 months until apparent completion, the game has been *delayed* 14 months at minimum, with Nordman's stipulated reason for departure proving valid ... so some people could be forgiven for being sceptical.

My opinion is that they must now be relatively certain they'll have at least the standard edition ready to go somewhere around the middle of the year, or they wouldn't be hiring more production and assembly staff to ramp production of Full Throttle yet (which in isolation has seen quite sparse demand).

Getting the licensing and rights taken care of takes time to sort out. On a licensed game, that pretty much means everything that you can see. Pretty much everyone who has ever dipped their toes into those waters for the first time quickly discovers that everything takes ten times as long to get resolved. Are you really going to fault Heighway for making an unrealistic release date in the first place? They are making progress and they are showing us everything they can at this point, and being great about quelling all the concerns that they legally can and, generally, are just being really nice people to everyone here. Seriously, everyone, relax. It's okay to have concerns, but at least be reasonable about them.

So everything seems to be moving along nicely

Is there an updated timeline yet as to when we might see production and then shipping? I know there is many a slip between the cup and the lip but in broad time frames?

The software guys. Spooky has done a phenomenal job with code.

We always break down and praise or bitch about Stern code.

What is the goal/expectation for Alien? We have all seen what guys like Keith and Lyman can do for a pin.

Are we even gonna be in the ballpark of those guys?

If Full Throttle is any indication, yeah we are definitely in the ball park! I'm very impressed with my Full Throttle out of the box (1.3). Now I've had to tweak the ball guides & some leaf switches, but overall it's been unbelievable!

Great to hear Zamp. Everybody seems to love Full Throttle.

I think the whole package on this one is going to really come together great

He did, you just have to read what he wrote and then know which bits to pick out

This may have been posted elsewhere, but I just noticed this video of the fiber optic ramp lighting. Looks like it was recently posted, and damn, that's going to look awesome in green on those Alien LEs! Lots of potential there with proper coding.

I know this is the Alien thread but thought the chromed out FT looks so nice, just imagine something similar on Alien.

I didn't like the look of the old bezel but think the chromed one actually adds cosmetic value.

FT_LE_(resized).jpeg

"Bezel" doesn't bother me one bit...what is the actual surface area difference from other machines with side rails/lockdown bar? Not much I suspect.

Chrome looks incredible but be prepared to wipe it down every time you touch it otherwise it will be a mess of finger/palm prints. I'll stick with the industrial standard look.

Is this translite the final version? Right now it looks like a straight copy of the movie poster. Seems a little disconnected to the playfield art. Maybe once the playfield has all the plastics on it will tie them together?

I think the final has a large Paul Reiser clipart figure...

Brushed chrome would look good and eliminate the fingerprint issue. Plus this is a race bike theme - not a hog theme.

image_(resized).jpeg

Ice makes an extremely relevant case. Software is assumed to be done since Heighway is running a virtual version of the prototype for a bit now, wonder if we will see a short teaser video of modes if Fox allows it. That would stir heavy sales potential since we tend to share these vids a lot with everyone we know...whether they want to see them or not!

Looks even better with black cab. Aww yeah...

Ferrari of pinballs....

ThinkGeek.com has a topper candidate for $50.

Or if you just want a xenomorph to protect your stash of chocolate chip cookies.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/issv/?rkgid=3033692581

issv_alien_xenomorph_cookie_jar_(resized).jpg

I'm just asking some questions and I will get ignored as usual.

That's ok. I lost a tiny bit on Jpop by comparison. I'm pretty dumb but this one seems like it will come together and be awesome.

All we have to go on is history. This came out before the latest update.

Disclaimer: Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

First part: yeah, I think they're to blame for being unrealistically optimistic. It's not like they hadn't experience before in how many delays there'd been and that things always tend to take longer than hoped. But, being very optimistic is a nice thing too.
Second part: fully agreed, and that's why I think most people don't make a big fuzz about the first part. I'm not one of the pre-order guys, but I think most of them already figured it would take longer than 'estimated'. Even without 'licensing-delays': getting a whitewood to play really well costs more time than anticipated too. But hey, I like what they're doing and hope they succeed. I think Alien looks very promising and I like their swapping-idea, no switches, etc....

Maybe something for Heighway (and JJP too?): could you put a small commercial in the attract mode for the other game(s)? I liked how Data East would mention other existing or upcoming games and I think having a LCD can make that a lot nicer. I'd like seeing a 'FT' commericial once in a while if I owned an Alien, or the other way around.

I'm still shocked with the beauty of that LE model..
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