I played several games on FT at Pintastic, and spent some time with Romain Fontaine having him show me the "guts" of the game design. Top removal of the glass is very easy (saves a ton of space, as you guys know), then the side art panels are able to be lifted out of their channels - effortless. Then the playfield is ready to come out after 3 very simple electrical dis-connnects. The inside cabinet and under playfield engineering are clean and very impressive. While the FT racing theme is not my cup of tea, I completely agree with Oldpinguy - the machine plays fantastic. I am not a great player (I think my wife whipped my butt just about every game on FT but maybe one), but even I can appreciate that the flow and speed are terrific.

I am a huge Alien fan, like many of you, but have been reluctant to pre-order an LE after having watched those other train wrecks here on Pinside (I truly feel really bad for all those affected). But, after listening to Andrew's presentation, having Romain walk me through their design tech, and knowing that Aurich is working to insure we have terrific art - I am going to grab an LE slot this week. And, if any of Star Gazer's toys make it into this pin - well, talk about over the top!

Regarding the translight vs 27" display question, and perhaps others have suggested this already, but it would be great if the translight were easily able to be inserted in front of the LCD for display when the machine is off. Something that would work without too much effort even with the pin in the middle of a row. Maybe a channel of some kind that would let you slip the artwork in from either side, and even perhaps the top too. Some kind of derivative of the side panel channel design being used already.....

I don't post too much on Pinside, although I follow many of the threads and many of you Pinsiders who I've learned so much from. I'm a fully paid LE owner, number LE18. I paid the balance when Andrew asked for it last April as did some others. Since then we've all learned a lot, a lot which we wished we hadn't had to learn it all. That said, MK6PIN's optimism has been refreshing and has kept me rooting for a win here, along with the amazing updates and improvements to the game from BCD, Daudioguy, and Ferret. I really miss Aurich's contributions to the thred as well, although easy to understand why he visits less often these days. I want to see this pin happen, and happen big as the Alien(s) theme is amazing and engages not only those of us in this hobby but will engage non hobbyists alike and could be a huge success for Heighway. So, I'm remaining optimistic that Heighway will pull this off, especially considering the great reviews owners are giving the game and gameplay (even considering the bugs). It is, as others have said, a grail theme for me too so I'll be stubborn and stay the course and look forward to getting my LE at some point in the not-too-distant future (I hope). For those of you with games, please continue to post your experiences, and pictures of unboxings, and videos, and keep troubleshooting for those of us who will be future owners - your efforts are much appreciated!!!

-Dave

I am a fully paid Alien LE owner, #18. Even paid the extra for the large screen, back when that was an option. I'll likely never see my game, so life lesson for me here. The warning signs were out there, as many Pinsiders pointed out, but this is a "must have" theme for me as it is for many others so I kept holding out hope beyond hope that it would somehow come to pass. And when the new owners took over, held my breath for a while again hoping for the best as I'd much prefer to have the game than a refund, even if the game still has bugs in it! Ah well, looks like it's never going to happen now. But, for those you with the game like #Indypin, you should thoroughly enjoy your game. No ill will here just because I ended up screwed - heck, I wish I was in the club with you! I hold out little hope at this point that through the receivership process some remuneration will come the early adopter's way. I guess it could happen, just doesn't look promising. But what a great pin this should have been for a far greater number of pinball enthusiasts, folks. Just a damn shame.....

I care, just not sure what I can do about it or with it.