Maybe Andrew/Heighway can make Predator a reality at some point inconjunction with what Skit have already started/done. One can hope would be sweet both running on the same operating system - maybe a alien vs predator link up mode!?

That's the beauty of JJPs setup but with Heighways backbox LCD I don't see why this couldn't be done, maybe it's already part of the plan for the playfield LCD??

Hi Aurich, the artwork you have done is already looking pretty sweet man, I think personally it's a licence where it could be so easy to cram all the cool stuff featured in the films into every inch of the art, less is more is often hard to achieve but the control in the art shows talent man

One question I'd love to know though is will there be much in the art representing ALIENS though? I know the game will allow the player to experience Alien and Aliens but the art at least so far on the cabinet is purely Alien. Just thought I'd ask man as I love the current art would just love to see/know if there's gonna be some more Aliens imagery? Or has it just been simply part of the licence.

Thanks dude

Now that does sound exciting Aurich, I was actually hoping you might say that, so your answer couldn't have been any better

Cannot wait to see the playfield art even more excited to see it now! I assume there will still be some Alien based art on the playfield mixed into the more Aliens focuses art?

Thanks for the reply Aurich

The playfield art doesn't scream Alien at all then again in space no-one can hear you scream so maybe that's the irony. But I don't think it's Aurich at all at fault I think it shows just how unaware and how little 20th century fox understand their own licence, if these are the best assets they could provide Aurich to work with (mixing comic book assests with movie just sounds amateurish when it comes to consistency and cohesiveness) it's amazing Aurich managed to do the classy job he has with clearly what little quality he's been given to work with.

I know there are going to be "Alien" toys but there just isn't any "Alien" in the art other than the single dark alien between the flippers and as any fan of the movies will attest too these where and still are some of the most iconic films in their natural/organic imagery from the Aliens themselves to each and every one of the environments - every environment had a unique and memorable feel and sound/s and the playfield is just lacking any of this essence for me it's just space and stars, quite the opposite to the films as its unmemorable.

I was hoping to see those famous tunnels and internal corridors of the colony outpost from Aliens, or the interior of the space jockey from Alien, host room and especially an alien agg room - I just can't imagine how the egg bumpers are going to look on a redish blur, I was hoping for some HR Giger kind of look and feel in that area like the inside of the space jockey or the queens hive from aliens.

Again none of my criticism is aimed at you Aurich after all the things you can read about 20th century fox online about their fat suits running the show it's not hard to assume with some accuracy that they just haven't got a damn clue what the essence of the film world/licence is about and it's a big shame.

From what I believe sigourney weaver is a bug pinball/alien fan at heart, isn't it documented somewhere that BSD was originally planned to be Alien 3 and in an interview Sigourney expressed her love of pinball and disappointment the game didn't come together in the end? I also remember reading an interview about her involvement with the recent PlayStation/Xbox game Alien Isolation "Ripley" added downloadable content, in which she seemed enthusiastic enough, I'd be real surprised if they can't at least secure Sigourney and Bill Paxton, but this is a theme that really needs all the actors/characters involved both films had a great group of characters alien crew and aliens marines wasn't a bad character in the bunch something modern films seem to struggle acheiving, which is why these films and the characters are timeless classics and have to be in the pin! If not leave back door access so some of the pinside geniuses can work their TWD magic

Adding to what I posted above about her interest in Ripley as a character:

http://time.com/3453689/sigourney-weaver-alien-isolation/

Also worth noting Sigourney & Michael Biehn allowed their likeness to be used for promotional artwork for the pitch of Alien 5 and both where keen to return to the alien universe especially Sigourney to "finish" the story properly.

Dammit there goes my wallet...... Again! 2016 is shaping up to be one hell of year for pinball.

The playfield could be bare wood with no art and with that toy/sculpt on the playfield it would still look badas. Totally blown away by the detail it looks awesome

It's hardly a negative issue to get so hung up on, yeah currently it might be of little benefit to most of us and not a selling point but if Heighway drop killer themes for games #3 & #4 and can reduce production length at the same time and get their next 2 or 3 games out faster then the system might become very useful for some pinheads with limited space.

I agree I'd want more art on display with Alien and if once i have Alien I plan to never swap that particular game I'll make a set of custom decals, easy!

Breathe Kaneda! 1...2...3 breathe, 1...2...3 breathe, remember what the therapist said, remain calm, ignore all of those voices and breathe

Pinball is supposed to be fun bro you need to chill out and not take sh*t so serious, no pinball company is perfect but aslong as their all a little different it gives us choices & options man and that ain't a bad thing, so have a smoke and chill

That teaser was AWESOME! I'll take as many gory scenes as you can possibly cram into every mode! I have been a little on the fence but I think you finally sold me with that teaser

I remember reading a couple pages back in the thread that some people where going to cancel after it was confirmed Sigourney/Ripley would not be present in the audio and visual and it was a deal breaker for some.

Members of Heighway mentioned that's because of licencing issues but it worked out okay because they designed the game for the player to be Ripley. There's also that little rumour about Stern & GB too

If there minor maybe it is worth raising or asking the question? HP has certainly been excellent when its come to listening to their market/potential buyers and acting on what they have heard, there's been some pretty big changes as a result, speaking of which I want to know what the queen chamber change is that's got me beyond curious

Unfortunately Stern are doing a good job of that themselves these days, with their double whammy tactics of price hikes while allowing quality to plummet! And I love Stern games btw so that's not bashing, it's just a fact their starting to "Alien"ate their customer/fan base.

I totally agree Alien makes Sterns latest offering look stripped bare. And if Heighway can release games #3 & #4 in a good time frame with killer themes like Alien at a similar price point to Alien (I'm guessing so happy to be corrected, but I think Alien is probably being kept as close to its anouncement pricing as possible to built up that customer base) then I can see them taking ALOT of customers away from Stern.

I know personally if Heighway come out with another theme like Alien something like Die Hard, Predator, Back to the Future, James Bond and the pricing is not far off Alien with the option of being able to buy a kit as well to reduce costs further I'll be buying Heighway games without a second thought to Stern.

I was referring to BM66 Ice, which by the way I am strongly considering buying and I am not ashamed to admit I am looking to buy one but compared to Alien BM66 does looked stripped, compare GB to BM66 and like you said GB is jam packed, BM66 looks stripped in comparison, but Stern are good at making fun games with great themes and that's why I love them, but Aliens is bursting with features couldn't help another Alien related pun

Couldn't agree more, I am also hopeful that Heighway can release games #3 and #4 with themes that have the kind of worldwide appeal that Aliens does (DIE HARD NEEDS A PIN!!) and can keep their pricing extremely competitive as it is currently.

If they can achieve those 2 things it will give Heighway a huge jump into the market with the 2 big boys and they would surely have to start taking note and offer a comparative product? I would certainly LOVE to see jam packed pins @ 6 - 9k from 3 mainstream companies, the only thing that's going to be bad for is our wallets.

Unfortunately Harry Potter will most likely never happen, which sucks because although I am not a fan my son loves it and for that reason I would be tempted because I would jump on a theme that could potentially get him addicted to pinball like his old man and my old man was

I agree there is not a whole lot left that hasn't already been done but then again I wouldn't mind seeing older themes revisited, its worked wonders for Hollywood so why not Pinball? I would have no issue with a Heighway T1 & T2 pin sat next to my Alien & Aliens pin or maybe licences that maybe didn't get the treatment they deserved, I would sign up day one for a Back to the Future pin where I can play each movie like Alien/Aliens allows you the choice.

Andrew, is there any chance or time frame on another mode preview video? Any sneak peak would be appreciated, the preview of Bug Hunt was awesome!!

I don't know, I was just hoping for another mode preview video as the Bug Hunt teaser video was freaking awesome!

They are altering/replacing the Queen Chamber (coffee can) so that might have created a small delay, I am just grateful that while being this far into the development/start of production Andrew & co. where willing to improve an area for "us" and make Alien even better from "our" feedback.

They can have another month or two as long as they improve that I wont mind waiting, BM66 will keep me busy till Alien arrives

I cant give your post two thumbs up but Ripley can! Tomorrow cannot come soon enough!

ALIEN (resized).png

I don't know if it's ever been done before (sure someone will know for certain) but has a spinner ever had mode specific sounds??

I know most modern Sterns have a single spinner sound, but for Alien it would be awesome if it had multiple/mode specific spinner sounds like "Alien screams", "alien hissing", "Alien queen sounds", "power loader sound fx" or "pulse rifle gun fire".

Literally spinners are one of my favourite shots to make and having a spinner with multiple sounds would be great!

Would be great if it was done and Alien was the first, spinners are going to sound awesome during SGMB but it would be great if the spinners could have an audio impact else where in the game/modes. Plus it's always cool to be the 1st at doing something

Thank you for the clarification Aurich and a big congratulations to everyone involved in the video aspect of Alien, it literally looks as good as it sounds and David has knocked the audio out the park!

I don't think it's the children asking on pinside, it's the parents

My son and daughter are 5 & 4, I simply won't be playing Alien while they are around, they can play all our family games Ironman, Star Trek, Goldeneye, TRON,BM66 but Alien will be daddy's game!

Nah it's just easy for people to forget the price of Alien, when the current market has been pumping out/flipping 8-10k games for the last year or so.

I was hoping all the posts where due to a big update and shipping games but this statement alone makes up for it:

There would be nothing worse than getting Alien before Xmas to then have board issues and playfield issues. I think its important with Alien being Heighways first big profile game to get it right out of the gates and to avoid a fiasco like GB.

The delays suck! But it's great to see a company caring about the quality of their product before placing it in customers hands.

Andrew is there any chance of a look at the backbox Beacons in action?

I am sure there are other people like me who are curious regarding the upgrades and since you posted a photo of the flyer with the beacons on top of the backbox it's impossible to resist asking, if we could see some sneak peaks of the various upgrades available specially over Xmas when people are in the spending mood

Awesome Andrew thanks for the quick reply, would be great to have a look at the available upgrades in action over xmas, I know I'm particularly interested in the Beacons and Ramp lights for a standard edition game, so I would love to see what else your going to have available, to take more of my money blinging out my game

Andrew just wanted to ask another quick question while your about. Have you had any thought at any point wirh regards to offering dedicated cabinets?

Say for someone who wants to always keep an Alien an Alien, would it be something that would be financially beneficial to you? To offer dedicated cabinets and decals? I know the swappable system is a key feature of your pins and I know if you keep dropping great titles (hint hint BTTF ) I will most definitely need to use it but I was just curious if it was something you had given any thought to providing there was demand and it would be financially beneficial first and foremost?

Awesome! Appreciate the fast reply thanks.

That was pretty much the thought behind my question, i would love a dedicated Alien cabinet, with every inch covered in artwork, hell while you have Matt doing sculpts why not a special sculpted back box cover?

The more I look at the flyer the more gloss black powder coated armour is going to look beautiful on Alien.

Backbox sculpts/molds would be an awesome mod aswell if things could be agreed within the licence, power loader back box or xenomorph back box would be a sweet new feature in place of having no side back box art.

Awesome video, thanks for posting the update as promised Andrew, that in itself sets you apart from the competition. And the clear on those playfields looks like glass, the more you show of Alien the better it keeps looking

That guy in the screen capture you took is in every shot involving playfields and from the little sneak peaks he seems to have a look of genuine care with them.

And product quality is something Andrew & the team seem to be taking very seriously so it wouldn't surprise me if those plastic sheets are nothing more than protective sheets used to cover playfields that are being stored and waiting to be taken onto the line for assembly

Unless its changed and I have missed it, the flashing beacons on the backbox are an LE feature but you can pay to have them as an add on for a Standard Edition of the game.

Maybe it's edited/sensored as it's a preview? I would hope that when you fail modes in game that there is a gory kill/fail scene to go with your failure.

I am guessing whatever the airlock replacement is, that it has not been approved for reveal just yet.

But Ambush multiball looks awesome that is going to be a mode where you want the volume cranked up HIGH to get totally immersed in the motion tracker and sound track, should be an adrenaline pumping mode, especially with the randomisation of the aliens on the motion tracker that is a stroke of genius!

I always felt if the Queen was going to be video based then she should appear on the backbox LCD and be big and in your face! She just looks too small and out of place next to the Xeno head, on the big screen she would be above the player and in the players face way more immersive having her looking down on you just like with Ripley in Aliens.

Literally the greatest suggestion in this thread!

I think that is an absolute must!

I like both, but personally I like Sterns placement/sizing the best out of all the current LCD options, it allows for the best of both worlds, a good size screen with plenty of room for nice animations and a good size translite, if I can always have both its the choice I would always make, I love seeing translite art when my games are off, its pinball

As long as when the Xeno head is in play, the LCD & all GI is cut like alveolus suggested above and we get some strobe lighting/flashers and Alien hissing/attack sounds and effects, during the ball eating intro by the Xeno head I wont give a damn what's next to it, it will be one of the best sights in pinball

Not my idea "alveolus" mentioned it a dozen posts or so further up, but watching the Alien promo video back with "alveolus" suggestion in my head makes the whole Xeno ball attack/eat so much better, the promo video is really well lite for obvious reasons so we can see everything clearly but, watch the promo and imagine the playfield GI off or flickering and flashers going off (strobe effect) especially a couple close to the Xeno with Alien hissing sound effects & holy sh*t its a game changer!

Go watch it back for yourself with those thoughts in mind

I have a 65" 4K Ultra HD OLED TV on my wall at home, but I still look at the art I have on the walls in my house

However Alien is a theme that needs the big screen in the back box as the motion and lighting and atmosphere in the films plays such a huge part of the immersion of the world we are going to be playing in, but I wouldn't say no to a kick ass Alien LE translite to hang on my wall next to my pin, I know I would look at it.

I would just like to see the Queen modes on the backbox LCD I don't care if there on all 3 screens at once but the queen up on the big 27" display and the playfield LCD in the players eye line would just be pure immersion especially if there is a mode from the end of Aliens trying to escape her lair and the countdown till the nuke gets dropped having that on the big screen would be awesome, with the queen looking down on the player!

Just finished watching Alien, Aliens & Alien 3 to start the new year in preparation of an Alien pin landing in my game room this year

Gloss black is what I am doing for my powder coat, something as close to the Alien skin/colour as possible

I think I remember Andrew (Heighway) mentioning the small backbox screen is no longer an option, its either full translite or the 27" lcd

EDIT: thanks to nephasth below for confirming

Might only be a development machine but it's great to see a physical machine in house so to speak.

From what I've seen up to this point in teases and reveals the modes and code look great so far, having a game in hand can only mean you will make the code a standout game and something special

If any requests can be made by the community Ferret, if its not already an idea or plan you have could you please see if its possible to make the games lighting flicker and strobe during the Xeno ball grab/eat?

Watching the reveal video back with that effect in mind, the darkness with flashing and strobing light effects like those used so well in the films when revealing the Alien & Aliens would make the Xeno ball eat one of the best looking scenes in any pin.

Yeah I may have pm'd Andrew that suggestion/request a couple times

Great news that it's going to make the cut into the finished game, Alien just keeps getting better and better

It is really easy here is an AlienAline (resized).jpg
And here are some Aliens aliens (resized).jpg

Any update Andrew regarding how builds are coming along? Are you looking on track to meet/make January dates you set at the end of last year? Would just be great to know now things are going, cannot wait to see these start shipping.

Doesn't matter if the armour is pink and purple I plan on getting a SE with every available upgrade and going Alien gloss black with a hint of silver/grey for my armour

I like that idea but wouldn't want everything else of, it would maybe work better if the screens could almost appear faulty like the systems have crashed.

There where some scenes where monitors where just fuzz or broken displays, if animations replicating that could be done it would really immerse the player, like the characters where left feeling on there own

Thank you for the information and update Andrew and best of luck to the entire team getting games shipped.

Will you be releasing any information on the official mods you teased/mentioned a few pages back? Do you have a list of potential ideas? I'll take a pulse rifle shooter handle and a MU-TH-UR 6000 credit button LCD touch pad

Andrew the feature matrix is great, but will there be a price list for the additional extras/add ons? Do you have one you could post or is the pricing still TBD?

Thanks man, never even seen that page of their site

Instead of a smooth pristine finish on the coloured LE models, a worn weathered look could be a great fit for the feel of the films where the environments always looked very lived in and used, after all Alien isn't about being New and shiny it's about claustrophobic dark dingy environments this ain't no Star Trek

Worn armour would look pretty cool, could always get a little airbrushing done to add some bullet holes and acid burns

I was just going to be mine airbrushed but your way sounds a lot more fun

If there is a self destruct mode/hurry up with the beacons going with playfield flashers and some of the GI out that's going to be great and really immersive, if there are plenty of moments like this in alien then the last thing anyone is going to be worried about is the size of the beacons.

Agreed, the beacons can easily be changed which makes their current size a non issue as long as the immersion is there Alien will be amazing with big or small beacons

The taller profile of the beacons will certainly allow the light to sweep the room better so that's a plus and like a lot have said its a really simple aspect of the game/package to mod if the buyer wants to.

I like the idea of hurry up modes with the beacons flashing, Alien hurry ups and self destruct hurry ups with the beacons spinning, MUTHUR voice over going the countdown and alarms/sirens (sound lifted from the films) would make for some sweaty palm moments

Thanks for the reminder EV, I know what I have heard so far in previous and gameplay videos sounds pretty indistinguishable from the movie original, when ever David is involved/lead on sound you know your ears are in for a treat.

Sounds awesome Ferret, your posts about the rules, David's audio and mode integration gets me more excited for Alien than any video or image shown so far, the fact you could sell Alien on your rules alone is a clear testament to just how awesome your work on the rules sounds

I hope Heighway bring you back for pin #3, do you have lots of ideas for a Back to the Future Trilogy pin

Brand recognition and brand association are pushed down everyone's throats these days, named brands take presidence over creativity and originally these days, it sucks but it's true, most probably have the social media and celebrity endorsement/branding to thank for that.

When we see a pin themed on the Kardasians it's when we need to start worrying

Any ETA on the big gameplay video Andrew? Asking out of pure excitement

He wasn't in the Back to the Future trilogy was he?

Ah bummer would love to have seen a new BTTF never mind, but thanks for the confirmation though, knowing what is not next is almost as good as knowing what is next.

That's not a bad call, unlicensed, licenced, unlicensed, licenced could be a good way of getting more games on the line and available to order plus offer up some cool licences with some unique unlicensed ideas.

Will you be doing anymore duel movie licences? I see Alien as almost two pins in one because of the difference in tone and style between Alien and Aliens, one looks and sounds a certain way so depending which film you play I imagine the tone between the two films will change with your selection. So will you be doing any future titles in a duel/trilogy format? Reason I ask is it was a big selling factor for me for the above reasons.

Apples to Oranges, Ford aren't exactly making products solely for a small yet dedicated niche market.

Based on their shareholder reports, I have trimmed the summary down:

Total 2016 U.S. sales of 2,614,697 vehicles mark Ford Motor Company’s best annual sales in a decade.
820,799 pickups in 2016, making F-Series America’s best-selling pickup for 40 years and best-selling vehicle for 35 straight years.
Ford is America’s best-selling truck brand, with 1,077,006 van, pickup and heavy truck sales last year.
Van sales totalled 240,721, a 9 percent increase and making Ford America’s bestselling commercial van for 38 straight years
Ford SUVs total 772,667, reaching best annual sales since record 2001
Lincoln sales up 10 percent in 2016

The fact their sales are increasing year on year and are as of last year at an all time high shows they must be doing things right.

I think they probably speak to their customers more than you realise? I know when I brought a new Focus RS, I got a dealership feedback survey and courtesy call after pickup, regarding the whole sales process, sales advisor and product, a survey and call after 6 months of ownership again at 12 months and at each service. Admittedly in the UK that is their premium flagship product but that's still a lot of opportunities to see how their customers are feeling about them and their product at time of purchase, 6 and 12 months of ownership.

Ford & Audi (only two I can vouch for from experience) also offer up test days to valued customers, when Audi teased the release the facelifted R8, I spent a day down at one of their main dealerships in Essex, throwing a test car around an ice track they had purposefully built to take the cars on during the winter, it was a great marketing tool but a lot of questions and feedback was encouraged about all aspects of the car.

Point being I think any successful company needs their customers feedback one way or another, pinball sales are no way in the same league as global car sales, so each company/industry needs their customers feedback which ever way suits them best, a pinball company can come here and speak to a few hundred customers and take whatever info they need from all the responses - look at the recently spooky thread and Andrew and Heighway themselves have also taken pinside and expo feedback on board to create the best possible product they can and looking at Alien I think they have succeeded!

Would the end result have been the same without the pinside interaction? Only Andrew can answer that, but its nice to think in our niche market/hobby we can help the manufacturers out with their latest and greatest as much as they can help us bringing out new games for us to play/buy and keep the hobby healthy and expand its appeal.

Sorry that ended up being a lot longer than I expected, time to kill at work as no one is starting any fires tonight.

Maybe now, I should have probably put "at the time", I'm pretty sure 2015 was the first year Ford released the mustang globally with factory produced right hand drive iterations for the UK market?

Although that ecoboost rubbish should not have a mustang badge on it

Yeah we are getting desperate here

Queen gate, board gate, beacon gate that's so 2 weeks ago, it's Ford-Gate now and if no gameplay video is posted today there will be some conspiracy theory leading to no show video-gate

Great question, if you can offer any info Aurich about the LE art, like if its complete or been approved that would be great.

Yeah with the GI going on and off to create a strobe effect plus flashers going crazy the ball eat will look awesome!

I might have missed it in some of the videos but when the Xeno is not setup or ready to attack/eat the ball, will the magnet in front of the Xeno pulse and whip the ball back at the player/flippers?

Yeah that's all I wanted to hear, I guess I am easily pleased but spinners and magnets that "fight back" as well as hold a pinball are two simple but amazing features I never get bored of, can never have too many spinners or crazy magnet tricks

Look great Andrew!

Any ETA on LE artwork? I know some are getting restless, is there any issue with LE art or just licensor taking their time? Hopefully ease the minds of those concerned.

Great, thanks for the response Andrew, I wanted to ask more so for those who seem to be getting concerned, so its great to hear the LE art is with FOX and its them holding things up. Personally I cant wait to see the gameplay video followed by me having an Alien in my home!

I think it's great to see Andrew finally addressing the refund elephant in the room, it's one of the reasons I want to support Heighway, whenever there is a criticism or the ball is maybe dropped for a second, Andrew & Heighway as a team always seem to ensure it's addressed and don't allow it to escalate beyond what is reality.

Communication is a beautiful thing

Glad to hear your sticking with it iceman44 you would have definitely ended up regretting loosing your LE position.

We all know you are stupid but not that stupid love you really

With all the new posts I thought the gameplay video had dropped

I will be interested in the art Aurich thanks for that offer to everyone! Curious though is there any reason games aren't using the art you have instead of standard black?

Even if they where an additional mod for a few quid I would still be interested, the more art the better, art looks killer combined with the populated playfield

Yeah the layout looks great, I know of quite a few non pinheads looking at buying an Alien because of theme but also because it looks loaded! Most of them are waiting to see what Heighway game no.3 is though as most don't have the room for more than one game and the swap out design of Heighway game is another big draw for people who unlike us don't want a house full of pins.

No idea, right now its all Alien, only mentioned Heighway #3 because it clearly shows their approach to a swappable system could be a major attraction for new customers as Heighway moves forward after Alien. Alien should put them on the map in a BIG way!

The only thing this thread needs in terms of updates or what's owed etc etc

Is the big gameplay promo video

And a photo of those 20 SEs going out the doors to customers

Pictures speak louder than words, that way questions from all sides are answered and put to bed.

Trucks leaving stacked front to back with Alien pins will be as big as it gets, that will be good to see!

Would make sense, would be pretty expensive and pointless Heighway just shipping out one customers game alone instead of a truck load. The more hands on David can get with the finished pin the better for all of our ears

Wasn't aware of that, makes sense and totally agree when truckloads are leaving the factory that's going to be a great thing too see.

I'll take that TRON LE off your hands to help fund your purchase of an Alien

Well in that case tell her I'll take you with the TRON LE and I'll put an Alien in your new room here.... pretty good deal, housemate?

We are quite a patient bunch, it is British to be polite I guess but we also like to deal with things head on when enough is enough

As a country we are quite tolerante but will deal with and don't tolerate fools yet the irony in that is often it's fools running our country

I am also pretty sure Aurich also mentioned he could supply people with the art file for the infill areas, if people wanted to create their own decals, which is a great little thing to offer up for people interested