Alien (Heighway Pinball)
Heighway Pinball, 2017You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider pinstadium.
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I saw and played the game several times, it played very solid and smooth. Had a BW solid feel too it. The software also was in really good shape and there seems to be a good amount of rules/modes. The line was big so didn't get too much time on it. Thanks for bringing it and good talking with you at the end. Definitely on the wishlist.
The cabinet felt really solid and the new glass design is interesting. That should help to eliminate broken glass too.
Quoted from chrisnack:New glass design?
Sorry I meant new to me, but it's the same arrangement that is in Full Throttle. In fact the sticker on the back of Alien even said it was a Full Throttle game on the label 
That is understandable since it was pulled down in the factory from the same cabinet to make this.
I was over at Alien looking at the glass mount system because at the show Gary from Abel Electronics came up to me when I was removing our demo kit from the Bride of Pinbot 2.0. He said that I should look at Alien because he thought it could really benefit from the Pin Stadium kit. He was right, as the playfield even under the ambient light at the show was really dark. The playfielld art is immaculate on this machine once it gets light on it to reveal the detail.
The owner asked me also if our kit would work and I confirmed that it would for sure.
It's a beautiful game and played so well. I have it on my wishlist officially.
Yesterday an Alien customer in OK bought one for his and I'm excited to see the Before and Afters of that one.
Great game!!
Quoted from Wickerman2:It's like normal glass but with a 30 pound weight pressing it down...not sure if it's 30 really but that frame is solid as hell.
It felt like a solid beast as far as I could tell.
I agree, it eliminates all those other pieces to the equation when needing to maintain the machine. It helps to prevent the whoops of glass breakage which is always a sad and messy moment.
Quoted from bobukcat:Did you see the pics of the Pin Stadium installed in Alien: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-pin-stadium-lights-official-announcement/page/12#post-3989046
Don't know what settings that user had dialed in but I think it looks like a good compromise of brighter but not too bright. And as for effects, on WOZ with GI integration the PS kits do a lot of stuff that corresponds to the GI, I posted a couple videos of mine in the Pinstadium thread. It's still a to each their own decision, obviously, they both have their pros (spots are much cheaper but PS is more customizable and controllable) and cons. I do love the way the Pinstadium kit mounts on the Heighway games though, no need to pull them off when you raise the PF.
That setting was blue all on at 100% and white 75% in that thread. I did the install on that one for a local owner so that we could test fit them on his machine and the mounting method worked exceptionally well with our design. That setting was turned up for the camera eye to pick it up, but in person 100% blue with a small percentage of green on the app, and then 45% white lighting was perfect! I attached a picture of the results with different settings. You can change it on the fly with the Pin Stadium app. Also I put up a video that shows it better in action:
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Quoted from greenhornet:Let's start off with a prophetic quote from Andrew:
this issue of weak lighting and/or dark playfields is present on a couple other NIB - not just Alien. check out the Houdini prototype [dark bats there too]. And how about TNA. Matt Andrews puts black in the middle of that playfield, despite acknowledging players will have a difficult time seeing the ball against black.
Yes it is common even with the newest pinball and unfortunately there is not an easy or cheap way to fix or make something. A year ago I tried all of the methods mentioned in this thread. A lot of trial and error and it turned out that nothing off the shelf worked, it all fell off and drooped down after a few days, wasn't bright enough and didn't interact with the game(the lights stayed on and drowned out the GI effects). You won't have to worry about LED strips shining back in your eyes and I have personally pulled 9 spotlights out of my machines after the Pin Stadium install.
I spent the last year re-engineering my initial design and it required everything to be completely custom made, but it was worth it even the LED's are built specifically for the Pin Stadiums. Plus with the optional GI module this allows Alien to gain full control of the lights for a very nice theatrical show they way the programmers intended it. You can then connect to them via wifi(they generate their own) and dial it in to your exact liking with the app. I'm im the app development world so I felt the need to take it to this level of control.
Wait until PoMC receives his and get his feedback on the results and quality of the Pin Stadiums. If you are at Expo we will have a booth up there this weekend so that you can check them out in person too. Alien in my opinion is amazing and now that you can see it makes it a super game. I hope this helps shine some light on this subject
Check this thread out so that you can learn more and get feedback from someone other than the designer of them:
Scott
Pin Stadium
www.pinstadium.com
Quoted from Agent_Hero:Play with some ambient lighting on in the room. Problem solved...sheesh. I think the in-game lighting effects are good at creating a mood that might be diminished if you flood the playfield with lighting. Two spotlights? Sure. Hundreds of dollars worth of halogen-style light pollution? Foolish, but go ahead with your own game.
Read through the website and it will explain this better to you. With the app you can control the LED (not halogen) lighting and dial it in from 0-100% brightness with the white lighting and then independently you can control the colored lights from 0-100%. You can make it exactly how you like. I hope that helps.
Quoted from nwpinball:I like the Pinstadium lighting on some titles, I'm about to order it for my Addams Family, but that example above doesn't look good, it's way way way too bright. It's just overkill on this game and detracts from the lighting and art, rather than enhancing it.
There is a post prior explaining the control you have with them and also the picture was taken with them bright so that the camera could pick them up better.
You can dial the white lights down anywhere from 0-100% brightness (these are responsible for the illumination portion) and same with the colors too(separately controllable in the app and are responsible for the color casting on the playfield). I agree with you and personally like the settings mild on the Pin Stadiums when playing Alien as it let's you see the playfield but gives off that eerie glow that Alien was intended to have. But the good news is that now you can see the ball and the beautiful playfield. I hope that makes more sense.
Quoted from jonesjb:Where do these fit... In the side or the back? And would these be compatible with the illuminated side blades?
The Pin Stadiums mount on the metal glass frame on the sides using our Magna Mount system(magnetics). It is a plug and play direct plug into the Alien PCB and also integrates with the illuminated side blade(syncs with them) which means it turns on and off and dims if you get the GI integration module option.
Quoted from kklank:I just got an Alien, SW premium, and a Dialed In LE. Alien leaves the other two in the dust in playing time. If this was being mass produced in the States it would be a massive seller.
Glad you guys are getting your Aliens in and that's a step in the right direction! I have had many Alien owners reaching out to me (as a result of the new deliveries) about the Pin Stadium lights to at least help you guys out with the illumination aspect of the game. Previously in some posts here we covered that you can control the brightness of the lights from 0-100% with the app so there are no issues with these being to bright etc. You can dial it into your liking, brightness/color etc.
Feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected] if you have any questions. Here is a video and some before and after pics.
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Litchfield Park, AZ