(Topic ID: 106728)

ALIEN PINBALL - Game Over, Man, Game Over

By HeighwayPinball

9 years ago


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Topic index (key posts)

53 key posts have been marked in this topic, showing the first 10 items.

Display key post list sorted by: Post date | Keypost summary | User name

Post #9151 Insight from Alien's programmer on tournament mode Posted by Ferret (7 years ago)

Post #9234 Update on distribution Posted by HeighwayPinball (7 years ago)

Post #9660 Here we show you a short clip from the 'Ambush Multiball' mode Posted by HeighwayPinball (7 years ago)

Post #10128 Photo of Alien at UK Trade Show Posted by unigroove (7 years ago)

Post #10230 game play video from EAG UK tradeshow Posted by Join_The_Cirqus (7 years ago)

Post #10231 game play video from EAG UK tradeshow Posted by Join_The_Cirqus (7 years ago)

Post #10914 Alien ships Posted by ZenTron (7 years ago)

Post #10916 Alien ships Posted by HeighwayPinball (7 years ago)

Post #11230 Key posted, but no summary given Posted by ezeltmann (7 years ago)


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-13
#2333 8 years ago

Gotta say, I love what Heighway are doing re: modularity and simplifying and modernising (and reducing cost of) pinball machines ... but the art and graphic design on their first game is, ahem, extremely amateurish. For such an iconic IP (which if done right could sell by the bucketload), I really hope Alien will be unrecognisably better. This after seeing their first machine in the flesh today.

2 months later
#3247 8 years ago

I think that'd be an absolute killer for them .. though didn't someone say something about Dutch and Mad Max?

#3254 8 years ago
Quoted from colonel_caverne:

That' s correct. I saw you have rated it. Do u know how many mb, modes and/or wizard modes are there?
Thanks

Watch the PAPA Youtube Tutorial for FT with Bowen Kerins. I really wish I liked the art and cabinet more, because the gameplay and engineering are fantastic.

#3292 8 years ago
Quoted from RandomGuyOffCL:

I get what you are saying here, but we aren't talking about a $60 video game or $10 movie ticket that's late by a month or two.
We had the lead designer publicly blow out on pinside because of a majorly unrealistic release date and not wanting to have his name attached to such. I don't feel like playing detective right now but I kind of remember Andrew trying to downplay Dennis's claims which have turned out to be all but true.

Those "$60 video games" are frequently years late, and have development budgets in the 10s of millions of $. They take pre-orders years out, only to later announce that half the content will require additional payment. Those "$10 movie tickets" frequently end up in development hell for a decade and cost 100s of millions of $ ... though no-one pre-orders those.

They're a small start up company working with new technology (more advanced than Stern, JJP, Dutch or Spooky are using), so some delays are expected.

#3299 8 years ago
Quoted from jasonvhsp:

I don't want to stare at a blank screen when it's turned off. Maybe if they could work in like a color e-ink display or something? I do like the option to have the smaller screen in the back box though so people watching can see it too.

e-ink isn't suited to moving images.

#3342 8 years ago
Quoted from karl:

The glossy LE Cab will of course also fit all later standard and LE playfield addons, but if you are planning to have later playfields in the same cabinet, it might be wise to choose a conservative metal trim package, or just order a new trim package for later playfields.
Lots of options on the Heighway platform but they all makes perfect sense. (one of the big benefits to this system, if you ask me)

I wish they had gone with a system where you could screw or attach new sidepanels to the entire side of the cabinet though .. rather than a little window, or at least given the option. Maybe it's something they can do in future. It'd make it look like a much more cohesive package imo. I guess they or potential customers felt compactness was better though.

#3349 8 years ago
Quoted from HeighwayPinball:

In principle, there is nothing stopping us doing this in the future.
The foil wrapped side panels are bolted onto the ply carcass as it is. In the future, if there is enough demand, then we could also sell/provide panels with no windows.

Good to know, and thanks for the reply.

Is this something you'll consider for the Alien LE, or as an upgrade? If the artwork's good, I'm sure people would plump for it. Especially if there were something Geiger or Geiger-esque.

#3395 8 years ago
Quoted from HeighwayPinball:

Ok - just confirmed ...
We WILL be showing you the playfield art next week

That's great timing with the EAG International Show in London from 12-14th*.

*which Heighway are attending.

Quoted from PinballRulez:

Ehh Andrew, next week is Monday?

Doubt they'll reveal on Monday. Show starts on Tuesday.

#3413 8 years ago
Quoted from kaneda:

If it's approved, can we see it now?

They're not going to 'launch' it on Pinside on a Friday evening when they're attending a major arcade and commercial amusements show in London from Tuesday to Thursday next week ...

#3418 8 years ago
Quoted from kaneda:

Bro, this is your product and you are marketing this pin for Heighway. Why even say this?
"If I had complete freedom would I have done it differently? Sure, why not."
Be 100% excited about the product and get the fans hyped!

A lot of people have unrealistic expectations and think the licensee and artists can do whatever they like. Dealing with those people is as much a part of marketing and CS as those who want to hear untamed, relentless enthusiasm or those who think it'll be another clip-art art package. A lot of us like to hear both sides of the developmental process.

Anyway, they shouldn't need too much help on the marketing front. It really is huge for them that they had approval before the show on Tuesday. Doesn't mean the machine will go into production much sooner than if it took another 2 months. But they get much more 'free' industry and media exposure.

#3435 8 years ago
Quoted from bigdaddy07:

Yah, you're right on that. My wife paints and she has always had trouble with getting to that sweet spot where she wants to make it perfect, but its only gets worse as she continues to make changes. Its an art in itself to know when its good enough or as good as its going to get.

I was thinking the same.

If the production schedule allows it, I'd certainly be thinking about what else I could sneak through. Not redoing the whole thing, but details and flourishes here and there.

#3517 8 years ago

Not sure why people are so bent out of shape about Andrew / Aurich posting on here about what's happening. They're announcing the announcement, not publishing the playfield and other approved bits here first.

#3532 8 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

I'm personally really excited about the sounds. We'll talk more about that more later I think.

Too much to hope for, I'm sure, but would be super cool if Sigourney could record a few original call outs ... or you were permitted to use mash-ups of the film audio clips to suit the nature of the game.

#3535 8 years ago

Re: sound I think a lot of the tension and atmosphere was what you didn't hear, as much as what you did. Lots of pinball tables (and video games) blast you with way too many effects ... sometimes some respite can be really effective.

No idea what it'll look like, but definitely keen to see how the fibre optics will turn out ...

19
#3703 8 years ago

Only flyers at EAG. They haven't had enough time to make up a playfield.

Here it is though.

Spoke to Andrew H. for about 25 minutes.

20160112_151059.jpg20160112_151059.jpg

#3711 8 years ago
Quoted from Chosen_S:

Can't believe someone beat Aurich to it!

Took a DSLR with me hoping they'd have a playfield. Still, thought people would like to see.

I expect Heighway will put out a proper press release when they have time to put one together / and or paint and clear a PF.

Got to get a train home soon. Will write up a post later about the various things I talked to Andrew about.

#3723 8 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

Heh, welp, I guess the tease method is out of the bag now! Gimme a minute, I'll put up a full image so you don't have to rely on that flyer.

Would be helpful i'm sure. Matte relatively low dpi flyer with reflections, and fold marks recorded on my tablet cam isn't ideal

One thing, have you considered making the stars more star like? Lens flare, colour gradation and chromatic abberation ... probably be able to see little of it once lit, but I'm anal.

#3782 8 years ago
Quoted from RandomGuyOffCL:

kind of a dick move to post the flyer...I mean if it was weeks ago and kind of a sneak attack like the gb leak, it would have been kind of cool....But right in the moments before the artist having his little moment to put it up in a fun way he had planned out for everyone is pretty shitty!

I'm not sure if you're recently out of kindergarten, but not everyone is looking for pointless melodrama and willy waving. I can't speak for Aurich (or Heighway) but somehow doubt he was put out. This was and is not priveleged information. They're sales flyers. A couple of the staff had stacks of them to give away to anyone who was interested. Andrew didn't press it into my hand, making me swear on my mother's life not to show or tell anyone. It's not under NDA. It had already launched. You and more than 99% of the people looking at the thread aren't or won't be at the trade show. People are constantly begging for more information. I was in a position to share what they did have at the show, which people were obviously interested in given the short time since approval. If I'd posted about what was (and wasn't) at the show without the flyer (which I made sure was a decent enough photo to show detail) I assume you'd have been crying and calling me a liar. If you have no idea what a 'leak' is, try not to expose your stupidity.

#3847 8 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

If you want to see the image without Pinside compression click this link:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/227626/Shared/full-playfield.jpg

The uncompressed (or relatively uncompressed) image looks so much better than the the flyer and banner they had at the show. I'm a bit surprised they didn't take a 50" TV with them and mount it in portrait, showing the PF image. It would have looked way better.

21
#3880 8 years ago

Some information from my chat with Andrew that people might be interested in:

------

- Full launch of the machine (playable) is hoped for and expected at the Texas Pinball festival in March.

- Per Aurich & Andrew's missives on Pinside, they're still open to ideas about differentiating factors for the LE, and there may well be a choice of colour for rails / legs / trim etc. Receptive to requests and feedback.

- Their fibre optic lighting is still being experimented with (hence delays on Full Throttle LE). He didn't say so, but I expect LEs won't be among the first to be built for this reason and later asset approvals.

- Didn't really talk too much about details re: Alien, as so much is still subject to approval by the studio. Alien and Aliens are his favourite films, though, and a "dream" franchise for him. Could have had Alien 3 rights too, but didn't want to convolute theme too much, and he doesn't personally like it - even prefers Resurrection. Therefore stuck with Alien and Aliens.

- Bram Stoker's Dracula was originally meant to be Alien.

- Andrew's background in the industry was pinball (and amusements I think) in Ireland (first the Republic, then Northern Ireland) from the 90s onwards. Then more recently in England he's organised the UK Pinball Party show which will enter its 6th year this year.

- Had looked into establishing the company 9 years ago, but time wasn't right.

- The company is privately financed, by him and other private investors. No bank or venture capital backing.

- Has no association with Wales or South Wales. Was simply the right place to establish the facility given cheapness of factory and warehousing space, large catchment area for labour (Cardiff & Bristol close by) and good transport links.

- Facility is 42,000ft2 (~4000m2). Same size as JJP's factory.

- Capacity is (perhaps significantly) in excess of 3500 machines per annum (order book and staff depending), and they will be taking on more assembly line staff. Didn't ask whether they had the option of taking on or building more space at their existing location.

- Machines only take 6-8 hours to fully assemble, compared to what he said was an industry average of 12-14 hours.

- Work on Full Throttle is finished (presumably except for code). Still very actively working on Alien. Hope to ship before middle of year.

- Should have 4 games in full production by the end of the year. Chance of 5 unless I misunderstood.

- Barry Oursler (who didn't work on Full Throttle or Alien) has finished his design work on games 3 & 4 already, and wants to move on to game 5 now. He apparently works incredibly quickly according to Andrew - going from start to finish in 3-4 months.

- Games 3 & 4 are both licensed (didn't ask about 5). Intimated that at least one is a movie IP.

- Intention is to put out 3 titles a year, to take advantage of the swappable mechanic of their cabinet. Vast majority of underlying components are modular, so design to production should be pretty swift. Could have as many as 8 titles out by end of 2017.

- Seems pretty bullish generally about their prospects, Alien, and thinks Barry Oursler is great & considers him a legend**

------

Pleasant guy to talk to. Would have asked far more, but I'd caught him in the lunch hour lull, so didn't want to take up more of his time once that was ending. Will add other bits if I remember them. Look forward to having a look round the factory at some point as it's only a 90 minute drive from me.

Regarding Alien and my opinion, as others have said one can't say too much about the playfield art without it being populated and lit. It has potential definitely, but it's not brilliant. I am hoping for a few more flourishes and something a little more special on the LE.

Will also cross post this to the Heighway thread as it's less busy and this is mainly non Alien specific. Perhaps people already know most or all of this, but I knew little of it.

**That will probably divide opinion here. Personally I love Popeye, though, so I'm stoked at least! Possibly finishing the design of a 3rd game for them before the first goes into production does seem quite ... prolific, though?

#3887 8 years ago
Quoted from colonel_caverne:

Rubberducks, What uk collectors say about pf artwork? Just would like to get a opinion overseas. Thx

Check the forums at Pinballinfo. I'm not part of a network

#4113 8 years ago
Quoted from voodle:

Ok, I'll be bold.
I've add my own interpretation to the artwork and photoshopped the original by deleting the 'cartoon' elements and non-core element like the badges, flames, text and some color splatter around the space ships.
You can click on it to get a larger view.
Mine is on the left, the original on the right.
Personally I think it looks cleaner and they need make sure the planet art doesn't cut into the LCD screen.

sideBysideAlien_(resized).jpg

This does look immensely better. The original looks very crowded and with little if any artistic cohesion in the areas to the upper left and upper right of the LCD. Without that mess drawing the beholder's eye, the whole playfield works and no one area stands out (like.a sore thumb). It all flows ... hopefully like the gameplay will.

Maybe some of the removed elements can be reused elsewhere, but in less obtrusive fashion.

Really hope the PF is revised in this direction. I wasn't a fan of those elements before, but now they remind me of Red Dwarf - not in a good way ..... the deliberately hilarious tin cans floating in space shots, with ultra crude special effects. Can't unsee.

#4116 8 years ago
Quoted from Wickerman2:

Playfield art is complete. Revising, means sending all of it back to Fox and saying "we know you approved this but we thought we'd change a bunch of stuff...can you look at it all again?". Doubt that will happen (it won't). Game might be ready to show in March!
PS this is a stripped playfield. You typically have things called plastics, pop bumpers, slingshots, ramps, ball guides, LCD(!) that will go on it and drastically change the look.

I don't know why you keep saying this. It's untrue on several levels.

getting those removed would absolutely not prove a problem.

the playfield is not finalised, nor is the shot and structure map completely tuned.

even if the above were true and finalised, the design hasn't been sent off to the printers for either initial or mass production. nor will it be. they do it all in house.

the literature from Heighway even says in big letters "Artwork subject to change".

I get that you don't want it changed, but stop spreading fud.

#4121 8 years ago
Quoted from Wickerman2:

The guy that made the art that represents heighway says the exact opposite.

No he doesn't. He's also subcontracted rather than Heighway personnel. Removing minor elements of an existing design is not a redesign.

Also I'm assuming you contend that the sales pamphlet which was handed to me by a Heighway employee was counterfeit. What about the banner on their stand with the same "Artwork subject to change" printed on it, was it the work of the same devious scallywag?

#4123 8 years ago
Quoted from Yoko2una:

This is probably because they had the literature printing well before the artwork was finalized, which I believe was only last week! If you have a trade show in a week, you're printing literature well in advance.

As I posted yesterday, literature = pf image with that on it.

#4127 8 years ago
Quoted from jlm33:

I don't remember much criticism about Kiss artwork? (maybe the three Pro/Pre/LE cabinets being too similar?)
You have to admit it was a nice hommage to the Bally version.

Well it didn't look as pretty as Popadiuk's cabinet and playfield art .. which he somehow thought would be viable to show a year after it leaked that Stern had the license. Stern KISS looks fine though. GoT on the other hand makes me nervous about all their future games.

#4157 8 years ago
Quoted from dracula40:

What is the total # of games being made ? Is this something that needs to be locked up now or could it wait? I'm thinking about getting in. Thanks

LE 500. Standard, as many as they can sell, probably for the forseeable future once it's in production. I'd guess until they make significant changes to their modular system. Gameplay will be identical, cabinet features and bells and whistles will be mostly possible to upgrade to LE trim. Artwork on cabinet / backlight and possibly playfield and plastics will differ on LE and not be available to upgrade.

#4327 8 years ago
Quoted from zeddex:

For what its worth, Funco was able to secure Sigourney Weavers likeness for their retro 7" line of toy figures packaging. Of the ones they negotiated with, Ian Holmes and John Hurt declined. So 2 out of 4! This of course is no indicator of anything for other products (like pinball) other than perhaps Weaver is generally OK with image licensing.

maxresdefault_(resized).jpg

I don't think that's particularly relevant.

What's far more relevant is that Weaver offered both her likeness, and voiced her character in Alien: Isolation. But Creative Assembly are a famous and lauded developer within the PC gaming industry, and were no doubt able to put together some very impressive demos which convinced her. In pinball the latter is rather more difficult, and Heighway are just a startup; furthermore Sega & CA have pretty deep pockets - they can probably afford to pay her market rate if she wants it, or a cut of revenue.

So she clearly is willing to offer her likeness and voice, for the right project and no doubt the right price too.

alien-isolation-dlc-637x360_(resized).jpgalien-isolation-dlc-637x360_(resized).jpg

#4343 8 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

Not all that practical, but I do wonder if you could do one of those soundbars that kinda fake the surround sound.

I feel that's something that someone's going to do sooner rather than later. I never played one, but I assume the old Gottlieb top of back box speaker location was better than sitting directly on or above a panel of glass at waist height on everything else.

#4362 8 years ago
Quoted from NPO:

To have the music from the "air duct chase" playing in this game would be so amazing. I don't even have a pre-oder going, and I want to see this pan out well for everyone.

One thing I forget to mention re: my chat with Andrew. He said that music would likely be a mix of movie, original and reorchestrations. They couldn't talk about it yet though as they're still negotiating. Possible you'll get it.

#4518 8 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

Yeah, think about STTNG. Could a pinball company even afford the custom voice acting anymore? It has so much from so many people.

I wonder what the rights situation on it looks like, because I assume it'd be a prime candidate for remake after AFM, CftBL, MB and maybe Funhouse / CV.

Next year it's 30 years since the series debuted

#4536 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

I figured. I just thought I'd share an awesome artist.
He does live in the UK so maybe Andrew would keep him in mind for something in the future.

+1. Looks pretty sweet. Not sure how willing someone with his portfolio would be likely to do the job for 'free' and then a cut of machine sales though, unless he's either a pinhead or very comfortable or both.

Think Aurich mentioned that's how he's being compensated.

#4538 8 years ago
Quoted from dmbjunky:

Yeah I don't know if he'd be interested either but it's always good to be aware of artists that are close and interested in the same subjects. Mumford seems to be a fan of movies and games so it wouldn't be a stretch to see him do a pinball.

Be nice if he was, but a lot of illustrators are offered 'swag', merchandise or cuts all the time. Many doing it as a profession avoid it out of principle even if they like the project. They need to get paid, not have stacks of beer mats or t-shirts, or maybe get a royalty cheque in 2 years' time. Hopefully Alien's a hit and Heighway sell a ton, then they'll be able to actual pay up front. Aurich has a day job so I assume (or hope) he can take the risk of no reward and do it as a passion project. If this is your bread and butter, I suspect you want to get paid .... I'm sure news travelled about ZombieProphet's work and the following calamity with Zidware. No doubt that'd serve to make potential talents even more wary.

3 weeks later
#4619 8 years ago
Quoted from jonesjb:

Any new news? Things have dried up on this thread as of late...

I'm sure they're busting a gut trying to get everything ready to show at TPF.

#4690 8 years ago
Quoted from HeighwayPinball:

Alien Pinball playfield photos will be posted within hours...

Sounds like you and your suppliers are working some late hours!

#4704 8 years ago
Quoted from solarvalue:

They are just going to show some clearcoated playfields, right? There was no talk about populated playfields earlier in the thread.

No talk of it, but possible they'll mount something on it. It's coming up to 10pm / 22h in the UK already, so I assume they're not getting a delivery at this time or going through them with a fine tooth comb for quality. May be mounting them in a cabinet, and / or adding a few simple assemblies to it before taking pics.

#4714 8 years ago

Clear looks thick and shiny. Still think the area to top right and top left of the 2X insert is way too congested.

Looking forward to seeing it built up.

#4723 8 years ago
Quoted from ectobar:

Thought they would have moved the top Alien's vagina insert.

Probably took about a month or more to make these up, start to finish, so there are probably zero changes to what was shown at EAG in these.

#4742 8 years ago
Quoted from The_Dude_Abides:

I think it looks great thanks for sharing the photos with us!
My apologies for this question as I'm sure it's been addressed. What is the target date on these shipping out to customers? I'm looking to add a pin and would definitely consider buying Alien just not sure I can hold out that long.

Andrew said early summer / June when I spoke to him at EAG 5 weeks or so ago. I'd guess a bit later, but we should have a better idea depending on its state at TPF.

#4867 8 years ago
Quoted from JoeDP:

I'm sorry to ask if this has been brought up a lot, but I couldn't find the info with a basic search.
Is there a proposed delivery date for pre-orders?

Andrew was hoping for early summer, when I spoke to him in January. I suspect that may be pushed back a bit. If you ordered an LE, ages away I would expect, since I think Aurich's still working on the art for it.

#4901 8 years ago
Quoted from Hazoff:

Starting to feel tingly in my special no no place.

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

#4905 8 years ago
Quoted from Zampinator:

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!

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.

#4931 8 years ago

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).

#4958 8 years ago

It's only 3 weeks out now. If everything is going to be shown then, it would be much better to keep the vast majority of it behind a curtain and then reveal it all at once. It's likely to convey a much better impression.

#4979 8 years ago
Quoted from drinkduffbeers:

I wouldn't bother a lot of the spotlight will understandably be on Ghostbusters.
Let Alien have its day when it's complete

GB won't be at TPF apparently.

#4981 8 years ago
Quoted from dannunz:

Were did you here that?

Either here or pinballinfo. Supposedly it'll be at the Vegas expo, and one in Italy, but not TPF.

#4984 8 years ago

@Aurich I assume you'll go back to LE art / playfield / special bits around June / July once design work has (hopefully) completely wound up on the standard?

#4996 8 years ago

I'm guessing the guys and girls at Heighway are still working tonight ..

#5019 8 years ago
Quoted from thewool:

Thanks for that. I think HP will offer upgrades to cabinet and trim at extra cost so really the only exclusive to the LE is the art as you mentioned. Then if you go for the large LCD in the backglass, you are left with the side panels and backglass surround as exclusive.

I think pf art and some plastics' art may be different. It'll be functionally identical though.

Re: GB art. I really don't think the pf is anything special at all, albeit better than Alien. The finished Premium and LE backglasses I do like though, save for duckface Murray, and the cabinet art for Pro and Premium is outstanding. I think Metallica pf art is considerably better, not such a crowded mish mash and tells a better, clearer story.

#5060 8 years ago
Quoted from thewool:

Thanks Aurich. I'm actually in for an LE but am weighing up the option to switch to a GB, then pick up Alien later on and add the extras. I'm getting heavily leaned on by the family...

If you think we'll remain in the EU, wait on anything US made. The pound will recover very quickly if we remain in, and buying from Europe will probably be thousands cheaper again than UK.

1 week later
#5133 8 years ago
Quoted from Wickerman2:

In 2-3 months maybe?
Rocky Mtn. Pinball Showdown and Gameroom Expo June 10-12, 2016
http://www.pinballshowdown.com/index.html

Not sure going to the US when they're supposed to be starting production then (according to hoped for schedule) is a very good idea ... remember they are not local.

@Aurich ... shame the juicy stuff can't be made public yet.

#5136 8 years ago

I assume that's a scale(d up) model ... it looks huge!

#5162 8 years ago
Quoted from charles4400:

Thanks ill hit up cointaker...

Heighway are charging exceptionally reasonable air freight fees to the US. I suspect it may be cheaper to go direct with them.

#5236 7 years ago
Quoted from NightMutilator:

I bet that alien head is actual size and sits right on top of the pop bumpers... at least I hope it's actual size!

Pop bumpers are eggs. They're pictured in the thread.

#5253 7 years ago
Quoted from lllvjr:

Enjoy tomorrow

image_(resized).jpeg

For a moment I wondered if you were affiliated with Heighway and hinting at something being revealed .... but then I realised that I'm a godless heathen and that chocolate festival is tomorrow.

#5272 7 years ago
Quoted from fosaisu:

This seems like a very safe bet. You'd have to imagine that many, many more folks will see/play a Zen pinball table than will see/play a physical table of which only hundreds or at the most a few thousand will be made.
That said, it'd be great if Heighway could get in on this promotion. I'm also hoping that if Zen was able to run wild with the IP that it gives Heighway a bit of leverage to negotiate any final changes/additions Aurich would like to make to the art package.

The reason pinball actually gets big licenses, despite having poor reach and generating poor license revenue, is because it is a halo product. It's not really an analogue to Zen at all.

It does however bode poorly if Heighway are indeed no part of this .....

#5283 7 years ago
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:

Thanks for popping in Andrew. We all appreciate the updates
Fingers still crossed that the Alien video from Texas Pinball Festival will be posted on your YouTube channel at some point.

More than 2 weeks have passed since the video was made, so there's probably little point in showing it now.

I imagine the video is long out of date if they really are on track for June production. They'd have to be iterating at a pretty high cadence to get there.

#5285 7 years ago
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:

The video was recently made.

It was made over 2 weeks ago, which isn't very recent if they're working fast, like I said.

1 week later
#5306 7 years ago
Quoted from emkay:

And the comparative lifespan is...?

I hear you, but we're a decade behind on chip & pin and that 'cost is too high' argument backfired spectacularly there. All those validators need updated every time they change the other denominations, how is this different?

I think the fact that people use cheques still is the most extraordinary thing ...

#5312 7 years ago

I get the feeling that the next time we'll see something significant is when they can show us PF, plastics, toys and EVERYTHING that isn't final LCD stuff.

Honestly, I'd prefer that too. It's been long enough now since anything major has been revealed (playfield) that it'd pay to wait a little bit more and show everything together.

#5335 7 years ago
Quoted from PoMC:

I can't get into those Zen games at all. To me, the only thing worthwhile about "virtual" pinball is checking out a REAL pinball machine that I've never played before. Tapping a screen or pressing a controller button to flip a ball is not fun or rewarding and the tiny bit of flipper lag sucks.
That said, the Alien playfield should look like a Zen design.

Try TimeShock (the new updated version). It's really, really good.

#5381 7 years ago

This thread has descended into internet-AIDS ... hopefully Heighway do show something substantive soon.

1 week later
#5477 7 years ago

They talk about an interview but I don't see one, and the information contained seems to be old or recycled for the most part. Looks like a document they wanted to put out to coincide with Alien Day to get hits ... don't think it's relevant at all.

#5504 7 years ago
Quoted from thewool:

Good info there Slam, cheers for that. Reading between the lines does that mean that no original film score music will be in the game? Sounds like you have the second best thing though.

When I spoke to Andrew in January, he said there'd be a mix of music from the film, re-orchestrations and original music and sfx. Of course that may have changed since.

#5508 7 years ago
Quoted from SLAMT1LT:

ok, back to topic....I am confident you will all love Alien, we have The 'A' (Alien) Team working on it. Lots of talent and lots of passion for the theme.

So what are the motley crew of remaining misfits working on? 0

2 weeks later
#5653 7 years ago
Quoted from PinballRulez:

I think because Predator has done a lot of damage here, but more importantly Fox had always stated that when anything goes public it must be the finished product. So, anytime Heighway wants to show the progress they make they have to get an approval from Fox.

It will be

Predator isn't even a consideration. It damaged pinball as a hobby. It probably bothered Fox about as much as a mosquito (failing to) bite bothers a bull elephant.

As Aurich hinted at in his last post, and I hinted at before, these videos have a short shelf life. By this point the video (from production / shooting) date is already 3 weeks old. If there was a hold up in approval, they probably won't bother showing it now as the machine has likely come on a lot since then. Maybe it still gets shown, but it will be out of date.

#5663 7 years ago
Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:

Doesn't matter if the video is out of date. It's more current than previous ones that are six+ months old, and interest is high. After showing it, they likely can take and post more informal ones too. We want the video.

What you're failing to consider is that Heighway may feel that it's more than just progression, but improvement. If they feel the game now is objectively better than it was several weeks ago, not just further along, they may not want to show the 'old' stuff, and Fox may feel the same way.

#5689 7 years ago
Quoted from HeighwayPinball:

Hi everyone,
I want to give you all an update.
The official line from Fox is that we can't publicly show videos until the game has been approved as a whole. I will continue to show teasers, privately, at shows until then.

Honestly, as it's been this long now, I think it's the right decision on their part both for the sake of the IP and the success of the machine in pinball. A relatively small number of people in the pinball world keep any real eye on this, but far more will take notice of a great looking completed game than something still being prototyped - even if the latter looks good, they'll assume it won't be delivered for ages.

#5782 7 years ago
Quoted from bane:

I am quoting Heighway's post. Look at it again. I'm not in the future. I'm taking him at his word that he is going to show something at a trade show.
What confounds me is why they cannot show something about the game to those invested, who cannot attend trade shows.

You seem a little slow on the uptake. Fox have expressly forbade them from distributing media related to the unfinished game, and Andrew just stated as much. Yet you and others continue to ignore this and call for them to breach contract and at best piss the licensor off and at worst lose the license and get sued. What's wrong with you?

#5955 7 years ago
Quoted from Purpledrilmonkey:

Perused the entirety of the last few pages looking for the exciting Alien news...

Yeah, I'm out. Draining it. It's a total waste of time.

1 week later
#6320 7 years ago
Quoted from chet218:

So has there been any word as to when these will go into production. I ask cause the layout looks awesome and could possibly be my next purchase if its sooner rather than later.

Andrew says he hopes it will be August. But bear in mind that production date has continually slid backwards every couple of months. My bet is October.

2 months later
-1
#7070 7 years ago
Quoted from Mr68:

In my opinion, Alien will be successfully made and delivered. It's the long term viability of the company that should concern people.
And you can spin the word "Dissolved" any way you like. Look at the facts. He has a business record of 100% dissolved business.

You sound like one of the googly-eyed hacks on Fox News trying to drum up a scare story or promote the next war by using language that the grossly ignorant will find intimidating.

It's patently obvious you have an axe to grind for some reason, and know exactly what you're doing.

On the subject of the game, I may go for a look-see next week.

#7122 7 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

At least for now Mirco is making the playfields. Plastics are still printed in house.

That's good news, IMO.

Whilst there've been some issues in the past, I haven't heard of any with recent manufacture dates, and the PFs on both my Funhouse and WOZ look exceptional ... immensely better than anything Stern have ever had.

2 weeks later
#7276 7 years ago
Quoted from schwarz:

Are the standard and le plastics the same?

It was suggested that they and several other cosmetic features of the game would be different on the LE (backglass and possibly PF included), but with Andrew saying they wanted to get the LEs out first, I expect that feature may have been cut ...

#7314 7 years ago
Quoted from DerGoetz:

And here I am, down payment through CoinTaker many months ago - no emails in months, no email today....sigh....not that this email will get the pin to me any faster, but it would have been nice to be part of the LE clientele that got a notice All is good, all is good....

Then cancel and go via Heighway.

#7392 7 years ago
Quoted from thewool:

Sorry if this has been asked before but does FT or Alien use any kind of technology to fade the LEDs for the inserts? Something like what the LED OCD does?

It's designed for LEDs, unlike the old BW / DE / Capcom games, so it would be rather surprising if it didn't ...

16
#7426 7 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

I'd say Stern has lost their goddamn minds, but people are apparently happy to line up and pay those prices.
If Andrew's not an idiot he's going to raise his prices too. Why not? The frog is perfectly happy in the bubbling water.
This is me just talking personally, I have zero insight into Alien prices or plans. And I'm not trying to push anyone into pre-ordering just to lock in a price point. But if the street price on the base Batman 66 game is around $7700 and people are opening their wallets? Andrew would be a fool to leave money on the table he could use to grow his company.
Expect a price increase, that's my prediction. Up up up, that's the trend.

Stern are heading for major, major problems.

They're developing a pretty awful reputation, and one that's going to be very difficult to shake. Other companies would be well advised to steer clear of their cost-cut-everything-and-simultaneously-double-prices-in-4-years model.

As I said elsewhere, the only way it makes sense is fattening up the books for a sale. Their current direction isn't remotely sustainable and in the medium to long term may prove ruinous for both them and the industry as a whole.

#7474 7 years ago
Quoted from ectobar:

I'm curious where people are getting these prices from. I've talked to CT about getting a Full Throttle and the quoted prices were more like 7k/9k. Can't imagine Alien is going to be cheaper.

Direct from Heighway is cheaper, even including shipping to the US.

#7481 7 years ago

Nitro would be cheaper for Canadian customers once local taxies are levied, I think.

However, direct from Heighway is the cheapest option for US customers.

#7509 7 years ago
Quoted from colonel_caverne:

That is correct...If i understand well...
Uk customer is paying 7000€ and in the EU the price is 8500€

I expect the EU price has simply not been changed to reflect the massive fall in the £. Pay the price in £ (plus extra delivery fee) if you're in the EU.

$ price is cheap because there's no tax.

#7559 7 years ago
Quoted from colonel_caverne:

in the EU, the seller must sell to an european customer without any taxe. the customer is paying tax of his country.
it's normally how it works.
heighway should normally noticed a price without any taxe for european customer.
so as bristish and french TVA are the same, the french customer should pay a little less than 7000€ + shipping
the danish customer should pay 7220€ + shipping etc

You can choose to pay VAT / sales tax in the country of origin, in the EU.

Doesn't need to be tax-free, then taxed in the country of receipt.

So unless the Danish customer particularly wants to pay extra taxes (to the Danish government), then they can pay the same amount of tax as UK buyers, but at the loss of all tax revenue to country of residence.

14
#7566 7 years ago
Quoted from KingBW:

ok ... how does a potential customer base help pressure Fox to make a decision?
These seems pretty important for the marketing of the pin and grabbing those dollars before someone else does at the Expo.

Got back from Wales a couple of hours ago, after spending some time at the Heighway facility today.

Will write a more detailed post later, though without some specifics.

The team were filming approval videos today, and hope to finish it tomorrow - sending it off as soon as possible thereafter. So whilst the approvals are a continual process, the final (production) approvals videos have not yet been passed off to Fox.

However, Fox have indicated that it could be a very fast turn around provided that they're happy. So Expo should be on, still.

#7569 7 years ago
Quoted from Wickerman2:

that sounds really optimistic. Fox has been made out to sound like a bureaucracy but who knows? Hopefully. Seems like it might be a minor disaster if it's not approved in time.

Heighway are now dealing with the LA office directly. So they're speaking to the people that are making the decisions.

Quoted from PinballRulez:

So this pretty much means the pin is in his final stage (production) and the only thing pending now to show it on expo is that Fox approves the approval videos of the production pin.

As far as showing everything publicly and launching it, yes. There are still a few things that need to be received / fixed before production though. Will write more detail tomorrow, or later tonight after a nap.

#7578 7 years ago
Quoted from frolic:

My advice for Heighway would be to put their promo video online as soon as it is green lit. Let people get "hands on" Alien for the first time at expo, but don't hold back the reveal till then. There is going to be a super amount of competition at expo this year, with both Batman and JJP3 being revealed there. If we can see and discuss Alien for an entire week or more before expo from footage, I think that will be very beneficial.

I don't think the approvals stuff being done will take the form of a promo. It's an exhaustive process of documentation. I think they'll want to wait a little longer on a couple of parts and revisions for some kind of final, production promo video.

That said, it would be a good idea to put the original private promo video from March online, once approval is granted for the whole caboodle

It's well cut and showcases David Thiel's sound design well. Would be a nice teaser for those who haven't seen it.

14
#7585 7 years ago
Quoted from Strohz:

So was the filming done on production models or the two prototypes? There's some conflicting posts here:

One 'final' prototype, albeit missing a few components that haven't come in yet, and with non-final revisions of some new, yet to be revealed features. They'll finish building up the second when they're done making the approvals videos.

There are no production models because:

a) approval of everything hadn't been applied for as of yesterday
b) a logic (control) board still hasn't come in yet for first test (though it is expected to work), for a major feature
c) brand new unannounced features need to be refined before production. ones I saw were placeholders.
d) likely need tweaks to many mechanisms - not necessarily manufacture, but assembly or the way things are configured
e) one of the toys is to be revised cosmetically, at Fox's request
f) production simply hasn't started

Quoted from frolic:

Once the "game" is approved, they don't have to keep submitting every video they make of it, do they? If the game is signed off on, isn't it out in the open? The game will show up at expo (hopefully) and there will be tons of videos made of it there, so I'm hoping they can jump the gun on those videos.

To an extent. In my view it won't be playable to the public at Expo and it would be a real mistake to allow it. Andrew did not state that it wouldn't be, but he was careful to state what they were aiming for, for Expo. Playing the machine underlined this. My view is that this is realistic and a good thing.

Furthermore, there hasn't been any serious play testing of the new prototype (rather than original early one) and will no doubt require refinement to make it acceptably reliable for shows, location or home use. Plus, whilst Andrew assures me code is 85% done (100% = production and it 'goes gold'), sound and video aren't anywhere near all hooked up (even if files are pretty much done), neither are all the animations and the game UI, and quite a bit is still placeholder.

Hardware and software will be prone to failure, and that would lead to disappointment.

Even assuming it was refined enough to not disappoint people ... if someone's rough or is unfortunate to break one or more major things, that would be a real setback for production. The two prototypes are being shipped over to Chicago for two of the US development team to take home, so that they can see how the code and media are working in the flesh. Up to this stage, they've relied on virtual testing, imagination and reports from Wales. Them receiving the machines ship shape and ready to do the final pre-production development on is far, far more important for Heighway (and potential customers) than a few people playing (and quite possibly breaking) the machines at Expo.

As of now, these are nothing like 'sample' games that JJP and Stern put out on location post announcement, and stress test extensively in house, before production models ship to customers.

They are in the final furlong and this will quickly change, but not in 8 working days until they head to Expo.

Quoted from jonesjb:

So it's been approved?! If so this is exciting news!!

Hasn't been sent for approval (unless HW were really quick bundling all the media, annotation and documentation today and conveying it to Fox).

--- proper write up coming later this evening.

#7602 7 years ago
Quoted from karl:

If the state of the game is anywhere near the condition that rubberducks describes and is missing several features and toys,
and has not been playtested enough before expo, I would not show it there at all.
Much better to just show videos of what it will look like and of the pre-production models.
It doesn't take much for people to get disappointed and underwhelmed in places like expo. Why take that chance when the game is so close to being finished and you can then show it in all its glory to the public?
I realize that Heighway is really keen on finally showing a game to the public and that expo is the best place for that, but it could also be the complete opposite. First impression matters. Just look at what happened to The Hobbit 2 years ago. (a totally different situation of course with the hobbit's then underwhelming playfield graphics, but still..)

It's not missing any toys or originally known features as such. Per my post, it's missing one working feature due to a control board that's needed and SHOULD be there before Expo. Read the whole post.

37
#7604 7 years ago

Wider post. Previous post covered path to Expo and attempted to address prototype status. Some general bullet points first:

- Heighway have moved to their third factory recently, and been there for 4 months. This one seems like a better set up (better ratio of shop floor to office space) and better size (neither too small nor far too large). Also newer, in much better state of repair and significantly less costly than the huge 40,000ft2 place. This, I think, is about half the size. Small production line and most of the vital equipment is set up and working. Production line will be expanded considerably for Alien(s), with more stations. They're about to install a load of new storage for the mass of parts needed for volume production.

- Producing everything in house for now has been dropped, and some of the very expensive machinery which a lot of capital is tied up in will be sold. Good thing. Even if it was ultimately successful, too much for a small start up to take on and manage adequately. However they are continuing to conduct research and development on a couple of major elements, which may see fruit borne some time in the future.

- Focus is about to switch from producing Full Throttle to Alien(s). As you might expect, and HW certainly do, Alien(s) will be the main source of orders, machines wise. They'll produce Full Throttle to demand in future, presumably mostly in kit form. If Alien(s) goes down well, they should expect quite a few kit orders IMO.

- The cabinets and their trim continue to be refined. Many people, me included, weren't keen on the black with grey colour scheme. The newer black on black is a big improvement and should satisfy quite a few of the cosmetic grumblings. Finish looks to have been improved too.

- Trim options (even if not the full list) should be detailed at or by Expo. Some stuff may come after initial production. Nothing finalised on this yet. It'll be the last thing to be done, practically.

- Some new features, which should be the first to actually make it to production in pinball machines, have been added to the machine very recently. Proof of concepts were in the machine I saw, and cabinet waiting for the soon to be finished second prototype. Can't say what, but they aren't something which will take endless revisions to reach production. Even if you don't like the iteration, the way it's being integrated ought to allow for retrofitting of community developed alternatives. Also, if it were looking likely to be a cause of any delay, it shouldn't stop production or shipping of games (my opinion), as they ought to be able to be easily shipped on their own or in bulk and installed by end users. There will be a lot of this technology in future games across the industry.

- Difficult to really get a sense of it when playing with glass off, cacophony of noise from factory floor, and blinding studio lights, but the sound package David Thiel is responsible for looks like it's going to be what most fans of the franchise would hope for.

- Animations and game UX still not finished / all hooked up. But what is there looks decent and it's definitely evocative of the universe and its style. Finished animations look great. Not quite JJP level, but embarrasses Stern and better than Full Throttle.

- Hundreds of sound clips lifted from the films (not sure how many video clips). The original (to the machine) voiceover work sounded good, of the little I heard - definitely not a TWD situation. Seemless and fits in well with the licensed property.

- Some of the shots feel good. Some ... well, playing half blind in studio lights wasn't easy. I do think shots from the upper right (3rd?) flipper shot will require some significant skill and timing.

- TONS of skillshots.

- No video mode. Likely a good thing ... might have been a nightmare to get Fox to approve, and would probably break immersion rather than enhancing it.

- Some feature elements (rather than effects) of the game's UX are rendered in real time and interactive. Took a long time to go back towards Pinball 2000. Game doesn't make heavy use of it. But there's scope for Heighway and others to do way more of this in future. I would guess, if Heighway do have one speculated cartoon franchise (I don't know), it would employ a great deal of it.

- I wasn't aware, but Heighway have moved on from custom ARM based boards to an Intel x86 processor and board. At a guess, more expensive, but they're not going to have any supplier issues if they can buy completely generic off the shelf parts. Also, long, long into the future, and well past the point of being supported, obtaining replacement parts or an entirely new computer shouldn't be too much of an issue.

- Development and conveyance to production status of future games should be expedited. The idea is to have some staff dedicated to each game.

Regarding Alien(s) itself. Per the above bullet points, it wasn't really possible to form much of an opinion about it from play due to the conditions and the ongoing filming. It needed some tuning, and there was a software bug, but those can be addressed - the latter probably swiftly once the games are with the American team in the flesh. What I was really concerned about was how the sound and any original speech used (if any) would turn out. I like it. Difficult not to smile at the promo video when played in a quieter office. It's typical(ly excellent) David Thiel work. A big feature was waiting on a board, so I didn't get to see it in action; its arrival is imminent. Cosmetically, except the brand new features I can't talk about, one toy (the one Fox want to look a little different) and some decals, it's done. So almost everything I saw above the playfield should be what you see when it's revealed. I.E. It's ready to see the light of day. Inserts' light show wasn't really in yet, but there was some potentially good news on that front which was added recently; shouldn't delay production, but may take some extra time to fully utilise in code as it ought to allow for more creativity. Fibre optic lighting will be on the left and right ramps that run parallel to the left and right side of the cabinet. This is both for LE and as a pay-extra upgrade. Wasn't in yet, but I think the work that took so long to complete it for Full Throttle should mean there are no issues. On the LE front, translite and side panel artwork will be LE exclusive. Wasn't 100% confirmed, but looks like the 27" backbox LCD is going to become standard. Hardly a surprise as this has been default for pre-orders through CoinTaker for some time now. Could increase the price of admission slightly, but this HAS to be done, imo. The translite and frame for it would require 6 (SIX!) versions with the original scheme of full translite, small LCD, large LCD and a Standard and LE model. 2 seems like a much more manageable number. Besides, it's a shame for spectators not to be able to see what's going on, and during more cinematic moments, the player's likely to enjoy a 27" screen more than the one in the pf. Also it seemed like a major point of confusion for people interested in Heighway's games. Removing that must be positive. If some features aren't fully working for Expo, or play is limited, I don't think that is or should be seen as evidence of a malaise, it just happens that the game has reached its approval state mere days before Expo.

Regarding production. Assuming approvals go through as quickly as expected, Andrew's still adamant that they can get a first small run of games out and shipped by the end of October. This does seem optimistic to me. But it is doable. They can definitely be built by then, but that depends on suppliers coming through with parts on time and in shippable standard; with all that's going on at the moment, there is acute awareness at Heighway of how vital QC is. But small numbers for the initial run oughtn't to be a big issue. Of course, there could be other unforeseen circumstances that delay things. However, whilst I expect this target to be missed, days and weeks are what we're talking in terms of delays, from what I've seen. That's only 4 weeks away now, and there would be no shame in running slightly past it. We should be able to say goodbye to the endlessly churning score reel of month after month of delays. When I said they were in the final furlong in the previous post, I really think they are. Code probably shouldn't be a worry, given that Full Throttle shipped in a reasonable state, has seen updates, continues to be developed, and most seem to agree that the code is good.

In terms of mass production, that is expected for November. Again dependent on parts, of course. I expect it may slip a little, and their ramp won't be as quick as they or their contemporaries at DP or JJP hoped and experienced. But I do think they're in a good position to enter mass production VERY SOON and with a minimum of potential operational pitfalls.

Lots of new labour, after new hiring, and until they set foot over the threshold of the facility, completely untrained for the required task labour, likely also devoid of any knowledge of pinball, could be a huge headache generally, and a nightmare as far as QC is concerned. But, per the earlier mention, they are cognisant of this.

People were sceptical about the claims of assembly man-hours for Heighway machines of less than half the average at Stern and JJP. However they appear to have done a fantastic job of simplifying the under playfield mechanisms and drastically reducing the amount of wiring (much of which is plug and play), boards, mechanisms, mountings and points of contact. Having seen what they've done, I'd be very surprised if their claims aren't accurate. The function of assembly should be a lot easier and less likely to result in damage than traditionally. So one would hope that QC and a ramp to volume production targets shouldn't be nearly as difficult as other recent examples. If Alien(s) is a huge hit, all this work should aid them in scaling up seamlessly.

Like many of you would be, given the history of continual delay and unrealistic schedules, I was braced for a series of red flags and the possibility that the game might be stuck in 'development hell'. However, I didn't see the former, and if it ever was in the latter, I don't see any evidence of it being extant. Indeed, while nothing is really ever certain, it looks like some kind of catastrophe would be needed to significantly derail production at this juncture. The first customers ought to receive their games pretty soon.

I know Andrew does and will think I'm unfair to cast mild doubt about their schedule, but they're at the end of a long, hard road on bringing Alien(s) to market. Development time, I think, has been wholly reasonable, it was just announced far too early and estimates were continually way-way off due to a combination of lack of experience, over-optimism and no doubt various unknowns. Any misses now shouldn't be a mark of shame, or a cause of huge consternation, hand wringing and tittle-tattle, they ought to be a rite of passage into becoming a volume manufacturer and just a normal if frustrating part of the management of a business of this type.

It's impossible to say how well the game will sell, but it looks to be in a decent place, and even in a market that's getting increasingly crowded, they have a unique selling point in the modular system that allows space starved collectors and operators to acquire new games, and with less onerous financial commitments. Moreover, its benefits should become more apparent, the closer to saturation the market gets. Like Alien(s), their upcoming two games are famous IPs, so it ought to bode well that they're able to obtain these from rightsholders.

Aside from hoping they'll succeed, I've tried to keep bias to a minimum - if something was highly personal or potentially exclusive to me and I liked or disliked it strongly, I tried to avoid it here. The visit was informative. Hopefully my account of what I saw and thought about it will be of use and interest to some of you.

TLDR if you're lazy. They're in a good place from an operational perspective, relative to starting mass production; a lot of the work they did on planning their system looks like it'll pay dividends. Alien(s) is pretty much done. Vast bulk of the work is behind them. Physical changes should be extremely minimal. Code should be close to going gold, hooking up all the media will be the biggest change. I was told a lot of the animations and UX were still placeholder, soon to be replaced, but they still looked good. If there are further delays, they should be very minor, at this stage. Couple of new features to be revealed at Expo. David Thiel seems like he's done another great job on the sound package. People will have games soon, barring calamity.

#7606 7 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

Rubberducks, i missed it and would like the context...
Who are you and how do you have all this info?

Nobody really. Had been meaning to go on a factory tour since January when I met Andrew at the arcade and amusements show in London. Either i couldn't come or it wasn't convenient. Last opportunity for a while was this week, which happened to be in the middle of the final approvals shoot.

It was gracious of Andrew to show me round and spend time chatting to me.

Full disclosure I suppose, I have a deposit down.

#7608 7 years ago
Quoted from RobT:

Optimistic but doable. But dependent on others.
It seems incredibly unlikely that production Alien pins will ship 30 days from now.
Thanks for the great informative post. I was not aware of all the substantial changes that Heighway had gone through regarding their facility and change of plans regarding making almost everything in house.

Well that's the main thing. They've done 99% of their work. Assuming approvals are smooth, they just need suppliers to deliver. Per the brief on what they've done to simplify things, I assume that has a positive effect as far as parts are concerned, too. Fewer of them and less potential bottlenecks in the production pipeline.

#7623 7 years ago

My WOZ doesn't seem to suffer from ugliness when turned off due to a large backbox monitor ...

I don't know for sure what will happen, but it's total madness not to standardise. It's easier, cheaper and less confusing for all parties, broadly speaking. Of course some people will be dissatisfied, but that will be the case no matter what.

#7625 7 years ago
Quoted from Yipykya:

I do understand the difficulties of what your stating as for as the manufacturing goes. But what is an LE after all? To me an LE means all the bells and whistles. Give the LE buyers the full back glass art piece parts to exhange out as shwarz just stated. There would only be 2 manufactured swapping possibilities in this scenario if the 27" LCD becomes mandatory/standard right?
I believe Andrew has stated how easy it is to go back and forth between the 2 possibilities in this very thread.
...or maybe it was in a Full Throttle thread?

It's a translite. But regardless of backglass or translite, the LE and Standard artwork will not be the same, and can be swapped out if and when you buy future kits.

They'll probably have to make a few full translites for old FT customers, regardless, but it seems crazy to continue offering options that just make their lives more difficult.

Also, on Alien(s) the monitor is a lot more alive, be it with video clips from the movies, animations, interactive elements or just generally much better scoring and gaming information than Full Throttle. I don't expect it to become less alive in future titles. If you don't change your mind, I suspect others currently thinking the same will quite quickly.

Edit: misunderstood you. I think both versions of the translite are intended to ship with the LEs, so I guess you might be able to ask for LE LCD / LE full, but then a lot of people would probably do that and sell one, which they might not want. Guess we'll see when the options list is declared at Expo.

#7648 7 years ago
Quoted from Wickerman2:

more asinine bullshit from a suspicious "new" user

It's a repost of something someone posted on RGP.

#7670 7 years ago
Quoted from rotordave:

Was the IP from Peru by chance?
I guess somebody is bored on holiday ....
rd

Dupe may have been him, but the OP on RGP I'd place money on being a Brit by their mode of phrase.

#7697 7 years ago
Quoted from Hazoff:

Not ever I hope, at least in terms of design, so far Spooky pins have looked like garage projects with sound to match, I agree that Heighway is taking too long to reveal but luckily the theme will hold the interest for most of us.

They're limited in terms of what they offer, but if anything they've under promised and over delivered, which seems unique in pinball. They've achieved a lot on limited resources. Future machines should hopefully pack better art, more features and improved sound and dmd animations.

I wouldn't want their products up until now, but they seem to be really well run and have established a very solid foundation.

#7708 7 years ago

Production dates and exchange rates changed rather a lot in 12 months ...

RIP £ and likely UK generally

#7722 7 years ago

Games will be going, regardless of whether Fox have given a green light, as US team members need to have access to the machines. Plus, as I'm sure you can imagine, Fox approving after the team flies (without machines) would be less than ideal.

#7741 7 years ago
Quoted from luvthatapex2:

Whats happening Thursday night in regards to Alien?
According to the expo schedule Alien reveal is on Friday at 4pm
http://www.pinballexpo.net/seminar.pdf
4:00 p.m. "Alien Pinball:
The Official North American Launch"
Guest Moderator: Gary Flower
Speakers: Andrew Heighway, Brian
Dominy, Joe Schober, David Thiel, Barry
Oursler, Kelly Mazurowski, Garret Popek,
Matt Riesterer

Be interesting what Barry Oursler has to say, since he's responsible for games 3, 4 & 5, assuming 4 or 5 don't get juggled, depending on how long 3 takes.

#7749 7 years ago
Quoted from colonel_caverne:

You mean i need to take the plane from France to get an answer to my question :" is the price for EU customer still 8500€?"
If i was ordering today, What would be the price from manufacturer?

It's been answered. This price was indicative of the exchange rate at the time.

Just pay the final price when announced in £ if you want to order one. They're not going to price gouge EU customers.

#7758 7 years ago
Quoted from dannunz:

In the first video Andrew was showing the ramps were plastic correct? They are now metal?

Steel and welded. Not plastic.

#7786 7 years ago
Quoted from Yipykya:

Exciting times!
Are only the 35th Anniversary Edition LE models getting the 3 secret features? Not seeing them

Not as I understood it. AFAIK everyone will get them. The internal cabinet design is being slightly changed to incorporate one of them, with the feature likely being used for all future games. so I'd imagine it's much better to have all of them with it. One of the others will require all games be programmed the same way, I think. The last one could be exclusive but I don't think it will be.

LEs are differentiated by having all the mod cons as standard, plus different side and translite art and their numbered placque.

#7818 7 years ago
Quoted from bigdaddy07:

Where did this go? Did they decide to remove it?

Airlock is there, just the look changed.

Space Jockey was indeed missing from both the game I saw (probably the one in the flyer) and the flyer, and Andrew seemed to suggest the game was feature complete save for an incoming logic board. Assume it was canned.

Only difference is that they've added the (production) colour eggs ... neutral colour instead of proto green ones (ensures they can be properly lit by the rgb leds)

#7880 7 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

I promise you that no matter how they come from the factory I'll be pulling mine for custom paintwork.

I think having it mostly bare is better ... easier to do custom efforts then.

Re: people talking about black cab and black trim.

I'm of the view that it looks vastly better. Immensely so than the rather weird looking black cab and grey trim. I don't think the green powder coat would look right, personally, with the large bezel round the glass. It'd be too eye catching and distracting during play.

#7914 7 years ago
Quoted from jazzmaster:

I see what you did there. Weller would be proud.

It wasn't a sarcastic pun, just common mode of phrase here.

mod cons
mɒdˈkɒnz/
nounBRITISHinformal
the amenities and appliances characteristic of a well-equipped modern house that contribute to an easier and more comfortable way of life.
"the property has all mod cons". modern conveniences.

#7923 7 years ago
Quoted from Hazoff:

I'm interested in seeing what optic lighting will look like on metal ramps, could be great, in fact fits this theme much better than plastic.

As i understood it, the fibre optic lighting will go dowm the ramp returns that run parallel to the left and right side of the cabinet. I don't think it'll be on the metal ramp entrances.

#7982 7 years ago
Quoted from HeighwayPinball:

Hi everyone,
I have a question to current pre-order customers.
At the weekend, Aimee sent an email with payment details for the next installment.
Over the weekend her email was hacked and an additional email was sent to at least one customer with bank details supposedly from us. These bank details are incorrect and somebody is trying to get our customers to make payments to a fraudulent account.
If you received an email with all payment details in the body of the email, and the Alien Pinball game flyer as an attachment - then this is correct.
If you then received a subsequent email with bank details as an attachment - then this was fraud.
We are emailing all of our customers about this tonight. However, if you received such an email, could you please either PM me here, or email me at [email protected] please?
Thanks in advance.
Andrew

Andrew, In case you see this first:

see the email that I cc'd you into and whatsapp message.

In the warning email about this you just badly further breached your own and your customers' security. You need to get on top of this ASAP. I suspect it's this kind of laxity that led to the 'hack' in the first place, if it was that.

To others receiving Heighway emails atm, I suggest you be VERY careful.

#8172 7 years ago

I also don't really get the air lock ... the original model / concept looked ok, if rather large ... but this is a big box of nothing, and considerably less pretty. In terms of layout / toys, that would be the one thing I'd remove immediately.

It's going to look particularly weak next to the Alien head if you have it custom painted and dolled up.

13
#8376 7 years ago
Quoted from Mr68:

Here's a tip for all of you keyboard gang banger's. Acting tough on the internet doesn't always work out.
Aurich posted that comment about a month ago along with the usual trash he speaks about me. I didn't retaliate on Pinside or say anything with macho posturing in return. I remained silent to his taunt while his fan boys clicked the thumbs up for him.
Friday early evening at Expo, I happen to see Aurich in the Exhibit Hall. He was about 30 feet away from me talking with a friend. I didn't care he had a buddy with him and I was to face him on my own. I didn't hesitate for a moment and went straight over to Aurich and stepped up on him. I called him a lair and an asshole to his face exactly as he called me out to do.
Aurich back-peddled a step, put his open hands up in the air and said "I'm not talking to you, Kim" and I bitched him out some more.
Nobody got touched, it was over fairly quickly and it didn't go well for Aurich. His friend in my peripheral vision seem dumbfounded and must of thought me crazy and maybe I am. Aurich disappeared after that and I never saw him again.
I doubt Aurich will call anybody out on the internet ever again but if he does you, be sure to look him up.
Prediction: Aurich will reply to my comment here with his usual story of how he has me blocked and cant read but he somehow reads me anyway. Then of course, he will tell a much different version.
I don't care what story he tells or what you guys believe. I know and Aurich knows what happened and that's all that matters to me.

I'm not sure what this has to do with you having concerns about Aliens, some of which are definitely legitimate.

If true, this is an absolutely bizarre thing to do in the first place, and even more bizarre to brag about. Apart from anything else, you'll end up getting yourself barred from events.

#8454 7 years ago
Quoted from Ben1981:

I'm wondering about that number too! About 1k less than the last quote from my distributor before expo. Would love to get clarification about the pricing for standard.
Game looks killer!
Cheers

£ / € was somewhere between 1.35-1.4 when old pricing was done. It's now about 1.1 and probably set to go lower.

Hence why the € price is now much cheaper.

#8718 7 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

I'm not an expert, but from what I've heard black nickel is crazy toxic, and a lot of places don't want to touch it, the environmental regulations are a giant pain in the ass.

Nickel plating is less toxic than either hexa or tri valent chrome plating.

But it's a rather less foolproof and universally suitable process AFAIK

#8818 7 years ago

A low end ITX or mATX motherboard, probably 4GB of 1600Mhz DDR3 RAM, an i3 processor, a PSU and probably a new SSD, plus cables is probably the extent of the changes, and shouldn't cost Heighway more than ~£350 in the kind of bulk they'll buy them. Probably well under £300 in fact.

So even if it's not free, and rather at cost, it should be significantly cheaper to upgrade than many of the optional upgrades on Alien, for example.

#8835 7 years ago
Quoted from Roostking:

Regardless, this isn't a FT upgrade, it's required for FT adopters to run Alien. In reality, this should be a no cost upgrade if the FT owners buy Alien.

I agree, but some seem worried that the new system could cost many hundreds if not thousands. I was merely demonstrating otherwise. A low spec'd i3 based PC will not cost much at all.

#8912 7 years ago

Re: modularity, in principle it's a great idea. In practice I don't think it will work all that well due to a number of issues, whether it be in the Heighway form (price, space etc) or the P3 model (technology isn't ideal yet). Also, both really need the kind of scale that neither is likely to achieve in the near term.

I suspect in the next 2-5 years someone will nail the P2K / Heighway model, and 4-10 years the P3 model. But I don't expect either to hit the ground running right now.

For the record, I think the latter will be way more compelling once 240hz 4k / 8k QD/microLED/OLEDs are available and cheap enough to replace the PF. Especially as with inkjet printing it will become way easier to order displays with cut outs and custom sizes and shapes.

#8970 7 years ago
Quoted from Wolfmarsh:

I definitely agree with that. With prices the way they are, a package that came with a cabinet and 2 or 3 compelling games would be really, really strong.
Gotta have those killer games though.

Issue is that a fully decked out LE, with two extra pf kits and a couple of optional extras will run to $20k ... it's not really a value option for most people put off by the new, insane pricing of NIB pinball. I think a lot of people were hoping that final pricing wouldn't be so high and that pf kits would come down in price a little.

Also, for operators, who this is mainly meant to appeal to, most are probably going to be able to buy 4 Stern Pros plus some left over change for the same figure. Or they could get a DI Standard and a Stern Pro for the same money as an Alien LE and FT kit .. or less than, if the FT kit comes with fibre optics. I think I know which option will offer a better return.

Certainly I know a few people who were really keen on the value prospect, but now that final pricing has been set, they're much less keen. It feels like a bit of a missed opportunity given how outraged people were about BM '66 and DI pricing.

#8974 7 years ago
Quoted from frolic:

You're comparing "fully decked out LEs" with Standard and Pro models.
So, either compare LEs against LEs and SLEs, or Standards against Standards and Pros.
A stock Alien or FT is priced below Stern Premium. We're waiting to see what the Aerosmith Pro pricing with LCD will be, but will probably be near a stock Alien.
You can debate value, but keep it Apples vs Apples.

There seems to be significantly more demand for the LE featureset, if not the price, so essentially I am, and for comparative purposes there's not much 'pro' or 'standard' about JJP's standard model. The comparison still works if you use a DI LE though.

Also, there's no way any ops are not going to include the 27", EL blades and beacons with an Alien Standard, and I suspect most will include a shaker motor. That takes it to $7600 ... again, once you add a few options to an additional playfield kit, you might be looking at less money for a DI Standard and Stern Pro .... and bear in mind that both machines can earn simultaneously, rather than one pf kit resting.

Price, like most new machines, is going to give a lot of people much pause for thought.

#9027 7 years ago
Quoted from Pale_Purple:

Two weeks doesn't sound that bad now that I've been waiting for over a month for a response from Cointaker. They replied within hours when I was asking about a deposit, nothing but silence since I sent them money. Making we wish I ordered direct from Heighway now.

Call them. They're terrible with email but generally responsive when you phone. I found Chris better than Melissa.

#9042 7 years ago
Quoted from NPO:

Hey hey hey....some of us actually own a CD-i...!
I'm such a sucker for the underdog.

3DO and Atari Jaguar too?

#9097 7 years ago
Quoted from matt_adams:

4 emails so far and tried calling 3 times today, no one picking up!!!!

Eh, you remember there's a time difference right?

Also, are you really ordering via CoinTaker when in the UK? AFAIK there are UK distributors.

#9110 7 years ago

Post you replied to addressed CoinTaker, hence the confusion.

#9175 7 years ago
Quoted from Cheeks:

I couldn't disagree with this more. You know that just because a rulebook exists, people don't have to read it. I get that some people want to explore on their own and don't want to know anything they didn't figure out themselves, but others don't have the time or the energy to fully explore all the permutations of different play tactics, especially if they're not good enough players to full execute what and when the opportunities arise. I'm somewhere between these two extremes. I'd like to save the "surprises" but get the details on play strategies.
I don't have the time or attention span to learn what impacted what fully on my own. But I will read rulesheets and try to execute those strategies. If you want to be surprised by everything, just don't read them.
I can tell you for sure, that I have gotten SO MUCH more enjoyment out of games after reading rules and strategies. Back when I first started collecting I would print off the rulesheets from pinball.com and read about all the modes and scoring tactics. This made the games so much more fun. More recently, I have a Hobbit and didn't know what I was doing. I was seriously thinking about selling it. Now that I've read the rules, I'm really loving it.
By not releasing rules, you are hurting the people that want to read them and learn strategy in that fashion. On the other hand, by releasing them you give people the choice. I don't read spoilers online for shows I'm watching. Players that like the suspense can do the same thing here.

+1. Poor documentation is one of the many things that limits access and causes frustration in pinball.

6 months later
#14044 6 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

lol. you are quoting non-audited data, from a secondary source that is over a year old...

It is indeed non-audited, due to the exemption that small companies are afforded. That does not however mean that the directors of the company are not legally obliged to file accurate accounts at Companies House, which they are. As the only director of HW Pinball, Andrew is entirely responsible for filing these accounts accurately. Notice the highlighting. Doesn't get much more primary than that.

Given the above, are you still going to imply that they are inaccurate, or misrepresent the company's solvency, or cast doubt on their veracity?

Also, the accounts are the most recently available.

1 (resized).PNG1 (resized).PNG
2 (resized).PNG2 (resized).PNG

#14064 6 years ago
Quoted from Strohz:

So I'm surprised no one else mentioned it from the links above. What exactly does the company was dissolved by the crown mean in December 2016, and might that explain why several of us were getting jerked around with refunds around that time?

No.

According to records on Companies House the company never did anything and was considered dormant, then dissolved after a period of dormancy. Its balance sheet was a token £1, consisting of share capital afforded that value. There was presumably the idea to have two companies at one stage - one for sales and one for production - but it was never used.

You, and I assume everyone else, should have been dealing with Heighway Pinball Ltd - not this entity.

10
#14216 6 years ago
Quoted from PinBalt:

Andrew. You need a communications person and a consistent update plan. There might be a lot going on but no one knows it. A consistent weekly update email message would go a long way. The DP situation is murky at the moment but they have done a Friday update each week and that has been great. Someone on your team must be able to put this together. This gap in message and then a statement not coming true is frustrating us that are invested and trying to be patient. Again, please do a Weekly/Biweekly update message. Communication is critical at this point.

I think it's a bit late in the day for honesty to make a tangible difference to the outcome, sadly. See below.

Quoted from chrisnack:

I'm not following this thread anymore, but I said I'd post when i reached resolution.
I had paid in 2 equal payments through PayPal. PayPal ruled in my favor on the disputes and I've received my money back through PayPal. Heighway refunded one payment (half) through the dispute, but did not refund the other half. I'm squared up though on my end, which is what matters to me. I didn't want to wait for them to process my refunds, so I disputed the charges. Some may disagree with that, but that's what I did. I know of 4 others waiting on refunds, and I hope they get resolution soon, 3 of them are at 30 days now.
I wish everyone the best of luck, and I hope all get their machines soon. Take care.

If PayPal and the payment processor WorldPay accounts aren't permanently shuttered now, they're almost certainly already suspended, at this point. The above is not an isolated case and has happened repeatedly. At least in this case resolution was fairly 'swift'. In some cases Andrew has fought credit card chargebacks and managed to string them out for months, not days or weeks. PP are definitely flawed and very open to criticism on many fronts, but in situations like this they are often better.

For anyone thinking this is just some contravention of terms of service, or something else that can be explained away, it is not. It can be seen to constitute fraud.

Additionally, operationally, if a company cannot meet its obligations and is insolvent, then it must voluntarily declare bankruptcy (if a third party doesn't force it) so that it may either enter administration or be liquidated. Amongst other reasons, this is to prevent pyramids forming or becoming worse.

If it can be shown that the company was traded past the point where directors knew that the company was insolvent, or that insolvency was inevitable, it is classified as insolvent / negligent trading (officially Wrongful Trading in the UK). Directors, and Andrew is the only one despite having other shareholders, can face very large fines and other penalties. In this case, the accounts from the year to the end of March '16 show the company to be deeply insolvent and virtually worthless.

The warning signs have been there for a long, long time. It is difficult to argue that these are merely just 'warning signs' now.

27
#14219 6 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

Curious what is your exact relation and affiliation. You rarely post excepts to toot this horn for a while now.

I think the better question is what exactly is your relation and affiliation, given your constant cheerleading, apparent desire to cast doubt on or discredit anything which you perceive to be negative, and conduct personal attacks or witch hunts against other members - most recently Ted, something which you were ejected from the thread for. Your behaviour was similar with Kulek.

Please, if you have any quarrel with or doubts about the veracity of what I or others have posted, state them plainly, rather than trying to insinuate distortion or error. As I tried to make clear, this is a serious matter.

For the record though, I was one of many that encountered 'difficulties' upon requesting a refund. I suspect there are rather more of us than you would like to imagine.

I think all of us wanted this to succeed, particularly given the license, but the time for pretending is over.

P.S. That was my third post in 6 months ...and third time clarifying what's actually happening, since many seem unclear.

#14221 6 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

I am a fan of new pinball, nothing more. I have no affiliation with any manufacturing company. I, like you want new pinball to succeed.
That said, i was smart enough to learn from previous lessons and don't put in preorder on ANY game. I hope you get your refund. Anyone requesting should get it! Period!

If that's the extent of it, then I'd urge you not to try to divert people's attention from concerns. Even if your instinct may be to to do so.

I got mine a while ago. Others have clearly not been so lucky.

#14225 6 years ago
Quoted from Procrastinator:

Whatever the circumstances, your assumption that their PayPal account is suspended is way out of bounds. Do you have any proof of their suspended account? I get over 10 mil in PP payments a year, and having a truly suspended account is a rare thing. Hell, if you receive over a mil in payments, it's a whole different ballgame in how your funds are held, accessed, and disputed. It's clear you don't have a clue, at least on the PP side.
I do think it's funny though, you say the sky is falling at heighway, but for DP you are a constant defender. Not sure the connection, but definitely a little backwards taking everything at face value.

It's folly to assume it hasn't been. Assuming you haven't obstructed valid refund requests and Paypal haven't ruled against you, why would you have issues? Also, you do realise that according to their accounts, it would be incredible if their PP account is in remotely the same ballpark as the one you claim to have. It'd be in the same danger of closure, suspension or funds being witheld as ALL small PP accounts are.

You make an awful lot of assumptions here. If HW had millions going through their PP account, do you think cash flow would be an issue?

Further, you choose to completely ignore the legal obligations I mention wrt to solvency. That's the big issue, not PP status.

You, as others, imagine that my saying the situation is not black and white with DP (in any sense) amounts to white knighting for them. I would be surprised if little positive comes from the apparent takeover negotiations with ARA any time soon.

Edit: I've taken a deliberately contrarian view in the DP thread because people are constantly one way or the other. Prevailing thinking currently seems to be that the two parties can just agree to a takeover and everyone will live happily ever after, if pride is just swallowed. I think it highly unlikely that even if a deal is reached swiftly, production will resume with speed & efficiency, and DP/ARA would have plain sailing. Hopefully I'm wrong ... anyway I don't see how DP are relevant to this, seeing as their problems appear to relate to poor management of third party manufacturing.

#14230 6 years ago
Quoted from Procrastinator:

im not making any assumptions, I'm talking about what I know for a fact. I know PayPal, and their rules. I simply said for larger accounts, there is a whole different process then joe blow running $5k through his account yearly. I wouldn't dare defend or pontificate on the inner workings of a company I know nothing about, you however, don't seem to have an issue.
Lastly, you have every right to "obstruct" a refund request, or drag it out as long as you can. Is it good business? No, but they clearly even stated it when they sent the email saying refunds would take up to 60 days as production has started. Either way, they have the right to drag it out as long as possible under PayPal, or whoever the payment processors rules are.
As a business owner, I sympathize with heighway, as it's all about the turns and trying to survive when starting a new project. I know the frustration of being maybe 6 months out from stability, but having to weather the storm to make it to shore. It's not easy and I respect any company trying to do it. Luckily in my industry we don't have a group of "insiders and experts" talking on a forum daily about the inner workings of a company. Either way, I hope they can make it through this tumultuous period and get their game to the mass market.

HW's accounts are a matter of public record. You are exactly defending and pontificating about something you appear to know very little about, despite there being information for you to consider.

There is no provision under UK law to drag out valid refund requests for more than the mandated 14 calendar or 10 working days. Terms state 21 days on the website. Emails often say 30. Most recently Andrew said 30-60**. Some people have had to wait much longer. None of those are legal. Again, you're making assertions that are shaky at best.

Your latter statement appears fair, but this has been going on for a long time now.

You guys can go back to bickering now. I just wanted people to know what the facts of the matter are and what is expected of companies by the law. If you choose to ignore it, so be it.

** "due to production" - I don't see how that has anything to do with it, unless it's a tacit admission of insolvency.

#14289 6 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

NICE! LE trim looks amazing!
Looks like this confirms First LEs shipped in May.

Did this machine not have standard translite and side panels, and black trim when originally posted some days ago?

If machines are being spat out in volume, it would seem unlikely that the first and possibly only LE (presumably minus fibre optics) would be a retro fit package.

10
#14415 6 years ago
Quoted from SunKing:

Join_the_Cirqus, please end the confusion and explain how your game's trim changed color from the time you first posted ten days ago 'till now. Did you have it powder coated? Did Andrew send you replacement armor? Do you have two machines? ...you would end a lot of speculation with a simple answer.

Quoted from Join_The_Cirqus:

I only have an Alien LE
The powdercoating was changed out to Alien Green from Alien Black

Quoted from DerGoetz:

Found the politician

He was being deliberately vague for a reason. Trying to avoid outright lies without telling the truth. He finally got pushed into a corner and clarified that he indeed did powder coat it himself. He also clearly worked on this with Andrew, since:

1) He had to be sent the bits.
2) He talked about "working with Andrew" on this. Why do you have to 'work with' him when you've just paid for a product, and why do several of these early machines seem to rely on cloak and dagger hush-hush agreements, where the new owner must act as an unofficial PR, and none of whom will disclose either the nature of the agreement or how they came to be selected over others?
3) Andrew e-mailed people yesterday saying that something very positive was happening and it would hopefully be announced the same day (i.e. didn't know when powder would be ready).

Neither of them seem to have thought about this very much before doing it, though. People were asking for PR management ,and honesty with it, yesterday. This is what you get.

Anyway, the first DIY LE 1/??? edition compared to what an LE is supposed to be:

• Gloss Black high finish cabinet - No.

• Beacons – Yes.

• Shaker - ?

• 35th sidepanels - No, Standard. Then sent out later presumably as part of a deal to show an 'LE' off to prove they've shipped .. but seems to have forgotten that people had seen the Standard days earlier, and botched the PR. Oops.

• Backglass - No, Standard. Also marketed as such (backglass), but it's a translite and there is no glass, and sent out later as above.

•Numbered LE placque, as per FTh – No. Handwritten note scrawled on back of backbox with marker pen.

• Green trim (or gloss black / blue) - No. Did green himself. About 2 years after showing first digital mock-ups, and 7 months since full Expo revelation, no official LE trim has been shown yet. N.B. It's just a powder coat.

• Fibre Optics – No.

• Goodie Bag – No (just a hunch).

Aren't they supposed to be printing side panels and possibly translites in house now? Even if not, his game was shipped 2 weeks after the LE translite and panels were shown and approved. Why were other people who wanted to downgrade their LE to a Standard, in order to get it shipped, not offered this? Maybe some others were. Some certainly were not.

If they had the parts and ability to produce any even remotely reasonable number of machines, they'd be sending out higher ticket price LEs (the additional parts cost of which is dwarfed by the price delta). Full machines. Not smoke and mirrors like this. Especially as his was supposed to be the first 'final' machine, with working Xeno, and hence hardware done.

17
#14419 6 years ago
Quoted from Join_The_Cirqus:

Sad that the same two people have such Negative Energy in this thread.

You know, I was perfectly prepared for a reasonable, straightforward and honest explanation when I asked a question last night. I awoke to an absolute shit show where you were going out of your way to avoid answering basic questions and concerns, and thereby allow people to be misled. It hadn't even occurred to me that you would have powder coated it yourself btw - and would then try as hard as you could to avoid clarifying that point.

You also appear to be attempting to vote brigade.

Quoted from Join_The_Cirqus:

Never did I state I recieved a 2nd game or another Game was just delievered.

Im Done posting any further on this current subject, as my posting was intending to provide positive vibes, not this.
If you have any other questions I advise you to reach out to Heighway.
Have a great holiday weekend everyone

How could anyone possibly believe this was your motivation? You knew the effect your initial posts would have (particularly without explanation).

As Whysnow immediately chimed in, "Looks like this confirms First LEs shipped in May." 95% of people viewing or reading probably wouldn't have even realised that it was the same Standard you received a short time before.

Quoted from Whysnow:

NICE! LE trim looks amazing!
Looks like this confirms First LEs shipped in May.

So not an LE. Not LE trim (powder was his own job). If first LEs shipped in May, this is not one of them.

You (Cirqus) said in your initial post that you were getting the thread back on track. Ironically, not the track you intended.

#14421 6 years ago
Quoted from ezeltmann:

Can anyone confirm an email about positive things happening? I can't get an answer to simple questions.

I can ask the source if it's ok to post it. But I suspect they won't want to be identified. I'm sure others received it, but if they were individually written rather than templated, that would allow identification.

#14446 6 years ago
Quoted from Manimal:

To add some fairness to all of this...how many of you reading are getting PM's from RubberDucks urging you to withdraw your funds? He/She may fully have our best interests at heart, but I have to question getting multiple e-mails really trying to get me to pull my money, even after I said I fully accepted the risk. This may very well be the beginning of the end, or maybe Heighway will surprise us all, but whatever decision you make, do it with an open mind and do what YOU want to do, not what someone else is urging you to do.

You seemed to be labouring under the delusion that I specifically tried to clarify the legalities of vis-a-vis solvency yesterday, whilst being worried about your order. I tried to offer you some advice privately.

I haven't e-mailed you at all, either, and after an initial brief message, I simply replied to your responses. You expressed much greater doubt about HW and the situation than you publicly did here, remember. Do as you wish.

-2
#14451 6 years ago
Quoted from Manimal:

I have expressed a LOT of doubt here.....and yes you responded to my messages, but you started by PM'ing me first, and kept responding with advice to pull my money no matter what I said. I can take care of my own finances and if there is a lesson to be learned, then I am big enough to do that on my own as well.

I sent you 4 brief messages, or 3 if you count one as 2 parts. Only the latter 2 did I offer my opinion on the potential merits of your pursuing a refund or not. I only mentioned you requesting one or not after you talked about your decision one way or the other, and had no intention of raising it when I sent the first message. I signed off with, "Of course, your money though".

Good luck.

#14459 6 years ago
Quoted from Wickerman2:

They had at least 2 batches of 60 games from my understanding. I got a game in the second batch so I would think 120 at least.

I would doubt it. I don't think there have ever been 'batches' of any size. If there had, surely containers would have gone to the US?

-3
#14462 6 years ago
Quoted from Wickerman2:

Ad hominem, blah blah blah.

Everything was shipped air freight, not sure what "containers" you are looking for...are you picturing a ship lumbering across the ocean?

Yes, "a ship lumbering across the ocean". That is precisely what one would expect if they were doing batches or specific production runs of that number? Stern, JJP & even DP have all done it. I assume CGC did full containers for larger external markets too, and certainly will with how popular AFMr is looking.

What ever deal Andrew was (or is) getting on air freight, it's never going to be close to as economical as sending containers of machines, which is what you'd expect with these numbers, when going to the US.

Ocean freight is how the vast majority of consumer and bulky goods reach their destinations in long distance international trade.

Indeed, this is the first time I've heard someone state (claiming knowledge of the situation) that there have been batches or runs of any size at all.

-3
#14465 6 years ago
Quoted from Olaa:

I know that it st least is 87 games in the world. And I have number 85.

I'm not sure that is relevant. Your machine carries the address that they've been gone from for a year or so, so was presumably early. Much later ones have had lower numbers.

-2
#14467 6 years ago
Quoted from Procrastinator:

It does seem strange to me whatever the circumstances with heighway, that ducks is willing to throw so much caution to the wind with DP, but for heighway he is beating the drums of war. He preaches patience and calm with DP, basically saying they aren't broke and things will work out, but for heighway he is sending PM's and telling people the sky is falling. I'm not sure what the truth is with either company, but his obvious bias is clear and somewhat concerning.

You seem to be putting a lot of words in my mouth, and of course caution is more warranted with DP as there is far less information. Also, haven't I been the one saying recently that even if DP agree to the headline terms offered by ARA, that the outcome is anything but a formality or necessarily positive? I just haven't gone along with the mob every time.

Also, I clearly remember that you were claiming my statements were fantastical and out of bounds yesterday, and I knew nothing of what I was talking about. You continued to make error ridden statements, and shortly thereafter you were proved wholly wrong when another poster said that Andrew had e-mailed him saying that the HW Paypal account indeed had been suspended.

Yet here you are trying to do exactly the same thing a day later.

I certainly see some clear and concerning bias.

Yesterday, for people who don't want to go back:

Quoted from Procrastinator:

Whatever the circumstances, your assumption that their PayPal account is suspended is way out of bounds. Do you have any proof of their suspended account? I get over 10 mil in PP payments a year, and having a truly suspended account is a rare thing. Hell, if you receive over a mil in payments, it's a whole different ballgame in how your funds are held, accessed, and disputed. It's clear you don't have a clue, at least on the PP side.
I do think it's funny though, you say the sky is falling at heighway, but for DP you are a constant defender. Not sure the connection, but definitely a little backwards taking everything at face value.

Quoted from Procrastinator:

im not making any assumptions, I'm talking about what I know for a fact. I know PayPal, and their rules. I simply said for larger accounts, there is a whole different process then joe blow running $5k through his account yearly. I wouldn't dare defend or pontificate on the inner workings of a company I know nothing about, you however, don't seem to have an issue.
Lastly, you have every right to "obstruct" a refund request, or drag it out as long as you can. Is it good business? No, but they clearly even stated it when they sent the email saying refunds would take up to 60 days as production has started. Either way, they have the right to drag it out as long as possible under PayPal, or whoever the payment processors rules are.
As a business owner, I sympathize with heighway, as it's all about the turns and trying to survive when starting a new project. I know the frustration of being maybe 6 months out from stability, but having to weather the storm to make it to shore. It's not easy and I respect any company trying to do it. Luckily in my industry we don't have a group of "insiders and experts" talking on a forum daily about the inner workings of a company. Either way, I hope they can make it through this tumultuous period and get their game to the mass market.

Quoted from chrisnack:

Someone pinged me about this so I thought I'd respond. His response was not way out of bounds.
Yes, my dispute locked their account. Andrew emailed me about it. I assume that's why they refunded half and not the full amount, that might have been what they needed to get it unlocked. Buts that's an assumption on my part. But I have no other logical reason as to why they refunded half but not the full amount.

#14470 6 years ago
Quoted from Wickerman2:

I had back and forth during the ordering process as far as timing which is where I get my numbers from--I missed being in the first group of games and got mine ordered/paid for/delivered from the second group. These were the numbers I was given. Do I have 100% knowledge? No. Do you have any knowledge? Who knows?
I personally didn't document on pinside every communication I had with Heighway. Perhaps that's why you haven't heard of any "batches"? If I had posted it at the time would that have helped you out?
I had a very positive experience with Heighway. If you are to believe the hysteria that has taken place in this thread over the past month then that may have changed. My guess, changes slowed them down, money isn't coming in which slowed them further and hysterical people PM'ing everyone to bail out is going to create a catch-22 so things will be worse.
I bought a game after they had produced and shipped 60 games. Maybe people should keep their powder dry. These first world problems are a killa.

I don't disbelieve your testimony. It could be correct, or not. I'm just saying it doesn't seem to make sense given economics of transport / logistics, and the spasmodic delivery / availability of FThs (and now Aliens).

-2
#14473 6 years ago
Quoted from Procrastinator:

You mistake my comments as genuine concern, as I don't have a vested interest in either company. I do however hope both are successful and figure out their issues. As an unbiased observer, the contrast in your comments deserve some questioning. Either way, I'm sure your motives for defending one and trying to expose another are completely on the up and up. I made some generalized comments which you are trying to spin, but I don't have the time nor concern to engage further. It's clear you have a lot of emotions and time built into investigating these companies and I hope things work out for you.

Your comments speak for themselves, hence why I quoted them ... also, you're spinning false narratives from my posts and don't quote them, presumably for a reason. I'd rather not quote them and clog up the thread, having already said my piece ... however you continue to do it. So here, my initial post which prompted you to respond, then subsequent ones. Afterwards, it was confirmed by the customer seeking a refund whom I'd responded to initially, that the Paypal account had been frozen.

Quoted from rubberducks:

I think it's a bit late in the day for honesty to make a tangible difference to the outcome, sadly. See below.

If PayPal and the payment processor WorldPay accounts aren't permanently shuttered now, they're almost certainly already suspended, at this point. The above is not an isolated case and has happened repeatedly. At least in this case resolution was fairly 'swift'. In some cases Andrew has fought credit card chargebacks and managed to string them out for months, not days or weeks. PP are definitely flawed and very open to criticism on many fronts, but in situations like this they are often better.
For anyone thinking this is just some contravention of terms of service, or something else that can be explained away, it is not. It can be seen to constitute fraud.
Additionally, operationally, if a company cannot meet its obligations and is insolvent, then it must voluntarily declare bankruptcy (if a third party doesn't force it) so that it may either enter administration or be liquidated. Amongst other reasons, this is to prevent pyramids forming or becoming worse.
If it can be shown that the company was traded past the point where directors knew that the company was insolvent, or that insolvency was inevitable, it is classified as insolvent / negligent trading (officially Wrongful Trading in the UK). Directors, and Andrew is the only one despite having other shareholders, can face very large fines and other penalties. In this case, the accounts from the year to the end of March '16 show the company to be deeply insolvent and virtually worthless.
The warning signs have been there for a long, long time. It is difficult to argue that these are merely just 'warning signs' now.

Quoted from rubberducks:

It's folly to assume it hasn't been. Assuming you haven't obstructed valid refund requests and Paypal haven't ruled against you, why would you have issues? Also, you do realise that according to their accounts, it would be incredible if their PP account is in remotely the same ballpark as the one you claim to have. It'd be in the same danger of closure, suspension or funds being witheld as ALL small PP accounts are.
You make an awful lot of assumptions here. If HW had millions going through their PP account, do you think cash flow would be an issue?
Further, you choose to completely ignore the legal obligations I mention wrt to solvency. That's the big issue, not PP status.
You, as others, imagine that my saying the situation is not black and white with DP (in any sense) amounts to white knighting for them. I would be surprised if little positive comes from the apparent takeover negotiations with ARA any time soon.
Edit: I've taken a deliberately contrarian view in the DP thread because people are constantly one way or the other. Prevailing thinking currently seems to be that the two parties can just agree to a takeover and everyone will live happily ever after, if pride is just swallowed. I think it highly unlikely that even if a deal is reached swiftly, production will resume with speed & efficiency, and DP/ARA would have plain sailing. Hopefully I'm wrong ... anyway I don't see how DP are relevant to this, seeing as their problems appear to relate to poor management of third party manufacturing.

Quoted from rubberducks:

HW's accounts are a matter of public record. You are exactly defending and pontificating about something you appear to know very little about, despite there being information for you to consider.
There is no provision under UK law to drag out valid refund requests for more than the mandated 14 calendar or 10 working days. Terms state 21 days on the website. Emails often say 30. Most recently Andrew said 30-60**. Some people have had to wait much longer. None of those are legal. Again, you're making assertions that are shaky at best.
Your latter statement appears fair, but this has been going on for a long time now.
You guys can go back to bickering now. I just wanted people to know what the facts of the matter are and what is expected of companies by the law. If you choose to ignore it, so be it.
** "due to production" - I don't see how that has anything to do with it, unless it's a tacit admission of insolvency.

-1
#14478 6 years ago
Quoted from DerGoetz:

Quoted from JeffF:
So I just went to PayPal to see what the actual claims procedure was. The first part of it is "establishing email communication" so I figured what the heck, I'll do that.
Well shit on a shingle...
PayPal instantly came back with they are "no longer able to communicate with Heighway Pinball" so they took me right to the actual claim form.
This don't look good...
[edit]
Ok, now I went to the claim details page and it looks like PayPal must have some way of communicating since they said they are waiting to hear back from Heighway Pinball. If they don't hear back by June 7th they will move forward(hopefully that means initiate the refund).
Looks like they skipped over the "Dispute" and the "Escalation" steps.

I missed that. Well, I'll check out**. It looks like others have rather more pertinent information than the legal stuff I brought up originally.

Good luck everyone.

**as I was expecting to before the 'LE' thing popped up.

#14483 6 years ago
Quoted from mufcmufc:

Doxxing, is subject to a Heighway NDA, shows what kind of guy he is morally if he's PMing people telling them to get refunds. I'm paid in full and don't have a machine, I know that machines have gone out the door this week though.

So, more ad hominem, doxxing, no rebuttals, and probably knowingly, or depending on what Andrew has told you - who else would** - (not?) false claims.

Andrew was extremely specific about what the NDA I signed when I visited the factory covered, at the beginning. He was even helpful enough as the visit continued to say exactly what, when mentioned, should not be discussed.

I haven't breached that. None of it relates to what I brought up, none of it relates to what I brought up with the poster I offered advice to. The vast majority is in the public realm now anyway as it was simply stuff which hadn't been revealed, but now has. It's simply not relevant.

This didn't stop Andrew from insinuating that I had breached NDA, and that he was "letting me get away with it", as a parting shot after he'd reluctantly issued me a refund, months ago now. Strangely he had never complained of a breach, or come close to it, prior, and just made the vague swipe rather than being specific. I didn't hear from him again, haven't and was glad to be shod of any communication with him - hence my silence.

Given the post about the status of his Paypal account by another user, it would appear he has rather bigger fish to fry than me.

**Andrew appears not to take his responsibilities regarding customer confidentiality very seriously (I visited as a customer), despite waving around NDAs. Indeed, what caused me to lose all confidence and request a refund was managing to leak the list of non paid in full pre-orders to everyone on it, shortly after my visit - in an e-mail warning about possible fraud attempts using their address.

-7
#14495 6 years ago
Quoted from mufcmufc:

I know Andrew, I have known him for about 10 years. I have no "involvement" with Heighway the company at all. I think you know Phil, that, I am more than fair when it comes to my dealings with people. I want my game as much as everybody else, that's paid in full. I lost money on Predator where no games were delivered. The current slow situation isn't looking great, but, for someone to actively be trying to bring down a company, it doesn't benefit you, me or anyone. I know games have been delivered to customers this week but I also know it needs to happen faster for us all to have piece of mind.

If stating verifiable information of public record, and the legal status surrounding it is in your opinion trying to bring down a company, I assume you must think the former is rather serious and may amount to the latter.

I've had enough.

5 months later
24
#18725 6 years ago
Quoted from Chalkey:

"Cash Flow schedule"
New investors are still cash poor, or are not committed to going "all in". Troubling.

I understand your concern, but you have to be realistic:

To reiterate part of their statement today, and what others have posted, these guys (investors) ultimately lost out as much if not more so than anyone else, in purely nominal terms, and that was before they invested any more time and money, since the takeover. After that date, they have invested / 'lost' [if the business is not turned round & made profitable] much more.

Their record so far may not be perfect, and they have surely made a number of mistakes, but they inherited a horrible situation, and anyone who still thinks there was another way out ... sorry, there wasn't.

Whilst some of them purportedly have fairly deep pockets, they cannot possibly be expected to throw unlimited amounts of 'good money' after 'bad money'. Besides, this becoming a bottomless pit, even if they could afford it, would set an unwelcome precedent and be almost as bad for the hobby & industry as the company having gone under back in June.

There have to be limits, and things need to be slowly stabilised & rectified before people can hopefully all be dealt with and satisfied. Throwing money at a vortex of shit is just going to suck it all in and leave a revolting mess on the other side.

I know for a fact that they really thought they knew how deep the rabbit hole went, on the eve of taking over. They thought they knew roughly the limit of it, how bad things were with the machines themselves, and how to handle it etc etc. But they were blind-sided by the true extent and nature of it, and certainly in way over their heads to begin with. They were far too optimistic, restarted production too quickly, and have had a series of nasty shocks. That they haven't quit, and have continued to push forward and make progress is to their credit.

To underline the point about money, the new team as some of you may know, have some quite successful businessmen, objectively speaking. So you may be tempted to think it's just about money. They invest the cash, and then a turn around is a foregone conclusion, right? 1) Money 2) ..... 3) Profit??

Not really. As they are likely now acutely aware, cleaning up someone else's failure, especially taking it on as a going concern & assuming liabilities as they did, is far more difficult and time consuming than to make a success of something on your own, or taking the reins of a healthy business.

Something which needs to be mentioned and hasn't really been raised publicly is that there should be some sympathy for the staff. Both past and present. Along with external contractors, they were surely screwed more than anyone else. Aside from the vexed issue of pay, or total lack thereof in some cases (despite assurances otherwise), most were treated with total contempt (more so even than customers), misled and lied to, operated under absolutely miserable working conditions, absent morale and were expected to lie themselves. Some had their careers or lives seriously set back. Others escaped by the skin of their teeth.

The majority who got involved never would have done so if they'd assumed work on the basis of honest representations; just like customers and originally these investors wouldn't have put money down without the lies. They wanted to believe, like so many others, because they had a passion for the hobby. Some stayed on, or stayed on longer than common sense told them they should have. Aside from inertia and Stockholm Syndrome, from what I can gather, most never thought they'd benefit financially once they'd been around long enough to know how things were. They stayed out of solidarity with other staff - some of whom still hoped for white knights to ride in and slay the dragon, and to finally have the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to pinball and make it up to all the buyers.

Which leads into another problem for the company going forwards. Staff turnover was high, for obvious reasons, so many were burned, and had such bad experiences, that hiring new technical or creative staff is quite hard. Until the new guys have a long enough proven record, old people won't come back, and new people will be very reluctant. So, again, time is needed.

I'm not saying drop all scepticism, and don't criticise things which need to be improved, but do try to have some understanding. They're still picking up the pieces even now, and have all made personal and financial sacrifices to try to avert another pinball disaster. Per today's missive, they really have all lost along with you. Everyone involved has, so in that sense, they are in it with you.

It's hard to tell how this will look, a year or two from now. They need to get better, and game #3 will be a litmus test, as it will be a product of the new management rather than the appalling prior environment. But good luck to everyone.

P.S. To those still trying to make the new guys out as the bad guys, and Andrew as the good guy, both here and privately, give it a fucking rest. Nothing could be further from the truth, and it's insulting, offensive, unnecessary, and more importantly, hugely demoralising & dispiriting for the company's staff, owners and many customers, who obviously have very different experiences. It introduces doubt and division where there should be none.

#18728 6 years ago

Davidus56 One ... please don't do that. Not with this company, or any other. Two, I highly doubt they'd agree to that, and if they did, it would bode extremely poorly.

11
#18735 6 years ago
Quoted from ezeltmann:

Well, i think i have an order , but i am not on their email list for communications.
I'm hanging on by a string , because of "lack of communication" . Let's see if they can do something simple like put me on the email list and follow through with THEIR offer which i accepted and am waiting for Morgan to respond.
Seems like they have time to read the forums (and react to that), but not communicate with customers specific concerns.
I do appreciate the update even though i did not really receive it. Unfortunately , i am not sure they plan on following through with keeping my order.

They need more staff, and most of all, full time on-site management.

But anyway, to address the crux of your uncertainty as to their intentions. If the new owners had planned to leave all the people that got stiffed hanging, they wouldn't have taken the company over as a going concern and assumed its debts and liabilities. They could simply have waited for a formal declaration of bankruptcy, and then taken the assets as preferred creditors or for very little money from the administrators, whilst not assuming the burden of responsibility.

They chose not to. Perhaps they regret that now, but they chose to offer a safety net to everyone involved, and give themselves much, much more work. Hopefully they ultimately manage to stick to it.

3 weeks later
#19141 6 years ago

There have been an incredible amount of problems for the team and new owners / management to fix, so I understand some things are bound to slip through. But VividPsychosis seems to suggest that machines are still being shipped with no adequate pf screen retention, acrylic plastics, and lack of factory mylar.

These omissions are just going to create headaches for them and their customers.

The pf screen, even if they don't design a better retention system, what are the cost of a few lock nuts? What is the cost of cutting and applying a little mylar? Pennies, and probably 5 minutes extra time to apply the mylar during assembly.

Presumably they are trying to exhaust old stock before moving to PETG plastics. But given the low unit cost and likely breakages, it seems a questionable thing to do.

Latter I assume is a decision by management ... but the former, it's difficult to imagine that being a conscious ongoing instruction. Production clearly still needs much better oversight at the site itself.

#19158 6 years ago
Quoted from PoMC:

Make a few negative observations about a game after playing it and you're labeled crazy. But I'm certainly 100% correct about the ramps being total ass. If they were shipped like that from Stern then Pinside would have the pitchforks out and threads would be on fire bashing Stern.

The new ones are a long way from perfect, if the latest owner's experience and photos are generally representative, but at least they look a lot neater than the ones you originally commented on, earlier in the year.

Those looked like they'd been assembled from corroded bits of scrap metal.

#19239 6 years ago
Quoted from PanzerFreak:

Something I noticed with the LE's is that the powder coated armor looks very durable with a texture look. Other then JJP I can't think of another company (until now with Heighway) that is offer high quality powder coated armor out of the box. Stern LE's and their after market armor look nice but its only baked on enamel and scratches very easily...

That's not a 'hammered' finish per Hobbit Smaug, or slightly similar on some RZs. Stern Pros have textured powder, so texture certainly isn't special. As for relative quality, that is to be determined.

Are you sure Stern LEs are baked enamel? Seems bizarre in this day and age.

1 week later
#19330 6 years ago
Quoted from Ferret:

Fun to watch the Buffalo Pinball stream tonight! Thanks to lodgingdolphin, kevinbuffalo, et al for hosting! I hope Nick doesn't hate the game quite as much now...
Feel free to shout if anyone has any questions from the stream. (I wish I coulda been in the chat room live, but I'm currently somewhere with crappy Internet and that wasn't possible... )

What is the thinking on what is causing the rainbow flickering insert lights when the right flipper button is pressed?

EMI?

Owner said software fixes were being looked at, but surely this is hardware?

If software fixes are being looked at, it's presumably not a one off. Are all newer games effected, or just some? Older examples?

-----

Is there something you can do to stop the Xeno mouth extending when the magnet on the pf is not successful at grabbing the ball?

It had about a 50% success rate at stopping the ball. The mouth extends regardless. Eventually the proboscis is going to take a heavy ball hit and break. Though eventually could be just one game.

Maybe you can increase the power of the pf magnet to make sure it works, if there is no detection method?

1 week later
#19396 6 years ago

Re: the scoop, regardless of the cause, I still don't understand why they haven't been shipping every single one with (thick) mylar around the scoop from the factory.

They have a laser cutter at the warehouse, so could cut the mylar in bulk. Application would be a few minutes, on an unpopulated pf.

Because this isn't being done ...... how many fully populated playfields are they now going to have to provide as replacements?

Even if it were Mirco's fault (seems like the scoop itself is the cause), why wouldn't you just add a few cents worth of mylar?

Production management still needs serious improvement, even if they do manage to make everyone good (machine or refund) by March. Albeit the latter would be a huge achievement, if they get there.

#19406 6 years ago
Quoted from MK6PIN:

I dont understand this, but I'm still an early LE order without a game. Is this good news ?

He's complaining about the availability of cheap money (loans) and expansionary monetary policy.

Mario Draghi is the President of the European Central Bank.

The ultra low interest rates and quantitative easing measures are not particularly popular in Germany, and Draghi is a hate figure to some.

This is rather moot though, as we don't know if the new owners are funding all these losses and repayment of past debts and obligations with loans, and if they are, whether they've taken out loans locally in the UK (not the Eurozone & thus subject to the ECB) or externally in their own territories (Sweden & Norway also not €zone).

TLDR - political grievance being aired. Nothing to do with this really (interest rates are low virtually everywhere atm).

#19415 6 years ago
Quoted from maximum:

Nr 345 was delivered yesterday. Everything runs smoothly except a quite loud cooling fan of the illuminated side art, missing lights of the backbox sideart and also the beacons make some crazy noise. I'm already in contact with my distributer to solve the issues. Further I've to mention that it was delivered without shaker and the promised goodie bag. I guess this will be given later.
Software Version is 1.02, looking forward when 1.1 is launched.
Happy to answer any question you might have.
All the best
Markus

I'd strongly suggest not running a shaker.

#19422 6 years ago
Quoted from maximum:

-> Thanks a lot for that hint, now it's lighting

-> may I ask why you strongly suggest not running a shaker

-> do anybody knows whats red sticky's alternative in Europe and where I should put it in?
Just had a few games on it. After the first game the Airlock didn't recognized the ball. Just a restart helped. Is this something what occurs from time to time?
Thanks a lot
Markus

Board problems, wiring / connector problems.

The in-pf LCD attachment method is still less than ideal, and has repeatedly been reported to loosen, resulting in damage.

Also if they're still using the same strongest type of CoinTaker shakers, it shook FThs to shit, even with a hardware mod to reduce strength by ~50%.

Oh, and if your ball launch wireform is one of the ones that touches the glass, repeated shaking and vibration isn't a fantastic idea.

#19448 6 years ago
Quoted from MightyGrave:

Alien le won't boot
What to do now

Would probably help if you took a photo where the text on the (stopped) boot screen was legible.

It might give clues as to what's wrong.

#19450 6 years ago

boot (resized).jpgboot (resized).jpg

1 week later
10
#19682 6 years ago
Quoted from frolic:

Are you implying that "New HP" thought they were buying a healthy company flush with cash?
Obviously in the deal there would be a line item under liabilities, about how many games have been pre-sold. That's the deal and they knew what they were getting. New guys would absolutely have had some understanding of what it was going to take to dig out.
If things have gone south since then, it's because of NEW mounting expenses and new money not coming in quick enough.

The former obviously isn't true, but neither is the latter.

They should have realised what and who they were dealing with, but it was much worse than they or most here feared. They were far, far too optimistic and should have realised that things would be much worse than the picture presented to them [which they were already highly sceptical of].

Hence why it has taken 7+ months of additional testing and development to hardware and software to get the game to what might now, finally, be considered pretty production ready. The latest lot of machines seem to have tolerable amounts of snagging for customers to do even if they aren't perfect (assuming any damage caused by defective scoops will be rectified by the company), major features function mechanically, and software looks to be greatly improved.

Their plan, as stated when they took over, and which they initially tried, was to restart production with finished games a month after they took charge. That obviously didn't work, and until very recently, many of the games shipped were still riven with problems that they hadn't rectified or fully identified.

With the benefit of hindsight and knowing how much time, money and work it has ultimately taken, I doubt if they would have agreed to assume the burden which they did in the first place.

1 week later
#19720 6 years ago

Played the one at Logan Arcade last night.

Not sure how long it's been there, but I assume a recent batch, as there was bad chipping on the pf around the scoop, and the scoop seemed to be firing it out really hard straight down onto the pf. IMO no playfield would survive it, so definitely a scoop issue, not Mirco's fault.

Operator is crazy not to add a protector or thick mylar / vinyl. It was being kicked out so hard that it'd catch air off the left flipper on a dead flip sometimes.

In contrast to every other HW machine I've played, the flippers had lots of power, but still very light feeling.

Ball was catching tons of air off both flippers. If plastics are still acrylic, and this is an air prone game (not just that one's setup), they *will* get smashed.

Shooter wireform was not touching the glass, though very close.

Played one 15 minute game with no noticeable bugs or malfunctions. Definitely a first for me on a HW machine. Software and hardware do seem more reliable now, as others have reported.

There was 'disco flicker'on this unit, but it was barely noticeable, unlike the example Buffalo streamed.

Audio and visuals are well staged now on the screen, and lag, stutter and ducking issues seem to have been cleared up. It looks and sounds good.

Still don't feel it shoots that well, but this unit the right loop (previously troublesome) was actually pretty smooth. Still think the left inner ramp is problematic, but don't think it's hugely vital in the game? Right halfpipe ramp was pretty easy, and wasn't suffering rejects as with many videos I've seen. There was a LOT of bobble on the left outer ramp and it was tough to get up. Left loop was good.

Mixed bag, but it does appear to have improved a lot.

#19722 6 years ago
Quoted from lodgingdolphin:

That was my game that streamed recently and that flicker has greatly improved with the new code, which came a few weeks after the stream. It's too bad the timing didn't work out better.

No idea how badly effected this unit was on prior code, but I might not have noticed it on the new code, if I weren't aware of it.

Hopefully it'll be fully fixed. But it appears not to be a big issue anymore.

1 week later
#19889 6 years ago

Likely the right decision for game 3, as well as Alien. I suspect it could use a bit more time, given that we now know Barry has departed to Deeproot.

#19950 6 years ago
Quoted from nwpinball:

If they could build 2,000 Alien games, they could sell 2,000, distributors are just waiting for games to sell.

There's no way they'll ever sell 2000 units.

However much it has been improved, and how ever much it improves henceforth, it will still always be a compromised product of Andrew's tenure. It's to their credit - staff and owners - that it is where it is now, but it still has a legacy, as Dave alluded to in the interview, saying that some problematic aspects would be done very differently for #3.

Moreover, I think most interested parties are cognisant of this.

Plus, as people continue to allude to, the cab head and glass magazine do the machines no favours when sitting in a showroom next to other games. Even if they don't look bad, they do look strikingly strange. 2000 is a lot of product for something obviously oddball.

The notion that if they can just build enough units of Alien everything will be fine is flawed. Their future rests on #3. IMO it will be a real achievement if they sell 500-750 Aliens.

#19953 6 years ago
Quoted from frolic:

I can agree with the premise of this, but the success of #3 is directly connected to Alien. There can be no success with #3 without success from #2.
What is success? It doesn't have to be 2000 units, but obviously delivering reliable units, demonstrating that the factory can actually produce more than a couple of pins a day, supporting customers with service and parts, demonstrating a healthy company that will be around to support their product, an actual support system where anyone can get a timely response, obviously can't have loose ends like people requesting refunds from a year+ ago.

Of course. But Alien's never going to be a commercial success now.

I suspect that's the biggest mistake the owners made - assuming there was far less work than needed to fix it to an acceptable state, and that they could sell enough to operate without loss quite quickly.

#19955 6 years ago
Quoted from PinballRulez:

What could be the market for a top title that would be available worldwide and has the interest of a lot of potential customers (not referring to Alien) ?

Impossible to say until we see it. But wider distribution, hopefully a lower price and odd aspects of Alien & FTh being removed would certainly help.

#19958 6 years ago
Quoted from PinballRulez:

I mean in general. How much potential buyers of a pinball machine are there? Just to put into perspective what the market is these days.

You mean the number of people buying one or more NIB in a year?

I don't think anyone really knows. It would certainly be valuable information for both the incumbents and outside parties looking in, though.

#19966 6 years ago
Quoted from frolic:

So I'm reading between the lines now and it seems Heighway might drop the kit system, for dedicated cabinets, but I would implore them to at least figure out how to allow Full Throttle buyers to switch to an Alien. If it's a 2 game failed idea like Pinball2000, at least make it 2 games.

Supposedly FTh was working on a PC system long ago. If that was true then and still holds, then theoretically there should be no technical reason why they can't sell a kit to FTh owners.

#20061 6 years ago
Quoted from Durzel:

Old money is gone.
I know it's a bitter pill to swallow but your old money has gone on the previous owner's boat(s), or an extension to his house. The reality is that you need to hope that Heighway makes enough profit from selling these pins to new money to be able to honour your orders, which are basically write-offs for them.
The new owners even said that they came in facing an empty bank account.

The new owners are obligated to fill the old orders, since they took the company on as a going concern, however noble and ultimately unwise that may have been.

Newer orders being filled first is likely due to trying not to haemorrhage unacceptable losses / negative cash flow in the short term.

Whilst a bitter pill, this should be acceptable to old orders since; the money was all gone; they never saw a penny of it; no-one was going to get a machine if they hadn't stepped in; the machine you get will be a vast improvement on the piecemeal crap Andrew tried to peddle as 'production'.

#20063 6 years ago
Quoted from Nepi23:

This might change things, if there were several companies in the Heighway group and the investors bought the healthiest one of the group (e.g. if the bought company would have been a "mere" development company, which has now been expended into production) and people would have made their payments to this company instead:

The company was purportedly dissolved because it had been officially dormant for several years.

If it was reported dormant whilst money was ingested through it, then that would obviously complicate matters even further ... but I don't know that there is any evidence to support that speculation.

#20150 6 years ago
Quoted from delt31:

Mint does not fling the ball. It's only active when it stops ball. Can someone confirm? The ball hits the Alien head target and moves from that but I didn't think that was the magnet. Could be wrong

Quoted from bcd:

Are you on the 1.1 release?
I would double check the adjustments that affect the flinging (towards the end of the Alien adjustment list). There are 3 of them. If they're not at factory default value (it will tell you) then reset them and try again.
There's also a magnet test in the operator menus, or you can test in a game with the glass off - it will work the same way.

The one at Emporium in Chicago (played less than 3 weeks ago on whatever was latest code then) never flung the ball either.

2 weeks later
#20213 6 years ago

IMO unless they're revealing a new machine, they should stay away.

There've been a lot of costs since the takeover.

Until they have a new product to announce and sell, they're wise to avoid expensive, disruptive travel & show attendance.

Better they focus all resources on satisfying the victims of the previous regime, any new Alien orders via distributors, and development of the new machine.

1 month later
#20571 5 years ago
Quoted from aeonblack:

Well, I was planning on staying out of this thread until I had something concrete to show, but Nitro sent me my confirmation that their order of LE's were ready to ship to them and should be going out soon. Here's the pic I got with my order confirmation, mine is the black one. I hope that ship sails, and shows up safely to Tommy so they can make their way out to us end users, but until they are in Tommy's hands, I'm not holding my breathe too hard.

Have Nitro really only got 7 LEs on order after all this time? Guess maybe a bunch of people dropped out.

#20590 5 years ago

That looks like a very soft plastic.

#20598 5 years ago
Quoted from Pale_Purple:

No way for real? They're really trying to screw the early LE buyers out of everything it seems. Not good news

No-one would have got anything if they hadn't stepped in to take over the company, and they continue to lose money doing this ... so nothing could be further from the truth.

#20600 5 years ago
Quoted from robotron:

many people, including myself have gotten anything. i havent even got an email from them in almost a year. fully paid for le. its just beyond ridiculous at this point. this thread is also dying. people have lost interest and of they dont ship these games soon they will really destroy the company. who would commit to their next pin after this debacle?

The company already was destroyed. Completely. They're doing what they can to keep the doors open, so that you may one day be compensated.

#20618 5 years ago
Quoted from Ive:

Most sources seem to say Queen.... though not confirmed afaik.
I have also heard Playboy mentioned in rumours of future Heighway licences.

Queen license may or may not have been paid for when the new owners took over. Unsure. Also unsure if they kept it on or not. Quite likely however as I think Barry continued the work on the initial layout and theme he'd done.

Playboy, money definitely had been paid to secure the license a long time ago. However I think the chances of the new owners doing a Playboy machine is less than nil.

Since staff are now paid, it no longer leaks like a sieve. So we'll see when we see.

Didn't Dave or Barry say that 3 was licensed and 4 would be original, some time after the takeover?

1 week later
15
#21410 5 years ago
Quoted from AndrewH:

Statement From Andrew Heighway
I am truly sorry to hear about the turn of events announced today.
In June 2017 I sold my controlling stake in Heighway Pinball Limited – including its commitments and liabilities - to a group of investors who claimed to want to put significant funds into the company, achieve mass production and deliver part-paid and fully-paid games to customers, as well as new machine sales.
Throughout the five years that I ran the company, we developed and sold games up until the time of my departure. This was never a ponzi scheme, as some have suggested. A mix of technical problems, supplier quality problems and unrealistic timeframes resulted in delays that financially crippled the company. We were all committed to delivering games to all paying customers. I personally apologise for the unrealistic timeframes.
There have been suggestions that I stole or diverted company funds for my own ventures. These are very serious accusations and never once have I been interviewed by the police for any alleged wrongdoings. The company’s accountants have never suggested any wrongdoings by me. It can be proven that the company owed me significant monies and not the other way round. I would therefore advise people to refrain from making any libellous or slanderous statements about me – as I will defend myself and my integrity.
I very much regret that the company’s owners have closed the company without honouring its commitments to all paying customers and I wish everyone the best in pursuing their claims against the investors or via the insolvency practitioners.
This situation has appalled me and I am extremely sorry for the anguish that it will inevitably cause.
Andrew Heighway

Great to see that he's still answering his critics.

Since he's here, perhaps he could address a few concerns, seemingly common misconceptions, and clarify some of his above post.

Was the company sold for more than a token sum? If so, how was this value arrived at and agreed on at the time of sale, given that despite his claims 8 or 9 months earlier and continually thereafter, the machine was nowhere near production ready, there was no production line, and it would take many months of additional collective work by the team to reach a semi acceptable state? Add to that the significant liabilities, lack of tangible assets, questionable intangible assets, considerable debt, record of legal action against him or the company and further outstanding claims. What representations and assurances did he give to to the purchasing party or parties?

If it was a token sum, that would imply that the company was indeed worthless, and that the product, such as it was at that stage, very likely was too. Why would the acquiring party consider it a valueless proposition? Why would he be so keen to be shod of both ownership and legal responsibility if not being financially compensated? When he showed me round the warehouse 9 months prior to the sale, he told me that the following week he'd begin hiring 30 line workers to achieve mass production before the end of the year, as the machine was ready for customers - completely dismissing my concerns about reliability and further testing, as one of his engineers was staring at the floor shaking his head. How does he account for these massive discrepancies?

Perhaps not the police (yet). However, why were verdicts handed down against him by tribunals, why were there out of court settlements, why was there outstanding legal action against him for non payment (some of which was then taken care of by the new owners)? Virtually everyone I spoke to who claimed to have known him before he started the company said that he had a reputation for trying to avoid paying for product delivered or services rendered. This has been posted about by people with (claimed) direct experience recently. Is all of it untrue, or unfairly attributed? If so, how does he account for this extraordinary sleight against his character, and how did he become what would be the victim of fraud, sharp practice or slander by others claiming the same of him, so consistently?

If he can't refute all that, then are people not right to question what else he might have done? Given his well documented shenanigans with regard to refunds, and inconsistency with the fact that he repeated ad nauseum that customers' deposits towards machines did not fund development and could be refunded at any time, yet the accounts that he registered with Companies House appeared bone dry, it seems right that they should regard his assertions of no wrong-doing and no Ponzi with extreme suspicion. Many people have come out now claiming that he committed fraud against them personally in one to one interactions. Are they all wrong? Presumably they must be conspiring against him together, given how similar and conversant the pictures are that they paint.

It's good to know that he was so charitable in letting pass the apparently significant monies the company owed to him; where he was sole director from inception to sale. He has been alleged by some of his former colleagues and employees to have purchased NIB games with company money, and that some of these quickly found a way into his home, never returning to company premises. Did he either reimburse the company, or formally work out a deal whereby he received these instead of remuneration? Hopefully he remembered to pay the VAT once they passed into his direct possession, if they did? But maybe this is all untrue again? Made up by jilted employees for reasons best known only to themselves? Perhaps the latter are also responsible for the allegations that some staff spent long periods of work days being diverted to service machines which he owned, rather than on FTh / Alien where they were needed. If so, they must have fertile imaginations.

Quoted from Davidus56:

He promised me my games “at the front of the line” if I sent him payment in full. After I wrote a scathing post here, he asked to call me to discuss. He went into a lengthy narrative blaming everyone else, the pinball gods and whoever else he could lasso in for the failings of Heighway. I listened patiently. Then he offered me the pole position in a new venture he was undertaking provided I would sign a non disclosure agreement. I advised him of the old Star Trek line from ‘Scotty’ saying, “fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”. So, to Andrew, Thanks, but no thanks, and good riddance.

A number of claims have been made against him with regard to attempted or purportedly successfully prosecuted advanced payment fraud, unscrupulous & misleading solicitation for investment, and other similar things. However, this poster's claim is particularly astonishing. According to the post, and apparently others who have acknowledged similar pitches privately, he was attempting to shake down or divert the company's customers into a new, unrelated venture. If he feels that the company owed him, or he was entitled to pay or compensation he claims not to have received, was this his way of seeking to redress the balance? Is that fair or ethical? Maybe another tick in the totally untrue column? If there is some substance, was this the hydrofoil thing that he would later claim was just a hobby? Despite having apparently purchased a 30 metre, 65 ton hydrofoil 15 months before his departure. Could people not be forgiven for thinking that, at best, his eye was off the ball? That's a pretty large distraction.

---

That should be enough for now, but since so many of his posts here and prognostications generally have proved to be verifiably false, is there any reason to think he's telling the truth this time? If there is, is this not likely be a case of the little boy who cried wolf?

20
#21423 5 years ago
Quoted from FalconPunch:

Ben,
Don't you think it's a bit unprofessional to say that 'spooky game has issues' in a thread about a Heighway going under. Loosing hundreds of 1000s of customers money.
When the issue you are talking about seems to be the fact that some people are complaining about the way ACNC shoots? Aren't they 2 separate things completely?
I am sure you agree it a reckless thing to say. When most people won't be able to make the distinction. I didn't even make the connection until I went into the Alice Cooper thread.
I understand your frustration. Maybe there should be a separate thread about moderation instead of having it here.

His point is about the climate on Pinside and moderation standards.

He's in a position to know about problems (in his opinion) with ACNC and obviously disagrees with concerns being dismissed about this or other games. ALL machines either in developmemt or in past or present production have issues.

He's not shitting on ACNC or Spooky. Just being rather more open than is generally the case.

As for his claim about his game being better. Well, he was the designer. He probably would think that.

I have an ACNC on order. My second attempt at NIB after Alien (thankfully aborted). I'm not concerned by Ben saying stuff like that, or there being issues. I'm concerned by concerns being dismissed, and an air of hostility towards enquiry. An echo chamber is the last thing that will help Spooky, or their customers, as they seek to grow and improve.

15
#21473 5 years ago
Quoted from jonesjb:

Here’s something I don’t get... if the current owners of Heighway are obligated to get the most funds from assets so they can pay creditors, shouldn’t they have to fulfill those with the $1,500 preorders (which would mean an extra ~$6,500 per pin) BEFORE selling the pins to their new company (assuming the new company is paying less than than $6,500)?

No - from legal, common sense and ethical perspectives.

Preferred creditors are generally the source of monetary loans, suppliers acting as creditors, landlord, large / institutional shareholders; even staff. Private, non-business customers sit at the very bottom of the list.

You may not want to hear it, it is a bitter pill, and it sucks, but so they should be.

People's jobs and livelihoods are in the balance with the former. The latter is spending of disposable income ... and on leisure, in this case.

We'll see how this shakes out, but ultimately blaming the investors at this stage seems ridiculous. They attempted, unsuccessfully, to sort out the gigantic shit show that Andrew left, and lost a lot of money doing so. Even best case, if their assessment had been correct and Andrew had told the truth for once, this was never going to be any great money spinner for them, or a business that they could flip to other investors for a profit quickly.

The primary motivation seemed to me to be rescuing pinball and customers from another disaster. Possibly also embarrassment at having been duped in the first place, and wanting to right that.

That was certainly the impression I got when I spoke to Roger & Daniel on the eve of them taking over, to try to warn them about what might lie ahead and to be prepared (not to warn them against doing it). They did think they could break even fairly quickly, hence the initial and totally unworkable plan that they presented ... but even if the company and game weren't in a far worse position than they thought, a license to print money was never, ever going to result.

However, they were probably in denial, even some way into their stewardship, about how bad things really were, and the true nature of what went on before. Even some who had a lot of the facts were, and were until very recently - facts and fiction were quite hard to separate given some of the credulity stretching things that went on.

If they really thought, at any stage, that this would be a worthwhile, profitable investment that could stand on its own two feet against other possible investment options, then they were incredibly naive.

The structure of ownership, Pinball Brothers and their various holding companies that they used were to limit liability, and is common practice. I'm amazed they lasted this long, really. Now you see them being used as a backstop (I think).

If as some people are saying, they intend to keep trying ... I'm not sure that's a great idea. They got fooled once initially by Andrew. A lot of people did. Then they likely lost a lot more a second time, even if some of the aggrieved were ultimately refunded, got a game, or were paid what they were owed ... but the car crash continued, many didn't, and they simultaneously allowed the perpetrator of all this an escape route, where he continues to get off scot-free. I suspect they'll just continue to lose (lots) more money if they go in for a third try.

But hope dies last.

#21476 5 years ago
Quoted from benheck:

The pinball market has a nostalgia problem. Redneck idiots can write the name of an 80's movie on a plywood cabinet and walk away with a cool half-million, tax free!

Agreed.

You'll note that Andrew's new venture - on the face of it resurrecting a hydrofoil that used to ply Sydney Harbour - again leans heavily on nostalgia.

It can be very useful cover for those trying to hide the true nature of what they're doing.

People's eyes go all misty and they take leave of their senses. I was guilty of it in initially making a deposit (directly with HW) for Alien. Were it not for the theme, I'd probably have done some due diligence rather than wanting to 'support' the company.

Unlike others who were lured in by Andrew's rhetoric and promises. I was new to the hobby and astonished by the picture he painted when I met him in person in January '16 at EAG ... I wrote up exactly what he said, here, as it felt off. Either hopeless over enthusiasm, or lies. Almost everything he told me turned out to be a lie. By the time I went on the factory visit in September, the lies and embellishments were slightly less extravagant (they had to be given the continual misses), but it felt like he was constantly fishing, and smokescreens abounded. After looking into what Andrew had said and done, earlier in the history of the company, I was appalled ... and it became increasingly obvious what was going on, as his posts here became totally dumbfounding when his staff were saying things needed to be worked on or revised, and he was telling people 100s of machines would be built and shipped imminently.

Either way, it works both ways. Passively, in my case, or actively in helping people believe fairy tales.

#21558 5 years ago
Quoted from Marv:

It was common knowledge in the uk, but would anyone have listened?

Plenty in the UK knew exactly what was going on, and yet played shill to him, right to the very end.

I still find it extraordinary that people were prepared to vouch for and defend him, when they knew a good deal of what he was up to, and had done for years. They seemed to think they might get something out of it, if they did. Others had his back because he was 'one of theirs'.

But that wasn't limited to the UK. This forum is evidence of that.

Quoted from FalconPunch:

WOW.
This is insane. It is actually upsetting that this was all happening and the information couldn't really get out there due to NDAs and moderation.

That's the tip of the iceberg, IMO.

What was published on TWIP, has appeared here, and Kaneda has revealed ... it's nowhere near all of it.

One good piece of news, if the investors do intend to try and go on in some capacity, is them possibly no longer pursuing Alien. In my view, it should have been scrapped from the get go. The game was so compromised from its development during Andrew's tenure, that without a total redesign it would always be unreliable and a huge pain to support.

Also, per the article, license for Alien definitely was originally only supposed to run to the end of December '17. Since I can't imagine they were producing the latter examples without a license, I assume they probably had some clemency, given the situation, from Fox, and a small extension. However, it's difficult to imagine them paying big money for a bona fide extension (possibly of years), given their predicament.

For the record, I think they're mad to try to continue.

#21578 5 years ago
Quoted from EalaDubhSidhe:

I have no idea what's going to happen yet in the future, what I can say for sure is that if Alien and Full Throttle are both canned just like that, it'll mean an utter waste of five years of my life under Andrew, right from the very start, for less than no benefit whatsoever and nothing to show for it, either personally, financially or productively. With what I had to spend to get here, I could have sat on my arse in Northern Ireland doing nothing and been around £20k better off in the long run than I am now. No salary, nothing ever made official, just vague promises of 'royalties' that I refused point blank to ever agree to. And the one thing you can't put a price on is *time*.

Unfortunately, I think that is the case. Your situation may be uniquely shitty, save perhaps that of the investors, but you'd hope they were playing with money they could afford to lose.

As far as I could ever tell from what various people associated with the business told me, the only people (and then not all of them) that Andrew ever tried to make sure were not too hard done by were the guys in the US. Not because he cared about them, but because that's where the rest of the industry is based, the largest market, and he had crazy dreams about moving there and making it big, and didn't want to shit on what he hoped to be his new doorstep.

Everyone else was both expendable and abusable. Staff, suppliers, customers, contractors, investors; all of them. Indeed, the whole Welsh operation was. If you gave an inch, he'd take a mile. He seems to have taken many in your case, and appears to have had absolutely no shame or scruples about doing so, as he lined his own nest.

Your point about time is a salient one ... I don't think so many people who were burned, mistreated, or left after witnessing alarming practices were afraid of either NDAs, or what he might do to them if wronged (though some seemed legitimately fearful) or they exposed him ... it was more to do with not wanting to waste a single second more time on having to communicate or deal with him. Most seemed to want to forget that they ever had any contact with him.

#21588 5 years ago
Quoted from EalaDubhSidhe:

I was too deep down the rabbit hole, didn't have anything I could just walk away back to, and was legitimately terrified of the consequences of doing so anyway, if it all came tumbling down once I pulled the keystone away. I just couldn't face the idea of having so much of my life come to naught and potentially taking the blame for it. That last point was something I don't believe Andrew actually saw, and I think the point of realisation for myself was when you yourself began using the phrase 'Stockholm syndrome' to describe the impression you were getting.

I think you're far, far too charitable or good natured - or still sympathising with your 'captor'.

If you were an isolated case, maybe. But you're not. You're one of many, and arguably the pinnacle of his 'achievement' - getting valuable time and money without having to give a dime.

If he didn't know how to take advantage of people, use leverage, or twist the knife, he wouldn't have got away with it for so long.

It's pretty galling when you meet someone who's prepared to lie right to your face, and deliberately mislead and take advantage of you. Not only is it unpleasant, but it's embarrassing. People go into denial.

Hopefully the investors find something for you to do - in a paid capacity, if they really do wish to continue imperilling their reputations as well as their fortunes.

In the mean time, take comfort in that you were far from being alone, and that now more of the truth is coming out about what was happening, and the conditions that staff had to work under and deal with, both the community and industry ought to be rather more impressed with your work.

#21616 5 years ago

Well he did get one thing right ....

"[22:30:30] Andrew Heighway: It's a disgrace"

14
#21642 5 years ago

This is all of Andrew's making. Not the investors. They may have been foolish, as so many of us were, and lost a ridiculous amount of money on someone whose sole purpose was to bleed and leech others dry.

The main reason it was such a clusterfuck after they took over was cashflow. The picture Andrew painted, and their interpretation of it were nowhere even close to the truth.

The machine was a wreck that needed many months more revision and testing, to fix all the stuff that was wrong with it and test all the stuff that hadn't been. Overheads were higher. Financial encumberances and liabilities were much worse than presented.

Even if they were prepared to plough millions into the business in the long run, they could not or would not either justify or afford to so quickly.

They've done the same thing as the others who lost - trusted a cretinous loser, with predictable consequences. Expecting them to continue making everything better for the others, or not to say enough is enough at some point is ridiculous.

ALL the old money was gone when they took over, most of it was the moment it went in, when ever it was deposited. Anyone they made good in part or in whole after their take over, that came directly out of their pockets.

It's my view that they should have let the company fail, and then acquired the company from liquidators, or sued Andrew to wrest control, and not taken over any of the liabilities. Even if they did want to make things good for others, they could have done so at their own speed and therefore not suffered a cash crunch. It also wouldn't have granted him an escape route. He'd have either had to face the consequences, or flee - and from what one heard, his bags were packed until the deal went through.

I think that was their plan originally. But I suspect Andrew managed to give them a better impression of the game than it warranted, and then took an over-my-dead-body approach if they wouldn't pay him, and pay him right now.

I think they're very unwise to continue. They're likely going to end up wasting more of their lives and money in chasing an embarrassing mistake, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Andrew gets a great kick out of that.

#21648 5 years ago
Quoted from Durzel:

All of that doesn't excuse their almost complete absence of customer service towards Cointaker or individuals who just wanted parts to fix their broken machines, or that email that they sent to however many people (several people on here got it) just recently offering the chance of a "cancelled LE with green trim" if people paid up in full. That went out after the point at which they must've known the company was terminal. Who knows how many people lost money on that...

I don't know much about the latter (people do unwise things in desperate situations not of their own making), but the former stems from the cobbled together messes from earlier on, and indeed some of their own earlier models needing total refits with updated parts.

That was expensive, the cashflow problem remained, and parts still needed further revision.

Alien was completely unsustainable, and still is ... hence presumably why it's being scrapped, and why despite some calling for other manufacturers to take it on, it will never happen.

Aside from working environment, Andrew's fingers being in the till, and many of the more qualified staff leaving 6 months to longer than a year before the first single shit show machine shipped to much fanfare, he constantly interfered on technical and design issues. It probably would have taken less time and money to completely re-engineer parts of the game and electronics than to try to fix them into something reliable (still not there yet).

#21659 5 years ago
Quoted from PinSinner:

What I don't understand is shouldn't they have done their due diligence? Surely there would have been some red flags before buying the business.

Of course. So should everyone have; me included before I originally made a deposit. When they bought Andrew out, I guess they were still in denial or hoping for the best.

#21749 5 years ago
Quoted from Lamprey:

Andrew might have said things to people but, with few exceptions, he was acting on behalf of a company (Heighway Pinball). So, you, generally, can't take legal action against an individual, but you could against the company. That is if it existed anymore.

Fraud is committed by individuals, as far as the law is concerned, not companies.

So if the allegations are true, then people certainly can take him to court, and yes he can be made to answer for the things he did.

Also, we're now hearing about stuff he supposedly did before he even started this company, including theft of property. btw Atlantis if you can, i'd dump all your communications and evidence of what went on into a zip or rar file and put it on dropbox or mega. That should remove any doubt, one way or the other.

#21753 5 years ago
Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:

Then why did Heighway Pinball 1.5 register a new company entity known as Pinball Brothers, at the same time that they organized themself? It just so happens HP 1.5 goes tits up in six months and all assets are moved (and old liabilities are left behind) to Pinball Brothers. Final straw happened so fast it was "like" they snuck away in the dark of night. Heighway Pinball 1.5 was never trying to make things right, as you say.
Instead they needed the company to continue operating at a slow pace. Legal hoops, strategy etc, so they hired Helmet to do what he could and gave him almost no parts. Once the appropriate time had pass, they fired all employees and contractors, removed all assets and disappeared. The upcoming liquidation is a joke. Bet those Cockroaches didn't leave many crumbs.

No.

#21769 5 years ago
Quoted from Tim_may:

Anyone that lost money on this needs to report it:
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/report-a-fraud-including-online-crime-questions
Be sure and include the new owners:
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08087382/officers
Their shell company Pinball Brothers
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/10822960/officers
And the other shell company Umbrella Corporation AS (a norwegian company) 50% owned by Roger Svanevik
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08087382/filing-history

Quoted from hank527:

This needs to be posted everywhere.

I think this is a bad idea.

Unless you actually have some verifiable evidence, or reasonable suspicion of them acting in a fraudulent manner towards you, you should not do this.

It is unlikely to harm them if you're wrong.

HOWEVER, it may well harm any investigations into what Andrew did and didn't do. If they get a bunch of erroneous reports about the investors' actions post takeover, they're more likely to regard what Andrew did as not worth their time. Whilst there appears to be a growing mountain of evidence against him, as more and more people come out of the woodwork, it's unwise to jeopardise that with potentially spurious or frivolous reports against the investors. TLDR - don't muddy the water or confuse things if you don't need to.

#21796 5 years ago
Quoted from daudioguy:

There is more to consider as well. My work to include the new callouts in the build is no charge as I do the work for a fixed bid (boy am I dumb). However, just having them in the build doesn't get them invoked. It takes considerable effort to call a few hundred callouts properly and that is on the JJP programmers. Do you want a finished game this year?
If the licensor has the same constraints as they did last time around Jack is not allowed to say anything anachronistic. Captain Jack cannot talk about balls or ramps or shots or anything useful so having a custom session is nearly pointless. Extracting all the Captain Jack from five movies will result in some 'color' callouts, "nice to hear Jack" but very few functional callouts.
Kevin McNalley is doing a fantastic job. The team wrote a great script. The callouts are steeped in POTC flavor and are very functional. It is one of the better callout packages I've been associated with.
Now, stop hijacking this thread and continue on a JJPOTC thread if you yearn for Jack.
where's Ripley?.........
ddt

Still think JJP Pirates (original campy theme) would have been so much better than JJP PotC ... and much less of a headache. But I suppose that would bring, to some extent, the agony of choice and unlimited artistic license.

#21839 5 years ago
Quoted from Atlantis:

"The identity of poster ‘Atlantis’ is xxxxxxxx and he can be easily researched in the UK arcade community. We settled our debt before I left Ireland, as he knows. This is nothing more than opportunistic defamation."
lmao I guess he thinks I won't/ doesn't have whats needed to prove myself. So offer is out there that admins here or pinballinfo can have my Facebook account details to verify the long convo that went on years with date stamps after he started heighway pinball.
Don't need to worry as I am deleting facebook anyways after somebody checks it. as for skype I still use it so don't wanna hand that over.
Guess he was a bit ****ed at me popping up and handing out his address to people lol

Dump the info to a file and upload it. Then there is no partiality. Anyone can view it.

Re: skype, you can just hide your ID.

14
#21853 5 years ago
Quoted from Travish:

Lol?
You posted up his home address?
That's pretty f'd up right there and your laughing about it.
Maybe you should just post up your address? I'm sure there may be a few crazies that might want to stop over.

If you believe Andrew is naming and blaming others including me for innocent purposes then I think you're being naive. It's likely to try to silence people, as well as deflect blame, after having elicited an outpouring of people telling their stories (none flattering) with his investors-are-to-blame-not-me statement. It blew back in his face. If he's the victim of his own tactics, what does he have to complain about?

Also, he's doing this when supposedly taking legal advice, in an interview where he essentially acknowledges knowingly misleading people (I was among them) and then goes on to claim ethical justification for it. Not sure courts recognise his moral superiority.

This is unbelievable to me. What lawyer advises that ... or citing fear of him defaming people in an unscripted interview, as an excuse for not doing it, whilst he's accusing others of the same?

It's pretty significant from a legal perspective, and he continues to dig his pit.

#21858 5 years ago
Quoted from epotech:

Dave, you really need to go to a police station and ask to make a statement. I know it's unpleasant and possibly frightening for you but you need and deserve support that this or any group online probably cannot give. Even if it's just to get you supported in housing and benefits.

Agree 100%. Especially after doing a little bit of reading on Modern Slavery law in the UK, after first NeilMcRae and then jlm33 made posts on Pinball Info concerning it. To me it sounds like this is something the police should be interested in. Repost of my post there:

Being curious, I had a little look at the following:

Modern Slavery Act 2015

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/30/section/3/enacted

Section 5a, 5b/c and 6a are particularly relevant, given both the nature of Dave's allegations, including Andrew purportedly trying to induce him to make false representations to claim benefits to which he would not otherwise be entitled, and that Dave is likely to qualify as a vulnerable person (Asperger's).

-----------

Securing services etc by force, threats or deception
(5)The person is subjected to force, threats or deception designed to induce him or her—

(a)to provide services of any kind,
(b)to provide another person with benefits of any kind, or
(c)to enable another person to acquire benefits of any kind.

Securing services etc from children and vulnerable persons
(6)Another person uses or attempts to use the person for a purpose within paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (5), having chosen him or her for that purpose on the grounds that—

(a)he or she is a child, is mentally or physically ill or disabled, or has a family relationship with a particular person, and
(b)an adult, or a person without the illness, disability, or family relationship, would be likely to refuse to be used for that purpose.

----------

#21881 5 years ago
Quoted from scott_freeman:

If that Pinball News article is shown in court, Andrew is going to regret many of his statements.
(Affirmation of ownership, responsibilities, tax implications, contractual agreements, ....)
Thanks to Pinball News for posting the Q & A. Given they shared a room with Andrew, that had to be a hard message to send.

I'd love to hear him explain to a court what he means by 'juggling', and what it specifically entailed, given the context of the questions asked, and against the backdrop of the company accounts he signed off on ... and stonewalling refunds & order fulfilment, service requests, unpaid contractors, 'voluntary' staff and supposedly unpaid landlords ... all going back years.

#21896 5 years ago
Quoted from flynnibus:

fantasy... The reality is companies need enough capital to expect to run in the red for several cycles of the business because everything will be operating in the red until you get established. The games were going to cost more than they took in regardless because of ramp-up costs and the reality that you had no economies of scale and every initial cost to absorb. You need massive capital up front, and savvy spending to ensure you don't run out of runway. HWP seems to have failed on both those points.
It maybe nice to think "you should keep all that money separate so you can return it if you failed..." - but it's no where near reality.

He repeatedly claimed that all deposits, in part or in full, were fully refundable, and at least to me, that they were not used to fund development or ongoing expenses. Indeed, for the former to be true, so must the latter, especially in a company which was underfunded according to his own words.

They clearly weren't, they clearly were used, and that was the fantasy that he peddled.

If the company wasn't sufficiently capitalised, then no customers' money should have been taken. Not under the terms presented.

That is the reality, as you put it.

He states that the company was underfunded, he was 'juggling', and yet that it was not a Ponzi or pyramid. If it lacked funding, and pre-order money (some of it 50% or 100% paid) was spent and wasn't refundable, the company had minimal to no cash flow for long periods and large overheads, then surely that means by definition the company was insolvent, and a pyramid (needed the money from new orders to fulfil existing ones). There seem to have been plenty of fabricated or misleading reports on the part of the operator, and intent could be claimed on the basis of this interview. So would that not make it a Ponzi?

Is there any other credible explanation left?

#21924 5 years ago
Quoted from flynnibus:

Sure, but even if it was true.. it wouldn't have lead to people's money being safe. The guy was just trying to make people feel safe and confident it would happen so he was saying what people wanted to hear.

Of course I know what he was doing and what the situation was.

But he's doing his best to muddy the waters, point fingers and divest himself of responsibility or intent**. That introduces a lot of doubt for some, and others do already or are choosing to believe his version of events - for now ...

**though he incriminates himself more and more

Quoted from HoakyPoaky:

If that's true, that's appalling.

It doesn't really mean much in and of itself.

They were never producing enough games, and arguably couldn't with still present technical issues ... plus the issue of the license.

Ideally you don't want to sit on much stock, especially with cash flow issues.

There may be some kind of grand conspiracy, but that's not necessarily any evidence of it.

#21949 5 years ago
Quoted from PanzerFreak:

Pinball News posted an article about the liquidation and financials of Heighway.
Theres a section in the article regarding company creditors with money owed to the creditors totaling nearly $2 million! CoinTaker is on there for $80k That sounds like they had paid $80k for games they then never received.
https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2018/05/10/heighway-pinball-by-the-numbers/

Not $80k.

£80k. As of today, $108,000.

RS Pinball were owed $148,500.

Nitro only $6400.

Assuming what the investors say is true, and they honoured all orders made (paid) since the takeover, that's a figure of at least ~$262,900 owed to the 3 main distributors at the time Andrew left the company.

Assuming also that what they say is true (about honouring paid games post takeover), then more than ~$367,750 was owed to direct (pre-)order clients at the time Andrew sold the company.

Some of the latter were refunded, or got machines, though obviously a minority. Some restitution was made in part (though obviously nowhere near whole) to distributors, too, I think.

So at the time of takeover, more than $630,650 was owing in games / potential refunds. Guessing well over $750,000.

We can pretty safely assume that cash was gone. Then there are all the other creditors. Then all the overheads, Andrew's hire or hire-purchase equipment on long term contracts (he presented all the plant machinery to me as stuff he'd bought, and most of which he'd sell when I visited). Then the unreliability and mass of work needed on the machine.

Hardly difficult to see why it became impossible to justify.

Since the Welsh government are apparently owed a round figure of £75,000, I would assume this is a grant that was given but which the company has since been deemed ineligible for (false pretences in application?). If there were any direct taxes owing (not even sure if WG levies any directly?) it probably wouldn't be such an aesthetic number. I also remember hearing figures of grant money around £75k on the grapevine. If correct, I assume this will form part of any investigations or legal action.

#21959 5 years ago
Quoted from Ballypinball:

RS Pinball were owed $148,500 but Stefan is also one of the shareholders or investors

He's likely out a very large figure, then.

#21970 5 years ago
Quoted from rai:

Curious did JJP get bailed out also?

Yes. As did Stern.

Figures vary re: investments, according to who you talk to.

Stern apparently were shutting down in less than 10 days (according to Gary and various staff). People seem to think JJP had about 1-3 months left.

In Stern's case, the rescue came out of the blue. In JJP's case, I think they'd been trying to get people to invest for some time - though the investors again came out of the blue.

#21991 5 years ago
Quoted from benheck:

Pretty sure you can't "sell" your license to make something. Also most of a license cost is on the backend anyway (royalties per unit).
Also who the hell wants a Queen pin? Or Playboy?

Maybe a few people, re: Queen.

Latter ... Andrew. I think he had all 3 of the existing ones. It would probably have made FTh sales figures look good, if it had ever appeared.

#21997 5 years ago
Quoted from NeilMcRae:

the fools did no due diligence. But these are the same fools who were on the board and let Heighway create the mess in the first place.

What board? Andrew was the sole director until they took over.

16
#22004 5 years ago
Quoted from Aurich:

..... because during the negotiations is when the magazine switched to no nudity, and the game became about acquiring wealth and houses and hydrofoils or something.....

Fixed it for you.

#22145 5 years ago
Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:

Could we have gotten our Aliens with the wasted money?

Highly unlikely. He found many other outlets to pour money down the drain. IMO the finances would have gone on something other than judicious applications, and the result would have been the same with Playboy out of the picture - just the details different.

If you're asking if it could have worked with others at the helm *much* earlier, quite possibly. I dont get the feeling there was a lack of talent, sense, or even commitment on the team, despite the miserable conditions and pay, or lack thereof.

#22150 5 years ago
Quoted from EalaDubhSidhe:

I remember Andrew wanting a hidden 'adult' mode in Circe's Animal House, with the central hostess showing her cleavage to get the punters in. I told THAT where to go in a big hurry.

Shouldn't laugh ..... but ... LOL.

#22213 5 years ago
Quoted from frolic:

It seems like that was what Andrew was betting on, trying to make it across the finish line.
The insane thing is the Pinball Brothers totally ditched marketing the game. They no showed the 2 most important pinball shows of the past year (Expo '17 and TPF '18, let alone all the other shows) with no Aliens on the floor at all.
I'm not saying they should have taken more pre-orders, but if they saw that there was potential for the game to sell, maybe the company could have been better resourced with cash, instead of the hard line they drew apparently.
Now as more people actually play the game, it will likely change everything, but too late now.

Spending money on show appearances would have been lunacy when there were massive costs associated with all the extra development and fixing work they had to undertake, and with the general overheads and debt pile.

Combine that with inability to produce large numbers of machines, and very weak demand, and you'd likely have seen them going down sooner, and possibly taking some of the new order money down with them too (which they state they didn't).

That's if distributors would even have been willing to place larger orders, based on show demand, given the unreliability and questions over how long they'd last.

After they realised Alien was never going to be economical or break even, the idea was to try to get Queen out as quickly as possible. But they couldn't sustain the losses, Barry leaving to DeepRoot probably delayed it significantly, and they couldn't afford to get a bunch of new people in to help Dave.

#22236 5 years ago
Quoted from Davidus56:

Alien was clearly one of the best new pins of the year. So, two questions for anyone that might know.
1) If the Heighway owner’s sold the I.P. rights to Alien, is some other company going to try and build it?
2) I lost my ass on this game. But, if a reputable company re-released it, I would pony up and buy it. Are other pin ballers that got burned like me, still interested if it was re-released?
Bonus question - where is Andrew and what could we do to him legally to make him suffer for the fraud he perpetrated?

1) It's still a very unreliable game, which would remain a major headache to support. Its current boardset etc is going to be very expensive to produce given the huge size of some of them and all the wasted PCB area. License won't be cheap either, and after all the drama Fox may not even wish to be associated with it any longer. Would some of the suppliers even want to get involved again? I'd say no chance ... unless Pinball Brothers decide they want to lose even more money on it.

2) -

3) Merthyr Tydfil area of South Wales, according to what Dave said on Pinball Info.

Yes, likely. But are you willing to pay? If you are, be prepared for a situation where there are no recoverable assets.

One thing Andrew was relatively shrewd about was ownership & liability, and doing what ever he could to get out of monies owed, or delay recovery as long as possible. See HW Pinball Sales Ltd (a company with no balance sheet or assets) being the vehicle by which he registered the lease for their penultimate (huge) facility in, and then absconded, owing over $100k & leaving the landlord high and dry.

He knows better than anyone all the shit he got up to, so it would be surprising if he hadn't taken measures to move assets out of either his name or UK jurisdiction. See also why he's likely so keen to disappear off on his hydrofoil - which it was claimed on one of Kaneda's pieces that now redundant employees had said there was circumstantial evidence suggesting he acquired it with company funds.

Furthermore, if indeed his assets are 'protected', then what likelihood is there of him sticking around to face the music, given that he clearly intends to leave anyway - with the hydrofoil in Italy and recent fund raising efforts in Sydney for it. Of course, he could still either lose a case or be convicted in absentia.

1 month later
#22623 5 years ago
Quoted from Ballypinball:

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.

hwwww (resized).PNGhwwww (resized).PNG

#22663 5 years ago
Quoted from sed6:

Anyone have a good phone number for Heighway? The number on there website doesn't work. I've ignored this thread for months (too depressing), I'm still waiting for my game to ship. I wonder how many people have gotten theirs in the last 3-4 months?

Quoted from knockerlover:

Heighway pinball is bankrupt, the factory was cleared out.. all the IP assets were transferred to "pinball brothers" who are radio silent now.. if you don't have a game in your possession, you unfortunately will not receive one.

Unfortunately it appears he hasn't posted in months.

Some bad news.

The investors pulled the plug as they were continuing to lose money hand over fist, and the hole Andrew left them was much worse than they planned for. No more Aliens will be made, as it's too compromised, too costly, and the license would need to be renewed. The investors intend to try to relaunch as Pinball Brothers, and do Queen and / or an unlicensed design; Dave Sanders appears to be being kept on in some capacity. Andrew then popped up to blame the investors for everything (which went terribly for him). He then went on to blame virtually everyone else (including me), which went badly for him again, including him pretty much admitting fraud, and trading whilst the company was insolvent, but justifying it as a means to an ends.

The good news is that your order appears to be via CoinTaker, if one is to go by your posting history, so per their terms, you can ask for and are entitled to a full refund.

The bad news is that people have been asking for them, and not getting them. Including people posting that CoinTaker repeatedly claim to have posted cheques (but obviously haven't). So you may be in for a wait.

Edit. Also, hydrofoils:

The much rumoured hydrofoil stuff around Andrew Heighway ... despite denying there was anything more to the rumours than a 'hobby', it transpires he did in fact purchase a large hydroil ferry that used to ply Sydney Harbour, and is now sitting mothballed in Italy. He bought it in early 2016 ... a date from which the investors suspected him of taking money out of the company, and accused him of such at the time - they're trying to find the evidence that joins it up. Extraordinarily, he claims he's going to refit and re-engine the ferry, and actually sail it under its own steam back to Sydney, from Italy, and operate it ... he went to Australia earlier in the year to try to fund raise / drum up support.

#22674 5 years ago
Quoted from vdojaq:

What warranty? From a defunct, bankrupt company? Rub a lamp.

The retailer is obligated to cover it for one year, in the EU, minimum. Some countries require more. The obligation then falls to the manufacturer, or their distributing agent in the country, after that period.

By asking if there are any in stock, I assume he means from a dealer / retailer.

#22677 5 years ago
Quoted from colonel_caverne:

That was the point.
But the company is in bankruptcy so I guess there is no warranty anymore. If dealer gets some stock (what I doubt), there are selling without warranty.

For the first year, I think they're obligated to replace or service *faulty* parts, if they're available. It doesn't matter if the original manufacturer is bust.

But unless the major parts are all reproduced quickly by secondaries, you'd likely be on the hook for everything. Stuff like the playfield will probably never be reproduced, if it gets munched, as there are too few machines, and the license would be costly.

#22739 5 years ago
Quoted from sed6:

Shit

Shit

Shit. Nope paid in full via wire transfer in March 2017. Any possible recourse for me? Anyone know how many games got produced? Any retailers have them for sale?

Not really. That was whilst Andrew was still pulling the strings, and either in the run up to or after TPF, telling anyone that would listen that what ever they wanted was 2 weeks away.

Had it been after the investors took over, you'd have likely got your game, since as far as we know, everyone who paid money after they took over got something.

People could sue him, since he obviously lied to induce purchase, but I'd say the possibility of him not having taken measures to sequester what ever assets he may have out of reach of courts is quite unlikely. So you're likely to get nothing, even if you win.

1 week later
#22774 5 years ago
Quoted from TimeBandit:

They have now..[quoted image]

Huge improvement IMO. So silly that wasn't done after the takeover.

#22796 5 years ago
Quoted from Nepi23:

Just a word of caution to anyone installing a PF protector or otherwise dismantling the PF. The plastics are very brittle. I have installed now 2 plastics back and managed to broke both in the process. One cannot tighten the screws much, otherwise its byebye plastic.

I'm not sure if all the late model ones were too, and what the build date was on your game, but all the earlier games had acrylic instead of PETG plastics ... so ball strikes or anything other than extremely careful tightening and untightening of screws broke them. It sounds like you have them.

#22807 5 years ago
Quoted from Jvspin:

Has anyone tried putting mylar on the underside of the plastics?

That won't help.

#22821 5 years ago
Quoted from Durzel:

It sounds as if someone with an unmolested pin needs to donate all of their plastics to someone reputable who can reproduce them (CPR?) in PETG, to get a free set in return?
Obviously a risk when there are no replacement parts available.

I don't think you'll get a commercial operation (like CPR etc) doing it.

They'd have to have license rights from Fox, permission from Pinball Brothers, and then only a market of <140 machines.

Think this is one for the community.

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