Alien (Heighway Pinball)
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Quoted from HeighwayPinball:Or, as we get deeper into rules testing and development, then we may come up with another solution.
How about instead of the standard 6-7 modes like Mustang or ST there could be 12-18, 1/2 for each story. Then the player could choose which mode or story line they're working on. You could just stick with one and get to that wizard mode quickly, or mix it up, back and forth depending on your mood.
Quoted from benheck:How are they going to tie the two films together? They take place half a century apart, are thematically very different and share only 2 characters.
Ripley and Jonesey? I've seen Aliens 100+ times but Alien only a dozen or so times. Guess which I like more?
Quoted from MK6PIN:Aurich + Heighway= Huge Win!!!.....
What does this mean?
Quoted from karl:Congrats, Aurich.
This is gonna be a fun ride for both you and us
Best of luck to you.
Great choice by Andrew Heighway. Now, go make us proud!
Did I miss something here?
I'm gonna let Heighway worry about the tough stuff like how's it gonna get built and when's it gonna ship. In the mean time I'll worry about the stuff I CAN control like how am I gonna pay for it and where's it gonna go once it arrives. I might also allow myself to worry about my other games (and spouse) feeling neglected once Alien arrives. Has anyone stopped and visualized just where yours is gonna go? Makes me smile when I think it can go here, or maybe here, or maybe I'll move these over, or perhaps slid this one down...
And remind me, does it ship with PDI or Invisiglass? If not, where we gonna find it?
Quoted from Colsond3:I want this pin to be done already so I can rip some games on one. Without me going back through all 50 pages on this thread, anybody have any pics of the BG, cab and PF artwork they can post / repost?
Nothing released yet. Could be a few weeks or months. But it's totally gonna be worth waiting for. We'll certainly see a dedicated thread when that happens.
Quoted from Aurich:Not really related to the pin since we're not including the third film, but I loved this so much:
https://twitter.com/tonyszhou/status/631150895648997376
Awesome. The one linked to in the 2nd or 3rd comment is great too! Off to find a source for that stapler 
Quoted from PaulCoff:Cool, but why isn't the Alien art on the official site, given it's own forum on pinside or backed by Heighway? What's going on? I want to get this game, but not sure about the art, game play or rules/code. Is the engineer that didn't show up at expo still have a hemorrhage?
They don't have any good art on their site. Not even their current production pin Full Throttle has an decent images. Shot an email to Andrew about that a few months ago. I know everyone there's busy, but even Stern does better in that dept.
Quoted from libtech:has to be the older style rotating yellow beacons as per in the film
I don't think they are trying to emulate a light on the ceiling of a hallway. I thought it was the powerloader beacon they are going for? If so then I wonder why two. Two of them look like the top of a wide load semi truck. The P-5000 has one, and it's in the middle. Are the LE's movable/removable?
183182-caterpillar-power-loader-j-5000-i-aliens-i (resized).jpg
This is the best beacon I could find. Yeah it's led but with the lens you might not know. I like the shape. And it's 12v so it's easy to power. Plus it's probably an unlimited qty and the price is right. If anyone finds and old school rotating incandescent one for the masses let us know! I've ordered this already and will post up a vid as soon as it arrives.
Quoted from sed6:This is the best beacon I could find. Yeah it's led but with the lens you might not know. I like the shape. And it's 12v so it's easy to power. Plus it's probably an unlimited qty and the price is right. If anyone finds and old school rotating incandescent one for the masses let us know! I've ordered this already and will post up a vid as soon as it arrives.
Well it arrived and is no good. Sure it works and lights up but it's not a realistic replacement. Oh well.
Quoted from way2wyrd:Its Cointaker. Give them a call
Thx! According to their website my $1k extra cost was spot on. Has anyone done research, if we buy directly from Heighway do we have to pay taxes or any import fees to get them into the US? If not for that same $1k you could maybe get it shipped by air instead of boat.
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:Non-reflective glass is definitely an option per the website. I'm just not sure if they decided on a supplier yet.
The glass & 27" backbox LCD are mandatory purchase options for LE owners IMO.
EDIT: You can add air freight shipping to that option list as well. At least those are the 3 things I'm going with.
How much does air freight add?
I just mean that they detract from the look. They are too plain. Look at the metal girder work around the out lanes, I expected something more decorative in the ramps. And from far off (or a small pic) they look like two wood logs laying there.
On a more positive note! Who's seen the fantastic v.8 rules posted here?
Quoted from J85M:Ramps, plain? I must be looking at a different game, because the ramps look fantastic and fit the theme perfectly with there industrial/futuristic look.
The game looks great, I'm just being nit picky! I'm about to drop $7600 for a standard with LCD and PDI including air freight, so i wanna be sure I'll have no regrets 
Everyone should get PDI. $250 is a very fair price. Non reflective glass is the very best upgrade one can get IMO.
Quoted from PappyBoyington:Where is the flyer that treats down the differences between the two versions in a way to easily understand
? I think I'm on board with this game. Been a long time since I felt this good about a new pin.
Here you go.
Quoted from Astropin:Also....how hard would it be to just your own EL lighting to the side blades on Alien? I can't imagine it would be that difficult.
Probably not too hard, but might be expensive. I just researched EL panels after thinking the exact same thing. Seems the cost of EL panels goes up exponentially the bigger they get. Add to that their long tapered shape and the power supply to run it and the $240 they are charging isn't really an outrageous price.
Now the "fiber optic" lighting for $800, someone explain THAT one to me...
Quoted from conester:For me, it is a no brainer on the LCD screen. If you are buying this machine, you HAVE to have the 27" screen! When you see one in person, it looks amazing!! Hell, I went with the PDI glass on my LE and I don't have that on any other pins in my collection. When you are spending this kind of money, what's another $250. Go big or go home baby!!! #131...whohoo!!!
Brian
Congrats! I'm so close to ordering...must, wait, until TFP, and, I play, it first...must resist
Quoted from chucksmith:Skipping the monitor is an option if you prefer to save some money, but personally, I want my pinball machines to look and feel the same as the ones on location. That's why I want a coin door even though I don't "need" it. Keep in mind this is a pinball machine. Its expensive, so $550 for a full color HD "DMD replacement" is fine by me. .
As a side note:
From what I've seen so far, (& heard from people who have seen the display in person) the Alien backbox display looks amazing.
Crap, now I want to add coin mechs too. Anyone know their cost?
Quoted from chucksmith:Coin mechs are cheap and they are an industry standard. Pick them up from twistedquarter.com or their eBay Store. For about 10 clams each .
Are the doors otherwise ready to accept mechs? Don't want to get a blank door for example.
Quoted from Bongiorno:Any le news or images?....
Not yet, but he has a presentation at 4pm on Sat. I spoke to Andrew for a few while he was getting the three machines set up. The machines arrived just before the show opened and Andrew was scrambling to get them set up. All three looked new as he pealed the protective film off the LCDs and side art. I was one of the very first to play today and loved It! My hand however didn't help with my game. My wife liked the game very much and I think I have her blessing to buy one now
I think I found a good replacement for fiber optic lighting. This is more expensive than El wire but looks to be superior and at a much lower price point than fiber optics.
Quoted from Wickerman2:"The OpalDrive module includes a rechargeable lithium ion battery which stays powered for over 24 hours on a single charge. "
How are you converting it from battery powered to hardwired?
Yes, it runs full time off a usb brick, or a battery
Okay here you go. A few notes from Andrews presentation and Alien LE artwork (sorta) revealed.
Fiber optics to be unique and revealed in a few weeks. Alien has 50m of wire, FT has 18m. Only one playfield box will fit under each cab. Games 3 and 4 are licensed games and designed by Oursler.
Quoted from NeedMorePins:Any hints about upcoming themes or timetable for future releases?
No, sorry.
Quoted from J85M:He must be referring to the games overall wiring, FT ramps cant be 18m long if each ramps side/edge was laid out in one continuous line & Aliens ramps are not nearly 3 times longer surely
Correct, game wiring.
Quoted from VolunteerPin:Can someone comment on the "pop" of the pop bumpers? My FullT was really weak and ended up being one reason I traded it out. Very interested in Alien but hoping there is more action off the pops and slings.
Pops and slings were quite active at TPF. The pops much more so than in some of the vids I've seen. Don't think anyone will be disappointed with the pop action.
Quoted from VolunteerPin:Well, those are opposite ends of the spectrum!
Yes but I just played six games of Alien, so...
Quoted from sed6:Now the "fiber optic" lighting for $800, someone explain THAT one to me...
Andrew hinted that the fiber optics should be revealed in the next few weeks. I've done some more research on fiber optic lighting and I think the $800 may be a fair price. Of course you can get single color fiber optics for about $150, but color changing fiber optics (as I believe Andrew said Alien will have) is MUCH more expensive. I found some consumer grade color changing fiber optic kits for about $750 online. Add R&D costs and profit or whatnot and their pricing seems reasonable. Now whether is adds $800 in greatness to the game...guess we'll see. I want to order the pin NOW but I may wait until the FO is revealed. If I recall correctly that is one option that cannot be added later, like a shaker or EL side art can be. IF the FO turns into a must have for me, I'm going to consider ditching the 27" LCD to help cover the cost. After about a dozen games this weekend I realized I rarely looked at the backbox screen while playing (except between balls) and NEVER looked at the PF LCD, once.
Well that's not entirely true, several times the seam at the bottom of the screen grabbed my ball and it 'magically' traveled horizontally across the PF. The first two times it happened I thought there was a magnet underneath that moved left and right, so much so that I inspected under the PF for one! I hope that's a small QC problem (flushing the screen to the PF) that Heighway can address.
Here's a few additional pics for your enjoyment. I must say the illuminated cabinet art is so spectacular it really must be displayed at the end of a row to be enjoyed by everyone!
Quoted from chucksmith:Q: What is the link to the page for software updates?
I'm excited about the Alien machine but the web page could really use some work.
Nothing fancy, just updated photos of the machine and a page with links to the manual, software updates, and comparison matrix.
There should be a SUPPORT link in this ribbon with software update.
NOT going to happen anytime soon. Even the phone number on their webpage is incorrect! Dial it. You get a number has changed message! I know they have their hands full over there but not updating your web page is akin to not unlocking the front door of your store during business hours...
Quoted from MikeS:I'm trying to envision in my head what the Fiber lighting will look like on the game and it's hard to picture. Will the light tubes just be installed on the plastic portions of the ramps or will they attach to the metal ramps and the metal habitrail on the right side as well? If it's on the metal I'm curious as to how it will be attached as there aren't any obvious mount points and it's unlike a plastic ramp where you can drill holes and use zip ties. I'm sure it will be cool whatever they come up with but the layout and configuration of the ramps on this game are quite a bit different from games we've seen in the past with all plastic continuous ramps like Tron and Full Throttle that used fiber lighting.
IIRC, Andrew indicated they'd do more than just follow the ramps like many other games do. We'll see soon enough. IIRC, he also said he'd like to see the queens head (or was it the queen that used to be in the airlock?) do more in the future, move or otherwise be more interactive. In my mind at the time I wondered if changes like that would be backwards compatible with games already shipped. It was apparent that Andrew has great passion for this title and wants to build as perfect a pin as possible. I'm convinced now more than ever that he's the right guy and the right company to make what is my grail pin!
Quoted from SunKing:Look what followed me home from TPF!
...still need to unpack everything else. Will put a few games on later tonight and then jump back on here later
To discuss.
I asked Andrew to buy one of the three games while I was there. He told me all three were spoken for, wonder who got the other two? Lucky dogs!
Quoted from SunKing:Look what followed me home from TPF!
...still need to unpack everything else. Will put a few games on later tonight and then jump back on here later
To discuss.
Quoted from Tsskinne:I also wonder ....
So did either of you get the face huggers for the slings? I know there was only one pair between the three games. Who got game three? I'd have taken it because I just happen to have a spare piece of glass and a FEW scratches might not have bothered me or maybe polished out. Congrats to both of you!
Quoted from robotron:jeeze i feel like i am gonna be unboxing my le come around christmas time.
Nah, I bet everyone who's ordered already will have them way before then. Peeps who order later and don't pay in full and wait for cargo shipping will wait the longest. Good news is anyone can pay in full for a Standard today and have it in hand probably before any LE's ship. I'm debating between a Standard and LE right now and the big difference in time between delivery for the two is playing a roll in that decision.
Quoted from Gov:My dad and I were talking about this last night. The new black cartridge for the glass is perfect as far as looks go. Not sure why they didn't go with black legs. If I end up getting one I will just swap them out.
One thing I didn't expect was how heavy the playfield glass cartridge was. Weighs a lot more than you think it would and can be kind of hard to handle.
Do you think the legs could be swapped with other out there, like sterns? Are the legs a different shape than most others or do they stick out further because of how they mount on the cab?
I spoke to Morgan and he believes we can order them with black legs. He said he'd check with Andrew. They have been great about answering my pre order questions and I'll be pulling the trigger soon!
Quoted from Manimal:Is there a way to get both.....have the artwork on the LCD when the game is not being played but in standby? Then when you play, it switches to interactive? Or were you just talking from a cost perspective?
Per Morgan at Heighway just now the LCD is factory installed only. However, I can, and did, purchase the full translight by itself, just to have! I already have a lighted backbox tho display it in.
Quoted from bigd1979:Scoop needs a cliffy or mantis ....... however my favorite thing about alien is the lighting by far. Very impressed by it....
Good eye! Put me down for one.
Back to me and my woes about the original translight art...when I ordered mine with the 27" LCD I added on a full image one for a very reasonable price. Figure I can hang it on my wall or swap it out.
Quoted from Rockytop:Agreed on the cliffy. I wish all scoops, on all news games, by every manufacturer, came with cliffy's.
Nah. Cliffy needs our money too! All modders need our money or we won't get cool mods
Quoted from PunkPin:There game doesn't still come with a translite if you upgrade to the lcd?
Sure it does, but there's no art in the center where the LCD goes. I like the look and Aurich's art on the full image translight so i ordered an extra to put in a lighted backbox and display.
Quoted from fosaisu:The display only functions if you route the game. And I for one applaud Heighway for taking an aggressive stand against the HUO obsession that has gripped this hobby in recent years.
Care to explain this nonsense?
Quoted from Jarbyjibbo:Not interested in the gloss black cabinet, powder coating, le plaque/goodie bag, LE art, and any other potential bonuses in getting the LE for the $280 difference?
I'd say maybe "prestige", however one measures that. Besides that you nailed the differences. Below is the math I used before ordering mine. Bear in mind that's pricing from HP not CT. I almost ordered the LE, but didn't want to wait the extra months.
Quoted from iceman44:No i'm just getting tired of all the BS. And pinball in general.
I'm supposed to send 50% payment at the "week of manufacture". And the rest upon delivery.
So, you still owe full price, minus $1k? If Andrew calls tomorrow and asks for the first $4k and next week for the second $4k are you prepared to pay? If so I'd advise you call Monday and make a payment in full. This gets you to the head of the LE line (behind only other pay in full peeps). If you wait for them to call for payment you're letting a lot of other people cut in line ahead of you.
Quoted from Cheeks:And this is my biggest concern about Heighway. We still have not seen a single game with all production parts in them. Every manufacturer is having some issues with early run games and reacting accordingly. Using customers as quasi-QA/beta testers is going too far for me. Updated Xeno mech boards? WTF! That doesn't even touch on LE art, fiber optic ramps, etc, etc.
I'm fully behind Heighway and the games they're creating. I want Alien and a FT kit. But there are serious red flags here. Glad I'm on the sidelines until things shake out.
If you have no skin in the game (like made a payment to Heighway) then it's not you place to complain, or second guess or stir the pot. Plenty of us have put money down and are waiting patiently for our games to arrive. Your concerns are unfounded and serve no purpose other than trying to cause concern or angst for those of us waiting to take delivery.
Quoted from Ferret:There isn't currently a consistent color for "bad" shots, but it's not because we didn't think about that. I could but won't prattle on forever about all the considerations that went into it, but the combination of "making the lights represent the entities from the movie" (e.g. I thought the "cat" shots in Find Jonesy should be orange) and "making the lights distinguishable, especially when stacking of features is considered" (e.g. multiball Jackpot shots are generally red) made things challenging. This still might get revisited in the future. I personally find it easier just to focus on what the color is for the "good" shots, since anything that's not that color is something I want to avoid during those modes.
We never subtract from your actual score.
Beyond that: Depends on the mode. There are three modes that have "bad" shots: Acid Burn, Find Jonesy, and Bug Hunt. Acid Burn features a hurry countdown; shooting a "bad" shot fast-forwards the countdown, which means fewer points for the remaining good shots, and could cause you to time out the mode sooner if the hurry value gets to its minimum. Find Jonesy is a different model, it's a game of finding the cat via "warmer/colder" ... shooting the good (cat) shots moves you "warmer", shooting the bad (Alien) shots moves you "colder". If you get "warm enough", you catch Jonesy and win; if you get "too cold", the Alien gets ya and you lose the mode. Scoring in this mode is based on shot efficiency; you'll score the most by hitting only cat shots. In Bug Hunt, "bad shots" only come into play in the second part of the mode (the Marines vs Aliens firefight) ... here, shot values are multiplied by the number of Marines that are still alive, but Marines get killed when you make bad shots. (And I watched that scene several times with a notebook in hand to make sure they get killed in the same order in the game as in the movie. )
As you might guess, these modes aren't your best choices for stacking with multiballs (although I'd be willing to take Bug Hunt into a multiball and hope multiball firepower wins out before the Aliens ravage the good guys). On the other hand, these modes have some of the best points-per-shot potential in the game for those who can shoot accurately.
Wow, just fantastic info and insight, thanks!
How about mode timing? I've seen many a mode fail because time ran out. How's that determined or calculated?
Quoted from Travish:I posted this in the Paxton thread but thought I might drop it here too. Textualtees has this shirt on sale for $5.99
Thank you. And your phone needs to be charged.
Heighway for sure needs to get shipping before the next Star Wars pin is announced. I predict a lot of peeps will jump on which ever pin they can buy, and take delivery of, first. HP better hope it's not SW. Many peeps can only afford one NIB pin this year and a SW in hand will beat the promise of an Alien coming soon, for many.
Quoted from Cheeks:I actually applaud Andrew for not doing this AGAIN. He has given countless definitive answers for when things will happen and every single one of them has been wrong. I'd rather get no answer than a bullshit answer.
You gotta be more careful with absolutes like that. He did promise LE art by 4/26 and delivered. Absolutes like that are generally only safe if you're giving an opinion, or you're much smarter than the average bear...
Quoted from MK6PIN:Can't wait to see what they do with the LE artwork combined w the 27" LCD...still good space there!!!
You're going to be disappointed. See the eggs at the bottom of the LE art? That is probably all you're going to get with the 27" monitor. Look at the SE art to get an idea...
Quoted from Jarbyjibbo:I'm framing mine in a light box, that LE BB art is too pretty to be displaced by my LCD screen. Of course I am assuming that I am going to still get the translate even with the BB LCD upgrade (I certainly expect to).
I'm framing my SE art in a lighted backbox as well. The full art that I paid extra $$ for. The LE buyers who think they are getting four blackglasses I think will be in for a surprise. You're going to get the LE and SE art yes, but it'll other be a set of full images for the no LCD buyers, or a set of the crop jobs for the 27" LCD buyers. I'm going to guess that Highway will make a set of full image backglasses available to LE LCD buyers for an additional $100-150. And it'll never show up on a price list, it's going to be something you'll have to request.
Quoted from whatchapopo:that what i imagine... so i don't undersand the meaning of the 2nd screen.. it's kill backglass style and you don't use it in game
I got the 27" LCD mostly to preserve/help the games resale value if I ever sell it. I also got it to impress my fellow pinheads. Neither of which are good enough reasons in my book, so I also ordered the full backglass. I plan to watch the big screen as much as I can but believe that ultimately I'll end up watching the PF screen the most. If that proves to be the case I'll remove the 27" LCD, store it safely, and install Aurichs awesome backglass!
Quoted from HeighwayPinball:There are many questions about production so I want to give you an update.
We continue to manufacture and ship Standard Edition games on a weekly basis.
We are not at the point of 'mass production' yet as we continue to iron out any issues that may arise. We have had a lot more issues to deal with than we first thought, and we have made some significant changes as a result. Clearly, it is much better to make these changes when smaller numbers of machines have been delivered.
I'd like to take this chance to thank all of the early adopters for their patience, and their significant feedback. It really has helped us to develop a better, and more reliable game.
I understand everyone's frustration at the slow production figures - but this will change, and soon. We will continue to ramp up SE production to clear our current backlog. LE production is also beginning now and we expect to ship significant numbers of LEs in June and July to paid-in-full customers first.
We are 100% committed to delivering this game to everyone who has ordered - and as quickly as quickly as possible. It is our one and only priority
Thanks for the update Andrew. You made my day and put a smile on my face!
Quoted from Tsskinne:Well if anyone wants to watch some Alien gameplay I'll be streaming in about an hour, my school just released early due to flooding in the area so I've got some spare time.
I do. I need a reminder where to find your videos. Live and recorded.
Quoted from Ive:.... but certainly on the main UK forum people haven't heard of any and are still waiting
You mean other UK forum? There's a more popular forum than Pinside?
Quoted from J85M:The Full Throttle Red LE comes with black legs from Heighway, I'm sure if black legs was a deal maker/breaker for you then asking Andrew about a set of black legs direct from him with your Alien could be easily arranged, saves you sourcing a set of legs just open your Alien NIB with black legs included
I too thought that could be easily arranged. When I order mine I requested black legs. I was told only silver legs will be available on the SE...
Quoted from hocuslocus:do you still get the backglass artwork if you get the monitor?
No, it costs extra, you have to ask for it.
Quoted from Grg:Posted by magicjumpi aka Roman. Looks like Roman glass, PDI glass will not be sold, used, on Heighway Alien LE's. Quote and link below.
As posted above three weeks ago we were working on a solution for Heighway Pinball.
Due to lacks in communication we or I won`t supply Heighway Pinball with my glass aka Roman´s Glass
or PDI Glass.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/alienle-are-you-in-whats-your/page/9#post-3713703
Uh, you misquoted him. That situation IS being resolved.
Added over 7 years ago: Edit, seems I have a problem with dates and times. Ignore the above.
Andrew said in that thread- "I have just picked up on this thread again and want to clarify the whole non-reflective glass / PDI situation.
We do not supply 'PDI' glass on our games. PDI is a USA brand and we do not buy our glass from the USA. Our sales team may have incorrectly put PDI on a few private invoices - but they made a mistake and that won't happen again. We DO however supply Roman-glass on our games. Something got lost in translation with Roman's posts, but Roman is correct that we have not received any sheets of glass from him 'yet' - but his glass WILL be appearing on our games (to those customers who have ordered it) when LEs start shipping.
I hope this clarifies everything."
To which a day later Roman replied in that thread- "The glass which is sold through me or known sources (like PDI) is made in Germany to the highest possible standards...
We are working on a solution for Heighway too and it`s up to them how they´d like to call the glass. In Europe it´s known as Roman´s glass and in the US as PDI glass."
Added over 7 years ago: Seems I have a problem with rates and times, and duplicate posts. Ignore the above.
Andrew said in that thread- "I have just picked up on this thread again and want to clarify the whole non-reflective glass / PDI situation. We do not supply 'PDI' glass on our games. PDI is a USA brand and we do not buy our glass from the USA. Our sales team may have incorrectly put PDI on a few private invoices - but they made a mistake and that won't happen again. We DO however supply Roman-glass on our games. Something got lost in translation with Roman's posts, but Roman is correct that we have not received any sheets of glass from him 'yet' - but his glass WILL be appearing on our games (to those customers who have ordered it) when LEs start shipping.
I hope this clarifies everything."
To which a day later Roman replied in that thread- "The glass which is sold through me or known sources (like PDI) is made in Germany to the highest possible standards...We are working on a solution for Heighway too and it`s up to them how they´d like to call the glass. In Europe it´s known as Roman´s glass and in the US as PDI glass."
Added over 7 years ago: Seems I have a problem with rates and times, and duplicate posts. Ignore the above.
Quoted from CubeSnake:OK, if one were to place an order for an Alien TODAY (5/8) WHEN could one expect delivery?
When I placed my order on March 30th I was told this via email-
"As a new customer I would say that we will be shipping your machine to you within 4-6 weeks and that the delivery time will be 7-10 days."
I guess we'll see how that goes...
Quoted from PoMC:If that's how they're supposed to look, fine, then it's a matter of personal taste if you like the worn out corroded style. I just would expect nice, shiny, clean looking ramps for the price of the game and because they would look terrific. These ramps are dull and worn out looking from where the balls has contact with them, so I don't think it's a style choice and more of a near production prototype ramp. Other metal on the game, not visible to the player, also has the same worn/corroded appearance. So why stylize unseen metal parts too?
Anyway, I'm asking someone who knows, like from Heighway, to comment on my question if these are finished production ramps?
I too crapped on the ramps many pages ago and got lots of thumbs down. I just accept that's the way they are supposed to look and if the majority likes them I'll get used to them.
Quoted from Wickerman2:As I stated, I did it. No clarity issues(with game off you could "maybe" tell, but on a lit screen no way). You will, however, have clarity issues after a ball rolls over it a few thousand times without protection, hence the mylar. To each his own. I did the same thing on my Congo and it's worked out great. If the game is going on location I would 100% do it. If your screen looses a screw and dips a little and it gets 100 plays on it before you notice you'll be bummed.
Where do you get Mylar big enough for the screen? I wonder too what shape the scoop Mylar should be cut to?
Quoted from libtech:The problem I had is they are these with black bases $11 each:
ebay.com link » 24vdc Yellow Rotating Beacon Warning Light Lamp With Speaker Spiral Fixed
I actually purchased these, lower profile but it will be more of a strobe effect than rotating, but $6 each:
ebay.com link
I believe those are the exact ones Heighway uses. Theirs are clearly painted black before installing. Look at the product number on the boxes Andrew has in his warehouse, they match the ones in the Amazon ad exactly. Add a $3 step up voltage booster and you can run that 24v light from something as low as 5v.
Quoted from libtech:You can by them in any voltage, with or without a buzzer paint em black away you go - havent tested to check the voltage but I'd assume 12v
Who's going to be the first to start an Alien Mods thread? So far we have DIY Yellow Beacons, RGB Backbox LED's, did I miss any? I'm going to add Pinstadium's lighting, which counts as a mod although it's not very DIY, more like PNP.
Edit-
I am going to add a single rotating beacon to mine. I love the P-5000 and it only has one so. With a voltage booster you can buy a 24v light and power it off a 12v power source. The booster has an adjustable pot that will allow you to control the voltage going to the beacon. Hence, you'll be able to control the speed of the spinner and intensity of the light!
Quoted from toasterman04:Ordered!!! Thanks libtech!!! Look forward to the update on how they work and how to hook em up
Do either of you know the voltage going to the flashers? Did I miss it?
Quoted from NPO:The sheer irony that your keychain says "Shipping 2016" and you mention yours is about to ship.........in 2017.
I saw the irony too. But I've got a dozen or so for all my pins and vids and they are all sales flyers. I bet, I hope, that's the last time Heighway puts a date on a sales flyer.
Quoted from Toads:When does the first group of 25 ship?
I was told that the first 25 have shipped already and they are working in the next 25.
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.
Didn't Stern suffer this criticism? They hired a social media person (Jody?), and it help ease/resolve a lot of their customer angst.
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:Jesus, I'm taking everything with a grain of salt now, but damn those LE pics are confusing as hell. I'd like to hear Cirque explain how his Alien went from black to green trim after 10 days, and how it can be called an LE when the FO isn't installed & there's no plaque saying #94. Not trying to stir the pot, but it just doesn't add up.
The illuminated side art has also changed on his game from SE to LE. I'm suspicious too, but where'd that come from?
Quoted from blueberryjohnson:Seems like that link only works on mobile - here's one that should work for anyone:
https://www.facebook.com/TopScoreGamerooms/posts/1356461757733095
Still not worth reading, no matter how many times it's linked to. It's just some distributor who doesn't want to distribute Heighway pins any more. If not fake news then it's certainly non news.
Quoted from woz:try the one listed on the Heighway website
Tel: +44 (0)1685 370190
That number has been changed, but not updated on their website. Their new # is 011441495305634 That's the digits I enter on my AT&T cell phone and it goes right thru to Heighway. If someone dial's the old number
(correctly) you'll get a 'number has changed' message, just like anywhere else. All you gotta do is write it down.
Quoted from DerGoetz:A) you will need the new computer unit
B) no inner sideblades for early adopters like you and me, we got the old style cabinets which are missing the inner pockets.
And this upsets me quite a bit. I was promised that I would be able to drop games in as they are released.
But even if I do spend the money on a new computer (and I have to as the one in my FullTh bricked my game) - I will have the sideblades missing which is unacceptable to me personally. All my games are tricked out, I turned my FullTh into the nicest one out there. To get the "too bad, so sad" from Heighway in regards to the sideblades and my cabinet sucks.
When I bought my FullTh i was told that the sideblades would be released shortly. I was even promised a free set as I was one of the few (only one?) who bought an LE - well....that never happened and now I know why. I was lied to at the time and that is that.
If you have the skills and tools you could modify your cabinet with a router to accept the side blades. Probably.
Quoted from ledge:can someone, for the love of god, tell me the benefits of preordering/prepaying... i have yet to work it out.
I had the cash in hand. Had I not given it to Heighway I'd have blown it on something else. I really want an Alien so I rolled the dice. Of course at the time I did know it was such a big roll.
Quoted from libtech:Thank you, yes I thought it was an electromagnet, but its just a permanent magnet.
There were a few guys on here that put an aliens on route correct? Just wondering how the Xeno head wears over time, there is a fairly local airbrush guy, I was thinking of bringing it over to him before I install to give it some detail!
Great idea! My father in law airbrushes motorcycle tanks for a living. He could do a kick add job detailing the xeno head! Now I just need the head, and my game to arrive.
I emailed Heighway last week and got the following reply.
Hi Scott,I am so sorry that we have not been contact sooner. We are very busy here at the moment getting Alien Pinball into full production. The full production of the standard editions of Alien Pinball will be ramping up this month. The full production of the limited edition of Alien Pinball will be throughout September. We will be therefore shipping these machines a short time after these time frames.
We are also changing the way that we sell machines to our customer and the way that they are shipped. Moving forward we will not be selling directly to customers anymore and will instead be shipping our products to distributors. This factors in to the way that we are shipping out customers current orders. This is to say that we will be shipping customers orders along with the distributors stock. This will mean that your machine will be shipped to the USA and then distributed to you from CoinTaker. This will not directly affect you or your order other than it should be more cost effective in terms of the taxes.
I hope that this information is useful to you. If you do have any additional questions or queries please feel free to contact me.
Thank you again for your time and I hope to hear from you again soon.
Morgan Potter | Customer Services Executive
So I called Melissa to confirm everything. As expected she was a wealth of info. It seems I'm going to have to pay about $250 to CT to get my pin from them to me. This despite the fact I've already paid Heighway $350 to ship it straight to me. Once I get my pin I'll hammer Heighway for a mini-refund of my shipping. Wouldn't that be a great problem to have, pin in hand and just $350 floating in the HP coffers that's owed to me? Melissa explained that HP hasn't passed a dime of that shipping money on to CT so she's forced to collect from us. She also asked for a copy of my invoice from HP and said she'd contact them herself to make sure mine was in the next container she received! Hurray for Melissa and CT, saving my butt and looking after me even though I ordered straight from HP.
Quoted from onedeath:Well this showed up last Monday. But the glass broke in transit.
Working on cleaning out and getting a new glass.
Did it come from Cointaker?
Quoted from onedeath:Yes it did and everything is being taken care of as always.
Super! And that confirms my earlier.post that Heighway isn't shipping machines to individuals. Everyone going forward is going to get theirs from CT. Did you pay extra for shipping from CT or did you order from them? Melissa said the next container of games is coming in Sept, so no new unboxings until then I guess.
I'm not happy prices are going up for others, but I am happy now that I paid in full back in March. The $8k I spent then will now get me a $9k+ game. I couldn't have gotten that kinda return in my money outside of Vegas!
Quoted from delt31:Was that an LE?
SE with extras.
Quoted from Astropin:It's only an ROI if you can actually cash out for the difference.
Nah, not really. Had I not paid $8k then I'd pay $9k today, no sale needed.
Quoted from greenhornet:i believe his implication is that your ROI on paper means little if you don't get delivery of a game.
Ah. I'm a glass half full kinda guy, always looking on the bright side, so that went right over my head! Me forgets the world's full of negative Nancy's.
Quoted from Wickerman2:It would be nice to have another source for the price of the kit other than one Austrian website.
You realize that there's only a single distributor for any country, including the US right? I'm sure that's part of HP's plan to exercise some degree of control over pricing the consumer pays. Which might not be a horrible thing because here in the US you really need to price a new Stern between all the distos less you over pay by $500-$1500.
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:From looking at these pics, I'm surprised no one has mentioned that it looks like the same manufacturing line setup, like when Andrew was running things. Really? I still don't see how they can crank out a high volume of pins (100/month) on a line like that. Looks boutique to me.
That's only 5 pins a day. If Spooky can build 2 pins a day then Heighway should be able to manage 5 no problems. You don't need a production line, just good workstations.
Quoted from HoakyPoaky:Funny that the best thing this pin has going for it is layout design & great code/sounds. Everything else is an uncertainty. Shame. Hope they pull it off long term, but I'm doubtful.
And this is how far away from reality we and this thread have gotten. We're bashing a pin that has a great layout and great code/sound?Not much else matters...
Quoted from jonesjb:Wouldn't someone with a Standard on preorder just be better off getting the refund directly from Heighway, as opposed to going through logistics of transferring?
The "logistics" shouldn't be any more difficult than asking Melissa at CT to ship the game to him instead.
Quoted from delt31:Any videos of the topper in action? Also - now that the LE ramp upgrade is no more, what separates LE from Stan?
Here's a short one. Don't forget YouTube is the world's 2nd largest search engine, right behind Google.
Quoted from delt31:OK thanks. I really just want those beacons.....wonder how much they would be sep. Def get them if they are interactive with game.
There's a good mod thread already started, read thru it all but here's a link to that very question. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/get-away-from-her-you-bitch-alien-club-all-members-expendable#post-3930146
Quoted from onedeath:Machine ships vertical and the glass came crashing down on everything in the back of the machine when it broke. We had to take every piece off the playfield to get all the glass out.
And didn't reattach the xeno I guess???
Quoted from Join_The_Cirqus:Yep, its super easy !!
I highly recommend all Alien Owners buy one of these
amazon.com link »
To be able to update or access the computer and use a wireless Keyboard/etc with ease.
So I have a wireless keyboard/mouse for my Mame cab and it's invaluable! I'm used to Stern/BW buttons on the coin door, what are we gonna use a keyboard/mouse for on our Alien? Are there still service buttons on Alien?
Quoted from MK6PIN:The good news - If any of the glass breaks, it won't be romans (sorry...light hearted sarcasm there)....I'm going to give this thread a rest for awhile, and hopefully have a meaningful update in the near future......
Good luck! I tell myself that every few days, stay away, and then see 75 new posts! My dumb ass thinks something good must have developed to get that many replies in such a short period of time, I pop back in the thread, and it just two more pages of dribble...
Quoted from libtech:Considering parting with my Alien, give me a shout if your interested!
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/55062
$10k US by Christmas!
Quoted from libtech:I dont see what the problem is - obviously the ammount of preordered srandards was low enough there were extras availible. That is not at all his fault, most preorders left are LEs, blame Heighway for building standards first, not someone whos buying a game because its availible.
Actually this is not correct. Per Morgan at Heighway...we are selling games to people who just ordered in order to increase our cash flow. Your game you paid for months ago will be ready sometime in the future, perhaps by Christmas.
Today's a special day, my birthday! It also marks the 1 year anniversary of my paid in full 'purchase' of Alien. Never in a million years did I imagine I'd still be waiting for something I paid nearly $9k for! If Melissa ever contacts me to collect the extra money I somehow will owe her to ship my game to me (cause I already paid HP for shipping) I'll probably just list it for sale here and have her ship it to whoever wants it. I'm tired of waiting, my excitement is gone...
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.
Shit
Quoted from bigdaddy07:Shit man...if you're serious this is not going to be good news for you, as it looks like you paid in full to HW a while back (according to your past posts here) and unless your one of the fortunate few that can afford to pay for the game twice, you would be better off draining this thread and putting this whole thing back in the rear-view mirror. Life is too short to fret over this fiasco.
Shit
Quoted from rubberducks: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 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.
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?
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