Well I just confirmed my Alien LE #458 order this week, using my Hobbit refund money that I've been sitting on for months

LET'S ROCK!!!

Super excited to officially become a Heighway pinball customer! Thanks for all your help MK6PIN

What does it cost to pre-order an Alien LE?

Like 1500. Fully refundable

A $1500 fully refundable deposit.

As were my Predator and RAZA (minus a percentage if no one took my spot) deposits.

Risk seems very low with Heighway since they've proven they can make a game, but there is always some risk with these things and I wouldn't recommend making a deposit you're not willing to lose.

Alien LE #92 (which tells you the degree of confidence I have in Heighway and/or my own stupidity )

Spoke to Andrew and he has me switched over to 187. Thanks again bud! Now he just needs you to contact him with a new number. Obviously 69 is off the nah just messing with ya jackass. Now I'm AlienLE #54 supposedly.

You just never know 100% but I'm really happy with the way WOZ turned out.

$1500 is not so much to risk. I've discovered having something on the line makes me feel part of the project and all the news and progress updates are more interesting and fun for me.

Very true! I mentioned in another , that it is exciting to help support a new company you believe in. That is why I supported both Full Throttle & Alien. My Full Throttle ships next week!

I bloody well hope not!

Was just listening to some new sound effects for the weapon targets and slings, man I can't wait to hear this all in person on the real game.

1924kf3pb9rp4jpg_(resized).jpg

Couple of questions, are the ramps plastic or wireform? For the new large lcd, is that something you could upgrade later? And Id assume the beacons are both large and small lcd versions?

#137. Running time of Aliens

1) The LE has fibre optic ramp lighting so I'd say it's a given that they'll be plastic.

2) can upgrade to any LCD size later, they're all easily interchangeable.

3) Beacons are on every LE regardless of what screen you choose to add to the back box. They're also purchaseable separately for Standard owners.

What size screen comes on alien le and how much to ugrade to 27 inch?

Will the optic ramp lighting be available for purchase for Standard buyers?

If the optic ramp lighting is available for purchase for standard buyers then what makes the limited edition limited?

Andrew told me a couple of months ago that these are also available as an upgrade.

That is refreshing to hear! I was hoping this is the way they were going about it. A company that has options like this is one that I am interested in buying from.

I plan to get an Alien when they are readily available, but I'm just trying to figure out why a 27in led/lcd would cost $550. Last time I checked, a standard 27in lcd with hdmi input costs around $250, although I recently saw a Samsung 27in for $200. Is there something special about this lcd? Is an upgraded video card required? Is this going to be the same video feed that's on the playfield screen?

I understand there is additional cost with a special bracket and artwork.

Just wondering. There could be additional hardware and programming required. If so, the cost is totally justified and totally worth it. I want the 27in too.

While I applaud your enthusiasm, and I do;

I'm still playing a wait and see approach on getting any hopes up. Software is gonna play huge in being integrative to player, so far artwork looks good, hell, light years better than emboss!

I do find myself fighting not to hold any manufacturer to too high a standard as to be nothing but disappointing upon release. Not to say Alien will, but keeping a calmed demeanor helps stave off premature excitement. Bad enough Andrew's timeline was stupid crazy off base.

Once we see a populated Playfield WITH lcd video and sound, then I'll shout the praises of Hieghway from the rooftops.

On that note here's to hoping to live the hype!

it's $550 for Full Throttle...if you can find a 27 off the shelf that fits in to the game and doesn't look like a redneck rebuild, go for it!!

I don't know anything about Heighway's monitors, not my department. But generally speaking arcade LCDs are pricier:

https://na.suzohapp.com/products/monitors/49-2958-00

Plus there's the new backglass that has to be made for it. I was starting work on that but got sidetracked preparing the playfield for some test printing, catching the art up on all the little CAD changes that have happened since I first made it.

Oh good golly, I'm #103

Pretty sure they're using standard consumer grade monitors. I remember seeing boxes from AUO (AU Optronics) in one of the videos.

Dosent look like a standard consumer grade monitor?

image_(resized).jpeg

TBH as long as it's capable of displaying badass aliens I'm happy

How can you tell? If they bought them with consumer market bezels (if), they certainly wouldn't keep them.

These are not consumer screens - they are industry panels.

The chassis is custom designed by us, and manufactured by a supplier exclusively for us

Fair enough. Out of interest, who's the panel OEM?

I'm in #24

Well it's too bad you couldn't find a way to make a "consumer" model work. You'd have gotten similar (if not the same) quality and
saved your customers quite a bit of money.

That is great reasoning, how about sharing the pros and cons in the future??

The differences between Consumer and Commercial LCD and Plasma
Simplifying all the differences.
With so many differences in the display panels that are currently available, it has never been truer that you need to do some heavy research to know the requirements of your panel before you invest. While there are many differences between the models available each are designed to suit a particular application.

If your application requires a panel for use only a few hours a day, a consumer panel will do the job. These panels will display all AV types, have countless inputs, and will air Free-to-Air television with built-in tuners and built-in speakers. Consumer grade panels do not have the ability to be centrally-controlled via RS232 (also known as serial control) and have limited features for orientation modes or colour matching.

Commercial panels are designed and manufactured to withstand longer operating hours. If you need a panel for a 24/7 information board, an interactive shop window, or to operate in portrait format as well as landscape, you will need a commercial grade screen. Commercial panels don’t tend to have a wide choice of inputs and normally won’t have built-in tuners or speakers but they can be centrally controlled via third party devices and are able to be ISF colour calibrated to exactly match specific PMS colour requirements. Commercial Grade is definitely best choice for long-lasting, innovative presentations which have maximum impact. Be careful not to use a panel for the wrong application.

According to Manic it would be preferred to invest less at purchase, but have a panel to bitch about in this very forum months from now.

Well I can't argue with any of that...for ME I don't need something more suitable for an "information board or interactive shop window",etc.
And a few hours a day seems just fine.

But I can understand why they need to be this way for an operator and commercial use. For home use however it seems like expensive overkill to some degree. As far as bitching about it later... what will the consumer warranty be on these? Because having to replace a truly expensive panel over a cheaper one in the future just might indeed be something to bitch about.

As far as "visual impact" goes I suspect the average user would see little if any difference.

Where did you steal that blurb from btw?

I should have been more specific with my language when I originally commented. I suspect they are the same panel as used in consumer monitors and with no further binning. When I said consumer market I probably should have just said standard OEM ... could be wrong but I suspect that's what they are when Andrew says they're commercial. I'd still expect them to be AUO (manufacturer if not provider). I don't really think there's much to be gained in 2015 or 2016 from going with one of the few, expensive models aimed at arcade cabs etc. The costs you'd save by going for standard stuff would greatly outweigh the cost of replacing faulty units, and it would be highly unlikely that there'd be a failure or defect rate high enough to impact the reputation of your product.

I'm sure there are many important considerations that we are not privy to.

One that comes to mind is the importance of having a supplier guarantee the availability of a product for a fixed period of time. Repurposing a consumer display would mean being at the whim of when the vendor upgrades the line and stops making the product. Then you'd have to find another display and change all your tooling and processes for stripping, mounting and wiring the unit into the game.

#269 Sometime last year.