As mentioned above - all new games will have issues, however they should be quickly resolved by Heighway, even if the answer was that they were 'still developing a fix to make xxxx more reliable' at least it would be communication.

My game actually plays great, screens lights and sounds are all great, just waiting on whatever needs updating on the xeno. However when you see new games shipping with working xenos, so obviously they have and can fix whatever the issue is even if its just a code update, but you havent heard anything in months - its frustrating.

No next shipment. Does not impact anyone already scheduled. Also working with HW and CT on current pin.

The "kit" was a joke. the router was years old, they had an injection mold machine and no way of making molds. All total junk. the printer was used and while nice is very difficult to get spares for...

Alien is on my radar, but I have no problem waiting as long as it takes to see how this company shakes out.

At least there isn’t any ghosting

Facial recognition is the ONLY way to auth a payment. You can unlock by way of passcode if facial recognition isn't working for some reason but you can not auth via passcode.

That is a complete non-starter for me unfortunately.

Moderation notice:

Ah... em... this is not an iPhone X thread. Please keep the thread on topic, thanks!
(but feel free to open an O/T iPhone thread if you wish)

Seriously. This thread is for documenting customer support issues & problems with HP.

Try to keep it on topic so it doesn't become a mess like the main Alien thread.

I do find the comments from people who were actually at the factory very interesting though. The writing was on the wall for a very long time. Shame it took so long for many of us to finally see past Andrew's BS.

How was the quality of Full Trottle, including postnpuechae support? Shouldn’t Alien be consistent?

Mine has worked flawlessly and seems rock solid. No idea how that relates to current production. I have contacted service in the Andrew era only and had great responses for easy items.

So far this sounds like 1 game has something wonky. I will hold off on joining hatefest until more current game reviews roll in.

Which should be ramping up big time over the next several days. We are about to learn a lot more about this "first batch".

Heindsight is a wonderful thing,

Didn’t see the bigger picture walking around the place as was full on seduced by the Alien theme

Oh well live and learn. CG and JJ’s gain. Big relief to be out

We haven't had a good hatefest here since, Jpop, Predator, Planetary Pinball, Vonnie D, WOZ, Medieval Madness remakes, Dutch Pinball, Stern code, Stern playfields, Stern cabinets. Also prices, grammar, political correctness and insert fonts.

...and coin doors!

I don't know guys - as someone who has a production Alien that has some problems, I wouldn't change my decision as I've received timely feedback from CT and HW and actions are already in place. I fully expect them to come through and will report accordingly. I own a Dialed In and already talked to Frank (JJP) twice about some items that have already been corrected.

Let's see how the other guys fair with their machines before passing any major judgment. The game is awesome and will be an absolute hit if it's working as expected. As astro said, many are receiving so we should be getting more feedback shortly.

My ft has been great,i have had one small problem with a broken shooter plunger that I fixed my self and that is it.

same exact issue with mine and that's it other than code update.

I own a Full Throttle but have not pulled the trigger on an Alien. I was waiting for a kit to be announced but at this point I'm glad I didn't. Full Throttle is a solid, fun, well-designed game for home use. I had a few plastics that broke after only a few plays that were replaced promptly free of charge. I suspect they might have been acrylic instead of polycarbonate but I'm not about to test the others to find out.

I'm an engineer and have been in and around manufacturing most of my life. My honest assessment is that Full Throttle was mechanically well designed as a test bed for a new type of pinball system that would appeal to operators and those short on space. But I also see a lot of little details that remind me of home brew games. It's a lot like a hand built automobile. Beautiful and brilliant in some ways, head scratching in others. It's unfortunate the company was never properly capitalized or managed to see things through. If you want a beautiful and rare game, Heighway is for you. Just be prepared to get your hands dirty. I hope the new owners step up and make things right.

Has anyone shown pictures of how they level the playfield screen? Mine is still kinda low, doesn't seem like I can get it to go in further.

Not much to see. It's just 4 screws with foam in between the playfield and LCD mounting bracket. If it's low you may try to bend the bracket down away from the playfield then add spring washers until it's flush on top. I replaced the foam with these and some loctite.

Z-qG5wmcpEx_ (resized).JPG

Ball launcher fix!

My ball launcher was hitting the ball too low causing the ball to jump a little and hit the metal ramp.

You can't raise the ball launcher but you can angle it up.

I loosened the three screws underneath the playfield and then placed two (started with one) washers underneath the back edge (the edge closest to you).

That raised the angle of the plunger...and it now works!

Edit...here's a pic:
20171028_134512 (resized).jpg

Oh...and it's been working 100% since doing this. Not one misfire.

FYI: This switch wasn’t activating when the ball went thru so I change geometry of it.

0A580CCC-8EA5-4CFE-B34D-0170F2537557 (resized).jpeg

FYI 2: on mine this plastic is resting on a screw. Put a piece of tiny Velcro on it.

CE7C3D94-D2A0-459C-A5FD-B7C7D673CBDE (resized).jpeg

FYI 2: on mine this plastic is resting on a screw. Put a piece of tiny Velcro on it.

I had the same issue. I put a small piece of mylar on the back to protect the artwork. Some of the holes on that plastic don't even line up with the posts on mine so they just skipped putting in a screw. Not a big deal as it's a plastic back in the corner that is mainly just for aesthetic purposes. However, it does highlight some of the QC issues that they are still suffering from at this point.

So this is a support thread but 80% of the posts are buy guys Bitchin and moanin about Heighway and don't even own a Alien. Ugh. I'm out.

On the plastics, at least on our game, they are made of acrylic, not PETg. It took exactly one game to break one. But to be honest, i don't really see this as an issue. Our bigger problems are the lack of the head and some playfield lighting issues and can't update the software. If could get those issues fixed, i'll re-make the plastics (at my expense) in PETg. But i'm pretty sure i can't make an alien head, and get it to work...

The production games don't have any of those issues. Well I don't know what the plastics are made out of but I've played a lot of games already and none have broken.

HP is the bomb.

Could another Alien owner do me a favor and check something for me. Are the black and blue wires that come off of the switch on the airlock VUK soldered directly on to the middle pcb or do they terminate with a white plug? Here's mine, but I suspect this is not standard.

20171029_215921 (resized).jpg

Mine has that. Looks like they dumped that extra sensor switch on the chest burster shot.

Game is so fast ! Plastics are acrylic.
Needs protectors.

IMG_4895 (resized).JPG

first thing i did was put clear lexan washers under the slingshot posts (pin life sells them.) i think they used acrylic plastic because it's easier to cut with a laser....

Cfh: What size washers did you use?

The insert next to it does say "self destruct".

I tried putting a 1" washer on mine (which is the largest size PBL carries) and it did not extend out past the plastic.

I think I'm going to buy a sheet of lexan and make a crude set until someone puts out a professionally cut one.

Alien resetting issue W/ shaker motor - My Alien SE with shaker installed was resetting randomly and at times I could not get a full game in. I disabled the shaker motor and no more resets, so the issue is with the shaker drawing to much power dropping the voltage and resetting the CPU. Others who have had the SE with shaker motor installed had the same issue. They also turned off the shaker and no resets. Something HP is going to need to look at!. I plan to enable my shaker and gradually turn down the Frequency and power to the shaker to see what percentage works without resetting. Right now factory setting is 70% on both frequency and power. I'll drop it to 60% and see what I get.

GAP

Anyone know the part number for the shooter lane switch? For FT

20171031_143808 (resized).jpg

Friend distributor received his replacement playfield. He installed it this week and I did some testplaying.
Am unable to play a full game as it freezes constantly. Have to switch it off on to have it working again.
Firmware is 102. Shaker is not there but turned off anyway.
Any ideas ? Below is a picture when it is frozen.

ADE0EA27-E483-40C6-93CD-1F252EE874E6 (resized).jpeg

Probably one of these two:

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=535

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=536

Are there any commonalities about when it freezes, like when starting a mode or a multiball? Was it freezing before you did the playfield swap, or is this a new symptom since you switched playfields?

Our newest issues are:

-both left flippers and lower right flipper that just stop working either mid game (random), or when you walk up and start a new game.

-decent size chip in the playfield at the scoop, Cliffy has been notified BTW.

IMG_20171031_191644 (resized).jpg

The game has no mylar - def recommend some on that scoop, alien, inlanes, poppers, etc.

Dang, I want a cliffy stat!

Chip has been painted and mylar applied. So strange about the mylar omission!

One other thing, our machine is on location, and there seems to be no post game MATCH? Will there be one in future code?

Also, big thanks to @Ferret, @delt31, and all the other new owners for your continued postings on the ALIEN threads! Your enthusiasm for this great game, and your willingness to reach out to help fellow owners is greatly appreciated!

New symptom since swapped playfields. Does occur random it seems. Sometimes just a few seconds in the game, sometimes at ball three for instance.

I'd encourage you to check all the cable connections, including both sides of the USB cables between the CPU and the I/O boards, and connections out of the power board. This just kinda has the sound of something getting bumped partially loose when you switched playfields, so it works until vibrations (whether from nudging the game, or solenoids/etc in the machine itself) jostle <whatever> enough to cause a problem. Perhaps interrupting power to the CPU? I note that all three screens in your photo are totally black, which makes me wonder if the CPU is turned off -- if the game software hung, I'd expect all the screens to be frozen with whatever the last thing was they were showing.

Good luck, let us know if you find anything!

We shot this a while ago and it has been on the HP YouTube channel, but I'm adding it here for new owners - unboxing a Heighway Pinball game:

vlcsnap-6953-08-20-23h41m02s664 (resized).jpg

for the slingshot clear washers indeed the 1" pinball life version. they may not extent all the way out, but it still provides protection. Probably going to re-make the slings anyway out of PETg so not too concerned. my bigger problems is just trying to get Helmut to respond to any emails about the missing alien head....

cfh Do you put your washers tight against the plastic or the star post?