Villejuif
Quoted from rubberducks:I suspect part of the reason for the silence, and stuttering recommencement of production, is because they are struggling to make board revisions (and probably Xeno mechs) which work reliably, and underestimated just how bad things were.
The new owners wanted to revise rather than totally redesign, in most cases, I think.
Whilst that decision may have been taken in good faith, in the end it may well end up costing them more time, money & frustrated customers than necessary. Certainly they should not have dribbled out handfuls of games through the summer, many of which broke down immediately, before the first larger shipments went out recently. A month or so was nowhere near enough time to get the house in order.
But they inherited a monumental mess, and had they not stepped in, with no realistic prospect of making money in the near term, everyone was totally screwed anyway. They are trying, I think, and they were screwed as much as anyone by Andrew, which people should try to remember, before they crucify them.
Could not agree more. I discussed with a friend last week who has first hand experience in (wood) manufacturing. He visited the HP "factory" during the UK pinball party in 2015 (?). According to him a single device was actually really functional at that time (the one creating foam for final packaging of the games - Oh the irony...). I wish I had known earlier - I would have posted it.
The new team probably underestimated the colossal mess HP was. Andrew managed to keep a smoke screen and everyone daring to criticize HP was shot down in flames. I love how I was myself reported to the mods (!) when I simply copied/pasted quotes Andrew made since 2014 (posts made in the main Alien thread).
The new team may not be the best at communicating, but at least they are trying. Without them, the company would be bankrupt and all preorder money would be lost. The game currently has some flaws, but it also has merits with excellent theme integration (very immersive) decent artwork package, a nice Xenomorph toy and an original layout. Hopefully problems will be sorted out.
Evansville, IN
