I have the same hope/prayer for Alien that I do for Big Lebowski:
may a company make the game strong and true, and pump out as many copies as can be purchased, but also make things right for the people that lost their money funding it initially.

Predator is gonezo. I don't know if deeproot will ever make things right for the preorder squad.
But one day I hope Big Lebowski and Alien pins are in collections all over the world and that the bad few years for the funders becomes a distant memory.

The only way they are going to pull this off is to make a shit load with no money down and people can buy it from their local distributor. At this point if u put a deposit down for a pin coming from an over seas company then u get what u deserve.

208 (resized).jpg

In a very general fashion... that's what happened here. When HWP was struggling, directors raided HWP for the goods, restructured, then turn around and treated the resulting HWP as a child entity with a finite amount of resources to deliver salvage the business and deliver to customers. When the HWP resources ran out... they wrapped up the child entity, wrote their losses off.. and kept the assets to try again later.

It was a inside job to restructure HWP to protect what they wanted, minimize their future outlay, and have their cake and eat it too. They let what was left of HWP try to make a final run at making it work... saving face... while not having to watch it all goto liquidation when it inevitably failed.

This is like finding a single drop of water and believing that there is an ocean awaiting us.

The sheer hope this community has for something on the equivalency of fumes boggles my mind.

I had a nice chat with Roger today. I will no longer be speculating about anything here, time for me to go back to being silent. I didn't want to just vanish since I had posted already, so I'll say this: I can't speak to anything that may or may not happen. But I was listened to and I'm content to see how everything goes. If anyone was concerned about me, thanks, but don't be.

The only other thing I want to say is: I've been inside the belly of the saga for this game for a long time. I've seen a lot of people for years speaking like they knew what was going on, and making authoritative statements in these threads. 95% of them were wrong. Even when things were going tits up people were wildly off base about what was actually going bad.

Just keep that in mind, grain of salt and all that.

@aurich, you mean I can’t believe everything I read on the internet or hear on a podcast?!?!!? Dang...

I kinda figured when I saw David Thiel liking all the Pinball Bros teaser posts on FB that they were looping back in the original design team with the re-release, it's good to hear that is actually happening. Can't we be excited about an improved Alien coming to market instead of speculating all the ways it will be awful? We need some positive news at the end of this trying year.

There's nothing wrong with thinking positively...until someone asks for funding.

To sum up with what we know: (for now)

Same Wide body layout
Same playfield art
Same LCD as TBL in back box (no more wide LCD screen )
No more LCD on PF and the space has been filled with Alien 1 and 2 missions.
New diverter for the scoop
Magnet to feed the upper right flipper
WMS coil mechanisms everywhere
The Pf is no more removable like before. (Classic style)

What we don’t know:
Cabinet art: still unknown. Probably a new one with decals
Backbox art : maybe the aurich LE one -> that’s my current bet.
Did they keep induction switch? Or classic ones....

Did I miss something?

Yes. Who is financing?

Did David get paid for his work? Some did not and many suppliers were shafted.

Yeah

does the chamber switch mean a physical ball lock will be added there?
status of smaller lcd on playfield?
wtf happened to Xeno? Is it there? Does it work? Is it different?

I lost my deposit money on the original Alien. If this game gets made, I will be on board once again in a heartbeat! I wish the Pinball Brothers nothing but complete success on this title.

Same playfield art is disappointing, no offence to Aurich he did great with the assets Andrew gave him, which if I remember reading a post by Aurich was a abit of a nightmare.

I’d love to see new playfield art, without Aurich or whoever unhampered by mis-management.

Nobody said it would be the same playfield art...

And nobody said there will be anything!

I’ll take one...shipped COD.

here's the catch... it's a virtual pinball release

LMAO. Even then they have their work cut out for them. Slam already made a damn good one..even if on the wrong platform

Speculating it'll be Aurich's artwork. Likely the only reason he was reached out to was because after his posting PB realized they may be in a bit of a legal grey area and gave him some kind of offer and requested he refrain from posting things that might hurt the relaunch (read: anything about his experiences with the company his first go). They're already dealing with a lot of ill will between unfulfilled Heighway orders and pirating everything off of the previous venture. Again, complete internet speculation on my part please don't sue me.

seeing the Dutch Pinball screen in the game and the switch to WPC mechs as Noit1be said makes me also think Dutch Pinball manufactures these...
For all I know its a screen specially produced for them, and they use WPC mechs and Proc.
interesting thought...
Let’s see

Its typical for PB that they spoke with him
and he also goes to the ‘no communication’ mode. Only cryptic messages. Who wants omelettes.

Dutch is moving into a bigger facility and is advertising to hire assembly folks, people were assuming that was to ramp up Big Lebowski production...

Yes. The playfield art come from one of the picture so it’s pretty sure it’s the same. Maybe the last picture with the eggs will be on the backbox or caninet.
It would make sense they contacted DP for a production or helm or supplies.

I will definitely get one of these if it is remade. I wanted one the first time around, but everybody knows how that situation turned out.

As someone who was in with a deposit on an Alien, and didn't receive one, I felt a little inspired to create art on the iPad today...

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what do you call someone who is owed money from HP.?

'A LIEN'-holder.

Could Franchi be doing a new Alien art package?
He was awful cagey on SAPS ep 20, today.
??????
They talk Alien for a minute or two at the 49 minute mark, if you want to hear it.

Message from the Freeeek Kingdom.

Ugh. I hope not.

Nothing unique about DP / TBL screen.

If you want to order one (I spoke to them about ordering a few months ago):

[email protected]
SSP-1722-ENB-IO1
Spanpixel Resizing LCD
SSD1722A generic version

Where is that photo from @shmilder?

https://twitter.com/PinballBros

Always remember folks, it's 'cash on the glass'. Don't be fooled into any sort of pre-payment/deposit scheme. And yes, that's how I got my Alien back at TPF 2017.

If you want all the details with lots of pics - enjoy!

http://bradberryman.com/Pinball_Alien_2018.html

Twitter

Thanks! I don’t use twitter or facebook.

https://www.instagram.com/pinballbrothers/

I'd order one. If HP had ditched Full Throttle and made Alien first, I think things might have turned out differently, certainly better.

I really liked the embedded LCD in the PF and thought it was well integrated especially as the motion tracker but based on the pics, the weapon status is replacing LCD screen which I think will detract from the immersion into the theme. I realise that it'd reduce various issues of leveling the LCD and chipping of the PF edges, as well as lowing the overall cost of components, but think it's really lost something .... most disappointing.

The game certainly changed Alot from where it began .....

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I gather this would be mostly AH/HP original ideas. Changed for the better definitely, thanks to the input of a combination of experienced designers.

Also noting there, the game was designed and coded/integrated around a playfield screen from its very inception. One of its strong points.

This is starting to look like a home edition pin from Stern compared to the original HP Alien...lol

For me, the assets of this pin was the theatre atmosphere with the sound. The screens are really important for that. I’m not sure to understand why they minimize the big back box screen and remove the one on the playfiled. It was the game signature. How you will handle the Alien during ambush multiball without your radar!
Where are the innovations ? I hope to see the real pin from them someday.

Starting to get interesting....Had alien for 6 months. Loved the modes. Hoping this happens someday.

Just picked up an Alien a couple of weeks ago, and it is one of the most enjoyable games I've ever owned, nearly 20 years in this hobby. I think losing the screens is unfortunate, particularly the playfield LCD, but gaining the magnet pretty cool. The more people that can play this game, the better. I'd played one on location in Banning and really couldn't get a feel for how good it is. In the home, it is epic, one of the best pins ever for theme integration. David Thiel obviously had a lot of fun with the music and sound effects on this game. Light show, shots, rule set, modes that are distinctive, Xeno mech, I could go on and on. A remake is fine by me, and I'd bet someone will come up with another mirrored screen under the glass.

The motion tracker could be added to the apron right under the players nose, a screen in the apron could be smaller and far cheaper than the one embedded into the playfield and would allow them to keep the motion tracker aspect alive.

If this really happens, exactly all these cutbacks will raise the interest to the original ALIEN machine again.
No playfield monitor is a great loss to the entire gameplay feeling.
And without doubts, everything "new" the remake might have, will base on the improvements made by the community.
For instance remember the PB posting of the airlock frame... we already have this done.
So what could be really useful improvements?
An old fashioned BB with a standard WPC cabinet and decals?
That currently in use is same but has this nice illuminted panels - I need no other design because it fits perfect to the theme.
Some improved assemblies would be nice... my first work was to swap these damned cheap crappy Williams-Clamps to STERN/Data East - but that's nothing special at all.
I hope this remake won't be a deceptive package at the end.
Take care...

What mechs are left?

Did they ever get around to producing TBL? Seems kind of risky