Unless the person is theme-wHipped they are NOT taking seriously at all.

Understood. Just wanted to let folks know I never got my refund from Heighway, though it was requested. Caveat emptor.

Or they just ship the LEs to us who are paid in full. I'd rather a refund, but I'd take the game over what looks to be nothing.

I think they are obviously in trouble as 50k is not much and very easy to process. Let's face the facts. They are struggling to stay afloat.

The reason I want a refund as I do not think they will be around to support the games.

Are they? It's not as though they don't have to still meet payroll every week, pay lease, utilities, insurance, taxes, etc. Money is definitely coming in, which is a good thing; however, money is also going out. The real question is how much money is actually going into the coffers...money that can be used for refunds?

Exactly how many standards have been sold and delivered. I thought it was still a very small number...

Let's try and do the math. I really don't know but here's what I figure
Under Andrew
20ish machines

Last shipment
21 cointaker shipment
21 international shipment

Shipment now/ last week
30 is about what I counted

So in the 100 range?

Thoughts?

I would really like to see all refunds issued and prototypes made whole before I take delivery of my LE.

There should be NO "Mystery" on how many games were sold, ordered, returned, pending, etc. This is NOT a way to run a legitimate company and to garner people's trust. It's sketchy at best. This is why people have trepidation about ordering from them. 21 games (or whatever the number is) is not a lot. Granted, it's more than Andrew was able to muster up, but this company has to drop the "need to know" attitude and publicly communicate with their current & potential customers. Right now they're teaching "How NOT to run a business 101"

Name another pinball company that publicly announces production or shipping numbers.....

Very true. But back in the olden’ days Bally/Williams did I believe.

Why don't you guys lawyer up and put a class action lawsuit out there? This is absolutely criminal; I can't believe anyone new is buying a pin from these crooks given these circumstances.

The people with money down on preorders, I feel for you; sucks.

Because of the "dream theme" people are just happy getting theirs whilst others smell the glove.

A visual representation of this thread:

titanic (resized).jpg

Slap some hydrofoils on that thing and it might have turned out diff'rent

This should probably be added.

People just don't like getting their updates on Facebook instead of answering customers emails individually.

They don't even answer my emails, communication isn't not a strong suit with this company.

I say drag em, they owe you, there's zero excuse at this point for not communicating. You can still put some things, even a lot of things, on Andrew, but Andrew isn't driving around pouring glue in their keyboards to keep them from answering people.

I made them a Pinside account when they took over, they could respond here if they wanted to.

Sad to hear. You deserve a hell of a lot more than that.

Yeah well, maybe some day I'll see a dime from Heighway for it all. Or a game. Half tempted to sell the damn thing unopened in the box if they ever send it, at least then I'd get paid something.

I try to not go negative, I just stay out of the Alien threads for the most part now, but anyone who's unable to get them to answer an email when it comes to getting money, I feel you. It's not acceptable, no one should give them a pass for it.

I haven't had any correspondence with them for many months, maybe a year.... For the most part because I have been disgusted about what I am reading on their performance. I will say however that I emailed them last week and did receive an email back within a day letting me know the next steps. Not really when they will take place, more an invoice of where I am in the payment process and that they will let me know when my game is ready to ship and that I will receive another email asking for the balance and how I would like it to be shipped at that time.

Sounded positive but I am still apprehensive about the whole situation...

Quick to ask for funds.

Not so fast refunding.

It seems that many people have had this experience with Alien. I for one will not do business with this company in the future.

I am in with 1.500,00 Euros for LE #055 via RS-Pinball since early 2017 when I played the prototype. Didn´t ask for my refund yet and still believe in Stefan, who promised that HP will start with the LE-production in December or at least present the three different LE-looks including the final feature-sheet. I think I will ask for my refund on January 2nd 2018 if nothing happened til then.

Hm...same here (LE #070), but Stefan told me LE delivery should be in early December (after showing the different LE-looks)... well, that was said six weeks ago.

Don't do it! The game is too good.

Sweet! Hope the LE folks get their games sooner than later, looking forward to seeing the colours too.

I agree but it's probably left a pretty bad taste in his mouth at this point. He put A LOT of time in on this one...should have been 1st in line for a game.

I've had a few good things go bad for me under similar circumstances and get it if it's gone too sour. I can't guarantee it, but going by the games Aurich owns/owned I think there's a super strong possibility that a big shit eating grin appears when he plays the first game... whenever his developer limited edition alien shows up.

I'm closing in on my 3rd year of being involved in this game in one fashion or another. I've had to eat a lot of shit over that time, internally and externally, and it's hard to not taste it when I see the game. Sucks a bit of the excitement out of the finished product for me.

I've tried to be a positive force, but I'm out of juice in that department, I can't carry that torch any more.

You should see Joe and David in our Alien Slack channels right now, they're improving things left and right. If the damn things can just get out the door on a regular basis I have no doubt people will be happy with the state of things.

Good intentions don't ship product though, show and prove.

Side note: I ordered within the first days...it took 2 years, 9 months and 21 days (air-shipped). US-customers received WOZ perhaps a month earlier.

Bear in mind that WOZ was JJP's very first machine as a startup company. Alien is Heighway's third machine after the Bacardi game and Full Throttle.

maybe he didn't know how much it was going to cost to rent a 40,000+ sq ft airplane hangar for a warehouse/factory either?

mark, appreciate your concern for the little guys who have deposits or paid in full monies still outstanding. but have you considered the handful of players who may very well be out in excess of 6 figures?

there are comments/evidence on this site that Andrew was apparently offering shares of his company from day one to anyone who would throw money at him. consequently, there are a few 'investors' out there who are 'owed' big money. add CT to the mix, and you have one more. do you care to speculate [as you love to do] as to whether CT 'all square' with new HP at this time? if it is true they were owed in excess of 6 figures at one point, do you believe that new HP just wrote them a check for that amount, or that new HP cut a deal with CT that over time they would give them a little bigger cut of each game they sold until they were paid back? like a facehugger and its host, I have to believe that a symbiotic relationship exists between CT and HP at this time. why do you think all the machines bought direct from HP suddenly went to/through CT after the takeover?

did you ever consider that the equity shares that andrew sold his investors in HP may hold them personally responsible for the companys liabilities and debt? could that possibly have anything to do with why they 'took over' the company rather than start over under a different name or even just walk away?

these gentlemen were simply wealthy pinheads who bought into somebody elses dream, as well as their own, of owning part of a pinball maker. they quite possibly added $$ to their interest a couple more times and, in the end, may have had little to no choice but to 'take over'. and still they continue to bleed money. ill be honest with you, as it stands right now, I was wrong. I believed these guys, given their backgrounds as successful businessmen, were going to swoop in with a boatload, pay everyone back quickly [as they indicated], reset and produce results.

I admit its ridiculous that a number of people don't have their money back at this point; that others are not receiving communication/support, and all the other negatives that have been going on since they took the reigns. at the same time, I do find it a bit odd that you feel compelled to play 'boy scout' thinking these guys do not know whos owed what and your going to send them some excel spreadsheet to bring them up to speed. these gentlemen are the ones out the big money and you are kind of berating them. you don't read/hear them crying about how much they are out of pocket. remember, without them... everybody would have gotten nothing.

seriously?
you really know whats going on, dont you!

why don't you ask the current principals and CT how much they are 'owed' and perhaps you can add $500,000 to your total.

Yeah, but JJP never screwed over his workers. If you worked, you got paid.

He just screwed over the first adopters who paid for an LE who had to wait while people with fresh money got their machines first.
First to pay first to play, yer right.
Sound familiar.

MK6PIN I posted this before, but I’m resharing because I think it really explains a common behavior on Pinside.

Greenhornet your agenda to find fault is likely the same as 90% of Pinsiders ripping on a new pin coming out (whether you’re aware or likely to admit it)...
Reducing cognitive dissonance: ‘New pin looks potentially amazing’ BUT ‘I’m not willing/able to spend so much money OR I don’t have space OR the wife won’t let me OR etc’ SO this causes disappointment and feelings of missing out’ BUT ‘I’ve realized there are some shots that are a little hard, and the pin isn’t designed as well as it could have, so I wouldn’t buy anyway’. greenhornet it’s natural human behavior, but it’s not all that complex or esoteric. Enjoy successfully reducing your dissonance. I’ll be playing Alien!