I have an SV. I've had a couple minor issues, but mostly it's been rock solid. From the looks of it, Pinball Brothers is being very responsive to issues and communicating with the community. It's a high pressure situation, as everyone is waiting and watching due to the trickle of new machines across ALL companies. I hope they get through this first rough patch of existence. They deserve it. It's not like every other companies machines I've purchased haven't had goofy issues.

Just my 2 cents...

Yep I’ve been very satisfied with the service so far. We expect the hard drive to fix it. If it doesn’t they are shipping me new board on Monday. Again overall incredibly happy with the game and the service.

Any advice or adjustments to make the Hypersleep chamber shot easier to make? I have the upper right flipper +50 and the pin is at 7 7.5 .
Thanks.

Shame. Wish other distributors got those games.

My understanding is that it is more a requirement of the manufacturer, not the distributor, that the goods are paid prior to shipping. We had to do the same for our LV’s in Australia. Of course it doesn’t stop a distributor from buying and paying for games themselves, although they then carry the risk and would need to cover any extra costs.

You might lower the pitch of the game a bit, and also try *reducing* the flipper strength. Stronger isn't always better: for one thing, if the coil power is set too high, it can get hot and start binding, which winds up sapping its strength over the course of a gameplay session.

Just read almost 1300 posts to catch up, you. guys. are. awesome... now I want in on option 1 on the apron and beacon mod! Lol

Will give it a go.

Check the hypersleep ramp to make sure that is a smooth bend up and around to the top... Early hypersleep ramps had a pronounced "hard" bend at the bottom that sapped ball momentum. lower pitch and decrease flipper strength as previously suggested.

Hello so I update to the newest code 2.6. Now when I start Xenomorph multiball the magnet grabs the ball then immediately releases it. The tongue comes out to grab the ball but it’s not there. It was work perfectly fine before I updated. Anyone else have this issue with the new code ?

Yes, but I also had it before 2.6. I have a ticket in and they want a video of this happening, just haven't got around to it. I would suggest first playing with the power and hold settings, and test by putting the ball on the magnet and triggering the grab and see if it continues to immediately drop the ball and then opening a ticket so they see multiple people are having the issue.

Do you have 'centre magnet' coil strength adjusted up? If so - try lowering (or even 'factory reset' your game and start from scratch with 2.6 - many coils feel very different vs 2.4). This was an issue I think mentioned in 2.6 release notes?

Factory reset settings prior to upgrade to 2.6 Fixed this for me.

When going to 2.6 you must factory reset all coil settings since they tweaked all of the default coil strength's.

I did all that before installing 2.6. In 2.4 it did it occasionally, in 2.6 it always does it.

I will do a factory reset on the coils when I get home. I knew I should have just left 2.4 as it was working fine.

I am never going to update my game it works great and I want to keep it that way!

I am 2.4 out of box no issues just the fact that the Hypersleep ramp kicks my butt!

Just did the factory reset and it’s working perfect. Thanks for all the replies guys.

Do you mean the lock is a tough shot but the mech works fine?
I am 2.4 and my mech works fine and with the new ball hold it is very manageable shot.

I went to 2.6 for the updated LED animations and other goodies.. works fine but right magnet needed some tweaking to get just right. 6.3 pitch and Hypersleep is hitting.

Sometimes I can hit hypersleep all night long , some nights not at all, I believe it has to do wth the lunar phases

As an owner of the Heighway version, it’s super cool to see the Pinball Bros version getting out for people to enjoy!

I might have missed it in this thread, but is there a listing of parts on the PB version that work on the HW version? Specifically, the ramps?

The ramps on mine are the “unfinished” kind that are neither polished or gained. So, I was thinking about getting some polished ones, if the PB ramps are the same and I can just directly replace the ones I have.

Cheers!

Practice

Great news!
The beast lives!

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Everything works fine it's just not a shot I have my timing wired in on yet.

My game worked great with 2.4 as well but I think 2.6 will serve the game better in the long run - I was starting to get playfield damage that probably could have been lessened if I hadnt cranked my coil strength up +40% on my flippers - which is what felt good on 2.4 to me.

Yeh not as many people log in to post “hey everything’s great with my Alien!”. I’m similar to this post. Couple v minor things and no issues since. Fantastic game. Def fortunate as some have had some clunkers. Can’t wait for those beacons and apron!!!”

My upper right flipper was bit loose so kept hyper(hypo?) extending backwards into the right orbit little by little. Funny thing was having it slightly back and you can mail the hypersleep ramp like 80% of shots. But then was forced to hold up right flipper when was shooting right orbit. So I finally tightened it and now I’m like 15% of time to hit it.

Are you suggesting the sledgehammer test may not have been accurate?! Are the posts lifting from being hit... Where are you noticing damage? Mind letting us see a pic?!

What was the resolution here, Tommy?

Not suggesting that, the clear is super durable against hard hits. The issue is not impacts but stress fractures at points where posts get 'pushed' to the side of the hole. As the posts in this game loosen up with repetitive impacts the posts are smashed into the 'side' of the clear coat and start the stress fractures. Frankly now with hindsight I think that +35% flipper coil (although fun to play) is too 'hard' for this game , currently I have the flipper dialed down and now am not smashing the post by the 'A' drop target as hard. Ive also added some blue loctite to keep these posts in

Edit: should mention my game was delivered mid March and has about 650 plays on it, plan to put a playfield protector in at 1000

Part of this issue is because for some reason many of the posts barely make contact through the mounts. The post in front of the right upper takes the most abuse and they sent out a post with a longer thread, but ultimately, it isn't long enough either to put a larger washer AND the locknut on. I actually sheared my new post at the end of the mount when putting the lock washer on when trying to get enough threads on the damn thing to make it make a difference. I think posts such as these that take direct hits need a ground up redesign to distribute the impact across a further area.

I’m inclined to agree. I have a few minor glitches 1 with the opto ball lock 1 in hypersleep chamber which I will look at today but apart from that game seems to be ok. The update doesn’t seem worth the risk as it is introducing problems on some games that were working ok.

They have scratched the Artblades from factory which I have raised a ticket for. Haven’t even removed the protective layer yet but can see damage under it. Couple of imperfections in the powdercoat on legs. I put those towards the back so not a big deal. Lockdown bar is causing slight damage to top corner of cabinet. I’ll keep an eye on it. I spread the ends open a bit more to try to give it some more room.

Interesting. PBros offered to send me the post as well, although mine seems to have enough thread to add washers - I at first added a 1/8" acrylic washer but decided on a thinner soft lexan washer to add under these posts and it does give me a little peace of mind, still wont save you if the post becomes loose, hence the loctite. Persoanlly I think they just need to drill those holes wider and possibly change to being 'bolted' from the backside..

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Added mirror blades to the SV. Looks great on this pin and the reflection brightens it right up in a good way..

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JP has the same issue with one post by the upper flipper. The hole is oversized. Loctite and no issues in 200+ games!

Mate I went to 2.6 the other day, I had held off as like yours mine played well, but no issues with 2.6. Running all factory settings except I lowered the trough kickout and shooter lane coils.

Thanks mate I might give it a go soon. Just want to fix other glitches first. Before I hopefully don’t introduce more with 2.6

Maybe I need to go back to 2.2 and do another factory reset and back to 2.6...but somehow I doubt that fixes it.

So this post is about a month and a 1/2 in the making but as a LV owner, I wanted to experience this game for a good period of time and report on it. As a reminder, I am a multi time Highway pinball owner and a PB SV owner. As anyone who has paid attention in this hobby for years, I am not a shill and someone that if I had more time, would properly podcast the shit out of this hobby as the phonies are so obvious. But for the many that have pm’d me in the past month or so asking for my opinion on this hobby, I leave you with this very simple reminder. Those that stream pinball all day with an agenda or actually sell pinball machines, look elsewhere for real feedback. Very simple. As I get more time, I’ll look to explore as many have asked for but for now, I’m here to enjoy pinball as much as I can with two kids and a crazy job but nevertheless, this hobby is great and is only getting better so strap in.

Ok - on to my review of Alien LV.

As someone that had the SV, I was expecting some minor issues but I’m happy to report that the ONLY thing I had to fix was the hyper sleep ramp which would stick the ball and had to be adjusted. Meaning, the ball would stick and not move past that curve. The answer? Use your hands to relax the ramps a bit (by pushing outwards) and it’s been perfect since. To summarize, I’ve played this game a ton and after almost two months, absolutely no issues but that. On my SV, I had more, although not game breaking by any means and wouldn’t classify them as anything but minor. I keep on checking this thread and seeing folks ask will they have issues. My answer is there is a chance no doubt but I also feel like many who have experienced no issues or limited are like me and haven’t posted - just keep in mind.

Some key takeaways from my experience, including comparison to SV.

1) No issues at all on the alien tongue. Never had that before including Heighway version. Although the issues would never result in anything but adjustments, not having any was great.

2) Mode start kickback and Mother kickback are perfect. My SV I had to adjust, literally did nothing on this one.

3) The game is much brighter with the side LED art and reminds me of the heighway lit art which was the perfect amount of light for this game. If you’re thinking about getting pinstadiums for this game, look yourself in the mirror, lift your left hand back and then slap yourself bc you’re an IDIOT. Do not ruin this game with them. And this is from someone that has pins on 4 of my games. Not for alien.

4) Top right flipper - more effective on my LV. And GD - those ramps are still the shiniest in the pinball world…..LV or SV.

5). Art, in my opinion, is so much better than SV and it beats the Heighway version. The HW version looks so odd which is something i hated in my line up yet it beat the SV art wise. LV smokes it.

6). Orbits work much better than SV. Again, back to me earlier point about the kick out, PB seems to have learned from SV and tweaked this game much better.

7) They give you an open egg mold as an option to add which I thought was out of the ordinary with this day and age of pinball. Good job PB.

8 Topper - this one is tough. I like the look of the smaller siren lights but ultimately I might go back old school Heighway.

9). Feel - the LV flipper feel is better than SV. Again, I was early on SV so maybe this changed with the SVs later but there is no doubt they tweaked the system and it feels much better than my SV.

….prob more but let me summarize that I am grateful for PB bringing this classic back. For me, I never had game breaking issues with HW version….I just always worried b/c the company is gone so what would I do if an IO board or something else went. With PB, that is no longer and issue. As an IJTPA owner, I can tell you this game has much more flow and feels like a standard or ala JJP POTC, which I used to own . I would keep it over my Godzilla LE and not think twice. It is a beast and I’m excited for others to experience it.

PB needs to get more respect in this hobby btw. They just get games built and ship them. So much drama about others that promise and get to you a year later. PB is doing it and keeping their head down. Chris - keep note.
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I just wanted to update what I replaced in case anyone else experiences similar problems.

DDR3 1600mhz were the important stats according to PB. Size of at least 32gb is fine I believe as that was what was replaced but as explained to me larger was fine. I ordered what Amazon could get to me the quickest so I could get it up in time for our event tomorrow.

Dogfish Msata 32GB Internal Solid State Drive Mini Sata SSD Disk https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07543SDVX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PSDMS50EN11HCDBN4APN

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Agree and have an open ticket on this for some time.. no new posts shipped to me either.. I can use them for sure!!

Got any more pics of these? I still havent ordered bc Im so torn over mirror or black mirror . . .

Great to hear man! The posts with the beasts on fire or worse really get me down - play ball!

My experience with the LV so far after a week or so of owning it... Putting it here so maybe others may find it useful.

So when I first got it - I unboxed, did a quick inspection around and under the playfield. All looked ok so I turned it on and played a 10-20 games noting some very minor issues. Flippers felt ok but not quite snappy enough so upped the power slightly and that's fine. My upper right egg bumper had no leds lit, and my left sling seemed a bit weaker compared to the right. On further inspection under the pf, the left sling bracket has been bent so I'm pretty sure the coil isn't firing smoothly into the coil sleeve. I've been VERY carefully bending it back straight and its improving as I do so.

Ok, so after a day or two, the machine wouldn't boot. When I started it up the screen would just go to the PB logo and stay there. I lifted the playfield and checked all the connections. All of them seemed ok (although the cabling is very, very tight, no slack at all) but one USB cable in the box at the back of the playfield was very loose. I plugged it back in but noticed it had a LOT of play in it, so added a bit of putty as temporary measure just to secure it. Restarted and all was good again. I had a decent 10-20 games, and then in the middle of one game everything froze. I rebooted and wouldn't you know it same problem starting up.

I re-secured the "problematic" usb connector and everything was good again. But - same issue came back after a while, sometimes the game wouldn't boot (freezing on PB logo screen), other times it would boot but then freeze/lock up shortly afterwards, and one time the start/launch buttons didn't work... BUT - each time I went to the cabinet and re-secured that usb connector. Only one time I saw an issue with the display screen so opened the backbox and re-secured the USB connectors there. Again - all good once they were re-secured.

In short, I think so far, almost all my issues have been with the USB connectors they just seem to jiggle loose with the (pretty bloody powerful) shaker and subwoofer. So.... the latest thing I have tried is to hot glue what I think are the troublesome usb connectors. After this, I've started up with no issues so far (only 2-3 times), and have just played about 15 games with no problems - will certainly report back on how this goes though.

Oh also, my one troublesome pop bumper LEDS work maybe 50% of the time, so undoubtedly its another bad connection somewhere. I've checked the connector from bumper to the board though and all seems good. PB have suggested I may need a new pcb board.

I have the blacked mirror and they are slamming!

I like mirror blades more tha the le ones!

Very nice update #004. We are neighbors as I am #003 HAHA. We need to find our cousins 002 and 005