Alien (Ellen Ripley Version)
Pinball Brothers, 2023
Alien (Limited Version)
Pinball Brothers, 2021
Alien (Standard)
Pinball Brothers, 2020Well. At least I had 1 trouble free glorious night with Alien. The previous owner never had a tongue mech problem but today mine failed.
I'm noticing the gear slips and doesn't catch the teeth on the tongue.
edit..the fix was on pinball bother's support site
https://pinballbrothers.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/80000709052-issue-xeno-calibration
Quoted from Ceemunkey:I finally got around to installing Kurt's fantastic translite! To be of any competition to the quite frankly amazing LV artwork speaks volumes to its awesomeness.
Also just FYI for everyone... I had another 2 nights of issues where my machine kept locking up, freezing or restarting during play but reseating the backbox connectors (again) resolved everything. ♂️
[quoted image][quoted image]
Looks great!
OK since customer service has been closed all weekend I may have tracked down my problem being the ethernet cable. The bindings were so tight that I think it was crimping the wires and therefore not making a great connection. I replaced it with brand new set from Amazon and it’s loading up great but now no left flippers. I checked the switch edges and the button works and the coils fire in the test but nothing during game. Any ideas?
Quoted from megaladon:OK since customer service has been closed all weekend I may have tracked down my problem being the ethernet cable. The bindings were so tight that I think it was crimping the wires and therefore not making a great connection. I replaced it with brand new set from Amazon and it’s loading up great but now no left flippers. I checked the switch edges and the button works and the coils fire in the test but nothing during game. Any ideas?
That's weird. Works in test but not game play? Including flipper button?
Quoted from kciaccio:That's weird. Works in test but not game play? Including flipper button?
Yes the coils fire fine in test and I can see the switch in test so the only thing that makes me think of it’s a software issue and maybe if I downgrade to the beginning software and upgrade again maybe that’ll fix it?
Quoted from megaladon:Yes the coils fire fine in test and I can see the switch in test so the only thing that makes me think of it’s a software issue and maybe if I downgrade to the beginning software and upgrade again maybe that’ll fix it?
Are the ethernet cables in the game pined exactly as the ones that came with the game. Check the colour coding by looking at the connector.
Quoted from Pin_Fandango:Are the ethernet cables in the game pined exactly as the ones that came with the game. Check the colour coding by looking at the connector.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing. So I replaced it with the originals again but it seems to still do the problem.
Quoted from mbrave77:everytime I read this thread I get nervous for when my SV does actually get here. I am not a talented pinball tech heh
Don’t be worried the tech tries to help as best they can and you eventually get a game working but yeah spending 10 K on something that seems more like a lemon machine isn’t fun
Quoted from mbrave77:everytime I read this thread I get nervous for when my SV does actually get here. I am not a talented pinball tech heh
You will learn, and fixing issues yourself is so rewarding. Mine did had some issues but yesterday all things looked solved. I have one issue left but think that one is in the code.
Quoted from delt31:I forgot to mention, w
He’s alien SV translite was a huge upgrade. For me, the LV stock is so much better but I guess you can’t go wrong with both.
I really like the original LV. Won’t be changing mine out.
Quoted from mbrave77:everytime I read this thread I get nervous for when my SV does actually get here. I am not a talented pinball tech heh
Hey mate don’t stress. Not all games are having issues. Mine had an opto issue in the hypersleep chamber lock. Slight adjustment and it’s playing perfect. No other issues at all. You’ll love it.
Quoted from megaladon:Yeah I was thinking the same thing. So I replaced it with the originals again but it seems to still do the problem.
Sounds like the direct connection cable from switches to coils are disconnected. The test can see switches and fire coils but in game it needs the direct cable connection.
First time to look at this post. I’ve had my LV for a couple of months and haven’t had any problems whatsoever. Sorry to here y’all are having troubles.
Quoted from Huntthehunter:haven’t had any problems whatsoever
Shhhhhhhhh.... Dont jinx yourself
Quoted from Huntthehunter:First time to look at this post. I’ve had my LV for a couple of months and haven’t had any problems whatsoever. Sorry to here y’all are having troubles.
I have one on order. Always pleased to hear that. Can you post a pic? Always curious to see.
Frankly Im always amazed that pinball machines work at all - there are some truly brilliant minds at work to make every game play the way they do, this one is certainly no exception!!
Quoted from jokerpoker:I really like the original LV. Won’t be changing mine out.
I agree I actually LOVE the LV artwork - but I had to see how this translite looked. When I do finally decide which one I like better on the machine (still haven't quite gone either way), the other one will be lit up and mounted next to it. 
Quoted from Huntthehunter:First time to look at this post. I’ve had my LV for a couple of months and haven’t had any problems whatsoever. Sorry to here y’all are having troubles.
Count yourself lucky mine has been plagued with problems.
Has anyone encountered flakey audio sometimes on boot. A power cycle or two on mine resolves the issue. Is there a fix for this as it's kind of annoying.
I'm on code 2.4 for reference.
i am on 2.6 and have a LV. I get an occasional blank screen at boot, but power down and wait a few seconds
tonight during the start up sequence the volume screen came up with the number 6 and the flippers would activate on there own and flip several times. Once they stopped moving the screen would still be on volume 6(the six almost looked like it was trying to change)
the game was dead other than the screen showing volume 6 and the flippers working when pressed.
not sure if anyone has had this happen
Quoted from grahamharley:i am on 2.6 and have a LV. I get an occasional blank screen at boot, but power down and wait a few seconds
tonight during the start up sequence the volume screen came up with the number 6 and the flippers would activate on there own and flip several times. Once they stopped moving the screen would still be on volume 6(the six almost looked like it was trying to change)
the game was dead other than the screen showing volume 6 and the flippers working when pressed.
not sure if anyone has had this happen
While slightly different it's worth checking your fuses & reseating cables as per PB's service note https://pinballbrothers.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/80000596607-volume-is-flickering-up-down
Other have reported having the screen stuck on the volume setting and have needed to get a replacement controller, so if the above doesn't fix it then best to log a support ticket with PB (can be done from the above webpage)
Quoted from cpr9999:Does anyone know if they have a full time programmer improving the code? Fixing bugs?
No the code updates are being done by their craft services dept.
Quoted from grahamharley:i am on 2.6 and have a LV. I get an occasional blank screen at boot, but power down and wait a few seconds
tonight during the start up sequence the volume screen came up with the number 6 and the flippers would activate on there own and flip several times. Once they stopped moving the screen would still be on volume 6(the six almost looked like it was trying to change)
the game was dead other than the screen showing volume 6 and the flippers working when pressed.
not sure if anyone has had this happen
Quoted from Manny65:While slightly different it's worth checking your fuses & reseating cables as per PB's service note https://pinballbrothers.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/80000596607-volume-is-flickering-up-down
Other have reported having the screen stuck on the volume setting and have needed to get a replacement controller, so if the above doesn't fix it then best to log a support ticket with PB (can be done from the above webpage)
Take Manny65 's advise. I was plagued with this issue until Andrea and I solved it. Open a ticket.
In the meantime, try this:
Check all the cable connections on your playfield controller box, just for piece of mind. The real place to look though, is the cabinet controller box. Check the USB and ethernet cable connection at the back left of the cabinet controller box. Follow those cables to the front of the playfield controller box and make sure they are making good connections on both ends. If this still does not help, it may be inside your cabinet controller box. That would be for you and Andrea to work through. Hope its up and running swiftly.
Quoted from digitaldocc:Has anyone encountered flakey audio sometimes on boot. A power cycle or two on mine resolves the issue. Is there a fix for this as it's kind of annoying.
I'm on code 2.4 for reference.
Are you talking about the crackling that comes from the speaker during bootup, but then goes away? Or is the sound still flakey and crunchy after it boots up and is playable?
Also, are you a new run game or one of the older/early run games?
Sounds like I have a similar issue and Andrea said that they will be sending me a new controller box to resolve the issue since I’ve checked the fuses and all the connectors.
Quoted from drypaint:Take Manny65 's advise. I was plagued with this issue until Andrea and I solved it. Open a ticket.
In the meantime, try this:
Check all the cable connections on your playfield controller box, just for piece of mind. The real place to look though, is the cabinet controller box. Check the USB and ethernet cable connection at the back left of the cabinet controller box. Follow those cables to the front of the playfield controller box and make sure they are making good connections on both ends. If this still does not help, it may be inside your cabinet controller box. That would be for you and Andrea to work through. Hope its up and running swiftly.
Quoted from drypaint:Are you talking about the crackling that comes from the speaker during bootup, but then goes away? Or is the sound still flakey and crunchy after it boots up and is playable?
Also, are you a new run game or one of the older/early run games?
My build date is 11/21 and the sound stays crunchy while I play.
Quoted from digitaldocc:My build date is 11/21 and the sound stays crunchy while I play.
You need to remove the Amplifier cable from either the box that has LCD screen (in backbox) or the playfield controller. They each have this cable. Only remove one of them, not both (or you will lose sound). Someone posted pictures of this a few pages back. He removed it from the controller box. If i have time tomorrow I will take pictures.
Has something to do with a newer update. PB says to save the connector in case you need it again.
Quoted from chubtoad13:What are some good scoring strategies for this game? Seems like the only way for me to get high scores is if I get hyper sleep MB and sentry guns going
Really mission dependent outside of multiball that I have found.
Quoted from chubtoad13:What are some good scoring strategies for this game? Seems like the only way for me to get high scores is if I get hyper sleep MB and sentry guns going
Always divert to pops as much as possible and light up the LV multipliers to their highest level, then double score (ramps usually), and stack multiballs. Quickest easiest way to pump your score.
Most of the modes themselves don't seem to be high scorers because they are limited in scope and time.
Quoted from chubtoad13:What are some good scoring strategies for this game? Seems like the only way for me to get high scores is if I get hyper sleep MB and sentry guns going
Queens Nest scores big points in the pops
Alien LV for sale. 11000.00 or would trade for a nice twilight zone. I’ve never had a boot issues or an issue of any kind. Pin has always worked as it should. Thx.
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/136152
Most of the modes have tricks to boost their values. Egg related modes (Derelict Ship and Queen's Nest) score more if you destroy some eggs before starting them. APC values increase by completing the A-P-C targets during that mode. Combat Drop can be very lucrative if you're in a rhythm on the ramp combos during the landing phase (especially since the ramp combos also work toward Drop Ship letters for 2x Playfield). Recharge target does something beneficial in all modes.
Also remember that actually winning modes is important because that's what gives you Scene Bonus, which is based on the score you earned in every mode you won that ball, and IS impacted by Bonus X (as Zablon alludes to). 100M+ Scene Bonus feels really good.
There are a couple modes -- Find Jonesy and Bug Hunt -- that you're better off not stacking with multiball, since they punish you for "wrong" shots. Bug Hunt can be quite lucrative, but it's pretty difficult.
The movie mini-wiz modes (Self Destruct and Loader Battle) also get scoring boosts based on how many of that movie's modes you won and how many weapons you have, and since they can convert to multiballs, they can be pretty juicy -- and winning these also contributes to Scene Bonus.
TL,DR: modes may not look like they're very valuable, but they can certainly be a significant component of a big score.
Quoted from Huntthehunter:Alien LV for sale. 11000.00 or would trade for a nice twilight zone. I’ve never had a boot issues or an issue of any kind. Pin has always worked as it should. Thx.
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/136152
If you were closer we’d be having lunch right now to discuss. I have an excellent TZ that would be a great trade for your game.
Another day, played a single game. Froze again during Derelict Ship mode, ball drained, timer didn't move, sound still worked. Had to hard reboot.
The beast lives! So far I replaced the micro usb cord in the controller box under the Playfield. It seemed to be a solution and Andrea talked me through it and it was pretty easy to do. You can actually do it without taking the box out of the game it’s just a tight fit. So if you get that I/o cabinet message that could be your solution. I think with the lv and the shaker kicking on at the beginning might cause things to come loose. Maybe they should update the code so it doesn’t come on. The flipper resolved itself by simply a bad crimped connector.
Happy new (2nd) owner of a SV.
Its playing great with a bit of 'sticky flippers' that I may dig into if it bugs me enough.
Did manuals come with the games?
Quoted from jokerpoker:I really like the original LV. Won’t be changing mine out.
Wouldn't sell you one 
Ok I have 1 SV green set left, 3 unreturned messages. This will be the last one.
cheers
Kurt
Quoted from boogies:Happy new (2nd) owner of a SV.
Its playing great with a bit of 'sticky flippers' that I may dig into if it bugs me enough.
Did manuals come with the games?
No there is no printed manual however they have documentation online https://www.pinballbrothers.com/alien/alien-docs/
Also PB Alien Support page has info on various issues and fixes: https://pinballbrothers.freshdesk.com/support/solutions
In regards to the sticky flipper, there is a key post in this thread plus other posts on the subject (think the earlier games suffered more from this than the later ones). Below is the key post plus another one that might be useful
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-brothers-alien-remake-owners-club/page/28#post-6354530
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-brothers-alien-remake-owners-club/page/88#post-6643675
I just had a friend drop off his new LV for me to tweak last week as it wasn't playing nice at all.
Basically redid all flipper mechs with new bushes and adjusted the bracketing as it was not fabricated evenly on at least 2 of them.
Rebuilt pops, adjusted lane guides, re-rubbered with Perfect play, leds, added a shooter lane led mod, flipper brite buttons, door panel mod.
The switches were a new better type on th eflippers than my sv so just adjusted them better and worked fine. Loose connectors though.
Adjusted scoop mech ( not the plier method) I feel there is a design fault here but got it working well now.
Modded a lot of the lighting as well. Plays like an entirely different game now.
Quoted from KJS:I just had a friend drop off his new LV for me to tweak last week as it wasn't playing nice at all.
Basically redid all flipper mechs with new bushes and adjusted the bracketing as it was not fabricated evenly on at least 2 of them.
Rebuilt pops, adjusted lane guides, re-rubbered with Perfect play, leds, added a shooter lane led mod, flipper brite buttons, door panel mod.
The switches were a new better type on th eflippers than my sv so just adjusted them better and worked fine. Loose connectors though.
Adjusted scoop mech ( not the plier method) I feel there is a design fault here but got it working well now.
Modded a lot of the lighting as well. Plays like an entirely different game now.
Can you stop by when I get mine? free beer of course. 
Quoted from s000m:So I'm back!
This time with an LV. Gone is the prototype. Just finished fitting back the protectors I got made about 6 months ago.
Feels good to have this game back in the house.Protector set can be obtained from Colywobbles
Well I finally got hold of my own Alien so I was able to do a few tweaks and amendments to the original set with the long ramp now made in 2 pieces to save on postage.
If anyone interested Just DM me.
Quoted from KJS:I have 1 SV green set left, 3 unreturned messages. This will be the last one.
cheers
Kurt
PM sent, I'll take it! Can't wait to add it to my SV, which I'm happy to say has been working perfectly since I got it in January (late November 2021 build).
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