Yikes the A drop target is installed ass backwards

Lol yea I just realized this. I thought it just got smashed

The game is truly unique and you will enjoy it!

I don't think it is as the back of the target isn't flat (has ribs to strengthen the target). In the pic the artwork is on the front of the target and the target face is flat. To me it looks like the target was deformed during manufacturing, unless the top of the target is partially broken and leaning forward but I can't see any stress/fracture on the side of the target

Just thought I would chime in. I updated to 3.1/.71 and have not seen any of the issues stated here so far. Tongue has successfully grabbed and carried the ball multiple times in a single game. So odd that the issues are so hit and miss. I received my game about two months ago. Only real issue I am repeatedly experiencing is broken flipper return springs and the occasional main screen not loading after initial BIOS screen. And that issue so far has not appeared since the updates.

Same here Drebay got home from work and updated this afternoon. Everything seems smooth so far. No issues yet.

YES!!!! 100% YES!!! It is an awesome pinball machine! Remember, all you see are the machines with issues....I've put over 100 plays on my machine in a couple weeks and it's been great! Does the tongue grab the ball EVERY time....no, but it honestly doesn't bother me...it picks it up about 75% of the time which is fine. LOVE this machine!!....and besides...even if you have issues, Pinball Bother's support is AMAZING! They reply so fast and genuinely care about making your game right. That speaks volumes of this company alone!

I too had my reservations however he is 100% correct! I love my LV and have family visiting we are playing many 4 player games with zero issues.

Mine has been flawless from day 1. To me it's pretty simple, don't be an early code adopter, let everyone else do it for you and get the feedback to PB. Then once it's stable you can upgrade if you choose.

So after 16 months I finally received Alien LV 335 yesterday. I've already updated to the latest code and I quickly went through and checked all connectors. What a great game. The video clips are good quality and the sound system is top notch. The reason I took delivery at a later date is to try to get a solid build from the manufacturer. I never had a chance to play it before I received it and I can now see what people are talking about 'catching the ball with the xeno tongue' and only successful a small percentage of the time. Everything is working great and now it's my turn to learn the shots and modes.

Pinball Lineup (resized).jpg

Unique layout, I like it.

Yea I don’t know if it is either. When I get back to my game I’ll have to check. Target wasn’t like that before though and definitely got smashed with a ball since I last played it.

If you manage to soft lob it to the target, it generally will catch it, unfortunately though, that requires planning

Yea increasing the magnet strength doesn’t matter either right?

My LV plays perfectly as well, I consider myself lucky! Just played for a good 30 minutes, both movies, and this game kicks so much ass! That hypersleep lock ramp shot is TOUGH and so is the shot up along the right upper flipper to the dead end target. Any tweaks to make that shot easier? The only other pin I've played with this kind of immersion is Hobbit and that Alien squeal when you hit the center targets never gets old LOL

I don't think strength is the issue, it's timing. You can adjust the strength, but my experience is it just causes it to release too soon.

It seems indeed hit or miss with these updates and that worries me. I think the only way to get a better grip on the situation is to add more people to the beta list. Especially the people that report these bugs, they should be asked if they would like to support PB. I really hope they iron out all these bugs because it’s an absolute masterpiece, I love this machine and I want everybody to enjoy it.

Knock it off, Hudson!

I have 3.1 and 0.71. Works perfect. Tongue isn’t as loud, shaker stops earlier at startup, staged flippers work.
Did a factory reset before playing.

Wondering if the people with problems mainly are 0.75 or not.

Right now, after about 10 or so games on the new 0.71 firmware / 3.1 game code combo, everything on my SV works fine. Multiballs, tongue magnet, etc. *knock on wood*

So, since you all are hyping this game to death.
I have to counter this a little. I would like the game more if the wasn't so much trouble, but there is.
I guess its good for PB first game but you def feel that the company is new, at least on my game.

- code not ready yet... how long?
- faulty tongue
- no stage flipping on the SV
- flippers feel strange
- I have to wax the game CONSTANTLY to be able to shoot the hypersleep shot
- covered outlanes, and a HUGE left outlane (bad if you cant hit the hypersleep shot)
- chestbuster magnet often does not activate, which is important for the hypersleep shot
- the cabinet design sucks at some parts (sharp! siderails, glass dont fit in the plastic sheat, trouble with lockdownbar grabbers
- strong flipperpower loss in the first 20 min, cooling required

I didn't list the good stuff since you already did. Don't feel offended by me , its ok to be not perfect and I like the game so far.

It's almost like they have two hardware revs and are trying to code for both

"chestbuster magnet often does not activate, which is important for the hypersleep shot"

You would hate the original Heighway version then, they didn't have a magnet at all.

Just to counter your counter I have 0 of these issues and over 2000 plays. I think it’s a little unfair to list a bunch of things as “trouble” that are as designed just because you don’t like them.

A properly dialled in game does not need waxing, the hypersleep shot is purposely difficult but you will learn it.
Covered outlanes are how it was designed , it’s not the only one
Chestburster magnet is not supposed to come on every time by design
Stage flippers not on the SV? well either is the shaker , beacons or sidelights it’s a standard version
I love the cabinet and slide rail system, no problems with that at all , obviously yours it not normal if the glass doesn’t fit
I do not experience noticeable flipper power loss

Is the firmware .71 or .75???

For all the complaints about the hypersleep lock… I couldn’t hit it at stock strength so I cranked the flipper power way up to +25% thinking that would be better. Still couldn’t hit it often at all.

I recently turned it down to +10% power and I now hit it all the time. I guess the overpowering made it rattle when it hit. So play with your strength settings until you find it.

Just wanted to share the version numbers on my Alien LV Build Date 10/2022. I did complete the latest update after I received the pin.

Alien Verions 121822 1 (resized).jpg

Alien Verions 121822 2 (resized).jpg

Alien Verions 121822 3 (resized).jpg

Exactly, when my game was at 6.5° -10% was the ticket, now it’s at 7.0° and normal is where it’s best. Like you said if it’s too high it rattles.

Good morning everyone I just joined the Alien LV club! Just ordered from Cointaker, I hope to have it before the New Year. I’ve been wanting to get one since Pinball Brothers released it, but a little nervous purchasing from a European company that’s new. I’ve been following this thread and I see that they have great service at Pinball Brothers. From reading this thread it sounds like this pin could be as heavy as 350 pounds which seems unbelievable to me. I was hoping that someone would be able to tell me the true weight of this pin. I’m trying to figure out how difficult this is going to be to move into my basement. And if anyone has a picture of the back of the back box I would really appreciate that. Hard to find specs on this pin. I am hoping the bugs with the new code update are fixed before I get it.

Thats just my experience, i read that not everybody has those problems. I feel happy for you!

Thanks for this. I checked mine and my pitch was way too low. Moved it up to 6.7. Haven’t tested it out yet

How far was that movement up?

Gotta find the level.

GamerRick I am on the new code and haven't experienced any issues so far- maybe about 20 games so far on it- My chestbuster magnet is working- The only issue I had prior to the update is that the video would not load on boot up and I would have to restart the game- seems to be solved so far.

The only things I have done to "dial" my game in- decreased the shooter eject power - the welds on the ball guide were disconnecting- I had to put a little jb weld on the disconnect and turned down the shooter- 7 degree incline feels right for me- helped with game flow and shots- use good quality carbon balls- my super "shiny" balls were getting magnetized -

It is an awesome game- very unique and immersive- I love it-

Congrats! The machine doesn't weigh any more than the typical wide body pin...I hangs TZ and it's actually lighter than TZ because it doesn't have as many assemblies etc that TZ has.....I don't think it weighs 350 pounds. 350 was the weight on the shipping label, but take the pallet out, box, packing, legs, etc, etc and its probably under 300 pounds.

I did the exact same thing you are planning. I figure out the weight but have forgotten. I think it’s around 280. Anyway, I moved it downstairs (uncrated) on an appliance dolly with one guy helping and it was much easier than other machines. I think the box listed it at something crazy like 375 or 400 for shipping but it’s not.

Good news to report from my end... PB gave me instructions of how to manually downgrade my firmware back to 0.56. Once I did that, I was able to re-download the firmware from PB site and install it again. Now it says 0.71 like it should instead of 0.75. Additionally, now my center magnet now holds properly... at least for 4 Xeno grabs so far.

So if your firmware says 0.75, definitely call PB for assistance.

I love this quiet and fast Xeno!! It looks all the more sinister running fast like that!

So sorry I don’t fully understand this why is it does anyone know that this latest update is wrongfully showing the firmware at .75 instead of .71? Is that something just happening on individual machines but not all of them or is there some kind of glitch that you have to go back to .56 for I’m trying to follow this but I’m definitely confused and I certainly don’t want to screw up my machine when I it gets here in a few days.

I don't know. All I know is if you somehow end up with .75, contact PB for a resolution.

My SV is going well on the new 3.1 and .71, but I'm still getting the ocassional black screen on bootup.
The really bad thing that was happening before these updates and still is, is the machine rebooting while nearing the end of a long, busy, high scoring game. Really annoying. I have sent logs and PB says they are aware of this bug and are trying to fix it.

I guess I haven't had a long enough game to have this happen....can only get around 100 mil right now....this thing is a ball buster!

I just submitted a ticket! I did not realize this was not supposed to happen!

Was the wrong version uploaded? They didn't say why some see .75 and some see .71?

I think you are better off with a european company. We have 2 years of warranty here in Europe, mandatory. Do not know if that also counts for US customers. Again Service is top notch no issues there. I think we are moving to a stable situation right now with all coded. So wonder If we see so much issues in the future. Just to say, Stern and Spooky also sell you a machine with limited, missing and broken code so this is not a new thing.

Damn you just ordered and hope to have it by the new year? what information do you have on a shipment to NA? I ordered maybe 6 weeks ago and I was sort of thinking it would be somewhere in Q1 on my LV but god I would love to be wrong.

I have .75 and no issues....game plays perfectly and have not had any magnet releases, or black screens yet. Is there something with .75 that Pbros might have mentioned to you that should force me to go backward in Firmware?

After playing some more, I'm finding that the center magnet release issue I'm having is still happening. It is just intermittent. I'm sure the problem is with 3.1... not with the firmware. 3.0 never had this problem. I'm working with PB on it... There must be something different with my early machine than the later machines... I just have no idea what it is.

I wouldn't count on Q1 honestly....I would say at least 6 months or more after order. hopefully, I'm wrong, but that is what I have been seeing...and yeah, no way Gamerrick will have it by the new year if he just ordered.

I am now having similar issue with magnet drop after a a bunch of games.

Something interesting in the release notes:
Removed the adjustment Magnet Capture Time. The on time for the center magnet when catching the ball is not adjustable anymore.

Well, I never adjusted it before, so I would have thought that wouldn't have caused an issue. No doubt, it is fixable in a new System Update because magnet-hold in 3.0 works fine, even if you don't downgrade 0.71... of course, 3.0 has other issues when incorrectly paired with 0.71, so don't do it. I just did it temporarily as a test.

Just had my Alien LV delivered, but have a question about moving it.

With Stern games, the cardboard box covers the bottom, so I just shimmy it off the wood skid, and being the full box in on my appliance dolly.

This game has some protective cardboard screwed into the skid, so I'm trying to figure out the best way to get it off the skid, without damaging the back of the game.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

I just put a blanket down and walked it off the pallet with no issues.