Ya that’s a good video, the clear is super nice but don’t expect it not to dimple…….

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Received my replacement board #6 today, super fast shipping, and game is playing pretty good now. All switches are working, yay!!! Need to replace the broken left post, Cato was going to send me another one. I’m finding that when I lock the second ball into the hyper sleep chamber and start hyper sleep multi ball the balls in the lock do not get ejected. Anyone have this problem? One question about Ambush. As the multi ball starts and the motion tracker shows the aliens proximity the shots are red on the left side but the center scoop, right ramp, and right orbit are different colors. Like one was green and the right orbit was yellow. Is this normal? What aren’t they red? Trying to get an understanding of how each mode and multi ball are suppose to work. Support from Cato has been top notch.

During Ambush, the attacking Xenos approach from one of four "quadrants" on the tracker and on the playfield... if I remember correctly, the leftmost quadrant uses red insert lighting, the second quadrant green, the third quadrant blue, and the rightmost quadrant yellow. Each quadrant has multiple shots that can be used to kill the attacking Xeno in that quadrant.

For biggest scores, this is important, because you don't want any Xenos to reach the center -- that resets the jackpot values back to baseline. So you want to focus on shooting the Xenos that are closest to the center. The callouts during Ambush include "accurate" distance calls that tell you the distance of the Xenos that are closest to the center... they move at about 1 meter per second.

Great thanks, that makes sense. I fixed my hypersleep locks. Locks 2 and 3 were reversed so after I changed the wiring to correspond to the right switch it works!! Cato is sending the whole left post mechanism and then I should be 100%. It’s great to play a fully functioning (well almost) game. It really does kick ass!!

First modder who can replace these cheap trash looking ball guides with real ball guides gets all my money. They look terrible.

My Buthamburg F-14 repro playfiled was bullet proof, but I did let it cure for 6 months before installing it. I know there have been dimples with Alien, but not craters that I'm aware of. So normal!
Could it be that the dimples show up more on Alien because it's so dark?

I can live with dimples, it's the playfields crumbling before our eyes that are unacceptable. With the switches positioned under the playfield without the cut outs there's even less chance of loss of artwork.

Every Pinball Machine gets dimples, more or less, sooner or later.

what is the resolution of the rear playfield screen? looking at a mod to possibly add a hdmi splitter and additional screen on the apron. Cheers

Not sure - but am curious why you would want the airlock screen on the apron vs. the main backbox screen? Seems like most people want to make up for the missing main playfield screen from the OG, and the airlock screen is very visible while you are playing. It also has information that pertains to the airlock shot, directly underneath it.

Having said that, it would be much harder to accomplish. I’ve had my screen box (which houses both the CPU and the main display) open recently as we diagnose an issue I have had, and the main display is connected to the ITX board with a 30-pin LVDS cable. I believe splitters are available for these but I have read they are very picky about voltages and resistances. Anybody familiar with LVDS and what it would take to split a signal from the backbox and run it to a small display in the apron?

The only other external connector on the screen box, apart from the HDMI used to feed the airlock screen, is a VGA connector. Perhaps it could be configured to mirror the LVDS output.

Apologies, yes was looking to mirror the main screen to compensate for the missing playfield screen.

Bump. …. Anyone ? ralphwiggum maybe ?

Aside from technical issues...

How do owners like the gameplay? Details!

Absolutely love it, EHOH has been my favourite in my collection for over a year but this is definitely giving it a run. So many shots, all four flippers have several possible shots each, game play is super smooth, ramps are super smooth, upper left ramp and loop are very rewarding shots. Ambush multiball can be so intense it gives me goose bumps when it really gets going, and stacked with sentry guns is wow. Modes are hard enough to complete , I’ve only completed a few so far. The rules are pretty complex especially when you throw in weapons use. The sound and theme integration is easily the best of any game I’ve played (but I’m not a music / band pinball fan). I have a real hard time walking away from it , can play it for hours.

Very well said. I will second everything above. My favorite pinball machine of all time used to be Williams Funhouse. It is now easily Pinball Brothers Alien.

Once the game is working, the theme and play are fantastic! EHoH still has my top vote, but this one is climbing up there! Once I get it completely dialed in, it may even surpass EHoH.

I put one of those gray foam pads(used behind standup targets) on the metal bracket. That gives me a perfect eject every time.

I have several of those and will try this. Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated.

Dialed In!, EHoH and Alien are my top 3 right now. Hobbit is up there too.

you can really lose yourself

I'm looking forward to David Thiel's next project, whatever it may be.

Anybody receiving updates on getting their machines? Any new delivery's? Seems like a quiet thread for such a cool machine.

Still not a lot of them in hands yet.

I’m guessing my Q3 slot might actually be more like Q1 2022....

Do we even know if shipment 1 were all shipped from Cointaker yet?

I have some good news to report on my Alien Opto 1 problem. Cato suggested that I reflow solder on the power and opto connector, which I was sure was not going to fix the problem since I had already tested all the components and compared continuity between the other optos. Well, I'm embarrassed to admit that I reflowed those connectors this morning and it appears to have totally fixed the problem. I still need to put everything back together and test actual gameplay, but I think it is looking good since I now see the LED under the playfield and it responds to the Opto sensors. While I was putting things back together, I dropped a nut into the playfield like a total jackass and now I can't find it anywhere. So need to either find the nut or buy a new nut now. Other than my own idiotic move, things are looking up!

I saw the picture but it was hard to see where the pad was actually stuck to. Can you please take a better picture? Thanks!

Mine is waiting on the dock for me to pick up in the morning!!! It’s been a number of years. So long I lost track.

We all do that!
You may as well order an assorted set of metric hardware for it anyway. You'll need it eventually!

We have some good news coming to all the new peeps enjoying this crazy ass cool PIN!!!!.

That’s great news!.....and also so funny about the nut!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to fix something and then created another problem.

Those stories could be a completely separate thread lol.

New code…

I just want to know who 'we' is...

I replaced the version 1 weapon switches with the version 2 switches today and after a couple of games I noticed the same issue. Some of them still get stuck. I don’t think they are really any better of a design. I noticed that if you bend the target down more instead of straight it clears the micro switch more and makes better contact. If they stand straight up and take big hits, which they will, it tends to engage the micro switches and thus getting no register because the switch is already stuck in. I hope version 3 is better. Otherwise the game is playing pretty good. The shots are awesome and theme integration is off the charts amazing.

Starting to feel like I already have an LV. Beacons are next on my list!

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That looks awesome.. do another video a little further back so we can so all the glory.

Well Done.

FYI, I just noticed that the start game button is getting warm. Tested the voltage and it is 12V. The bulb that comes in the Alien button is 5V. Oops! Well, I'll order some 12V bulbs... just thought I'd mention it so others can avoid that mistake.

I believe I've gotten all of issues resolved on my machine. So it is now located at Maltese Brewing Company in Fredericksburg, VA.

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Seeing this while waiting to go on the log ride, now I hope to convince the family to stop on the way home from Kings Dominion park this afternoon! Thanks MadMike!

Thanks for putting it on location, looking forward to flipping it!

Better game than Stranger Things?

I made it to Maltese to check out the new machine. Only had a chance to watch and play a few games, but it really passed the eye test. I would have liked to have stayed and played for hours, but the family was in tow after a long, hot day at Kings Dominion Park and I had a long drive ahead.

I own a STh LE, and chuckled to see the Alien parked next to one. The pins cannot be compared in any way, I don't think.

Long story short, I love the wide body of the Alien. Build quality appears great. Flippers are light and responsive.
A beautiful machine. I want one!

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Also, huge shout out to Maltese Brewing Company. Great venue, amazing pins, awesome beer (drinking one right now). Looking forward to making a trip back as soon as possible!

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Awesome Pictures......I think some mirrored blades are in my future ,would be my little tweak. I added them to GOT versus artwork and its very cool.

That Alien is beautiful! I cannot wait until they reveal the LV, what a kick ass pin

three more months. Yuck

Let Bill know about the voltage!

I absolutely love how they did the speaker grills on the back box! They look like eggs.

Bill should know that before selling mods

I will. I confirmed that both the START GAME and LAUNCH BALL LEDs are 12V... so I will be ordering new green 12V LEDs for both.