Kellogg, IA
Wow Cato is no longer with them either 
(Topic ID: 284032)
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Alien (Ellen Ripley Version)
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That bites. I met Cato, he was the man from a technical perspective(straight up made sure my demo machine was working at TPF after purchase, loctite and all).
Quoted from Rager170:OMG Abba? Havent they learned enough by dropping Queen?
Abba likely has been in the works around the same time, it was already in motion.
Abba is huge in Europe and I mean they had a ton of hits in the US, do think it's an odd choice of theme but who knows, figured Queen would have done better with all the love for old school rock pins supposedly. But could simply be that folks just want Sterns which are easier to acquire
Quoted from PanzerKraken:Abba likely has been in the works around the same time, it was already in motion.
Abba is huge in Europe and I mean they had a ton of hits in the US, do think it's an odd choice of theme but who knows, figured Queen would have done better with all the love for old school rock pins supposedly. But could simply be that folks just want Sterns which are easier to acquire
Personally, I feel the theme was a miss for Queen.
If they dont start getting good themes, they wont be around for long. Alien is a huge theme, fans span across many generations. Queen and Abba, not so much.
Quoted from Rager170:Personally, I feel the theme was a miss for Queen.
If they dont start getting good themes, they wont be around for long. Alien is a huge theme, fans span across many generations. Queen and Abba, not so much.
Seems like a huge miss to not follow up a hit like Alien with a theme that would speak to your existing customer base. On the other hand, those other themes are a way to expand the customer base.
This announcement does concern me. I absolutely love my new Alien-RV but I do not like the abundant use of proprietary parts. If PB goes away in a few years, that could make getting replacement parts and boards challenging.
Quoted from Rager170:Lets put it to the test. How many people in this thread are interested in buying Abba?
Only 1% of 343 people who voted in this poll said they were “most excited” for ABBA vs other themes.
IMG_2711 (resized).jpegQuoted from GCS2000:This has me second guessing following through on my deal for an Alien SV.
I don't want to have to suddenly rush to buy $1000s of parts just to keep on hand out of fear that PB and their support is going away.
I thought guys like Cato were the backbone of PB and especially Alien.
Everything is going to break. It's a metal ball that smashes against things. If the theme speaks to me then that is a great reason to have fun with it. Sites like Marcos and communities like this are built on helping keep games alive especially older pins from back in the day.
Quoted from Rager170:Personally, I feel the theme was a miss for Queen.
If they dont start getting good themes, they wont be around for long. Alien is a huge theme, fans span across many generations. Queen and Abba, not so much.
Actually Queen is too, but the game just did not look appealing.
Abba might do well in EU...I don't think it will sell well in the US.
Hopefully I can save someone some time, this is where I ended up mounting the flasher extension board for the add-on flasher kit. I went low to give enough room for the ethernet cables. You’ll have to clip a few zip ties for one of the power bundles. Be careful not to get too close to the cutout on the upper left with the screw
37FCE19D-85D8-4B31-96AF-914DA051E645 (resized).jpeg64A46C57-0A2B-42CD-B33B-76DC2DC2E1A1 (resized).jpegQuoted from GCS2000:This has me second guessing following through on my deal for an Alien SV.
I don't want to have to suddenly rush to buy $1000s of parts just to keep on hand out of fear that PB and their support is going away.
I thought guys like Cato were the backbone of PB and especially Alien.
This is my concern also.
Wow that Knapp arcade article is definitely troubling. Kato was beyond helpful when I was having issues with my machine. With that being said maybe ABBA is Swedish and the head orders of PB is in Sweden. Maybe the license was easily obtainable and sales will be much stronger over in Europe than here in the states. I don’t think ABBA will do better than queen at least over here.
Quoted from Zablon:Alien and Queen were both inherited weren't they? I assume Queen was already past the design phase? That's not the case with ABBA? Is this PB's first official they did it themselves game?
That's the whole of it.
Quoted from Rager170:I think PB needs to come out with some sort of Press Release explaining the changes being done internally. Im sure that would make its fan base more comfortable.
They've been posting staff highlights on their Facebook page.
Quoted from javagrind888:They've been posting staff highlights on their Facebook page.
Ok thats good to know. Thanks.
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Quoted from Zablon:Maybe ABBA is a ruse
Does Predator have world appeal outside of the US? It's pretty heavy US themed.
It’s got Schwarzenegger. He was the biggest international movie star back in the day. I’m sure it would do well globally.
Nürnberg
The Knapp Arcade article states that Cato and Roger have not been "involved in any decision-making at Pinball Brothers since January 2022". That timeline matches up with this forum where Cato was once regularly mentioned as very helpful. Cato was first referenced by name in post #702 and he was last mentioned (before the current news broke) in post #11374 where someone was asking if he stills helps with customer service.
That was over a year and 7,000 posts ago. Since then, PB has maintained its good reputation for support and even moved Alien forward with the addition of Ripley content.
It seems premature to fear the sky is falling since they haven't been involved in about two years. The only difference is now we know about it.
However, I agree that transparency from PB is lacking. This is PB's opportunity to sell their vision going forward.
As for ABBA (and all pinball machines), execution will be key. People were bemoaning Elton John as a theme, but now it is being praised as one of the best ever (I've never played, so I have no opinion). As others have mentioned, ABBA is big in Europe, so they may be targeting that market.
Quoted from RonSwanson:The Knapp Arcade article states that Cato and Roger have not been "involved in any decision-making at Pinball Brothers since January 2022". That timeline matches up with this forum where Cato was once regularly mentioned as very helpful. Cato was first referenced by name in post #702 and he was last mentioned (before the current news broke) in post #11374 where someone was asking if he stills helps with customer service.
That was over a year and 7,000 posts ago. Since then, PB has maintained its good reputation for support and even moved Alien forward with the addition of Ripley content.
Thank you for pointing that out, I hadn't realized it'd been that long since he was involved with early buyer issues!
Quoted from RonSwanson:The Knapp Arcade article states that Cato and Roger have not been "involved in any decision-making at Pinball Brothers since January 2022". That timeline matches up with this forum where Cato was once regularly mentioned as very helpful. Cato was first referenced by name in post #702 and he was last mentioned (before the current news broke) in post #11374 where someone was asking if he stills helps with customer service.
That was over a year and 7,000 posts ago. Since then, PB has maintained its good reputation for support and even moved Alien forward with the addition of Ripley content.
It seems premature to fear the sky is falling since they haven't been involved in about two years. The only difference is now we know about it.
However, I agree that transparency from PB is lacking. This is PB's opportunity to sell their vision going forward.
As for ABBA (and all pinball machines), execution will be key. People were bemoaning Elton John as a theme, but now it is being praised as one of the best ever (I've never played, so I have no opinion). As others have mentioned, ABBA is big in Europe, so they may be targeting that market.
Well, it says they have not been involved since 2022, but thats the reason why they decided to stop their "support".. That sounds to me that "support" is funding..
That is not good.
So I know that dimples are a part of life, just curious if this is normal after less than 300 plays on a new RV. Of the 8 other pins I’ve owned, this is by far the most, compared to my others with 1k+ plays. They’re also wider/deeper than most. By the way, I love the game, just asking before people freak out and “school” me about dimples. And the mini beacon on the flasher kit is very cool
C11359D6-60EE-4425-9879-332BB2FA9EEE (resized).jpegFEB62ADF-60AF-4D41-8ADC-729C95382A17 (resized).jpeg4831DBF6-A950-44B9-92C9-5A9620949223 (resized).jpegB12BA009-97AF-490D-89E0-F0F6EB66E2A8 (resized).jpegDCB0A623-5863-4E1C-B512-8965B23DB9D4 (resized).jpegQuoted from SketchyMcDuff:So I know that dimples are a part of life, just curious if this is normal after less than 300 plays on a new RV. Of the 8 other pins I’ve owned, this is by far the most, compared to my others with 1k+ plays. They’re also wider/deeper than most. By the way, I love the game, just asking before people freak out and “school” me about dimples. And the mini beacon on the flasher kit is very cool
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
I put a playfield protector down the first month I got my game. Now I don't have to worry about dimples or wear.
Could someone please post a picture of where the beacons plug in? I’ve got them installed on the backbox but there are mo instructions on where to plug them in. I assume I’m missing something obvious but I give up searching online for it. (New beacon kit on RV)
Quoted from kciaccio:I put a playfield protector down the first month I got my game. Now I don't have to worry about dimples or wear.
43D1E155-4750-486A-BA9C-554B63E08F82.gifQuoted from SketchyMcDuff:So I know that dimples are a part of life, just curious if this is normal after less than 300 plays on a new RV. Of the 8 other pins I’ve owned, this is by far the most, compared to my others with 1k+ plays. They’re also wider/deeper than most. By the way, I love the game, just asking before people freak out and “school” me about dimples. And the mini beacon on the flasher kit is very cool
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
I notice more dimples on my Alien RV with 174 plays than I do on my Rick & Morty with 1767 plays. Apparently Spooky has particularly good playfields but I assume some of it is Alien just having more dark non busy art spaces that show more. Doesn’t really phase me either way as it doesn’t impact my gameplay and I’m not my grandma putting plastic on her couch. 
Quoted from monitorpop:Could someone please post a picture of where the beacons plug in? I’ve got them installed on the backbox but there are mo instructions on where to plug them in. I assume I’m missing something obvious but I give up searching online for it. (New beacon kit on RV)
I don't have the actual beacon kit from PB, so I don't know what the electrical harness in the kit looks like. But I know that the beacons plug into and share an electrical harness with the shaker motor (not sure if you have the shaker).
That shaker / beacon harness plugs into the cabinet controller in the bottom of the cabinet.
Quoted from monitorpop:Could someone please post a picture of where the beacons plug in? I’ve got them installed on the backbox but there are mo instructions on where to plug them in. I assume I’m missing something obvious but I give up searching online for it. (New beacon kit on RV)
This helped me
Quoted from Crispin:https://www.pingraffix.com/product-page/alien-pinball-mini-jaw-mod
You can protect the edge of your magnet with the mini jaw mod that encases the magnet.[quoted image]
My Pingraffix mini-jaw just seems to cause problems. I love the look, but it doesn’t seem to want to let the magnet and rod retract fully back into the head. It’s like the piece is too wide for the gap. Anybody else experienced this?
Quoted from gambit3113:My Pingraffix mini-jaw just seems to cause problems. I love the look, but it doesn’t seem to want to let the magnet and rod retract fully back into the head. It’s like the piece is too wide for the gap. Anybody else experienced this?
Haven't seen that. Does the rod hang too low?(too much play) Do you have the mouth on correctly? I believe it has a top and bottom, but I don't know if it is different enough to make a difference. Or maybe do you have it sitting too far forward and the ball is not getting completely on the magnet and hanging too low?
Quoted from Zablon:Haven't seen that. Does the rod hang too low?(too much play) Do you have the mouth on correctly? I believe it has a top and bottom, but I don't know if it is different enough to make a difference. Or maybe do you have it sitting too far forward and the ball is not getting completely on the magnet and hanging too low?
I’ve tried it both ways. Even without the ball on the magnet, it hangs and won’t retract all the way into the head fully. The mech works perfectly without the jaw. I just can’t seem to dial it in.
Upon closer inspection, hot glue isn’t securing the mini-jaw to the shaft adequately. It is moving and hanging up. I got it in a better place, but the hot glue just won’t seem to hold it. Anyone tried E6000 or something a littler tackier? I’m going to have to try something else here.
Quoted from Zablon:Haven't seen that. Does the rod hang too low?(too much play) Do you have the mouth on correctly? I believe it has a top and bottom, but I don't know if it is different enough to make a difference. Or maybe do you have it sitting too far forward and the ball is not getting completely on the magnet and hanging too low?
Sorry for my immaturity, but until you get to “magnet” at the end of this sentence, this sounds very naughty
Quoted from PanzerKraken:I've seen several standards that don't look anywhere as dimpled as that
Maybe I’ve got a super limited “Moon Crater” edition 
Quoted from SketchyMcDuff:Maybe I’ve got a super limited “Moon Crater” edition
Mine looks like this as well at 250 plays. If only I wasn’t too lazy to initially have spent the few hours needed to have on a pf protector. At this point, thinking keep the lights low and hope it smooths out by 2k plays.
I will add, I have a pulp fiction next to it and can’t find a single dimple. It probably has 100-125 plays, but I saw these show up on Alien after a few dozen. Shame.
Quoted from SketchyMcDuff:Maybe I’ve got a super limited “Moon Crater” edition
Just keep playing the dimples will level out and blend eventually. . Like Stranger Things.
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