I put the $1 down but never got any emails. They put up the $1,000 down payment LV link on the site right away. Not sure how the $1 was supposed to work.

They are supposed to be invoicing for the $999 in the order that the first $1 was received. I took me a while but I did get invoiced for the $999.

So what's up with the 1k listing on their site? Will the people that put down 1k get their games after the $1 preorder people?

The $1,000 deposit listing is for folks that were not on the original $1 "I'm Interested" list. People on the $1 "I'm Interested" list were first in line if they get their deposits in when invoiced was my understanding.

The emailing with the ranking of where people are in line has not come out, I did ping Melissa yesterday and haven't heard back yet.

I did the $1k listing a week ago which also included a $6 charge for postage (???) I guess since it is automated as part of their online ordering system. Got an automated receipt. I am assuming I will be after you $1 reservation folks and will not see mine for some time. Would like to know what number on the list I am though.

When I initially dropped my dollar on the "Interested List", I asked how far back in line I was and got a number by the end of the day.
My guess would be that once people on the "Interested List" have been given a reasonable amount of time to respond to their invoices and pay them, then that number may change.
I have seen a number of folks disappointed in the lackluster release that PB did on this so some folks may drop off the list.
It certainly gave me some pause for consideration, as I like the unique features on the original much more (again this comes down to personal preference)....

I got invoiced for the 999 deposit 12 days ago on the $1 deposit LV. The plan was to get the SV first just incase PB imploded before LV release and then sell SV and get my LV.

For me the SV ended up being enough for me PLUS Spooky dropped a dream theme Halloween so the LV money went to that machine instead.

I canceled my LV order and they refunded me my $1. SO that is one opening for someone.

Melissa has been swamped. Her husband caught pneumonia with COVID (he's going to be ok) and she's short handed. I've been waiting for a week for her to swap a pre-order to my name so I can pay for another guy's down payment, but little response. We're going to have to be a bit patient.

I am getting an alien Se soon. Buying it from a friend and it has a build date of 4/12/21. He has had minor issues like the xenomorph doesn’t always grab the ball but nothing major. He also doesn’t play it much. I seen they have upgraded parts. Are they covered under warranty and what should all be looking out for?

You would probably need to reach out to Cato (support) and ask if 2nd owner is covered. There 'are' v3 narrow targets that are supposed to be getting shipped to owners - but those would probably go to the original owner? I don't know how they are doing it but I am sure they will provide them for you once they start shipping.

If he never updated the code, the latest 2.2D code (available on the PB forum) does a much better job (install the update and then raise the magnet strength to 50% or so).

Ok, thanks I’ll reach out to Cato. It seems like people are having issues but it’s always hard to tell if that a lot or just a few. With it being most likely a very early build I was a little nervous

It probably is one of the first dozen or so? So it might be slightly problematic...hard to say. However they'd been pretty helpful in getting them running it sounds like.

I’m not sure but glad they are helpful

We really need another update on the LV. Jeez these guys need a marketing 101 course.

Great machine , great support but awful updates.

Where do you download the updated code? Can someone please share a link I can’t find it

last time i found a beta update it was in the section where you click to start a ticket ; where you wouldn't expect it to be.

https://pinballbrothers.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/80000828595-game-update-2-2d-beta

Thanks all!

With limited room and happy with what I have I will not be getting an Alien ( ) however have been following this thread and just wanted to say to the owners what a great job of getting the bugs out of the game and great support from The Pinball Bros

I heard the border is open now so you are welcome to stop by and play mine whenever you are in the neighborhood

How has everything been working for everyone after working with Cato? Is anyone still having issues to make it unplayable or are there still relatively small issues?

Mine has never been unplayable. Just small stuff. I did add 2 light strips to back box and had plugged them into the usb ports on the screen computer box that caused it to get hot and reboot. I unplugged one of the light strips and ran it to a USB inside the cabinet and no problems since on that.

The right in-lane was only seeing the ball to qualify mission 2 out of 10 passes and Cato sent out a new board. Made it much better. Installed gen 3 switches..
The factory back box lighting has had a problem since almost day one hence the reason I wanted to add extra light strips. It would boot with the factory leds on but they turn off after a while.

Probably the most irritating is the ball bouncing back into trough from shooter lane. Seems to do it at the worst times like during a ball save and then drains the ball.

You need to have more plays to make a good judgment (your friend) I can tell you the game WILL have issues regardless but yes, all covered under warranty.

My biggest issue is the ball won't "launch" randomly during gameplay and I have to reboot the whole machine. That along with the black screen = we are all glorified beta testers on the game paying them.

He has over 200 plays so I guess I’ll find out

What is the warranty on this game?

I need to tell you about a dumb mistake I made in case someone else is doing the same thing.

I watched HurryUpPinball's video on fixing trough issues. I used to have the problem where the ball eject from the trough was variable... .sometimes too hard, so I knew I had trough problems then.... and I lowered the trough bracket just like HurryUpPinball's video said and got it into my head that this was the correct setting for all machines.

Well, a few system software updates later and the "ball eject too hard" issue is fixed in the latest software (I'm on 2.2G). Yet my trough ejects were soft about 5% of the time and the ball would fall back into the trough.

The problem ended up being that on my machine, the trough bracket does need to be as far UP as it can go. As long as the ball doesn't come in contact with the kicker, it is fine to have the bracket pushed up. The coil should sit flush against the coil stopper bracket.

So I misinterpreted what was said in that video... ONLY adjust the trough bracket IF you have a problem where the ball won't roll into position for ejecting. Ever since I pushed my bracket back up to the top, my trough ejects have been 100% flawless.

I've been told 6 months. I believe Stern's warranty is 3 months.

Also, installing mods is risking voiding your warranty... just like other pinball manufacturers. This policy makes perfect sense to me.

I’m on 2.2G software and was having issues with the ball ejecting too hard where it would hit the side rail and then back into the trough. I lowered my coil setting to 30% weaker and it has been pretty solid. Just enough power to get it into the shooter lane without hitting the side rail. Only issue my game has right now is the vent 3 shot. Slow shots register but a clean fast shot does not. Kinda sucks cause that’s the ambush jackpot shot and it’s hard to collect it.

I have finally replaced enough parts that my game is "playable". I put about 10-12 games on it. But it suffers from trough issues still. I have replaced all the optos cause the first batch had at least one bad opto on the board. But now it will occasionally not register the last ball draining into the trough. Hitting the flippers or nudging usually gets it to register, but not always. I've had to reboot a couple times. But one time I heard the game over call out and the screen went back to PB and the green eggs shot. But the flippers were still working. No ball ejecting, and the start button didn't work, so another reboot.

All you beta testers need some type of gift from PB. I vote you all get a topper.

Cato has been great.
marketing sucks.

Anyone here know the owners or folks in charge of PB? Sure would be nice to have them pop in once in awhile and update us loyal-paying customers...Jeesh.

Not till November 1st!
See you on the 2nd ....

Just around the corner ... 2510.8 Kilometers one way

Happens on mine too. On location. It's obnoxious how often this happens.

Honestly I think that when people make posts about these games they see working at a show for a day or so and it "works fine" and they think a purchase can be made they really don't think about the rigorous testing involved that needs to happen to know this for sure.

People complain about Stern stuff but it never has shit like this happening.

I also was on the $1 list and I didn't know they were going to invoice for the $999. It didn't say that anywhere, so I used the $1k preorder link. I feel like an idiot, but I've never done that before and when I emailed Melissa, she said the $1 goes towards your deposit. I didn't know wtf was going on.I assumed she was super busy and I just wanted to make sure I ordered one. Oh well... I'm a noob.

Stern sells 1000's upon thousands a year for 30+ years? I would hope not. And yet, they still have issues. Let's be real here. PB's first machine, and there are less than 100 of these things out in the wild. Thinking location play is a good thing for it is pretty damn optimistic. We can argue what they 'should' have done, but you could also argue, that people with the money should know better.

I haven't really had many trough issues, but they are there occasionally. I think a solution would be to create a 'cliffy' style curved lip(with maybe a bit of rubber on the lane side), bump the trough power up, then if the ball bounces off the wall the lip should either prevent it from reentering or roll it back into the lane. I also wonder if a one way gate wouldn't resolve it, or if it would cause more issues.

Installed the new Gen 3 targets today. Way more sensitive and none have stuck yet, but my xeno grab didn't get any better . Also the small target to the left of the xeno targets now lights up, tied to the left xeno target. Not sure if that's intentional...

Installed the color guard plastic protectors. Fit great, but I wish they were clear....

Cato also sent me a replacement one way gate for the left inlane. The ball kept bouncing back out on mine when going down the vent 2 lane. New gate seems to be the same as before, but the bracket is turned 180 degrees so that the gate hangs further to the right which should help. I bet I could have just taken it apart myself and turned it around if I'd known... Def something to check on yours.

Ya, I went with clear and happy I did.

It sounds like the game has a few minor issues. That’s ok because I know how to work on them. Question: I’m on the cusp of buying one. How is game play? I love the sounds and movie clips. I was able to play a couple games at Pinagogo, but not enough to get a good feel. Should I purchase? Please help.

You mean like this https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-brothers-alien-remake-owners-club/page/47#post-6478204

Well said!

Yes. The game is simply amazing. If you're into the theme, the pin will give you shills ❤️

Nice. Care to share the .stl?

Yeah I missed that.

Greetigns.. can you link the Thingyverse file so i can contract a printer for this please?

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5024158

Thank you for this!!

I’d be willing to buy one of those if it helps. I don’t have a 3D printer

More like third machine.

It is the same company regardless of what anyone thinks and the game is years old with issues.

Stern stuff does not have mega game breaking reset stuff but to say that someone with money "should know better" is pretty shitty. This is a huge license and the game is almost 9K. Give me a break thinking that is supposed to have all the problems it does. Coil stops breaking on Stern games is way less of an issue than anything here with Alien.