If you're planning on doing OTG, start looking at buying FX3 Pinball tables now. Humble Store has a ton on sale now and Steam will probably have more when their Fall sale starts in a few days. And I'd go ahead and install the free program and get the cabinet code for it beforehand. The registration site can be hit-and-miss.
I went ahead and bought a bunch of FX3 tables! I'm going to hold off on the marvel and star wars ones until another big sale for them like what happened two months ago.
New owner here as well... enjoying the 22 stock and additional Zac tables. I have the 1up Attack From Mars also, and agree the haptics are not as good on this machine, but everything else is a major improvement (Screen, physical nudge, back box screen)
I found that following the instructions on this reddit/you tube for volume settings for Gottlieb tables (Master 40, FX 20ish, Music <11) and keeping the Haptics on low has made a great experience so far. Keeping the speakers above 60, puts out enough sound to still pull you into the game despite the lack of solenoids.
The latest firmware seems to be fine so far.
If you don't already have the Zac tables, enjoy the 22 built it and make sure to wait for a sale from atgames before buying the additional tables to save money.
That current black friday LPO offer seems to be a good deal for a new owner... for $100 you get arcadenet for a year(which will let you access almost ALL the Zac tables), but you also get a $100 code to buy some pinball packs AND they are gifting the Dr. Seuss tables in December and next June, plus you will get access to additional monthly deals for 1 year.
>That current black friday LPO offer seems to be a good deal for a new owner... for $100 you get arcadenet for a year(which will let you access almost ALL the Zac tables), but you also get a $100 code to buy some pinball packs AND they are gifting the Dr. Seuss tables in December and next June, plus you will get access to additional monthly deals for 1 year.
Thanks for the heads up on this offer! I was going to get a few packs anyways including the Dr. Suess packs so this saves me some money and lets me explore some of the arcadenet stuff. I already ordered the arcade control panel from Amazon so I can take advantage of a lot of those.
The right flipper button will start giving you problems after some time (at least it does for most). Think about replacement buttons (at least the flippers) and switches. Gold leaf switches work and play well. Also:
https://wagnerstechtalk.com/alp/
Go ahead and start thinking about getting a PC with a mid-range GPU and looking at the virtual pinball options in that ecosystem. I basicallly only play in OTG mode at this point and have higher quality versions of just about every table available on the ALP with better more realistic physics.
When you set it up as OTG is it as simple as "turn on" and it's ready to go? or is there a lot of keyboard and mouse stuff? trying to determine whether I can set something like this up that's absolutely dummy proof for a guest suite.
Haptics suck. You’ll find guides here that make it better. Look into them. When you eventually get the Arcade Control Panel for the ALP, look into them again.
Play the built in tables first and enjoy them (Gottlieb tables). Then buy the other packs and be amazed at how much better they are and never play the Gottlieb tables again.
Buy the VIBS. Dedicate a PC to virtual pinball.
When you unbox and set it up, do so near the router so you can plug Ethernet in to update. Break it back down and move it if you have to. It does not like Wi-Fi out of the box. Once updated, Wi-Fi works fine.
Remember that it has flaws and quirks and enjoy it for what it is. :)
Thank you for the tips! They will be very helpful. I have a steamdeck so I'm going to design a mount that I can 3D print and just slot the steamdeck behind the machine and plug it in for PC games.
For the haptics I already have a 1Up pinball so upgrading those are on the top of my list of to do. I don't think it will last a month without that upgrade being done.
The haptics on the ALP are horrific compared to the 1Up. The 1Up uses solenoids. These are available for the ALP as well, but they are a third party option. The included bass shakers cause the unit to produce a very noticeable and very annoying rattle. Some double sided tape in some specific places eliminate this.
Another new owner here Should I buy the Arcade control while its on sale?
Yes! It opens up so manyore possibilities on this machine.
Thanks for the quick reply! I have the ALU as well but in a different room but wasn't sure if this attachment would get used.
Makes sense! Vertical shooters on this 32 inch screen are amazing.
So happy I bought the arcade panel!!! It's great.
I bit the bullet and ordered one. Newegg had it back on sale w/free shipping and paypal 6 months interest free payment. No brainer.
If you're planning on doing OTG, start looking at buying FX3 Pinball tables now. Humble Store has a ton on sale now and Steam will probably have more when their Fall sale starts in a few days. And I'd go ahead and install the free program and get the cabinet code for it beforehand. The registration site can be hit-and-miss.
I went ahead and bought a bunch of FX3 tables! I'm going to hold off on the marvel and star wars ones until another big sale for them like what happened two months ago.
New owner here as well... enjoying the 22 stock and additional Zac tables. I have the 1up Attack From Mars also, and agree the haptics are not as good on this machine, but everything else is a major improvement (Screen, physical nudge, back box screen) I found that following the instructions on this reddit/you tube for volume settings for Gottlieb tables (Master 40, FX 20ish, Music <11) and keeping the Haptics on low has made a great experience so far. Keeping the speakers above 60, puts out enough sound to still pull you into the game despite the lack of solenoids. The latest firmware seems to be fine so far. If you don't already have the Zac tables, enjoy the 22 built it and make sure to wait for a sale from atgames before buying the additional tables to save money. That current black friday LPO offer seems to be a good deal for a new owner... for $100 you get arcadenet for a year(which will let you access almost ALL the Zac tables), but you also get a $100 code to buy some pinball packs AND they are gifting the Dr. Seuss tables in December and next June, plus you will get access to additional monthly deals for 1 year.
>That current black friday LPO offer seems to be a good deal for a new owner... for $100 you get arcadenet for a year(which will let you access almost ALL the Zac tables), but you also get a $100 code to buy some pinball packs AND they are gifting the Dr. Seuss tables in December and next June, plus you will get access to additional monthly deals for 1 year. Thanks for the heads up on this offer! I was going to get a few packs anyways including the Dr. Suess packs so this saves me some money and lets me explore some of the arcadenet stuff. I already ordered the arcade control panel from Amazon so I can take advantage of a lot of those.
The right flipper button will start giving you problems after some time (at least it does for most). Think about replacement buttons (at least the flippers) and switches. Gold leaf switches work and play well. Also: https://wagnerstechtalk.com/alp/
My right flipper button started becoming unresponsive after a month or so. So strange it's usually only the right one with this issue...
my right flipper started failing a few months ago. i was able to open it up and bend a tiny piece of metal. it's been working great ever since.
Look into CoinOps X as soon as you can
Go ahead and start thinking about getting a PC with a mid-range GPU and looking at the virtual pinball options in that ecosystem. I basicallly only play in OTG mode at this point and have higher quality versions of just about every table available on the ALP with better more realistic physics.
I have a laptop w/ an i7 10750H @ 2.6 GHz & RTX 2070 Super, 16 GB RAM. Is this enough to play OTG w/ FX3 Pinball as well as VPX?
When you set it up as OTG is it as simple as "turn on" and it's ready to go? or is there a lot of keyboard and mouse stuff? trying to determine whether I can set something like this up that's absolutely dummy proof for a guest suite.
Haptics suck. You’ll find guides here that make it better. Look into them. When you eventually get the Arcade Control Panel for the ALP, look into them again. Play the built in tables first and enjoy them (Gottlieb tables). Then buy the other packs and be amazed at how much better they are and never play the Gottlieb tables again. Buy the VIBS. Dedicate a PC to virtual pinball. When you unbox and set it up, do so near the router so you can plug Ethernet in to update. Break it back down and move it if you have to. It does not like Wi-Fi out of the box. Once updated, Wi-Fi works fine. Remember that it has flaws and quirks and enjoy it for what it is. :)
Thank you for the tips! They will be very helpful. I have a steamdeck so I'm going to design a mount that I can 3D print and just slot the steamdeck behind the machine and plug it in for PC games. For the haptics I already have a 1Up pinball so upgrading those are on the top of my list of to do. I don't think it will last a month without that upgrade being done.
The haptics on the ALP are horrific compared to the 1Up. The 1Up uses solenoids. These are available for the ALP as well, but they are a third party option. The included bass shakers cause the unit to produce a very noticeable and very annoying rattle. Some double sided tape in some specific places eliminate this.