# Alien Code 4.1.1

**Source:** Pinball Brothers News  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2024-02-22  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballbrothers.com/news/alien-code-4-1-1-2/

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## Analysis

Pinball Brothers has released Alien code version 4.1.1, a maintenance update for their Alien pinball machine featuring gameplay refinements, bug fixes, and quality-of-life improvements including free play defaults, topper/flasher enhancements, and fixes to multiball and ball save mechanics.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Free Play is now the default setting in Alien 4.1.1 — _Official Pinball Brothers News release notes for Alien code version 4.1.1_
- [HIGH] Fixed a rare bug where all balls were out of play but the game would not end the ball, which could happen when a ball was locked in the hypersleep chamber — _Official Pinball Brothers News release notes, bug fix section_
- [HIGH] Orbit post hang time increased by half a second in Alien 4.1.1 — _Official Pinball Brothers News release notes for Alien 4.1.1_
- [HIGH] The drop bank now does not reset at the end of multiball if all targets are already up in Alien 4.1.1 — _Official Pinball Brothers News release notes for Alien 4.1.1_

### Notable Quotes

> "Free Play is now the default."
> — **Pinball Brothers (official release notes)**
> _Signals a shift in operator/player preferences toward free play modes, potentially reflecting broader industry trends in casual venue gameplay settings._

> "Fixed case where all the balls were out of play, but the game would not end the ball. This could happen in rare conditions when a ball was locked in the hypersleep chamber."
> — **Pinball Brothers (official release notes)**
> _Indicates a specific edge-case bug in Alien's hypersleep locking mechanism that was discovered post-release and required code intervention._

> "Renamed OPEN DOOR SAVE adjustment to BALL SAVE AFTER TEST, to make it more clear how this works (we can't detect when the door is open)."
> — **Pinball Brothers (official release notes)**
> _Reflects designer intent to improve clarity on operator settings and acknowledges a technical constraint in door detection._

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Pinball Brothers | company | Pinball game manufacturer that produces the Alien pinball machine |
| Alien | game | Pinball machine by Pinball Brothers featuring hypersleep chamber and orbits mechanics |

### Signals

- **[code_update]** Alien code 4.1.1 released with bug fixes, gameplay tweaks, and quality-of-life improvements (confidence: high) — Official release notes detailing 10 distinct changes including free play default, bug fixes, and mechanical adjustments
- **[product_concern]** Fixed rare edge-case bug where game would not end ball when all balls locked in hypersleep chamber (confidence: high) — Explicit mention in release notes: 'Fixed case where all the balls were out of play, but the game would not end the ball. This could happen in rare conditions when a ball was locked in the hypersleep chamber.'
- **[gameplay_signal]** Multiple gameplay balance adjustments in Alien 4.1.1: orbit post timing increased, drop bank reset behavior modified, flipper stack behavior expanded (confidence: high) — Release notes specify: orbit posts kept up half second longer, drop bank reset logic changed for multiball, staged flipper stacks can now be reversed per flipper
- **[design_innovation]** New staged flipper stack reversal option allows asymmetric flipper configurations per side (confidence: high) — Release notes: 'Allow staged flipper stacks to be reversed for each flipper'
- **[product_strategy]** Free Play set as default in Alien 4.1.1, signaling shift toward casual/location play appeal (confidence: high) — First item in release notes: 'Free Play is now the default'
- **[operational_signal]** Fixed coin auditing defaults to match factory coin door configuration, reducing operator setup friction (confidence: high) — Release notes: 'Fixed the default coin auditing to match the coin door configuration shipped from the factory'

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## Transcript

Changes since version 4.1: – Free Play is now the default. – Fixed the default coin auditing to match the coin door configuration shipped from the factory. – Added many new topper & flasher effects. – Allow staged flipper stacks to be reversed for each flipper. – Renamed OPEN DOOR SAVE adjustment to BALL SAVE AFTER TEST, to make it more clear how this works (we can’t detect when the door is open). – Fixed case where all the balls were out of play, but the game would not end the ball. This could happen in rare conditions when a ball was locked in the hypersleep chamber. – Changed so that the drop bank is not reset at the end of multiball if all of the targets are known to be up already. – Increase the time that the posts are kept up on the orbits by half a second. – Fixed the airlock display timer pausing or abruptly jumping sometimes.

_(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v5)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-04 | Item ID: 3e45673d-fd61-4012-aabe-85c5cb216320*