I sure hope not not. Where are the canon modes?

I'm very surprised that ACDC hasn't received another substantial update since 1.65 which came out March 2013 I think? It's now been nearly two years since 1.65 was released. 1.68 was very minor and it added nothing new gameplay wise. I emailed Lyman over a year ago and he said that more is coming to ACDC. Stern said that updates are in the works for all existing games...The wait seems ridiculous at this point.

Cannon mode inserts still absolute sensless, except making yellow light.

Unfortunately there is only one Lyman. Would be nice if the other coders were close to his level so he wouldn't have to be spread so thin. That being said acdc is still better coded then anything else they have to offer so I don't mind waiting till he gets back to finishing it up.

i wouldn't mind another update but as of right now it's pretty damn good.

If it wasnt for those three inserts I would say the game is complete. Having them there without doing anything does suck...

Maybe I need to play more, but I noticed during Thunderstruck that hitting lit lightning bolts not only qualifies the note shots, but it also shows 3 lightning bolts on the display. I've seen 2 of them change(?), but never 3. I was wondering if there is - or was supposed to be some significance to the lightning bolts shown on the dmd?

Considering the current imbalance with Hells Bells/VIP and how FTATR needs more meat to it, I'm thinking some day we will see another update. The lower playfield could be utilized better too. And something should be done with the bell saucer because it doesn't do anything except eject the ball.

I think super modes needs work too. Super inlanes is kinda weak, maybe if it didn't turn off right away. But coupled with super combos or super loops it might fare better. Super outlanes is ok...

Overall I think ACDC is a great game, but there is certainly room for some improvement. I think Lyman just wants to be careful and not break the current rhythm the game has.

Rob

The few code omissions should not dissuade you from getting AC/DC. As it stands, it is arguably the most unique, brilliant, intense, strategic, nuanced, risk/reward pinball ruleset in existence.

Nothing to do with completeness, like the cannon mode.

But this game would gain an awesome mode if he adds multiball with both playfiels active. I have no idea why such an obvious but epic mode aint in.

It does start the mini-playfield mode when playing Hells Bells, but that is all it does. And it is a very difficult and risky shot - it should be worth something significant.

code needs more.. may never happen

Well not really NO function. They glow yellow

in fact, the game could be a number one game:

- multiball with lower AND upper playfield involved
- the targets for the cannon shoots should be lightened randomly , as its realized in the dirty harry pin
- the saucer behind the bell and the bell itself could be more involved
- to advance to the next song it should be necessary to complete a song
- according to this, rules have to be rewritten so that every song has its own ramps, loops, targets to be completed
- cannon modes ...
- rewrite the rules of the lower playfield. not only hit everything, but more "skill"

by now, i was to lame to reach the encore final. and i never read the "spoilers".
so , i dont know wether there are live songs involed in gameplay.and, finally : the new song" play ball" would perfectly fit into the game.

edit :

last year, i wrote a pdf in wich i listed all the feature adjustment settings.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/acdc-feature-adjustement-settings-165

there where a lot of settings, that make no sense right now.

so i always thougt that a huge update would come.

I don't think this is very good logic. You are correct that the modes listed are not complete, and I'd like them finished as well. But discounting AC/DC on them is shortsighted. And trying to shame Gary for one of their better games is kind of lame. If you like the game, buy the game. And if you don't like the game, don't buy it. But the rules and software of that game are great. We would be lucky if they did other games that well.

The cannon inserts do have a function, but it is slight. I've got the cannon setting on my machine set so that the cannon isn't instantly available. You've got to light "fire" so many times (think it's 4) for the first cannon insert to light. Once it is lit, it lets you know the cannon is ready to load to collect the jackpot.

interesting.

but, why the hell does stern not release complete rule sheets ?

( because everyone will see that the code is incomplete ? )

Most think its one of the greatest games as it stands. Its been Sterns hottest selling game. And you are waiting for one more update to buy?

Tron did have an update out of the blue, so anything is possible.

If you can find NIB and afford it, don't wait! The boat has left dock and is sailing away now...

Rob

I remember reading something quite a while ago where Lyman stated AC/DC was not finished until V2.0 was released, anyone able to find that thread or the actual statement??

I have read that several times. Considering the last significant update was 2 years ago I am not holding my breath on another update. I think there will be one to address the HB/VIP strategy, but beyond that who knows.

My guess is that development of SPIKE has kept everyone really busy and it shows. Late ST code which still isn't here and no updates for ACDC. At least MET got done which is good.

Rob

I hear folks say the mini PF on FGY wears them out but it has a F'n ramp, 2 orbit shots, 2 targets, 23 inserts, of course 2 flippers with inlanes & it also integrates with one of the dopest Multiball jackpot modes I know of.

The lower PF on ACDC does very little just like the bell, cannon & drops.

ACDC is awesome but it needs some programming love for sure

Hell I look at WWE & see a ton more to do on the mini PF than ACDC.

Don't get confused & think I'm bashing because I want all 3 games mentioned in my reply

The bell is a great shot in itself! However the magnet underneath *seems* to do little except make it swing during HB and pressing VIP.

Rob

I can appreciate everyone wanting more but seriously?
Let's put it this way:

If anyone understands all the rules currently and still has a complaint, please raise your hand.

Yes it does seem it is on the back back burner, at least it seems like the intention is there, but who knows if it will get done. Would love to see it, many things still left undone on AC/DC and it is still a fantastic game.

I would like to complain about the scoring balance please sir! There's 12 songs, but a few of them either score too much or too little.

Too much risk for too little reward:
BIB
FTATR

One song to rule them all:
HB

I'm bitter tonight too because Luci kept dropping balls SDTM from the pops on me.

Rob

At 1st I liked the look of the mini PF on WWE but after seeing a video of it in action I think it will get boring fast. the Ball just stays up there too long. The should have made the hole at the bottom bigger so it is harder to keep the ball up there.

The exact same can be said for ACDC's mini PF which is why they programmed a timer.

Difference is WWE seems to have more on it.

Code can fix the mini PF's of both games was really my point.

I'm canceling my WWE preorder & it's 100% due to games like ST, ACDC & others suffering from incomplete code years after release.

That's just as brilliant as saying:
"It's a great machine, and the code rocks, but I won't buy it because it has a couple extra inserts."

Look, it's a great game but it's just not fully baked.

Flashers, bell, drops, cannon & lower PF are quite underutilized & yes there are dead inserts.

People like to create coping mechanisms like "well the game design changed & those inserts are no longer required". Hogwash. Maybe the same will be said by those folks if TWD & STLE are never finished?

Perhaps the most Recent artistic expression of the programmer rendered STLE's baked potato flashers irrelevant? No, it's just not done.

Can I not dig the game & state it's code status is less than its designer intended much like STLE?

That's all I'm trying to say. Great game, glad to play it & want more code

lol ACDC's mini playfield isnt used often & doesnt dominate the playfield like the WWE one does. I really like the way the playfield looks on Wrestelmania but the ball action up there reminds me of the mini pf on transformers. ball just stays up there way too long.

As far as acdc goes come on ....the game is already a masterpiece & those that are complaining about the cannon modes not beint there probably havent even seen encore yet or scratched the surface of the rest of the game. Go back to complaining about ST or Wof if you wanna talk about games with incomplete code.

It's funny how opinions can vary so much on a title or even an aspect of a game.
The lower playfield: not the most fun I've ever had on a pin cause those little flippers are tough to get used to and control and the playfield area is so small. Still, I think it's a brilliant use of otherwise useless space. Had this been at the top of the playfield, instead of the bell and jukebox or something, ok I get the hate but I see it as a complete bonus over the Pro model.

Regarding the cannon inserts, I also thought that any of the three cannon inserts flashing indicates that the song jackpot is ready to collect. Am I mistaken on that?
If that's the case, we really just have 3 inserts doing the job of 1. Not ideal, but hardly worth saying the pin is half baked.

It indicates that the cannon is ready to be fired anyway. Usually its the song jackpot but sometimes its other stuff like the opening shot in multiball. Sometimes there's multiple things lit too and it lists them off on the DMD before you fire. One simple way to "complete" the code would be to have each insert represent a different type of jackpot shot (song or multiball or bonus/mode jackpots) being lit and sometimes have multiple inserts lit simultaneously to match the situation.

the sdtm drain from the pops is a pain in the a$$.... super skill shot every time to avoid it

Through one ball of playing BIB I put up 55 million. And that's with draining before collecting my 17 million point song jackpot. I started the ball shooting the targets to light album, and yeah that part was risky but once I got into the album multiball the payoff was pretty sweet. Nothing mind blowing, but nothing to shake a stick at either.

I do agree about FTATR though, I have yet to find a reason to play that song.

As for the HB all day strategy, I haven't given it a shot yet but I'll try it next time I get to play an ACDC.

ACDC upgrade required, Heres an Idea! The next upgrade should give you the ability to choose the live version of any acdc song for game play, and if its got all 12 studio and live versions of the songs in the box, set them free, turn it into a proper juke box where you can select and play all the songs, without playing the game, instead of select and play 1 song at a time.
Metalica, same as; where are the live versions of the metalica songs, as in the ACDC game? and why cant you choose to play all the songs in juke box mode? seems crazy when you can play the songs without playing the game but only one song at a time!
thats my suggestion!

That's nice that you were able to do that on that one game, but as a routine strategy, intentionally sending the ball out of control on AC/DC is a recipe for failure.

It's a shame too because I love to jam to Back in Black.

I'd like a change on the skill shot for soft plunging and getting the correct roll over versus it ejecting from the jukebox. Then we can have 3 levels of skillshots.

I'm not sure if this is a bug or not.

I had one of the multiballs going (jam I think) and had the cannon lit. So upon loading the cannon, it showed on the screen that I was to shoot the target to collect bonus (from level 8 jets) and then it suddenly switched to shooting the target for the song jackpot. When I made the shot, it did not award both - only one of them. I was able to load the cannon again and this time it awarded the other.

I'm not sure why sometimes 1 target is lit or sometimes 2 are lit. Does anyone know why? I don't know if there's any significance to hitting both lit ones at once. There may have been times 3 targets were lit. I often wondered if it was part of unimplemented rules how sometimes the lit target changed around or if more than 1 was lit.

Rob

Yeah it's typically not my go to strategy. I try Train first but if I can't hit the ramps I usually move to either War Machine or Back in Black.

You can have multiple awards lit for a given cannon shot; collect bonus, song jackpot, loop jackpot, target jackpot, etc. As long as you hit at least one lit target, the cannon will remain lit and you can reload it for a shot at the other awards.

No. When the cannon is ready to be loaded, the red cannon flasher, to the right of the cannon, flashes.

That's not correct. When a cannon insert is flashing, that means a cannon jackpot is ready to be collected at the drops/ standups, but you still need to qualify the cannon (more fire lanes completed). Load cannon when the cannon flasher is flashing, then watch the DMD to see which shot is the cannon jackpot, then shoot the jackpot to collect the points and complete the mode, which lights the insert solid. It will never be the middle (song jackpot) target. As mentioned, other jackpots may be available from other targets. You can collect two jackpots (song, cannon, loop, etc.) at once.

More was planned for the cannon modes, but other modes (depth) made them impossible. Lyman may still add something to them, but the rest of the code far outweighs any missed cannon modes. AC/DC is easily one of the top 3 games built in the last 10 years. As is.

Those saying the cannon inserts don't have a function or are 'dead' clearly haven't played it enough to get a clue about the rules. Watch when the inserts flash and watch the DMD when the cannon is loaded. You can learn a lot if you pay attention.

I was playing some ACDC just now and scored 3 or 4 'Triple Multiball Jackpot' during my first multiball and other than the DMD presentation, there's no callout or special fanfare for getting it. If Lyman ever does another update, I hope he adds some audio reward for scoring these.

Each one was around 5 million points.

Rob

You will never see cannon modes as early code had the cannon shoot all over the playfield it caused a lot of lost balls. That is why jackpots are same shot time after time cannon modes are now just one more chance to collect jackpot.