I just don't know how that happens with a low play game because I rarely ever get the ball in the bell scoop. Maybe it was a 1 shot, 1 chip fluke? I added bell and jukebox protectors to mine though. The bell protector was a time consuming to install.

As for the Z connectors under the playfield. Some are marked, but not all (on my game).

Rob

Hmm, not much activity on this thread as the last post is 10 weeks old...

Anyhow, I was playing my Luci the other day and thought that the lower playfield songs (modes) felt very restricted if you start a multiball during them. Since you can't get the ball in the lower playfield then, the scoring possibilities are less than if you had an upper playfield song going.

I still feel like the end ball bonus is such a blur that it's difficult (impossible) to discern where you got your points. I still have no idea what the super modes are doing because unless you see the momentary info blurb about them on the DMD, there's nothing else telling you.

Does anyone think Hells Bells is scoring imbalanced with the VIP passes and playfield multiplier? What if the VIP pass only added perhaps 5 seconds (settable) to the timer? Just curious if anyone had thoughts about this since other changes had been made to reduce scoring imbalances.

Rob

Yeah, but the MET spinners have no light show like ACDC has. The MET spinners also don't do very much except for switch hits in one of the CIU modes - I forget which one.

Rob

I don't mind the crossover ramp, but it certainly could be used for more than loading the cannon. How about setting up for a bell hurry up shot for example?

Rob

I just finished playing some Luci and made an observation on what might be a vague rule and I'm not sure if anyone noticed this.

During TNT mode if you shoot the TNT letters in order from left to right, the center target is lit for 700,000 hurry up instead of the regular 350,000.

I know there's lots of other vague stuff in the game, but this is one thing I did notice and confirm tonight.

Oh one other thing I think would be cool to see is a total score displayed for the lower playfield..

Rob

It doesn't make sense why a game that is such a success like ACDC is, does not get its software completed. Maybe 90% right now? Stern spends the time and effort to make Luci and now the LED Pro, but there hasn't been a significant code update in over a year and a half. Perhaps the idea of cannon modes was simply scrapped well after the playfields were being made? Stern isn't going to admit there will never be cannon modes, but I think if it was part of the design still then there would have been something. Maybe they don't want to fix something that's not broken? If they shoehorn in cannon modes it might not fit well with the flow of the game... Who knows... The saying is that version 2.0 is supposed to be the final... Whether we ever see that is anyones guess except Lyman and maybe Steve.

Rob

Have you ever been close to encore? Has anyone here been?

Will we ever see live mode implemented? One can only hope...

Rob

I just decreased the jukebox song requirements down from 8 to 6. It's something that doesn't really affect scoring much or make the game itself easier, but it does give you a bit more chance on achieving encore if that is what you are going for. I also have the outlane posts on the bottom holes which only helps a little with outlane drains.

No, I have not come close to encore. But yesterday I did complete a few more multiballs and noticed the album insert stayed on solid. I had never seen that before...

Rob

It's a matter of preference. Some love it, some don't. I have a Luci and love the artwork even if the girl isn't band related. You could also consider that there may be fewer Luci produced so it would be less common than the regular premium. Even though there's many ACDC premium out there, you just don't see them for sale often.

Stern announced earlier this summer that their license for ACDC was ending with 2014. It was a very good run for Stern!

Rob

It should be dimple city on the left side of the playfield from all the cannon shots...

Rob

I find it interesting that Keith says the game is never in tournaments and takes too long? He also didn't seem to like stacking the multiballs together - especially tour and jam.

Rob

Hmm, that kind of sounds counter productive then... You would think stacking them should be more worthwhile.. Are the triple jackpots from the bell not significant enough to be worth it?

Rob

Is that with HB and VIP strategy, or something else?

Rob

That's how I feel about my Luci.. Ok, so it's not an LE, but I still really like the artwork and it's what finally sold me on getting ACDC instead of ST LE at the time. If I sold my Luci, I would probably never be able to replace it.

I still hope one day Lyman does release another update for ACDC. Maybe enable that live mode....

Rob

Just remember all, you can change the number of notes required to complete a song. The default is 8, but 6 might make encore a bit more achievable for us mere mortals. A difficult to achieve wizard mode is ok, but ACDC doesn't have any other wizard modes which are more easy to get to. I think the most songs I have ever completed is about 7 or 8. I don't play specific strategies and try different things. Having fun doesn't always mean scoring the highest amount of points.

Rob

On my game I turned off the setting for mini playfield to be enabled at song start. I didn't like the mini playfield being a freebie at song start and thought it should be earned. In the grand scheme of things, I'm just not sure if the mini playfield even matters that much in the game. It sure doesn't qualify easily for songs like "HAABPTB". Maybe I'll change the setting back, but I'd like to hear other opinions about strategies for the mini playfield.

edit: I went and checked out Bowen's rulesheet. There's another setting for how hard it is to qualify the lower playfield. Maybe I'll set that easier. I'm not suprised that BIB is listed as 'CRUD' for song scoring opportunities. I think BIB could be fixed if it was only 1 lit target instead of the whole bank to qualify the note shots.

Rob

I think you hold the left flipper button while in attract mode and you can play the songs. It does nothing in the game itself.

Rob

Oh right, sorry I misread your post. Family mode means the game doesn't swear - which is kinda rare anyhow.

Rob

A code update would sure light the fires again because I think the game could still use one. If Lyman cares so much about perfecting MET, why doesn't he release anything for ACDC? Oh well!

Rob

I've hit that bell so hard it keeps swinging for so long and I can't get another hit on it. There's a magnet to move / stop the bell, but it's not really used except to swing the bell in HB and VIP pass.

Rob

I happen to like Luci very much and it was the reason I got swayed into buying mine back in 2013 (NIB). Back then prices were reasonable even in Canada. Now, everything is out to lunch.

Rob

It is a great shot, but the bell on mine swings too damn much! That magnet needs to be used to slow it down a bit because there's nothing more frustrating that hitting the bell shot again and it doesn't count because the damn thing is still swinging like crazy.

Rob

Mine has hit the glass... Quite hard sometimes too. Those are the times when it just swings too long.

Rob

I got back into playing ACDC and am having a lot of fun doing so! If you own an ACDC and haven't played it in a while, do yourself a favor and turn it on!

I'm not playing strategies to score high, just to have fun. I'm still averaging 150-200 million on good games. It has been a while and I finally got the super jackpot for Album Multiball, but I didn't see how much it was I've also been playing different songs and seeing how they score compared to each other. HAABPTB lower playfield scoring seemed least rewarding while HB lower playfield seems the best (and most fun).

Some interesting ideas on what I would change if I could. This is just for fun, nothing more...

- Left/right target banks score higher jackpots than center bank during multiball (based on the difficulty of completing them)
- Multiball cannon shot starts at 1 million.
- Cannon inserts add to cannon shot score values (except song jackpot). Each successful cannon shot lights an insert.
- Horn inserts score more during hell songs, making horn insert shots increases lower playfield scoring
- Optional ball save on cannon shot. I despise the left outlane drain from cannon shots!
- Option so a song cannot be replayed
- Lower playfield score total displayed when timer expires
- Bell swings on every shot during HB (except maybe multiball).
- Points for making HB saucer when not playing HB (plus a BONG sound and animation!)

I know people wish the lower playfield could be played while during multiball for example, but I just don't see that working well at all.

Rob

The bell saucer was tough to do on mine. The screws were so tight that there was no way to remove them by hand. I had to use a drill with a phillips bit to get those out!

On a side note, it's a good idea to put a lock washer on the bell retaining screw so it doesn't come loose. A loose bell can break the opto.

Rob

Dust it off and start playing again. You will be amazed what you are missing if you get back into it.

Rob

Playing tonight and picked FTATR just before going into multiball, but I really had wanted LTBR. So I thought what the heck, this should be a good challenge! I had Jam and Album multiballs lit.

40 million on LTBR during multiball! Maybe that's not much for some, but for me it was a new record on this song. I can't say enough how challenging it is to keep the balls in play AND shoot that darn cannon during the process. It's obviously not something tourny players are going to do, but at home if you want a challenge then try playing LTBR with JAM multiball.

I put my colordmd back in ACDC after trying it out on IM. Red dots just suck after having color....

Rob

Ok for you ACDC rule experts out there. When playing SMANL, what is the difference between the flashing notes and the lit solid ones? As far as I can tell, there's really no difference in how they score.

I also noticed a minor bug where if you are playing TNT, have the TNT middle upright target flashing (premium) and then start a multiball, the target bank resets but the insert is still blinking.

I think I was wrong about FTATR not being lucrative... The shot values are considerably more than other songs so this mode is actually worth giving a try. The jury is still out on BIB, but there's a nice little bonus for completing the ACDC target bank again during the song.

There's A LOT of little scoring nuances in this game if you really pay attention. I finally replaced the coil stops so now flipper travel is back to normal. Having fun playing it again, like a second honeymoon!

Rob
ps, while testing the game with the glass off, I hit and looped the bell once!

Check the coil stops on the flippers Freezie. Games from that era had bad stops where the brass part turned to dust.

Now you need a colordmd in that ACDC

Rob

20170522_220105 (resized).jpg

Could be! I also noticed that completing all the flashing ones makes them reset to all flashing again and scoring 50,000 more (I think).

Rob

VERY useful to know! Thank you!

Rob

I don't have that particular issue, but I do see inserts briefly flicker on at random times when they shouldn't. For example, bonus count or when the cannon is loading. My game has always done that.

Rob

Still lovin' my Luci because it plays so much slower than the pro.....

Rob

I think there might be a bug in the multiball start if there's another jackpot shot ready to be collected. I had tour multiball lit, shot the cannon and only got a cannon shot for combo jackpot. Tour multiball remained lit and I had to shoot the cannon again to get it. I've had this happen a few times recently.

Rob

Welcome to the club!

Rob

It's a low production premium model with different cabinet art, different translite and different mini playfield art (has 2 women on it).

Rob

Yes, this can be annoying especially during multiball and you are trying to build/hold multipliers.

A missed opportunity in the rules perhaps. The lower playfield could build a jackpot which is then collected from a cannon shot to a specific location.

None of the lower playfield scoring is lucrative that I know of. And if there is, it's something I've never, ever noticed.

Perhaps another thing that could be adjusted in code. I never noticed the lower playfield not stopping ball save timer.

There's a magnet under the bell. It swings the bell if you use a VIP pass during HB. Other than that, I don't think it's used. The bell on my game swings a long time too.

Rob

Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world? Listen to request #49 in the game rom....

Ok, ok... maybe it's not that 'special'.... or is it??

Rob

The recent TWD update makes me wonder why Lyman never went back to ACDC like he has for TWD and MET? I'm thinking about selling ACDC and getting a TWD premium.

Rob

I don't think ACDC needs much, but like you said nerf HB and improve BIB. And show a scoring total for playing the lower playfield.

Rob

I set the posts to the lowest spot (most closed). I would say do it.

Rob

I've been hoping for 3 or 4 years there would be another decent update... Maybe he just doesn't like the game as much as TWD or MET?

Rob

I just sent an email to colordmd about this. I bought 2 new colordmd and the panels have poor viewing angles. Anyone watching play from the side will see about a 50% reduction in brightness. Two displays I bought 3+ years ago have great viewing angles.

Rob

No, you are not missing anything. The option doesn't do anything and cannot be changed.

Rob

I'm in the process of finally fixing the ACDC target bank on my game. It was getting really annoying that 20% of cannon shots were not dropping the targets. I've already done the TNT target bank, but the ACDC is a lot more work. To really be able to easily remove the bank, the mini playfield and left support bracket need to be out of the way. The mini playfield is easy to remove though.

The fix will involve shortening the target drop springs by about 3mm and moderately stetching out the push springs behind the targets.

Rob

20180228_182459 (resized).jpg

Pull springs shortened....

Rob

20180228_194846 (resized).jpg

The target bank is back together, but before I can reassemble the game, I need to fix the mini playfield targets. They need to be straightened and then the screws holding them together tightened.

Rob

20180228_234922 (resized).jpg

I think it's too soon for them to, since we will most likely get another update to fix oi mania.

I noticed the colordmd rom also does not colorize all high score achievements and also stops colorizing when bonus count goes above 25x.

Rob

I've had another problem on my Luci for quite a while now, but I'm finally getting around to fixing it. The band member coil is sticking. It works absolutely fine in test mode and has no binding when actuated by hand. But in game mode the coil stays energized a little longer than test which seems to cause it to mechanically/magnetically stick. Has anyone else had this trouble?

Rob

I put lock washers on the target screws and tightened them pretty good. I did something similar on Iron Man Whiplash targets and they have been good since.

Rob

This is probably the best solution I think. Although 1mm is probably plenty

Rob

A follow up note about the sticking band member coil on my Luci. I put a small piece of mylar on the coil stop and that seems to have fixed the issue. The coil stop was getting magnetized and holding the coil shaft in.

Rob

Next version will knock your socks off....

Rob

I may be wrong, but I think this was only fitted on the pro models. Maybe there's a slight geometry difference because of the standup targets on the pro?

In the 'Making of ACDC pinball' video that Stern released, the original whitewood appears to show the ball could also exit the pop bumpers to the right, under the right ramp.

Rob

......

I recently dropped the angle of the flippers on my ACDC Luci just a slight amount. They felt ridiculously high after playing lots of IMDN and BM66. No droop, but in line with the inlanes. I never had a problem making any shots before or now. The right orbit is fun to backhand.

Rob

ACDC is an outlane drain monster compared to Iron Maiden or BM66. Throw in a few super cheap drains from cannon shots that follow the same annoying drain pattern from left target -> right target -> left outlane. I found the outlanes so frustrating on ACDC that I moved the posts to the lowest setting and at least it's a little better now.

Rob

Maybe 8 or 9 total is my best. I lowered the outlane posts to the bottom on my game because it was an absolute drain monster before that. Extra balls are also more difficult to earn on ACDC and you are lucky to get one - two is rare.

I have tried lowering note requirements for relighting the jukebox to 7 and it helps a little. Yeah, encore is a long way off for me too.

Rob

I don't think I'm ever going to wrap my head around these song bonuses, it's too much math!

Rob

I just flail away and shoot lit shots to score points Thanks for the chart.

Rob

........

ACDC is the only game where I put the outlane posts to the bottom position because of the drains.

Rob

Cannon modes never made it into the game because they just didn't work out how the programmer wanted. Maybe they might do something minor in the next update, but it's not a priority.

Rob

I'm kind of one the cliff edge of selling my game again. I was there last year and then an update came out. But, sometimes finances get in the way of having fun... I don't want to sell it.... I hate this.

Rob

I don't want to sell any games... I already sold enough last year (SWLE, IMVE, GoTPro). Oh well

Rob

The slings on my ACDC Premium have always seemed overpowered and I also wish there was an adjustment. The flippers on my GoT pro were way overpowered too.

I will ask if we can get a sling power adjustment setting.

Rob

And just think, it's only gonna get better!

Rob

ACDC is probably the only game where I moved both outlane posts to the lowest position. The outlanes can be very unforgiving.

Rob

,,,

Absolutely %100 wrong about lazy coding.

Rob

I played a lot of ACDC this weekend so far, trying to set high scores on the songs by only playing 1 song for the whole game. I was killing it on RNR Train during multiball tonight, but strangely (I thought) my high score was only 24 million for the song at the end of the game. Another song which didn't seem to score that well in extended play was HAABPTB. Other songs like TNT and BIB I was easily able to score 70+ million on extended play. Other songs I will try later, but I'm going to revisit HAABPTB and RNRT to see if I can do better

I also noticed Hold Bonus doesn't keep the multiplier which is disappointing.

Rob

Definitely not normal. Probably some kind of switch issue, but I couldn't tell you which one.

Rob

The song restart matches the song jackpot restarting. There, now you know why it was originally programmed the way it was. I think you guys should just be a bit more patient and then you will all be happy.

Rob

Switch test diagnostics. Look for intermittent switches when flipping flippers or lightly banging playfield with hand.
Reseat connectors on drop target bank switch boards
Reseat connector on ball trough opto board (common issue here)

Rob

Song jackpots would only carry over if you beat Bookworm... Oh wait, wrong game.

Rob

This game has sucked me into back playing it, a lot! I'm trying to make it to encore, but no luck so far. Maybe some day

Rob

I take it when I can get it. Unless I know I'm close to a multiplier with 1 more bell hit then I might go that way first.

Rob

Did Stern change the flasher design of the lightning bolts for the vault edition games? I was shown something that I have not seen on any website. It's also definitely not a hooked or pinbits version either.

Rob

Yes, those are different and better than the original ones. The original had a 906 flasher bulb socket behind the bolt and the metal bolt bracket did not allow light through it from behind.

Rob

I lowered the outlane posts on my game. I got 9 songs the other day too. Some day I will do 12 at default settings.

Rob

The newer Stern designed ones are rather nice quality too.

Rob

I'm surprised nobody has bothered to fix the colordmd rom for ACDC. Maybe they thought the next update was around the corner and were waiting for that?

Rob

Colordmd.

Rob

The thing about Encore is that I don't think you make it there unless you are purposely trying to get there. And if you are purposely trying to get there, then your score probably suffers as a result. Playing songs just to finish as quickly as possible isn't very fun either.

Rob

Can someone post a photo of their flippers at rest and full stroke? I think the flippers on my ACDC have too much travel, possibly because the coil stops I bought are allowing that. I lowered the flippers slightly from the factory alignment holes to be more straight with the lane guide and reduce some of the up-travel. But it still seems too much.

Rob
20191102_193243 (resized).jpg20191102_193252 (resized).jpg

I do see a bit of a difference where mine seems to have a bit more flipper travel. I'm going to have to replace those stops as they are not the right ones then.

Rob

No, that's just the jukebox. Live mode is nothing right now and the setting can't be changed.

Rob

I have that problem on my Luci right now with too much flipper travel and I posted about it several days ago. I don't like how it plays so I am going to go through my 'used' coil stop collection tonight and see if I can find something better.

Rob

I think that's the way it is supposed to be now, but Lyman left an 'out' with the VIP pass so it can work like before, it just takes more effort.

Rob

I really wish Lyman had just released a fix for OI mania and maybe a few other small things. The song rule changes were really necessary though so I am glad the last update was done. But, too bad it wasn't done sooner. We're into 2020 now and a 7 or 8 year old game is not quite complete with one of the features being broken for almost 2 years now. Colordmd never updated the ACDC code either so that left more things kinda broken looking.

Rob

There were new animations on the lower playfield? I didn't realize that....

Rob

Nope.

Rob

Gonna try leaving the club as I posted mine for sale locally. I bought mine back in 2013 NIB when after a several year hiatus, I decided to get back into the pinball hobby. It was a toss up between Luci and Star Trek LE. I thought I would keep my Luci, but, well, just time to move on from it I guess.

Rob

Stern had some new design for the vault games which are much better than original.

I am going to miss my Luci, she is tentatively sold now.

Rob