Only one way to get to be a better player.

The only reason it would be huge is because you played well and earned that jackpot score. You should never be penalized with a ball drain for then collecting the desired shot. The risk factor should only be in missing the target. It seems there are two camps on this point. I don't see why it can't be a game option that we could enable if we wanted it. Clearly some of us do.

You get penalized for hitting the bell. In TZ you get penalized for hitting the Greed targets. Many games are setup to screw you if you go for high point type shots. It's the way they are designed. The bell giving 2x playfield, should be risky to go for.

Agreed. An the bell is risky enough. But in TZ you don't get screwed for going for and successfully making say super jackpot.

FIXED it for ya

but you can get screwed for making a nice skill shot and thrown to the bumper pit. Not much different than going for a big score saucer on AFM. Saucers are dangerous. Castle doors are dangerous. Huge points, is it worth it? That's the joy of not knowing.

Once again is this not the same as slamming a ball into the castle gate on MM or the mother ship on AFM? Does your game drain EVERYTIME you shoot the drops from the cannon? I seriously doubt it. Keep on ignoring my comparison cause you know it basically leaves your complaint In shambles.

I've been trying to explain this for a while. Maybe some people would be happier of with rubber bands across the outlanes.

Because Lyman is firmly rooted in the player's camp. He has a 3 story tent there (with basement) and a pool out back. Been there for years.

Someone should ask him at a show this summer. I think he would say that it might detract from the risk/reward factor that makes it the great game it is.

I think AC/DC is a better game than TZ.

Isn't that what makes pinball fun? Some risk? I've said it before... games have spinning discs, magnets, pop bumbers, etc. If you dont like those kinds of designed randomizers, there are plenty of other games out there.

I don't want every shot to be returned safely to the flipper. I love the risk/reward of the shots in this game.

I gotta agree with everyone that thinks the cannon auto-firing and draining down the left outlane is total bulls**t. In my opinion, it is the only flaw in an otherwise perfect game. Lyman really needs to address this at some point.

I dont seem to have that problem. Yes, the canon auto-fires but have yet to have that result in a drain. Doh....I am so going to regret saying that.

Seems more like an autoflip in TAF, only instead of going where it's supposed to, Thing autoflips it straight down the outlane...awesome :/

Seems like most want a ball saver for shots fired at the drops for song jackpot or whatever smaller jackpot. I know the auto fire drain sucks but like I said before dont shoot H2H if the cannon isn't lit for a controlled cannon shot. Seems simple enough

A gripe I have with my premium is that ALL ball ejects from the ejector behind the bell go SDTM if the bell is up when ejected. Always. Is this the same on everybody's premium?

I would sell the game if it ruins your day !

Ridiculous.

I was playing my AFM last night. I was thinking that according to Mark, every time I hit the 3 bank target or the saucer, there should be a ball saver started. After all, those are made shots, and you should "never be penalized with a ball drain for collecting the desired shot".

Pinball 101: (something like $3 on ios)

http://www.pinballvideo.com/p101.htm

Adjusting your machine:

http://www.flippers.be/basics/101_adjust_pinball.html

Slap Save:

Come on, Jim. Don't be like that. I know you're one of the most ardent supporters of the game, but anyone can plainly see that this is a design flaw. There is no way Lyman or Steve planned on having the ball drain down the outlane such a high percentage of the time when coming from the cannon. Some say it's a risk/reward thing, but I say that's BS. The bell shot, yes. The song jackpot shot, absolutely. But not when the cannon is firing the ball on its own. It's just bad programming, plain and simple. That being said, I don't necessarily blame Lyman. It's clear that this isn't a problem on some people's games, so I can only assume it isn't a problem on the game Lyman uses to test his programming.

I agree with what you say ,I do ! I play my game to satisfy my pinball playing desires . I don't think I have played HTH in the last 1000 games played or TNT .

Remember when Steve said you can play the area of the pin you like? Well, that is what I do and I play the shit out of Hells Bells and go for big jackpots in multiball and song jackpot. I don't even care about encore at all.. Someday I may want to play the game to the end, but as for now I enjoy playing AC/DC the way that makes me happy !

PLAY BETTER

That's what Steve would say!

I don't see it as a big deal. I just envision the same people that are complaining about this screaming at the chair they just stubbed their toe on.

I only have mine drain maybe 10% of the time. I'd check to make sure your games are level. If you're still getting it to drain, nudge the ball as it is fired, as it hits the targets, or as it heads towards the outlane. Has anyone ever had a magnet from TAF fire a ball straight to the outlane? One of those whirlwind spinners toss your ball to the outlane?

I can see this getting corrected in future code, so I don't think there's a point to get so bent out of shape at this point. I just hope that they don't cater to the masses on everything, or at least make things like ball savers on the song jackpot adjustable.. It's a great game, spend that complaining time practicing!

I would say this:

a) definitely need ball saver for auto cannon. Anytime a shot occurs without you having any control, it's dumb. Honestly, what really needs to be done is that there never should be an autofire shot, it should just make up something for you to hit.

b) on a made song jackpot shot, there should be a ball saver, at least on the outlanes. Not on the other ones (combo, target, for those about to rock, etc) but hitting a big jackpot shouldn't penalize the player.

Unless I'm playing tournament, I have been starting with TNT and HTH/HAABPTB to get them out of the way, lol. I'm trying to get Encore and failing miserably. I don't want to start working on my writeup/strats until I have gotten to it the first time.

Id rather see them change the timing of where they auto shoot the cannon.....maybe towards the left loop so its more or a controlled shot. Or like others suggested give control of the cannon to the player.

Couldnt disagree more.....takes all the risk out of a risk reward shot. Ive had it happen to me less then 10 times since ive owned the game. Maybe you should try adjusting the setup of your pin.

For all those who insist on taking the risk out of the game & there is always standard adjustment #51.....Coin Door Ball save.

Anyone know how to adjust the height of the cannon (since nobody will reply to my tech threads lol..)? Mine is sitting pretty low, and ball hanging on it. Just PM me if ya know. Thanks.

Maybe this has been mentioned, but couldn't the code just be tweaked so the auto cannon fire happens a little earlier or a little later, thus eliminating the drain and need for a ball saver?

P.S. I don't own an AC/DC, so I don't really have much knowledge of this issue...so don't flame me if this is not a good idea .

Yes, I think that is likely to happen in a future update.

I'm fine with your suggestion in "a", but disagree strongly with your "b".

Been thinking about this. I am firmly against a "ball saver", but wouldn't be opposed to the player being allowed to use a backstage pass after an auto fire that triggers a timed save if necessary. This way at least you are giving something up for the save.

As far as any kind of save when hitting the drops targets or any other shot from the cannon you control..No Way! You are taking the risk on your own and should learn the angles and shots coming off the cannon. I rarely get deflections off cannon shots and if I think the shot is risky, I choose when to take it.

Well that sucks. Forgive me if you already mentioned it, but have you tried making adjustments? Pitch, level, outlane post, cannon, cannon switches, wax, etc? It may be as simple as moving the outlane post or leaning it to one side or the other slightly. If you haven't tried those things, you really should. Most folks are happy with their game. With a few adjustments, I bet you will be too.

Gotta agree. You should not have that same result without something being off. I will say this, the game does seem to break itself in after awhile. Don't play Highway To Hell exclusively for awhile and revisit it from time to time. Definitely check your levels and pitch and just keep playing it. Your frustration will subside.

FWIW, I've seen the autofire on my own game a few times now. I know for SURE my game is NOT level side to side. I get plenty of STDM off the ramp when I biff the shot, and off the bell and pops exits a LOT. I also do *not* get the auto-drain from the cannon autofire into the TNT targets. It gets close, but will usually bounce out or go down the left INLANE.

I haven't decided how I'm going to fix it yet. Unlevel the game is extremely frustrating at times, but I don't want to deal with the cannon-crapshot either, so screwed either way it would seem, lol.

My game is level side to side, and I think the pitch is about 6.8 or so. What sort of pitch do people have that are having issues?

I wouldn't mind if they gave an option to allow for a ball saver after a canon shot, but I personally would leave it turned off anyway.

I like that AC/DC is brutal. It should be. The game is fast, and crazy, but if you're dialed in and chaining together good shots, you can have a great ball. I will admit that the game is pushing my wife around quite a bit, but she's going to be a better pinball player once she gets her instincts sharpened and learns to nudge, slap, and shake as needed. Just last night she was already improving on her saves, only after about an hour of play.

Every game has a missed shot or eject that is super dangerous. It should be that way. The game should always keep you on your toes.

I, in fact, do this on my TSPP. Some of its elements, like Alien Invasion, are simply not doable without it (and aren't so easy even with it).

I agree on the auto cannon should have ball save or not fire into the worse spot in the game, but not on the Jackpot shots. I nudge to the right just as the ball hits the targets and rarely have a drain.
That being said, I rarely have it auto fire in single ball mode so its not a big issue to me.
What I hate is when the center target does not go down when you hit it. THAT is frustrating to no end.