Im guessing that they just added more time to the sing timers probably right? I guess we could put the timers back to where they were before the update and it would be like it was? The only problem is i don't know where they used to be set at.

I did get combo champ the other night (16). Just did make it. But still probably one or two songs away from Medley Tour Multiball. I'm digging the sound and light show for / super lanes, super targets. But yes it's a different game and I need to play better.

They only way I can score better with this new code is to try to keep multi-ball going a lot longer than my usual. If I don't my scores are much lower with this update.

I got a shaker in my pro and feel it is used appropriately. +1 for shaker.

I've made it to Medley Tour once with the new code, but i only made it once on the old code, still haven't made it to final tour on either code.

Back in the Saddle it the hardest song with the new code. Hitting the right orbit 5 times in 50 seconds is tough, never mind the hitting a follow up shot as well. I can go the entire song and not hit the right orbit once!

Because it's so hard, i usually start with Back in the Saddle so that i don't have to play it in the middle of a good game. Still, it's made me a much better player, as you have to work on post passing to set up the orbit, and play with a lot more control in general.

Come to think of it, i haven't ever finished Love in an Elevator. Best i've done is the 8th floor, so that song remains equally tough since the beginning.

I play the game down at the arcade and 150 million and up will get you on the leader board. Replay is usually 16 million, so it shows most people aren't even making past that.

Aerosmith is a tough game, with tough shots. Orbits, ramps, scoops, the lock shot, all tough.

They didn't mention changing the song timers - but they might have.

This is what the read me says changed (relevant to the discussion)...

- Added game logic and an adjustment to make Sweet Emotion easier to finish,
default = EASY. Now, upon timing out, the mode preserves it's progress.
Previously (and now the HARD setting) the mode resets it's progress.

- Changed the behavior of 3 modes, i.e. Back in the Saddle, Rats in the Cellar
and Walk this Way. Now these modes will count down and time out if not completed.

- Added game logic and an adjustment to change the difficulty of advancing
towards Medley Multiball. Previously Medley Multiball was advanced by making
1 shot during each mode/multiball. Now, with the "SHOTS NEEDED TO QUALIFY MEDLEY MULTIBALL"
adjustment, the game can be adjusted to require more shots to advance to this
wizard mode feature. Default = 1 shot.

So "Sweet Emotion" is easier, BitS, RitC and WtW will time out, and Medley Multiball difficulty (to start) is adjustable.
- BitS, RitC and Wtw - this change affects getting to Final Tour - but does NOT change getting to Medley Multiball
- The Shots Needed to Qualify adjustment defaults to the same value as before - so it shouldn't be harder

My suggestions for making it easier would be similar to Who-Deys...
- shorten the Song Timer(s)
- change "Shots Needed to Qualify" to Zero

I think the code is really great, I love how difficult the game is, and getting to medley is tough because there are no gimme modes really. Elevator is a tough MB but easy to understand and tons of fun to play.. my take is the game is not easy, a tough game to play at home though = more interest from me over the long haul. Loving it.

Question for AS experts. I have a recently purchased LE with latest code but cannot get the second skill shot to work. Rulesheets says hold down left flipper and soft plunge to then hit lit shot (one of three). When I try it first if hold left flipper before plunge it will change mode song. Then I never see any change in lighting on playflield. Does this skill shot really exist? Help?

I'm not an expert but did stay in a Holiday Express last night. Lol and I have a Pro so it may be different.
I pick song that I want, then press button one more time. Then when your press left flipper button and hold it in, it will light you song (mode) that you really want. Short plunge, not hitting upper switch. And one arrow will be lite WHITE. Hit that shot and receive two smart missile. If you miss and light goes out let it drain IF ball save is still on. Then shoot for the hidden shot to receive one smart missile. Hope this helps.

The. (One of Three) shots are Center ramp, Left orbit or Crank it Up. Only one will be lite.

Update code is 1.07.0 and that's what you have.

My opinion as of now & subject to change.

The recent update made the game a bit less fun but gave it better staying power.

If it’s too difficult long term I may close the outlanes a bit or explore software settings.

This is the first game I bought half baked (software, not me). After watching it develop & change I now see the challenge in programming a game with balance & I don’t mean scoring balance.

Make it too difficult & there’s no excitement. Make it too exciting & you either run out of shit to do &/or there’s so much going on you can’t keep track of things.

Game is great. I don’t think it’s ever leaving.

This is what i think. Before the update you always had that excitement of getting to Medley Tour Multiball pretty often and now its like you dont have that anymore. I know.....”play better” and that is true, but I personally think getting to the first mini wizard mode should be able to be achieved by most players. They have pretty much taken that away from the average player now.

Good point.

Can each mode have its required shots reduced in the software settings?

Basically, I'm too lazy to get up haha

No, but you can reduce the amount of time for each song to time out, giving you a chance to start the next song more quickly. That makes medley harder to complete then, but it makes getting to it easier than default. I will leave the time on default for now. We're playing AS less now though, and playing others more.

Is the timers for the songs longer now and thats why it seems different? I know that the modes no longer end when you get close if you drain your ball like they used to. Getting to Medley Tour Multiball seemed like it was the perfect difficulty before. Its like you would always be close to getting it but almost always fall short. Now its like I usually only finish with two or three songs lit seems like and im never even close to Medley Tour Multiball.

The 3 songs would auto complete at end of ball if you got 1 shot and crank it up. Not sure on a longer timer, but it does seem like it. Maybe just because the auto complete isn't there anymore. That makes Rats a lot harder and longer. They might be about 10 seconds longer ... not sure

Had a couple of games on this over the weekend, I had only played it a couple of times since the previous update as IMdn has been taking all of my pinball playing time.

I still don't think the game is great, once you get to Medley, you're pretty much guaranteed to get to Final Tour - which is definitely not difficult (hit any 25 shots in MB with a ballsaver before hitting the scoop for jackpot) or fun to actually play.

Back to IMdn

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Although previously it did show as lit solid, if you didn't make all of the shots you still had to play the song to completion in Medley.

Rats is now the mode to take into MB IMHO, had a score of over 108million due to so many shots being lit.

Now that you have to hit at least 1 shot to be able to progress any mode has to be an improvement, to counter players just trying to time out modes to get to Medley. It was fun watching Zach against Keith in the SCS finals. Zach was trying to time out Back in the Saddle by just hitting the centre ramp and trapping. He did this right the way through the timer and was confused as to why Medley wasn't then lit and had to restart BitS.

My problem is the ball never comes down clean to a flipper on a short plunge. It usually hits something that ends the skill shot.

BINGO

This is why I think it's a little harder now. You can't start another song when you drain (with time left). If you have a 5 ball game, that's a lot of songs you need to time out while playing as apposed to start a new song when start a new ball.

Wasn't every song default 30 seconds? Hit CIU to add an additional 30 seconds.

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Nice game Dave!

I’ve had access to one for a while at a friends house, and he sold it. Last week when I was hanging out there, I missed it. So poof. I’m definitely in too many of these “clubs” right now

So what’s the consensus. Update to the latest code? Or just stick. Right now I feel the game is just a fun romp, and I wanted to be sure the newer code felt the same.

Thats a good question and you should listen to what everyone thinks and then make a decision. The latest code update made the game harder and in my opinion not as fun so i would just hang tight for right now and enjoy what you got for awhile. Others hopefully will chime in and give their opinion also.

I just today set my game to a 4 ball game. Still didn't get to medley multiball. I tried my best to keep balls in play for 50 second and start another song. Needed to finish timer for last song to start (Medley) but drained after a Brick Shot. Then I would have 2 completed and 5 uncompleted songs. It maybe my only hope to Medley.

I just had a really good game and still ended up two modes away from Medley tour. The game is still a lot of fun to play but i think the difficulty is too high for getting to medley tour multiball now.

In settings on the old code that you have, what are the song durations (time out) set at on default? 20 seconds, 30 seconds? A page or so of comments are inquiring ...

On 1.03 the default was 30 seconds.

Just joined the club. I picked a HUO from the original owner. It's in beautiful shape with some lighting mods. I'm loving how colorful this pin is!

And now they are 50 seconds? If so that explains the difference in difficulty.

Congrats, Aerosmith is a great game!

Most modes end when you run out of time (at least one – Same Old Song – will end after you’ve shot enough targets during the CIU phase).

We just got our used Pro yesterday and are having a blast playing it.

It's still running 1.03 code and I see on Stern's website the current code is 1.07.

Just wondering from those who did the update was it a big improvement. I read the "read me" file, but not sure if it translates into a better playing experience.

My wife and I are both below average pin players and the game is so new to us, we wouldn't notice most changes anyway.

Thanks for any feedback!

I think i like 1.03 better because its easier and seems to be more fun.

Thanks for your feedback. Anyone else care to weigh in with their opinion?

I like that the light show is better for TBMB, the sounds and light show for Same Old Song & Dance. And Dude Looks Like A Lady is better. Super Scoring is cool. The game is harder that's for sure. I just started playing with 4 balls. I'll try and see if timer for songs can be changed to 30 second in adjustments or set game to the easiest game settings. I think the call outs are better too. FYI: last week when we were playing Jacky dropped the "F" bomb twice within three games. I said have we just played 200 games? Someone said he's (Jacky) is picking up on our language. I said get the "F" outta here, really. Lol

Shaker showed up today. Already installed. Ready to give it a spin (literally and figuratively). What's everybody got theirs set to on Pro 1.07 code?

I guess that's two pairs. I know it don't sound right. But I'm trying to get to Medley.

Max, Full , Cranked Up. All it's got.

Yeah, didn't take long to figure that out, especially w/the sub blasting.

Lol hell yeah! How far do you crank yours up? I usually just keep mine around 22.

Joined the club last night!!

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They still list it in their current games list:

https://sternpinball.com/games/

That usually indicates they are still making it, or at least that it is still available.

Personally I much MUCH prefer the new code - being able to resume the songs from where you left off means I actually have a shot at completing them.

Thsts true but under the old code, being able to get to or being within reach of Medey Tour Multiball was always a super adrenaline rush on a pretty regular basis. Now that almost never happens unless you are a great player. You could also complete the songs if you made it to the main wizard mode. Downvote me all you want but the game was more fun under the old code.

I’ve never made it to medley, old or new. How did the new code make it harder? (Serious question...)

Shorter timer in previous code = you could start another song sooner.

Some modes completed when ball drained in previous code = you could start another song sooner

Now each mode runs until timed out or completed. This slows down progression towards Medley but results in consistency.

Maybe reducing timers will balance things?

I did not like the hodgepodge logic of some modes being completed upon drain while others did not. Also I disliked Sweet Emotion progress being lost after every drain or failed attempt.