Quoted from nicoga3000:
2) I had 2/3 drops down, hit the right ramp, and the drops reset. First time it's ever happened. Any idea what's up?
The way the drops and Cross MB qualification works isn't as intuitive as one would think, the logic works something like this AFAIK...
To start Cross multiball (once) you require 4 "MB qualification" shots AND a clear shot to the back cross opto.
In single ball play, this is very straightforward - each drop target counts as one 'qualifier', advances bonus X, one CIU cross, and gets you closer to the back off the cross lane. Once the cross is exposed, one more shot is the last qualifier needed and Cross MB will start on the 5th.
In multiball play (with the exception of Coffin which allows stacking) or in CIU modes, hits to the cross targets do NOT add "MB qualification" shots. So even though you knock down targets, they don't actually progress you toward Cross MB, but the do get you a clear shot to the back of the cross lane and you should be acquiring bonus X and CIU progress.
Once you exit the MB/CIU mode, the drop target logic works something along these lines:
If you have 3 or more "MB qualification" shots made previous to whatever your mode was (ie - you made some combination of cross shots on a previous ball or before the mode) the drops will stay down until you drain, and you can shoot the back cross opto to keep progressing to cross MB. If you do NOT have enough qualification shots, the drops will reset on a snake, ramp or orbit shot (because the game knows the ball isn't trapped behind the drops). What is interesting is if you avoid shooting these other shots and focus on the cross lane where you might have a 1-3 targets down already, you can then keep progressing to cross MB without having to shoot all the dangerous drops and/or acquire an extra "qualifier" so that the cross drops wont reset.
It's a bit confusing and I'm not 100% sure I have the logic nailed down but essentially you need to realize that Cross drops don't necessarily equal cross MB progression in all cases, and if you don't have enough progression, they will reset on certain playfield shots.