We pretty much completely agree. I do think it's harder than you think to just make a "fan" layout game, very small tweaks here and there can have a large impact. But you're right, it's a standard fan layout.
And you're right, the lower play field isn't very fun, but it can be. Code can take the mini to the next level.
Lyman, Steve, Gary, they don't sit here on Pinside and worry about what people are saying. AC/DC and it's sales numbers speak for themselves about how people appreciate the game. They don't take it personally when people talk about how they want all the features to work.
When Lyman himself is telling people it's not done, and different versions of code are showing up at pinball shows, and it's been 8 months since the last public release, can you really blame people for starting to wonder where the code update is?
All I want, is all the features to work and some improvements that the team has admitted the game needs implemented.
Quoted from markmon:The layout by Steve Ritchie on acdc is boring and average. Its his most unimaginative layout ever. Pops in the middle, targets all over. Pure fan layout. Super horribly ugly artwork. Lower playfield isn't very fun. I am a huge Steve Ritchie nut. Love his work. But acdc layout is not great. It shoots smooth and polished, but there's not much exciting in the layout.
Everything that makes acdc good is done by Lyman. The only redeeming quality in the game is the code. Its all in the code. And the code is fantastic. Its quite possible that Lyman discarded a lot of Steve's plans as "not fun" and went his own way. And who can argue? The code is a masterpiece. So yes, it's nuts whining about acdc code updates. It feels totally disrespectful to the code team in this one that did such a good job with the code.