Quoted from DaveH:I was going by what the DMD says, which is making that orbit 2x.
Spock’s ship flies into Nero’s at the completion of Nero 3:
And then the DMD displays:
Followed by the 3 in a row call.
2x is the reward on a single shot for each of the number 3 missions. Or am I reading that 2x screen wrong?
The spinner and the orbit are two different switches. Completing Nero gives you 2x on the orbit. The orbit switch is just a little further up the playfield from the spinner. I've confused the 2 in the past as well.
As for the 2x, you're reading it correctly, but it is still deceiving.
2x is the reward, but with the exception of starting Double Scoring, 2x is also the cap.
I think everyone thinks that 2x is just the new base and then when you combo the shot you would expect to get 4x. You don't. You still just get 2x. I've pulled the glass and tested, and additionally I believe there's a post around here somewhere where SKB says he confirmed it with the programmer(Dwight).
Completing 3 in a column is still the optimal strategy, but it's just not as valuable as people make it out to be. Most of benefit of completing a column comes when you bring more medals into the wizard modes. The medals can be worth big points. If you complete a couple columns and are able to complete a set of gold medals along the way before starting KM you're looking at ~100mil before you even make any of the shots.