Looking forward to reading the Cole’s notes. As someone with only moderate familiarity with Aerosmith I gave up reading the changelog part way through because I didn’t really think I was understanding the strategic impact of the changes.
- All of the mode award full playfield lightshows have been reworked to remove
the “shot arrow” lamps, if necessary, from the award presentation. This was
done so that, upon making a shot, the resulting full playfield award
lightshow doesn’t obstruct the remaining shots that are available. In turn,
this allows the player to quickly see what shots to aim for next.- Reworked mode award lightshow presentations to be faster.
I found this to be an incredibly annoying quirk of Aerosmith (I think Guardians suffers (suffered?) from the same issue). Hit a mode shot, game briefly glitches out with lights and takes way too long to light up next shots. Looking forward to trying it out.
Couple quick comments on the new code- Don’t trust the ball save light during multiball. One of my pet peeves is when games flash the ball save only for it not to really be on. i notice AS is doing this a lot during multiball. Another issue i’ve noticed is ill have played through modes- lit them solid and then when its time to play medley multiball it will say they are incomplete , not award the bonus points and make you qualify them during Medley. Its not a big deal but its a little frustrating. Overall the new code is great.
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I’ve noticed this as well, although I think it only relates to those modes you can time out (Rats, Saddle and Walk).
Saddle isn’t a problem to complete in Medley, you just let the plunged balls hit a few pops then drain and the autosave plunges the ball straight back to the pops. 
Overall I think that the changes have made the game significantly easier, and no real benefit to completing modes to progress to Final Tour as completing them in Medley is so easy.
the 200mil for completing them all before Medley is not an incentive, as if you have shot multipliers lit you can earn more than 200mil for completing the modes.
From the changelog:
Added a difficulty rule/adjustment to Medley Multiball, default = Hard. To
start Medley Multiball you must collect at least 1 award from every
mode/multiball. 3 Modes (Walk this Way, Back in the Saddle & Rats in the Cellar)
are marked as completed if you drain the ball while the mode is “Cranked Up”.
At the start of Medley Multiball the game can decide to give you progress
towards these 3 modes that were auto completed. The “Easy” setting allows
the mode to be skipped during Medley Multiball, the “Hard” setting requires
the player to play this mode during Medley Multiball.
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WTF- I finally completed “final tour” and instead of showing “Boston” (assuming it is the final city) it goes right to the final tour super jackpot animation. I’m blaming Timballs and his NY bias for this obvious snub!
Well, forget Same Old Song and Dance in competition. I picked it in league the other night and the code had just been updated. Hit the shot, got the Crank it Up, hit one yellow stand-up and drained. Less than 1 million. Worst part is I was now locked into the mode for ball 2. Finished the game with a paltry 20M…
Yeah, i was wondering how much the Same Old CIU Targets had been nerfed. Haven’t had a chance to play the new code yet.
Are the Super Targets from completing it worthwhile, or is it just all around not worth much? The notes mentioned the Super Targets were buffed.
From an ordinary tournament stand point- i’d say toybox multiball (preferably 6 ball) with sweet emotion running is still the best strategy. starting all the easy super modes with it are good too (Rats, Back in the saddle, Walk this way). One minor cheat i discovered is if you hold in the left flipper button and tap the plunger so the ball rolls off the inlane switch it will light up the shot that the skill shot is going to be on. you can then decide if its worth going for or try to plunge the lock shot for a smart missile. If you’re looking for a quick 20m score- Rats might be your best choice now. every lit shot increases the value of the next shot. It can get pretty lucrative. Elite players will probably play for Melody mutlball. Scores sky rocket once you get into it and go entirely crazy if you can get to final tour.
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I’d say the multiballs are now really open for mode stacking. Sweet Emotion, Child, and Walk are all obvious choices with Song and Dance and Dude also having their uses. Rats and Saddle seem to be survival modes - just get through them since they’re less impactful and easy to complete.
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Finally got to play the new code… the Super Targets are buffed… big time. 100x more valuable than before! I played the mode on two separate games, and each time, my super targets were worth 2.1M per target. They used to be worth 20,000, if I’m not mistaken.
Granted, this is offset by the CIU targets of Same Old not being worth nearly as much. I didn’t have a co-pilot to pay attention to values, but when I’d finished Same Old as my first song, my score was nowhere close to the usual mid-20M to low-30M that it used to be under old code. But you’re getting around 20M from the Super Targets.
I’d call it a wash.
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Did some formatting to the Wiki to make it easier to read, and to find aspects of gameplay.
Also, updated information based on the one time I played Sea of Medley Multiball.
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I just learned SOSAD was nerfed. What’s the new hotness for starting out first mode for quick points?
Distinctly not Dude. Dude is the worst mode in the game by far due to a bugged 20 second timer that expires before you get to do too much with it. 
Glass off results. First set of results and scores were done by completing all shots, and then timing out the mode where applicable. The second set of results and scores were done by hitting the first shot, followed by crank it up, then completing the mode and timing it out the mode where applicable. NOTE - no additional shots were taken once the flower was full.
Scores WITHOUT CIU:
Last Child - 9.2M
Walk This Way - 22,050,000
Same Ol Song - 56.5M
Sweet Emotion - 32.2M (NOTE - this mode required me to hit CIU)
Dude - 15M
Back in the Saddle - 17.7M
Rats in the Cellar - 19,525,000
Scores WITH CIU activated:
Last Child - 9.6M
Walk This Way - 18.8M
Same Ol Song - 20,650,000
Sweet Emotion - 32.2M (NOTE - this mode required me to hit CIU)
Dude - 5.7M
Back in the Saddle - 20M
Rats in the Cellar - 21,475,000
Cheers!
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Definitely some scoring changes for shots whether you’ve hit CIU or not, as I’ve discovered while preparing a comprehensive rule sheet (I just need to find time to pull all my findings together into a comprehensible format and get it typed up).
Main reason SoSaD is so much lower after a CIU is that each major shot hit awards 2 petals (standups award 1 petal), not just the 1 prior to CIU so less shots needed to finish - UNLESS you hit the standups and pick the petals up one at a time.
In general - scoring depends on whether you hit a shot which was already lit before CIU, or a shot which was added after hitting CIU. For example WtW will score more if you only hit the ramps after CIU, or LC only hitting loops.
I did have full notes on all of the scoring in songs, with and without CIU award, what the coins award, etc.
Unfortunately my GF decided that the book I had all of my notes written in was going to be the book she started writing her novel in. She decided that the hieroglyphics in the front were of no use so she discarded them!
What follows is my strategy and thought process for how to play a Pro:
At the start of EVERY ball, short plunge to right flipper trap and go for the super skill shot, which will be one of scoop, left loop or centre ramp. This awards 2 Smart missiles, which will greatly increase your prospects later on.
I start with Sweet Emotion, but don’t necessarily attempt to finish it in one go, instead focusing on lighting locks for Toy Box.
The ideal scenario is to finish SE at the scoop with 5 out of 6 balls locked. If that means having to play SE twice, so be it. (If you’ve drained without completing SE, your chances of getting to Medley are already looking poor, so you need to find a different way to maximise pts.)
By finishing SE at the scoop, not only does it award Super Scoring, but also starts the next mode.
Assuming your now near Toy Box, choose Rats in the Cellar, and take the CIU award as soon as possible (which adds another lit shot) then start your MB. Rats should complete itself with any decent MB. This will award Super Spinner.
During Toy Box, but especially at the start focus on locking away a couple of balls, not only does it increase the playfield scoring, but when the balls are released a ball save is awarded, it isn’t uncommon to have this ball save add into the original starting ball save, along with the add a ball ball save, allowing you to focus on hitting shots – no need to trap up for over a minute.
After Toy Box I choose Last Child, one of the reasons being it forces you to shoot some loops which you need progress towards Elevator MB, Super spinner should also be lit from completing Rats. On starting LC, the loops and ramps will be lit. Once you hit a ramp it will go out, but the loops stay lit throughout the mode. I usually try and pick off the ramps, then hit the CIU, which will light all of the shots for progress. BEWARE, once you have lit all the shots hitting either loop will turn them off – focus on the non-loop shots. You need to finish with at least 1 loop to complete.
Following LC I will take Back in the Saddle, because super loops will be lit, as well as super spinner if you haven’t collected all the benefit yet. I don’t focus on completing BITS at all, rather try and start Elevator MB. The reasoning is twofold. 1) it’s a dangerous feed from the pops having hit the right loop, and 2) it is the easiest mode to complete in Medley – by just plunging to the pops and letting the balls drain in the initial ball save.
During Elevator I focus on hitting the elevator, as there is a better than 50% chance that it is lit. Depending on progress made, will depend on whether I try and replay Elevator at all, or complete it during Medley.
Next is Same Old Song and Dance, It is simply not worth as much as it used to be, so need not be the default song of choice at starting. The most important thing during SOSAD is to hit the CIU as soon as possible as it means every major shot you hit will award 2 petals instead of 1, along with the stand-ups being lit. This should be a relatively easy song to complete. It awards super targets, as well as a shot multiplier. I look to have this active on the centre ramp.
Next is Walk this Way, hopefully you’ve got the shot multiplier on at least one of the ramps. I’ll shoot one of the ramps and then shoot for CIU. This will relight both ramps (rather than having to alternate them) along with all of the other shots. Like LC and loops, you’ll have to finish on a ramp.
Now it’s decision time… Depending on how many of the songs I’ve completed depends on whether I start Dude, or replay a song. By completing songs, not only does it make Medley easier to complete, it also means more points are awarded for song completion.
10mil for 1 song, 30mil (10+20) for 2 songs, 60mil for 3, 100mil for 4, etc.
If have completed 4 or 5 songs, I’ll restart a song I haven’t completed as it will effectively be worth 50 or 60 mil when Medley starts.
Another thing to take into consideration is how many shot multipliers you have active. If you don’t have many it may be worth starting a Toy Box MB and focus on lighting them from the stand-ups, which also lights the mystery award (which can be stacked), as you’re really not very far from Final Tour, where the shot multipliers can make or break your final score.
Dude Looks Like a Lady is another mode where the CIU really improves the chances of you finishing it by allowing each in-lane and scoop to award a petal. This is then reactivated once all 4 have been hit once. (In essence ramps are worth 2 petals as they feed to the in-lanes).
Once you have started all songs, whether you have finished them or not, the scoop is lit for Medley and you can’t reattempt the songs in the normal way – hence a decision needs to be made before starting Dude.
Usually by this point I only have Elevator and BITS to complete, which is easily achieved during the ball save period of Medley.
Which means that Final Tour is ready to go.
There are 3 colour phases to Final Tour, Yellow, Orange and Red.
During the Yellow phase all shots remain lit after you hit them, once you have the required amount you move onto the next stage, which awards an add-a-ball and ball save, after that it’s on to the red (with a starting AAB & ball save) in this mode once you hit a shot it turns out, once all are hit the Super Jackpot is lit at the scoop.
I mentioned Smart Missiles right at the very start – Final Tour Red Phase is what I have been saving them up for. During the red phase I’ll pick off the easy shots (toy box, scoop, centre ramp, lock) then trap a ball on the right flipper and spam the action button to pick of the last of the shots and then hit the scoop.
The only other time I consider using the smart missiles is nearing completion of Toy Box MB, if there’s a shot I’m bricking constantly, or if there is just a single shot left of a song as I drain. Smart missiles can be extremely valuable – don’t waste them.
This strategy generally scores in the region of 1.6Bil and 1.8Bil by the time you play/complete Final Tour.
It also maximises scoring on short games by playing Sweet Emotion and Rats early with Toy Box MB.
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I decided to try and film a tutorial to show my strategy, the results are here:
with pt 2 here:
Best watched on a phone or tablet.
PS I know the quality of the video (and the gameplay) could be better:grinning:
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When does the Toys MB base jackpot doubler kick in: at 6-ball level of MB? Or at 5-ball level?
The wiki says 6. But I recall conversations or perhaps streaming commentary that said the doubled JP values kick in at the 5-ball level.