Your points are more than valid when it comes to pinball and Houdini, but i have to disagree with this comment. Lyman Sheats, Dwight Sullivan, and Keith Johnson continue to prove time and time again that software is key to a good and fun machine, no matter the layout.

well I don't agree with this obviously, code can't fix everything. But some programmers know how to move the shots around so to speak to get the player to play it more fluently, add in exciting and rewarding light shows and sound, and it can in essence make the player feel more accomplished which in turn typically = fun! Good programmers, who are also good players, seem to know how to focus on the strengths of a layout while slightly deterring away from its weaker assets.

An example of this In the case of Houdini (now keep in mind I haven't played it so some of what I say here could be me speaking out my ass) would be getting the board to light up faster so there's more to do and more going on at a faster rate, Get some stacking earlier on and not so much chase 1 or 2 shorts and I guarantee it'll have a more fun appeal. Case in point, ragetilt stream - one of the bearded brothers (forget their names) started getting deep into the game and finally after watching so many games of Zach just playing mode after mode (one or two shots active), ragetilt had an active and very appealing board with many shots to aim for, then started multiball - I think even Zach did this once too while streaming. People who don't like Houdini probably have not seen or experienced this because it takes so much effort to get it going. There's a ton of shots in Houdini and from what I can tell, only a few shots are active or do anything at one time. Some tweaking and fine tuning of software can stretch the legs more and make it more appealing. These types of examples go for a lot of pins.

Another great example. BM66. Complete clunkfest and turd out of the gate - sprinkle Lyman fairies dust on it and look at it now.

How about WOZ; besides a minority of fanfare supporters, that game was considered a mess of a layout with no satisfying shots early on. Now it's complete magic and feels oh so good - one of my favorite pins.

Software can make or break a game - look at guardians, sweet ass layout, but ugh......Not all games, layouts, or code integrations are for everybody; but software can make a bad game good and vice versa.

I owned LOTR for 7+ years. And I agree it’s a clunky shooting game but not necessarily in a bad way. Besides the legolas shot, the ball rattles around as it makes its way through just about every shot. Still one of the best pins ever, and certainly not the clunkiest game around, but it does have a fair shake of clunk to it.