I had one and it was fun but does take time to configure when adding games. Good way to see what pins your like but still never as good as the real thing. That being said there are some also vp only games that kick ass

Yes . Mountain Coin sold them for years. Very cool. Lots of TechHeads have built there own versions .

I built a really nice one a little while back, but ended up selling it in the end. The physics are decent, but it's just not the same.

Indeed

Being a noob to pinball, and loving it, this does seem like a great way to test out many potential analog pins.

Its a very good time to own a properly built virtual cabinet. Visual pinball just got a physics update and is actually quite good now. It was terrible. But latest physics engine is impressive implementing ball spin, flippers feel very close now. Pinball fx2 is awesome with about 40 tables. Pro pinball just released an alpha that plays well. This will be another great platform. Unit3d pinball should be replacing the awful physics from future pinball. Believe it or not, pinball arcade is about the worst thing we have at the moment and that isn't too bad. More stuff sure to come.

Everything markmon said above it very true.
However just a word of caution. The new Physics mod is still in the early beta stages and will not be officially released for awhile. That being said you can download it and edit your own tables for the new physics. Just takes a bit of knowledge to do so at the moment.
But man, this is going to be great when all tables are finally running this amazing update.

I have over 125 tables converted so far for the new physics. I plan to release patches or packs.

Have you done TAF yet? That had some of the worst physics in VP. I'd be interested in seeing how the play has changed.

Yea, I know that you have personally converted a lot of tables. That is Awesome.
Would love to play some of them if you get a download site for them.
All I've tried so far is Whitewater. I Know there is link for Monster Bash somewhere, but I have missed it somehow.
Whitewater plays great, but hate that the ball goes screaming down the middle on a normal plunge every time.
Someone said the real machine did that. But I used to own one and that was not the case.

Yes- Ive been wondering about the update process...

To be honest, the thought of having to individually redownload 100+ tables and/or go into each one and tweak them all has put me off from upgrading

Could always release patches and script out patching of those tables. This would work great as long as the tables haven't been altered.

Before getting into this hobby, I made one so I "would never have to buy a real pinball". It's fun having the variety and having flashing LED's and all. I played the shit out of it, but the honeymoon phase wore off after about 6 months. Bought a ToM, and the virtual pin was almost never used after that.

A couple pins later I just ended up selling it. I was kind of hesitant at first because it was something I spent a lot of time and money on. But like a bad girlfriend, they gotta go. It was rather difficult to get rid of, had a bunch of people interested in it but none were real pinball people. Took about 4 months of actively posting on CL and forums. The buyer ended up finding me from a youtube video I uploaded of it, what are the odds?

In hindsight it was cool to have so you can play games like BBB or MM. It's great to figure out games so you know how they work in tournaments. The software and tables are constantly being improved all the time. But the fact of the matter is that it just isn't pinball.

True.
But any pinball is good pinball in my book.

I was really impressed with the Beta VP at your house.

Too bad it took you so long to realize this.

The folks that are happiest with virtual pinball are the ones who have no false illusions of it being "the same exact thing as real pinball"....

It's getting pretty close to real pinball as the physics simulations improve. I've been the biggest naysayer about how unplayable VP and most hyperpins are but this all changed last month.

STOP!

Your going to make me upgrade!

Just played at markmons last week. Its awesome!