Another project, Visual Pinball Engine, ported the C++-based physics engine to Unity (https://github.com/freezy/VisualPinball.Engine) through its DOTS & "HPC#" (C# with manual memory management extensions) approach. Unity adoption means you can play high fidelity tables right in your browser (https://appmana.com/watch/pinball).
Then there's commercial platforms like Pinball FX and people building VPX rendering in VR.
It's maybe the biggest simulation scene I know of. The community fills many niches. Rigs of Rods & Beam.ng for the idea, "Microsoft Flight Simulator, but for cars." XMage & Spellsource for "Magic the Gathering or Hearthstone but you write your own cards." Unreal Engine for Fortnite is a big entry for the open world community authored content dominated by Minecraft, with submarine stuff like Facepunch's S&box (think Garry's Mod 2.0) coming up.
The neat thing IMO about virtual pinball and real pinball is how they complement each other. I've yet to find a virtual pinball with really satisfying physics simulation, but that's ok, because for me the real benefit is being able to learn the rules without the pressure of dropping quarters. Thanks to the tutorials in Pinball Arcade (RIP), I was able to reach Final Frontier on TNG the first time I played a real one.
The Legend is well supported by the community. There are 3/4th replicas mass produced that I believe can be modded to run anything. Also produced with official licenses (Arcade 1UP).
Not exactly what your asking for, but VR pinball games are excellent. They also sell pinball controllers so you can simulate the same hand positions as a real pinball machine, so while you’re wearing a headset you’re looking down at the right angle and get the feel of real pinball.
I just saw this video of Ronnie O'Sullivan falling over due to trying to lean on a virtual snooker table, and I'm almost certain exactly the same thing would happen to me the first time I tried to nudge a VR pinball machine.
Visual Pinball X ("VPX", see https://www.vpforums.org/index.php?app=downloads&showcat=51) runs community authored recreated tables with ROMs dumped from the hardware. The physics engine has good performance and authenticity.
Another project, Visual Pinball Engine, ported the C++-based physics engine to Unity (https://github.com/freezy/VisualPinball.Engine) through its DOTS & "HPC#" (C# with manual memory management extensions) approach. Unity adoption means you can play high fidelity tables right in your browser (https://appmana.com/watch/pinball).
Then there's commercial platforms like Pinball FX and people building VPX rendering in VR.
It's maybe the biggest simulation scene I know of. The community fills many niches. Rigs of Rods & Beam.ng for the idea, "Microsoft Flight Simulator, but for cars." XMage & Spellsource for "Magic the Gathering or Hearthstone but you write your own cards." Unreal Engine for Fortnite is a big entry for the open world community authored content dominated by Minecraft, with submarine stuff like Facepunch's S&box (think Garry's Mod 2.0) coming up.