I have a related question. I'm guessing this has been discussed before, but what is Accusim and is it needed for the A2A P-40?
Since getting my new computer last February, I've spent over $1,000 in addon aircraft and scenery for FSX (retirement budgeted, of course). I've become a little leery of making purchases that have an expansion pack - in other words you can buy the basic package, but if you want these textures or new models or new features, you have to buy this or that additional software.
I had been wanting to add a P-40 to my collection and did get the FR version which I like a lot. Everything I want is under one purchase. Cost wise the A2A P-40 with Accusim is quite a bit more than what I paid for the FR version. And what is confusing (for me) is that every A2A product has its own addon Accusim addition - or am I wrong??
Thanks
No, you are right.
Each A2A aircraft has its own Accusim extension.
The only exception to this rule is the Mustang, because the military Mustang and the civilian Mustang share the same Accusim extension, if I'm not mistaken.
Without Accusim, an A2A aircraft is already a great aircraft. However, it's a 'normal' plane, it has no special features at all, just like any other regular FS plane made by other companies.
Accusim brings in some very interesting features, most of which don't exist at all anywhere else. Along with custom sounds for every single switch or system, the Accusim package also provides an accurate simulation of the engine of the plane. This simulation includes the wear and the damage caused by incorrect handling, as well as the independent modeling of several "organs" of the engine like the fuel lines. A good summary would be that Accusim makes your engine work like an actual engine. Other systems like hydrolic organs, gears flaps, brakes etc.... are also accurately modelled, alongside with related animations.
Another interesting aspect of Accusim is that the state of your plane is automatically saved from a flight to another, which means your airplane will actually accumulate (thus accu-sim) the flight hours, as well as wear and damage. Even if you leave the sim and reboot the computer, your plane will be in the same state as it was when you left it. If you break something, it will still be broken when you return. If something got worn out, like the cylinders for example, then they will still be worn out when you return (making your engine a hell more difficult to start, for example.... and it will burn quite a lot of oil, too...).
The failures are not pure ON/OFF, things get worn out progressively. And it's not random, it purely depends on how brutal you are with the plane. You'll have to take care of it.
Finally, if one day you want to just jump in the cockpit and enjoy your time doing crazy handling without caring, you can simply deactivate Accusim with just one click in one of the 2D popup panels (in which you'll find an autostart of the engine too, in case you don't want to go through the checklist).