A Tale of Two Games

[decaro]

With apologies to Charles Dickens for this thread's title.

Sometimes I enjoy playing the same historical scenario w/different game engines, i.e., the CM and HttR versions of Market Garden, etc. Recently I played the Coral Sea scenario w/CaW and UV; same ships, same sea, approximately the same number of turns/days. In both games I knew from previous experience to keep my distance from the IJN and stay well west of the southern tip of New Guinea. But that's where the similarities stop.

In UV, the IJ AI has missions at both Buna and Gilli Gilli enroute to PM, so I did a fast transport of troops from both Brisbane and Noumea to Gilli as my small CV TF headed Northwest from Noumea. Scouts from PM spotted the IJN CVs heading South along the NG coast, so after my troops landed at GG, I joined these two FT TFs to my CVs and waited for the IJN invasion fleet to show up.

Although I didn't intend to engage the IJN CVs, my planes had other plans and I managed to severely damage Soho, but at the cost of badly damaging the Lex to the point that she could no longer launch. But I still had enough punch to make life hell for the IJN invasion fleet at Gilli as the UV AI never steams its CV TF past NG towards Australia (unlike in CaW, which can cover its moves w/clouds) to engage me.

Setting my surface TFs to bombard GG finished off the IJN invasion TF -- unlike CaW, surface battles are a common feature of UV -- and what's left headed for home; eventually the IJN CVs had enough and left as well, but the Soho sank en route. My Lex limped home and the rest of my fleets went to their separate bases w/a major victory.

In CaW, I don't have the option of mixing and matching my ships, but I was extemely lucky to catch the IJN CVs first and managed to sink both; later I even got the Soho at range. However, after I thought I was home free and game over, two consecutive IJ subs attacks sank both the Lex and York in the waters off the s. tip of NG; this stretch of sea has active IJN subs in both games, but in UV they are lucky to get past the escorts and hit a CV, let alone sink it outright. And then I was immediately hit w/Betty's, but the invasion failed and I still won a decisive victory, even w/o both my CVs.

Same end result (Allied victory), but very different games. As CaW is pausable real time, it goes faster than UV, and I save on set-up time as I routinely set all my CaW bases to AI control.

Anyone else have similar playing experiences w/these games?