Matrix Games Forums

My biggest peve with the old CAW was how often a surface group would chase down a carrier group. Either side (you or the AI) would set a group to intercept the enemy carriers and the group would often make contact and could often put a few rounds into the carriers at some point. While to some extent I think that it should be allowed it was far too easy and too often done in the game. Is it still the same with the new CAW?

I've played about 5 games so far and have not yet seen that happen. Surface groups can be used as a way to divert attention from your carriers and hopefully strikes will hit them instead.

Yeah, but I hope the only role for surface assets isn't recon by fire. There HAS to be a way to re-create Taffy 3's ordeal, right? Ala "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors."

ORIGINAL: themattcurtis

Yeah, but I hope the only role for surface assets isn't recon by fire. There HAS to be a way to re-create Taffy 3's ordeal, right? Ala "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors."

So I hope. Haven't got to Phillipine Sea yet. Coral Sea and Midway may not be a good judge as to the use of surface forces.

I hope it is possible to attack carriers still - just not quite so easily done as it was in old CAW. In my experience it happened very often as opposed to infrequently which is more like how it aught to be if history is any indication.

On the flip side it bugs me that you can't intercept a slower enemy force in games like UV - I've had a BB force chasing all over trying to catch a slower damaged enemy force at sea without success. There aught to be some instances where it could happen - 16" shells (or 18) raining down on CV decks wasn't completly impossible - just difficult.

It appears that if you can catch a carrier TG with your surface TG, the carrier will be arrayed in the rear of the Surface Combat Screen.
 
You'll need to fight through the the other ships first to get there.
 
That said, the AI seems loathe to expose a carrier TG to surface action.

I've been playing daily since release and i have caught up to Carrier TG's a couple times. Only once so far was i able to hit them before they slipped away, i was then able to finish them off with a Carrier strike.
As a hardened Witp veteran i can tell you that CAW is much more realistic re: surface battles. In Witp i could always hunt down a Jap Carrier force eventually, CAW seems more refined. That said i would shout with glee if i ever did catch one AND sink it with CAW. Somehow i think it will be on a blue moon[;)].

P.S. Just because this is a game about Carriers in no way did they overlook the Surface aspect...it's there[8D].

Your best chance of catching enemy carriers with surface action is if you can do it at night, when there's a chance that the combatants start much closer to each other than the extreme range that's normal for daytime surface combat.

The only flaw with this proposition is if you fail to intercept and at dawn your surface TG is 20-40 nm miles away from a carrier TG.

Gregor

ORIGINAL: Gregor_SSG

Your best chance of catching enemy carriers with surface action is if you can do it at night.

Gregor

Yeah, unfortunately the ai is good at making itself unseen, especially at night. Without Search & Strike (at night) it's a matter of chance, which adds to the excitement and fun factor and rewards those of us who are perseverant[;)].