What am I missing?

[sushidog]

I bought the new CAW at this year's Matrix holiday sale. I've played through the first 4 or 5 scenarios a half dozen times each, and have managed to win more often than not once I got the hang of it. But it seems to me it all comes down to whether I find their carriers before they find mine. Every once in a while, they'll spot one of my carriers first and I'll manage to change course and bug out before they do me in. But in general, it seems to be a case of who finds who first. I get the feeling either I'm missing a level of strategy in this game.

CAW fans, enlighten me. What makes this game so good?

[GenChaos33]

I believe with all the carrier battle games that I have played, it always comes down on who finds who first. Its the Golden Rule.
 
Do you only play single player games? Game AI in any game is not the best. Multiplayer is the only true test.

[Rasputitsa]

Playing a Coral Sea #mystery scenario, playing USN, as the first experience with this game.

First morning of the scenario, reports come in of up the 3 IJN CVs to the North at extreme range, I don’t know if the reports are correct and the scenario has opened with ‘Yorktown’ and ‘Hornet’ closer to the Japanese island bases than I would like.

Strategy option 1 - turn South make 30 Kts and run for it, get away from the spotting planes from the islands and get the benefit of aircraft out of Australian bases to improve my chances in the next round. The Port Moresby invasion fleet is slow moving and there is time to wait for a better opportunity.

The range is too far for a cohesive strike by the whole airgroup, as the TBDs can’t reach that far, so alternatively I could choose:

Strategy option 2 - head North to close the range for a co-ordinated cohesive strike by the whole Task Group, knowing that there will inevitably be a retaliatory strike, but Japan cannot afford to lose CVs.

Strategy option 3 - send one squadron of SBD dive bombers from each carrier for a quick strike. Which is what I chose and caught the IJN CVs with aircraft on deck, presumably in the act of launching a strike at me.

‘Shokaku’ and ‘Zuikaku’ hit several times and reported sinking, ‘Hiyo’ escaped attack, but are the reports true ?

I could have chosen Strategy option 4 - send the strike, then head South at 30Kts, expect to lose the planes, but avoid what happened next with option 3. The IJN CVs had got enough aircraft airborne to hit me with 113 planes, just as the sun was setting. They could not get back to their carriers in daylight and if the sinking reports were true, would they have carriers to land on, either way, ‘Hornet’ was lost immediately, ‘Yorktown’ looked like it might survive, but the fires took hold and she sank later that night.

Now I only have ‘Lexington’ left and I can’t be sure what the IJN has out there, can I believe the reports and it’s only the first day.

I could have taken another option of getting a strike airborne to a holding position near the Task Group, or in the direction I expect to find the enemy, using a artificial sighting report as a target. I can then re-direct the strike when a real sighting report comes in, with the advantage of having got them airborne early. If no sighting reports come in then they will have to come back and then the decks will be crowded with aircraft, but strategy is about taking calculated risks and difficult decisions.

Any game that can do this and keep it simple, must be a good game.

So plenty of strategy in this game and although I never played 'Carriers at War' first time around, I am very pleased to have it on the HDD now.

[Nimrod 9th]

I loved CAW [:)] and played it like crazy back in the day.
I really got hooked when the expanded version was released with all those extra scenarios.
Boy, I'd buy it all over again if Matrix would update it with all those great extra battles.

[Rasputitsa]

ORIGINAL: Nimrod 9th

I loved CAW [:)] and played it like crazy back in the day.
I really got hooked when the expanded version was released with all those extra scenarios.
Boy, I'd buy it all over again if Matrix would update it with all those great extra battles.

I have installed the 'CAW Mega Mod' and looking forward to playing 'Rainbow 5', with the whole USN carrier force, including 'Langley' ferrying land plane fighters.

Also 'Coral Sea 46' with the 'FDR' (Midway class), should be interesting. [8D]





What is in the CAW Mega Mod :

Atlantic -- by Ryan Crierie -- blank scenario with the North Atlantic Map and some bases laid in.
Complete -- by Ryan Crierie -- blank scenario with just about every ship class and plane type in it; so that you can easily add them to your new scenarios.
Coral Sea '46 converted from CCAW by Jack Ruetty
Guadalcanal converted from CCAW by Jack Ruetty
Hawaii converted from CCAW by Jack Ruetty
Leyte Gulf converted from CCAW by Jack Ruetty
Rabaul converted from CCAW by Jack Ruetty
Rainbow 5 converted from CCAW by Jack Ruetty
Task Force Z converted from CCAW by Jack Ruetty
Plan Orange converted from CCAW by Jack Ruetty
Force Z by Unhappy
Indian Ocean by Unhappy

[AP514]

What is in the CAW Mega Mod : ) and where can I find it ?

[zakblood]

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Code: Select all

http://www.alternatewars.com/Games/CAW/CAW_Mods.htm

[ab067]

My experience:

To fully enjoy the Matrix CAW experience I found playing the original CAW1 ver1.0 and 2.0, CAW2 Ver2.0 and CCAW with the version 2.10 the better way to learn this game. But for the dos versions you do need dosbox.

Each version contains improvements and your situational awareness improves. The dos versions are graphically challenged but once you are used to it the immersion is fabulous.

The Matrix CAW is like the F6F Hellcat and the earlier dos versions F4F Wildcat variants.

I was able to find the manuals for CAW1 and CAW2 at ABEBOOKS and they have a lot of extra information not mentioned in the new version.

The transition to the new Matrix CAW is easy from playing the previous dos versions recently.

From my perspective I found that running the game at a speed higher than 2 changed the game from a wego to more like a RTS.