amrcg said:
Dear Don,
Sorry to bother you again.
So, could please make a list of the features/capabilities/advantages/flaws that you think ACOW has and DA has not and vice versa (besides OOB/scenario scale, of course)? Do you know of any comparative review of the two sims anyware on the Web?
Regards,
Antonio
Okay, let's start with scale. TOAW is variable in scale and this is set by the scenario author. Hexes can be as little as 2.5 kilometers/per hex or as much as 50 kilometers. Turns run from 6 hours to several weeks each. This gives TOAW unprecedented flexibility. The system has a huge database of weapons and can simulate any conflict from WWI to present. But what really sets TOAW apart from any other wargame is the
event engine. This is a really powerful tool in the hands of a capable scenario author. The event engine is quite complicated and can alter or manipulate virtually every aspect of the game. It can set complex victory conditions, changing weather, news items, and a huge assortment of other things. In short, TOAW is capable of doing truly epic-sized confrontations in addition to smaller division-sized engagements. It is turn-based and the maps are similar to hex-based boardgames. There is no other system like TOAW on the market. It can do things that are unique, that's why is has such a huge following.
Decisive Action does not seek to model these larger battles, nor battles that last for more than 1-2 days. That is outside the scope of what DA tries to do. What does DA do? Well, it models modern combat at this scale in a way that is closer to how real life commanders see it. Combat is controlled with phase line boundaries and task organization of subordiante units plays a key role in tailoring forces to meet mission requirements. Perhaps more than any other wargame on the market, DA clearly demonstrates the need for combined arms planning and execution. A "tank rush" will simply not work. Failure to employ your combat support and combat service support elements properly will result in failure and a high casualty count. DA does abstract certain elements of warfare, but most of this is appropriate to the scale of the simulation. There is really no reason that DA couldn't be used to simulate combat from the Arab-Israeli wars or the Korean War as long as the scenario author was careful how he set up the OOB and unit capabilities. Having said that, DA's main emphasis is modern combat.
DA does not have anywhere near the following that TOAW does. TOAW has more things going on behind the scenes and this means it can take a while to truly understand why things are happening the way they are. On the flip side, since DA puts such strong emphasis on recreating the flavor of real life modern warfare, a baisc understanding of how things work in the military and familiarity with acronyms doesn't hurt.