WinSPBT vs WinSPWW2 vs SP3WaW?

[RERomine]

There are some AI logic differences between the WaW version and the Win versions as well. One thing that really drove me nuts on the WaW version was having an assault mission with points per turn flags with poor weather resulting in slow movement. A decisive victory was all but out of the question. To get a marginal victory, you needed to secure all the flags about one third of the way into the battle. Capturing all the flags in about 10-15 turns, with units moving slow due to the weather, while having to breach a minefield was all but impossible. Most of my assault battles under those conditions ended up being draws.

At least WaW compensated by pure ignorance of AI deployment. Infantry companies were deployed in clustered groups and it told you when you inflicted casualties, even if you couldn't see what you were hitting with artillery. Find one unit and blast the whole area for a four hex diameter. WaW was really poor in placing fortifications. They could be found buried in a forest with only a clear view of the hex to their immediate front and that's it.

One other AI problem with WaW is capture one flag and the screaming hordes all jump out of their holes and try to recapture it. Capture one flag and WaW throws away one major advantage of being on the defensive. The Win games rationally wait to counter attack until such a move is required.

Minefield deployment is also predicable in WaW. It starts right at the deployment line, is 2-3 hexes in depth and there are never mines outside of the main belt. That is the extent of WaW's use of obstacles.

The Win logic with mines is also predictable, but not usefully so. One can expect Win games to place mines on the roads, which is a logical place to do so. The high speed avenues of approach is basically useless. It would take too long to clear the roads. The Win logic also tends to have a main belt of mines, but it can start anywhere between the deployment line back to the edge of the forward most objective. Also expect to find some of the flag locations mined. There is no breaching the line and forgetting about the engineers. The lead elements better have some with them or you just take your chances when capturing flags. Another nice touch is an extra partial line of obstacles along the edges of the map to slow down flanking maneuvers. These partial lines may be something other than mines and not be there at all, but can be a rude surprise of they are unexpected found. If mines, is it the main line or is it a partial line? Finally, mines can be expected to be scattered beyond main belt of mines. Busting through the main belt of mines and doing open field running also has it's risks. The scattered mines are basically random, but the only thing that is predictable is that they will be there. Where is anyone's guess.

WaW seems to have been coded to do a lot more "head hunting" than it should. While radio direction finding has improved since WWII allowing for better targeting of C&C locations, I found my HQ getting hit way too often for my taste in WaW considering it was WWII. It's been a while since I played WaW, but that is one impression that sticks with me.

Overall, Don and Andy have done a spectacular job with the AI. There are aspects of WaW that are nice, but the bottom line is how good of a battle do you get out of the AI with what you have to work with. Personally, I've never liked games that gave the AI an edge to compensate for inherent weakness. Straight up, the Win games give you a better fight than WaW.