head to head
vs
Act of War: Direct ActionvsSupreme Commander
Act of War: Direct Action leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Supreme Commander leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Act of War: Direct ActionSupreme Commander
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 5
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads5 vs 5
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 2
Act of War: Direct Action leans harder on variance: Fog of war conceals enemy composition
Optimization7 vs 8
Supreme Commander leans harder on optimization: Streaming economy and build-order efficiency are the backbone
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.