@ Penta - NGC is Naval Gunnery Campaigns - formerly Raider Operations. Ofter also called Strategic Naval Gunnery. Check here:
http://members.tripod.com/hsr_histor...mes/index.html
In the interest of full disclosure, my name is on the credits (in a minor role) of the game so no one call it shameless but hidden gratuitus plug. And no - you still can;t change the outcome of the wars simulated.
Back to the topic - yes there is no way to currently model the full impact that events have, be they the rise or death of talented leaders, the long term loss of ships, etc. Like I said, give it 10 years. Remember Silent Service 2? My version was the 2 3 & 1/2" floppy version. Look where we are today.... Games get "bigger" and better (most of the time at least!!). PC horsepower doubles every year (though lately Moore's law hasn't really applied). Still - it increases measurably. But just as games like the Total War series give you talented leaders that can affect outcomes, so will such simulations, or they will find even better ways to do it.
Until then - the great work that things like RSRDC do to create historical accuracy are wonderful. Remember what I posted earlier about hindsight? Well, think for a moment - you know midway is going to occur. Do you think COMSUBPAC is gonna order you to be in the area when it happens? Highly doubtful. So you being involved in Midway would be a pretty slim chance. But with the knowledge of hindsight, you take your boat off on its own, stumble on the fleet and get in a few useful hits. Maybe you even save Yorktown due to your actions. Your own actions stopped that historical flow. So you can have history now - yes with a scripted outcome - within some reasonable limits. Give it time and the true what ifs will get here.