Necrobump from a curious new player. I opted for Caverna over Caverna 0.5 because of my perception that it simply offered more. Having only played a couple of games, and having never touched Agricola, I can't say that I made the right choice.
One thing stood out for me, though. A lot of people claim that Agricola is "harsher", but I nearly ended up in negative points during my first run because I didn't concentrate on feeding my dorfs. At least for a first time player, it seems like Caverna is equally capable of slapping you about with its country-grown vegetables if you don't recognize what you're doing and don't decide on a strategy straight away.
The reason I'm necrobumping, but, is because I'd like to hear if any of you still feel the same way you did a couple of years back. Did the initial fascination with having more things to do wear off in time, and make you feel nostalgic for the more limited options that encouraged strategic adjustment every game? Or did you keep on with Caverna, and houserule it to make it a bit more stabby?