I'm someone who plays seafaring civs at least 50% of the time, so I usually have many coastal cities. It's clear that some people in this thread don't know how to properly use their coastal cities. It's not as if all you have to work with are ocean tiles.
But yes, it's true: you need a harbor. If you're seafaring this is very easy, and if not it's only marginally more difficult. (As an aside, hurrying a harbor in a coastal city is usually a much quicker way to connect it to the trade network than building roads. This is especially great if it's built on a luxury.) The harbor, obviously, makes ocean tiles produce two food; even better is if you can get fresh water in the city radius of a coastal city, because it will produce 3 food. Assuming that you are in Republic, for a mere 1 gpt the harbor makes every ocean square produce 2 food and 3 gold, while fresh water squares will produce 3 food and 3 gold. Of course, if you know what you're doing, your coastal cities will almost always have fish or whales, meaning a couple of those tiles will be generating 4 food (and shields in the case of whales, my favorite resource.)
"But production is low," you say. Not if you are managing properly. Now that food is coming in from the sea, the land squares are nearly all free for mining. One or two irrigated grassland or flood plain is all that's needed to supplement the food production from the harbor, enabling a city population of 7+. At that point your production should be respectable if you are balancing between high-food squares and high-shield squares (i.e. mined hills.)
So what you have in a coastal city, with a harbor, under Republic, is many squares producing 3 commerce which will also support one citizen; fresh water, fish or whales all add surplus food to this. If you are Seafaring (and even if not) this city will generate a lot of wealth. And with the proper management the city will be large enough to balance food & production, making it a respectable city all around.
Lastly, coastal cities are easier to defend: there's only one way to advance by land, and coastal invasions can easily be prevented until amphibious units.
Of course for me I play Seafaring civs for the fun of it; I play for fun, not to "win." Civ is the type of game that I wouldn't mind having no victory conditons (like SimCity.) So when you say "you only need a few ships to win," that type of argument doesn't resonate with someone like me. Having an empire that spans the globe and a shipping network that can transport units around the world in a few turns is fun. I love cheap harbors for quickly securing distant luxuries. I love units that can move 3 spaces from turn 1. I love extra commerce from turn 1. I love being the first to discover and settle islands. So I will continue to enjoy playing civs like England, who are consistently lowest on popularity lists. I think it just comes down to different playstyles.
But yes, it's true: you need a harbor. If you're seafaring this is very easy, and if not it's only marginally more difficult. (As an aside, hurrying a harbor in a coastal city is usually a much quicker way to connect it to the trade network than building roads. This is especially great if it's built on a luxury.) The harbor, obviously, makes ocean tiles produce two food; even better is if you can get fresh water in the city radius of a coastal city, because it will produce 3 food. Assuming that you are in Republic, for a mere 1 gpt the harbor makes every ocean square produce 2 food and 3 gold, while fresh water squares will produce 3 food and 3 gold. Of course, if you know what you're doing, your coastal cities will almost always have fish or whales, meaning a couple of those tiles will be generating 4 food (and shields in the case of whales, my favorite resource.)
"But production is low," you say. Not if you are managing properly. Now that food is coming in from the sea, the land squares are nearly all free for mining. One or two irrigated grassland or flood plain is all that's needed to supplement the food production from the harbor, enabling a city population of 7+. At that point your production should be respectable if you are balancing between high-food squares and high-shield squares (i.e. mined hills.)
So what you have in a coastal city, with a harbor, under Republic, is many squares producing 3 commerce which will also support one citizen; fresh water, fish or whales all add surplus food to this. If you are Seafaring (and even if not) this city will generate a lot of wealth. And with the proper management the city will be large enough to balance food & production, making it a respectable city all around.
Lastly, coastal cities are easier to defend: there's only one way to advance by land, and coastal invasions can easily be prevented until amphibious units.
Of course for me I play Seafaring civs for the fun of it; I play for fun, not to "win." Civ is the type of game that I wouldn't mind having no victory conditons (like SimCity.) So when you say "you only need a few ships to win," that type of argument doesn't resonate with someone like me. Having an empire that spans the globe and a shipping network that can transport units around the world in a few turns is fun. I love cheap harbors for quickly securing distant luxuries. I love units that can move 3 spaces from turn 1. I love extra commerce from turn 1. I love being the first to discover and settle islands. So I will continue to enjoy playing civs like England, who are consistently lowest on popularity lists. I think it just comes down to different playstyles.
