control of enemy sea units

[alja]

I own my big continent, finished nearly the tech tree, have started to build my space station, but I haven't found an efficient way to control enemies ship movement near my borders (or anywhere)

I don' want to build tons of ships as I already have the biggest fleet by far. However, a big continent has a long border and often I can't stop the enemy transports on the sea. They don't do many harm, but I am afraid that in higher levels when I am not technological ahead it is vital to block enemy transports and sink as much as possible of them on sea.

I would like to have something like the sonar system of CTP2 to detect ship movement that my air force can react or even I can move my fleet in time.

I have seen the radar tower for the expansion set. This might help, but I am not sure if this works for sea as well.

How do you control your coasts?

 

[Lab Monkey]

I just keep battleships in my coastal cities, and fortify a few vessels along the coast to keep watch. As long as you have carriers with bombers covering your coast you can deal out some pretty heavy damage, and the enemy will either retreat or if not, you can mop it up with a smaller force.

Then again, I'm not a master at naval warfare. Normally I don't bother with too many ships until the industrial age.

 

[alja]

thanks, I am not sure if this is what I really want to do - build more and more battle ships. I am not missing in fire power, more a lack of intelligence.

Also, this discussion makes me think of one more question.

I liked the blocking ability of units in the past. I could block narrow passages with a few units. Nowadays enemies just slip through if I don't occupy every single field.

Wasn't there something with control zone coming with 1.21?
I haven't recognized any difference.

 

[The Rainmaker]

A number of fighter squadrons doing recon missions in selected ocean areas might do the trick for you.

 

[Jaybe]

I use obsolete ships (ie, frigates, ironclads, etc) as pickets outside my borders, spaced out for maximum surveillance value. When I am not at war with a sea power, of course.

I might back them up with stacks of modern stuff as a reaction force, as needed.

JB

 

[Midnight Rider]

I wish recon missions were able to be done OVER AND OVER without having to tell them each time. The world is a big azz place in most instances.

 

[MrBiggBoy]

personally, as soon as i get aegis cruisers, i build them instead of destroyers as escorts. fortify few squares apart and annilate any transports, subs, or destroyers passing by. to kill battleships, use bombers to weaken, then other battleships.

 

[Tassadar]

I like naval warfare and i think im pretty good at it. Formation is the key. So line up several battlashipe in a triangular formation close to your coast and/or harbor. The closest row to the coast are the killer and the other row bombard units. Extend you range by using carrier+bomber and spread a few sub within this formation. A.i will retreat a damage shipe so its good to hunt those damage one with sub. Each naval units should always be covered by another one. Always weaken the other shipe before engaging direct fight, it increase a lot your chance and your shipe wont take to much damage. Keep repair ( thats why its good to be close to harbor) especialy elite battlashipe.

 

[TiggerZuke]

MINES.. are you listening Sid?

 

[Eliminator]

Why building ships? You don't win the game by building ships!
I agree that the are very cool. But I don't spend mutch time to build them especialy if the are still made of wood.

Build vast attack units like....Cavalary, Tanks planes......to kick them of your island! And the are very handy if you want to attack THEM on their island!

Greetz

 

[Myartar]

My little tactic if massed Radar Art. For some reason, in the last few games, the AI ships stop a square from the shore, so I railroad my Radar Art. over there and sink the ships that way. Lot's of crusie missiles also work, just esablish an early warning system like other posts have said.

 

[Tassadar]

Originally posted by Eliminator
Why building ships? You don't win the game by building ships!
I agree that the are very cool. But I don't spend mutch time to build them especialy if the are still made of wood.

Build vast attack units like....Cavalary, Tanks planes......to kick them of your island! And the are very handy if you want to attack THEM on their island!

Greetz

From Winston Churchill, who control the sea, control the land! with carrier+bomber this is thrue.

 

[MrBiggBoy]

yeah, a late game needs ships, your transports are like sitting ducks to an ship but galleys, carvels. a battleship will almost always kill a transport. and you need carriers to hold planes...

 

[Traquenard-fx]

In one of my last game, I have destroy a entire civilization (the indians who have the half of a continent of a 256*256 map, 15 civilizations (I don't like aztecs ) only by using ships and planes. All of their cities was after the war at one of population and Ghandi was sit on a mountain of ruins ( + a lot of roads missing, all commerce whit other civilizations broken and no roads on resources) .

Fleets of ships are very usefull especially againts far away civilizations that kill everybody, expand their territory and try to make competition to my world superiority [phaser]

Return on the subject: For control my coastral borders I use AEGIS cruiser all along my cultural lines and send a few submarines out of my coast for when the enemy run away only for catch them and destroy them. But since 121f, I don't use this stratagy because my bombers sink the enemy's ships before they can leave.

 

[Stuie]

Originally posted by alja
thanks, I am not sure if this is what I really want to do - build more and more battle ships. I am not missing in fire power, more a lack of intelligence.

Why not plant spies and use the "Steal Plans" espionage mission? Then you'll know exactly where ALL the enemy forces are, ships included.

 

[Traquenard-fx]

Originally posted by Stuie


Why not plant spies and use the "Steal Plans" espionage mission? Then you'll know exactly where ALL the enemy forces are, ships included.

Cannot be use during war and very too high in costs doing this. Nobody use this because of this two reasons. Simply make a lower cost for the ''steal plans'' and a better coefficient of success could make a day a very good strategy but we can't change the values of espionage missions in the editor. A another change that we need for the expansion pack.

 

[MrBiggBoy]

Originally posted by Traquenard-fx


Cannot be use during war and very too high in costs doing this. Nobody use this because of this two reasons. Simply make a lower cost for the ''steal plans'' and a better coefficient of success could make a day a very good strategy but we can't change the values of espionage missions in the editor. A another change that we need for the expansion pack.

spies can be used during war, not embassies. it barely costs anything. if your making 2 gold a turn in industrial age,m theres somthing wrong. you CAN change values of espionage missions.

BUT it takes SOOOOO long to see all their dopeyt workers and spearmenm moving around.

 

[Traquenard-fx]

Originally posted by MrBiggBoy


(...) you CAN change values of espionage missions.

Really!!??!!
I will have to go see this by my own eyes

 

[Beam]

On the original question: how to control your coast?
1) Artillery does a fine job against naval bombardments. Just bomb enemy ships and they will retreat like a dog with the tail between his legs. Vulnerability of the artillery is none and they can be obtained in masses when conquering enemy cities.
2) If the AI is so stupid to go ashore make sure you can crush them. They can't move the turn they land.
3) Workers, (obsolete) units do a fine job protecting any type of invasion until marines appear if you completely line them up along the coast.

All in all, IMHO naval warfare is implemented very poor in Civ3 and not decisive apart from the transports needed to do invasions. If subs are around use destroyers or the like to find / clear the path for the transports.

Other threads have discussed naval seaways as means to control trade routes between lands and islands but that probably will not fit the development budget.