Go Navy!

[brennan]

C4 will be a different game with different tactics, I will certainly not expect to pull off all the same tricks.

I never really use the coastal bombardment tactic, I have been subjected sooo many times to the AI sending over 20 or 30+ Frigates or Ironclads during a war and bombarding my coast and frankly, if you have a good supply of workers it is no more than an annoyance, I would certainly not wish to spend so many resources subjecting the AI to the same treatment!

There are a couple of problems you encounter with the Artillery SOD, the first is that it is rather boring and tedious (it does work very well though). The second is that once your Tanks start to get rolling, and later Modern Armour, the artillery just can't keep up; you find your mechanised units charging off, flattening city after city and you end up with a hundred Arty units wondering where the war went!

 

[Tman65]

Kayess and Ranger99-
Whoops! Forgot all about privateers. I haven't been as impressed with them though as for every galley I manage to take, I usually lose 1-2 privateers. However, it is nice to be able to run a covert war or stop an AI's expansion by planting 3-4 of these in groups and just, well, slug it out.

brennan -
The AI's poor use of workers is exactly what makes the coastal bombardment effective. Couple your bombardment group w/a transport and a marine or two and you can get yourself some free labor...and further hamper the recovery from your bombardment.

OT-
"you find your mechanised units charging off, flattening city after city and you end up with a hundred Arty units wondering where the war went!"

I think this is where I differ from a lot of folks, but I will usually keep my armor and infantry plodding along w/the arty...at least until I've broken the back of the major counter attacks. I tend not to build the mega stacks of armor...maybe this is why I key in on doing more to preserve them. It really irks the mess out of me to bombard and take a city, then have half of a large stack left that has to wait till next turn so the arty can come too. I've just started using a smaller offensive force keyed around artillery units...usually just enough to take a city but not much more...then the whole force can move on to the next target. Haven't had a chance to try it much, but it seems like you could hit 2-3 cities at the same time, of course knowing my luck, the AI will pounce on all three and kill 'em all in detail.

 

[Lullaby]

Even if you allow your fast offense units to rush ahead of the infantry/artillery crowd, a propper worker force railroading beneath the artilleries feet does wonders when it comes to deploying the artillery near the front.

100 arties is a bit much for my taste, though.