Goodman Games

So our first game of DCCRPG is Sunday. We are coming from a heavy 3.5/Pathfinder background, but even when we played 1E and 2E in our earliest days we used a piece of Plexiglas with Sharpie squares on it. We've become addicted to the grid. We play on roll20.net because we live in separate states. Because of all the tokens, tiles, etc. available our game has gotten even more grid dependent.

I am determined to go "off the grid" for our DCC game (it will be "Sailors on the Starless Sea"). I'm looking for advice:

1. How do you in your games run battles without grids/battle maps/miniatures, especially when you're using a virtual tabletop?
2. What have you done that works well?
3. What are some pitfalls to avoid?
4. Do you show your players visuals? Pieces of the art work? Your own sketching of Doug's maps?
5. Any specific advice for no grid/minis combat in "Sailors?"

I've used the maps for visualization on Roll20 and invariably players will ask/demand to use tokens. I say no, but sometimes they just start putting text markers on the map anyway. Eventually this causes them to start getting overly tactical about things. Same thing in home games using laminated maps.

I plan on not using maps for the next Roll20 session. We'll see how that goes.