AI not attacking ships in harbors: a feature or a bug?

I was wondering about the community's opinion here. It seems to me, this is actually not a bug, but a feature (otherwise, if the blockaded faction was sea-wise weak, it had no way of countering... other than building up it's own fleet on the docks inside the port and then attacking the beseiger from within). What is a bug, IMHO, is the fact that a human player is able to attack boats in harbors...

On another note, if boats in harbors are rendered non-attackable, the players (including AI) should be able to blockade ports even with boats in it... One way or another, this feature needs some fixing...

A related issue: if the AI blockades a port, I yet have to see it maintain it for more than one turn... Maybe it is (intentional or not) a feature of the game? Remember, the senate always asks you to blockade a port for one turn...

The human player is not able to attack boats in a harbor; the human player is REQUIRED to. You as the player cannot blockade a harbor from the sea without first defeating any ships that are there. And yes, I think the rules should be the same for you and for the AI.

And on your other point, I have noticed the same thing. I don't often see the AI blockading a hostile port, but it happens sometimes. They never ever maintain it. They blockade it for one turn then sail off. :dizzy2:

Definitely I would like the ai to blockade ports and keep blockading if possible . That would throw a few more challenges to the human player.

The AI, will, on occasion, attack fleets in port. It just doesn't do it often or with any set pattern. I generally consider my fleets "safe" when in port, and seldom build large one for that reason. I'm rarely disappointed.

The only times I've seen my harbor stationed boats DRAGGED into battle are when there is an allied fleet nearby and my AI enemy attacks it... The harbor stationed boats then join the fight by default.

Playing as Carthage, I was regularly blockaded by the Scipii and Brutii. With fleets or without them in the harbor I was constantly fighting off waves of Roman biremes. They sure didn't like the arrival of my new war vessel Triemes ~:)