Quote Originally Posted by richarnd
In fact, I've just done exactly that, though for different reasons than the above poster. I don't think they're necessarily bad additions, though I do think they're unnecessary. I'm not going to get into the realism/abstraction argument.

Instead, I'm more concerned about whether the AI can handle them. In my limited RTR 4.1 experience, the AI does not seem to build enough ports. I could be wrong, the AI may be building them later than I would expect because of increased build times, or there may be other factors at work. I can't be sure. But I don't want to risk it - the AI in this game has enough problems already that I don't want to make it's job any harder.
I must echo this sentiment. There are some truly excellent ideas and features in RTR but I feel that some were implemented much too quickly and without sufficient testing. My biggest concern for any mod is its impact on the AI and whether it improves or harms its chances of mounting a successful campaign against me.