Building on water?

Exactly. I'm totally with you in this.

Why are we talking about realism again?

Your the one who thinks water isnt as much of an obstacle and wants it to be as it in real life....

Wanting water to be strategically important and wanting it to be realistic are two different things.

Your 'strategically important" very much parellels todays reality so in this context they are the same.. how does not allowing water planet starting capability (by meens of removing all but dedicated naval structures) make for a more functional purpose for water...
you set the games capabilities of water terrain on todays realistic capabilities... the robots will build where ever they want and oceans take up a lot of space where pgens and nukes and factories can go...

and then YOU are gonna get destroyed buddy. I would play the game a little more before you declare some win all strategy like that... If you aren't able to figure out how to destroy a base that has been partially or wholly built in water without changing the way that the game functions, then i think you are gonna have much more than just naval issues