Imperial game, it's day 2000 and I've taken all of the Core except Xyquine (or however it's spelled) in the Corellian Sector. Slow going, maybe, but then I was very methodical in my approach: I went one sector at a time and would build up to all unused energy slots and get max diplomacy before moving on. Thankfully the diplomacy part was a little quicker because I got lucky with some major fleet victories (I bagged four Mon Cals in one battle, with naught but a pair of ISDs and four VSDs) so I got to bombard off troops, win the populace over and just do some clean up with the diplomats.

 

Anyway, back to Xyquine. I could pretty easily take it, but an espionage mission reveals that their 9 Adv Shipyards are building Bulwark Battlecruiser 1. Well crap, I say. I managed to kill Antilles and Ackbar fairly early on, and had recently offed Adar Tallon on Talus, but it seems they managed to have full research anyway. Ah well, at least I deprived them of highly capable combat leaders, I suppose. So, not wanting the dreaded Space Whale to ruin my day, I immediately set out to invade that system. And then I thought to myself: you pay maintainence up front, and a blockaded shipyard will freeze production. Later spy missions reveal that they haven't cancelled the build at all. So my question is this:

 

Does this mean I'll forever cost them the 175 maintainence points with no ship to show for it, as long as my blockade holds?

 

If that's the case, I may not even bother invading the system any time soon.

Yep, I think that is how it works, but to be frank I'd just invade the planet and use it for your own nefarious purposes.

Yep, I think that is how it works, but to be frank I'd just invade the planet and use it for your own nefarious purposes.

I did eventually, though it was entertaining to hold up their production. But I decided to wait until I had full loyalty in all other Corellian systems before I took the last one. Well, that and because the Rebels tried sending a couple reinforcement fleets that I took apart.

 

I did find a second Bulwark building in the Rim. When my espionage located it, the bar was fairly full. I figured I would try again, and this time really be a jerk by denying a near-completed Battlecruiser to the Rebels! Not that the AI would care, though I imagine a human player might be annoyed.

 

But it wasn't meant to be, because when I got there three days later, they'd finished building the thing. Didn't even have a name yet, still just Bulwark Battlecruiser 2. Well, sadly for the Rebels, even a mighty Bulwark doesn't last long against two ISD IIs and six VSD IIs loaded with TIE Defenders. Which I suspect was an even worse blow than if I had blocked it from completion indefinately.