Hello guys!
I've recently gotten to this particular stage of my Art of War NR conquest.
It is Era 2. I have successfully taken all IR shipyards denying them the use of Star Destroyers. They are down to very few planets. I have already encountered the freeze once (admittedly, the first time ever). Defreezer worked like a charm.
However, will the game crash if I kill Thrawn and take the space on the last IR planet? I've heard of these era-change crashes happening before (new heroes not having anywhere to spawn), and wasn't sure if this error was ever corrected. Either way, I will be creating a backup save so that I don't lose anything permanently.
Indeed, I would quite like to limit this particular game to Era 2 (never being able to move on due to lack of Era 3 heroes/Imperial Remnant). I am in a very promising position, and the EotH does not receive their dreaded Phalanx Destroyers until Era 3, meaning their biggest threat will never surface.