User blog comment:Mrob27/The moat experiment/@comment-4501235-20111126211347/@comment-4583259-20111126213335

Oh dear, I guess that explains why I have so many astronauts. I save the game a lot just to update the backup files in case I get the terrain regen bug. It would be okay, except that the astronauts slow down the game.

I am pretty sure that mobs move only when you are near them -- because the .dat files (which store the mobs) are never being changed except when I am in or near its superblock. For example, 0_256_128.dat is for moon A superblock (256,128). That file stores the locations of astronauts in that part of the map, and the file hasn't been saved since Nov 22nd. But today I just went into that area, did some digging and stuff, and saved the game then backed up the iPad again. Now 0_256_128.dat says it was saved on Nov 26th.

I investigated one astronaut lair today, and there must have been something like 30 astronauts at the bottom. I panicked and hit the jetpack to avoid landing in there with them.

There are superblocks that get lots of brown mob explosions for some reason, and others that have gotten none at all. I believe the brown mobs explode when an astronaut shoots them. Brown mobs and giraffes spawn in groups of as many as five at once, and I imagine the same is true of astronauts and green mobs (but not the Blue I).