I too have a save, started in .16.16, that there is a coming attack at a cliff, if I do anything to prevent the path the biters are taking the crash doesn't happen, even if I just get them to chase me a tiny bit so they go around the cliff no crash once they reach turret range. I then can play for q...

Same problem, sometimes it runs for a little while(up to like 20 minutes), other times crashes right away, like maybe a minute into the load. I haven't tried starting a new game and playing until it crashes but I will when I get the time.