Have the exact same experience as Lightbeard. One hour in on a new savefile on default settings, very first expansion party puts an 11 nest sized base just a few chunks away from the starter area. I agree with the sentiment of making biter expansions harder as the game goes on, but the current way ...

Also just got this crash. I wasn't doing anything noteworthy when it occurred, just running around my base. Happens every time I load this save about 3-4 minutes after loading it.