PointedObservations

I seem to be having similar issues. I'm playing in single player and the sectors do not appear to be unloaded (when I first started the game up, I would get errors if I sent commands to ships in unloaded sectors, but after some time OOS ship orders don't raise those errors). However, mining and salvaging soon stop for OOS ships with the recent updates. When I switch to those ships, though, I don't find them active near asteroids or whatever.

These changes are fantastic. I especially liked the AI improvements that made fighting pirates a challenge. However, I brought the game out again for another spin specifically because I saw the cross-sector commands have been added. Unfortunately, though the new display tells me that my ships in other sectors are mining, scavenging, etc., they don't seem to be doing it or those sectors aren't simulating. :(