Simple question: if I'm running Minecraft Pocket Edition and switch to a different app, is time still passing in the game? What if the app gets closed due to garbage collection?
If time is passing, can I get hurt while the app is not active?
3 Answers
No, time does not continue . try playing multiplayer if server phone goes to lock screen or switches to other app ,client player will see time passing ,cannot obtain mined blocks , water flow will stop. We can say that time stops as host mobile switches or goes to lock screen.
No it does not.
It stops as soon as you leave the game and starts as soon as you join the game again.
Perhaps this has changed in recent versions of Minecraft PE, but I think time does continue while the app is inactive, at least in some form. I just tested by harvesting a Sugar Cane field and switching away from the app. About four hours later, I switched back to the app to find that my field had regrown and was ready for harvest again.
One thing to note: most of the Sugar Cane plants had only grown from one block to two blocks during the four hours my Minecraft PE app was inactive. My gut tells me that with four hours of non-stop playing time the plants would have all grown to their full three-block height. So perhaps time still runs while the app is inactive, just slower?
Edit: I'm playing Minecraft PE on my Android Nexus 6.
Edit: Just ran another test. I started a new world, left my character standing in an open field, and switched out of the app. The next morning, I opened the app to find my character had died:
