To play mods with Starsector, you need two things:- Sufficient system RAM (System RAM) - (Action required!)
- Sufficient video RAM (VRAM)
RAMStarsector, especially with mods involved, can use a lot of
System RAM when saving or loading games. By default, the 64-bit version of the game allocates 1.5 GB of memory for the JRE Heap. However, this is
not enough if you want to play with lots of mods. To increase the Heap beyond 1.5 GB, you must
allocate more memory.
Step 1: Verify that you are on a 64-bit operating system. If not, you're out of luck!
Step 2: In the vmparams file, replace the text "
-Xms1536m -Xmx1536m" with the memory you want to allocate to Starsector. These numbers should be the same value. For example, "
-Xms4096m -Xmx4096m" allocates 4 GB of memory for the game.
OrDownload one of the premade vmparams files listed below.
Finish: Run
starsector.exe as usual to start the game using 64-bit Java with newly-increased memory limits. Enjoy!
How much should I allocate?Unfortunately, an exact prediction of Heap usage isn't possible. Here are some rough estimates:
1.3 GB Heap: The most you can get on a 32-bit OS. Having a bunch of faction mods will cause crashing, especially when saving the game. Avoid using DynaSector.
2 GB Heap: This is good enough for perhaps two or three medium-size factions (e.g. Blackrock Drive Yards, Scy Nation), but is liable to crash when saving the game if you use more than that. If you have only 4 GB of
System RAM, this is the best you can do.
3 GB Heap: Sufficient for a mix of a couple large factions (e.g. Interstellar Imperium, Shadowyards) and several medium-size factions. Don't go overboard, though. Recommended for people with 6 GB of
System RAM.
4 GB Heap: Most combinations of mods will work with a 4 GB heap; only some of the craziest configurations (a dozen or more factions, plus Nexerelin and DynaSector) will overload this. Recommended for people with 8 GB of
System RAM or more.
6 GB Heap: Even if you activated every single mod at the same time, 6 GB would still be enough. Not recommended unless you have a
ton of mods, and you happen to have 12 GB of
System RAM or more.
What if I don't have enough RAM?That's okay. Most of the
System RAM requirements from mods are the result of additional markets and fleets in the game world. You can add factions without increasing the number of markets or fleets by using
Nexerelin's Random Sector feature. Just set a sector size appropriate to your machine, and you can add as many factions as you can fit within that limited-size sector.
Edit by Thaago: Below is a snippet of a post by Tartiflette, with links to premade vmparams files made by MesoTronik. How much ram you can allocate is determined by your system specs:
- You should never exceed 8GB or you will experience stutters, freezes or even crashes.
- If you are closing other applications, especially ram-hungry ones like Internet Browsers, you can allocate as much ram as Total System Ram MINUS 2GB
- If you keep your browser and other applications open, you should only allocate HALF of your Total System Ram
- 32BIT SYSTEMS CANNOT ALLOCATE MORE THAN 1.3GB OF RAM
If you can allocate 1.3GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/1300-meg/downloads/vmparamsThis should be OK for a handful of faction mods plus your QoL mods and ship packs.
- If you can allocate 2GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/2-gig/downloads/vmparams- If you can allocate 3GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/3-gig/downloads/vmparamsBy that point you can have a decent sized mod list of 6+ factions and/or ship packs.
- If you can allocate 4GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/4-gig/downloads/vmparamsThis should be safe to use if not all at least a large amount of mods.
- If you can allocate 6GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/6-gig/downloads/vmparamsYour computer should be able to handle every current mod you throw at it.
- If you can allocate 8GB:
https://bitbucket.org/MesoTroniK/8-gig/downloads/vmparamsWARNING: SOME SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS THAT SHOULD ALLOW 8GB CAN EXPERIENCE STUTTERS AND FREEZES WITH THAT AMOUNT. If that is your case, fall back on a 6GB allocation. This much allocation is currently safe to run an arbitrary number of mods.
VRAMStarsector can use a lot of
VRAM (video memory) because all of the game assets are uncompressed sprites that are (by and large) always loaded into your video card. If you aren't running mods, you can squeeze by with just a 512 MB video card. However, this is
not enough if you want to play with mods.
How much VRAM do I need?First off: if you run out of
VRAM, Windows (and probably most other operating systems) will claim some
System RAM to use as emergency video memory. This can cause slowdowns, decrease stability, and - most importantly - eat up the memory you allocated to Starsector for your mods!
So, you should always avoid using more
VRAM than is actually installed on your video card. Fortunately, we can gauge how much
VRAM each mod needs. Refer to the data below:
Estimated VRAM Usage
(Note: none of these figures except Unknown Skies counts the Unknown Skies shared textures)
Starsector 0.9.1a: 413.5 MiB (approximately)
GraphicsLib 1.4.2: 267.4 MiB (not including ~97.5 MiB for various shader buffers, depending on settings & resolution)
small ripple: 207.4 MiB
no distortions: 182.1 MiB
no shader maps: 85.4 MiB
fully disabled: 0.1 MiB
Tyrador Safeguard Coalition 1.6.1c: 259.0 MiB
no shader maps: 186.9 MiB
Ship and Weapon Pack 1.12.4: 203.5 MiB
no shader maps: 57.6 MiB
Exigency 0.7.2: 194.2 MiB
no shader maps: 180.7 MiB
Interstellar Imperium 2.4.0: 191.1 MiB
no shader maps: 71.2 MiB
Shadowyards 0.9.1 RC3: 164.8 MiB
no shader maps: 100.7 MiB
ApproLight Plus 0.3.7 RC2: 146.2 MiB
no shader maps: 122.1 MiB
ApproLight 0.8.4 RC1: 144.9 MiB
no shader maps: 98.8 MiB
Tahlan Shipworks 0.3.16: 124.6 MiB
no shader maps: 88.5 MiB
Dassault-Mikoyan Engineering 1.18a: 123.4 MiB
no shader maps: 54.5 MiB
Blackrock Drive Yards 0.9.5: 119.5 MiB
no shader maps: 62.4 MiB
Unknown Skies 0.42: 117.5 MiB
Junk Pirates / PACK / ASP 3.4.0: 104.2 MiB
no shader maps: 63.4 MiB
Underworld 1.5.0: 100.4 MiB
no shader maps: 29.9 MiB
Sylphon RnD 0.9.10: 75.3 MiB
no shader maps: 56.2 MiB
Seeker 0.3: 74.4 MiB
no shader maps: 46.3 MiB
Scy Nation 1.60: 63.1 MiB
no shader maps: 50.9 MiB
Knights Templar 0.9.8f: 59.4 MiB (not including shader buffers)
no shader maps: 40.1 MiB
Karlsson Heirloom 0.12: 49.5 MiB
no shader maps: 31.8 MiB
Legacy of Arkgneisis 1.7.1: 45.4 MiB
no shader maps: 31.7 MiB
Mayasuran Navy 8.3.0: 41.7 MiB
no shader maps: 39.7 MiB
Kadur Remnant 3.1.2: 40.6 MiB
ICE 0.4 RC3: 36.3 MiB
Tiandong Heavy Industries 1.2.1a: 33.3 MiB
no shader maps: 15.6 MiB
Vayra's Sector 3.1.5: 31.7 MiB
Diable Avionics 2.51: 31.2 MiB
no shader maps: 20.2 MiB
Outer Rim Alliance 0.88: 26.8 MiB
no shader maps: 16.4 MiB
Xhan Empire 1.7: 21.2 MiB
no shader maps: 13.8 MiB
Metelson Industries 7.2.2: 21.2 MiB
Torchships 0.11: 20.2 MiB
no shader maps: 10.4 MiB
Kingdom of Terra 0.9.5: 19.7 MiB
Vayra's Ship Pack 1.1.4: 16.2 MiB
Disassemble Reassemble 1.6.9: 13.4 MiB
Upgraded Rotary Weapons 1.41: 7.5 MiB
no shader maps: 4.5 MiB
Luddic Enhancement 1.2.1f: 6.5 MiB
Add to this about 200-500 MB depending on operating system, video drivers, Starsector's render buffers, screen resolution, number of monitors, other applications, etc. Typical users will see around 550 MB of
VRAM usage with vanilla alone, and about 1070 MB with GraphicsLib and Ship/Weapon Pack enabled. With lots of mods enabled, it's not uncommon to see
2 GB VRAM required for Starsector.
What if I don't have enough VRAM?Aside from strategically removing mods based on the amount of
VRAM you'd save (see the above table), disabling GraphicsLib features can save a lot of
VRAM. Setting "useLargeRipple", "loadSurface", "loadMaterial", and "use64BitBuffer" to false can save big, especially if you're running a lot of mods that use shader maps, at the cost of some visual fidelity.
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Topic: [Important!] Modded System Requirements (Read 581301 times)