@Zaphide: The link you called 'Increase Memory' in the OP is actually showing how to lower the memory allocation, unless I am misreading it. Yeah it's done by modifying the same file, but that might not be self explanatory to someone with no clue about these things.
I've been thinking a lot about how my campaigns keep getting too bloated to open the saves. Previous version (of both SS and Exerelin), my campaign ran much longer before getting too big... but then I remembered in that version, some systems seemed frozen in time unless I was in them currently. Now that everything is playing out in real time, the game starts to chug much sooner.
I like running with 24 systems, but modest settings otherwise (12 planets/5-10 stations etc). I've recently switched to using 64 bit java and upped the memory allocation, which let me open a save I couldn't before, but there are systems with hundreds of fleets duking it out and my save file creeps up toward 600 megs at times. I get stuttering and occasional audio glitches when zipping around in space, but that was happening soon after I started the campaign and it's getting a lot worse.
It seems to me that the only thing keeping the number of A.I. fleets in check is that they blow each other up... which is only so reliable.
The game is basically playing out an RTS with the A.I. fleets. One thing every RTS has is Unit Caps. Otherwise the game can become unplayable.
Is there any hard cap on the number of A.I. fleets/ships a faction can field at once?
If not, then I think there should be. Maybe give us an option when starting the campaign.
Something like:
Faction Fleet Cap
Low (250 OP +50/station)
Medium (500 OP + 100/station)
High (1000 OP + 200/station)
Unlimited
I just threw those numbers out there... I haven't done the math to see if they make a ton of sense, but you get the idea.
EDIT: I think the Rebel fleets would need to be effected by this setting too.
Also, I second the request for not letting multiple factions start in the same system (assuming # of systems > # of factions).