Out Of Memory Crashes

RimWorld crashes can stem from many causes, but the most common is simply running out of memory - especially during game initialization while loading mods. Modded setups can consume surprisingly large amounts of RAM and VRAM, mainly from mod assets like textures.

Always rule this out first when your game crashes. It's a quick, simple check, letting you skip more complex troubleshooting unless necessary.

First, free up as much system memory as possible before troubleshooting further. Reboot your PC to clear the slate. Install any pending Windows updates. Then launch RimWorld with minimal background processes running.

• Reduce Mods
  Often the easiest fix. If your system chokes because of too much mod-textures, remove the most impactful culprits or better avoid bloating your modlist from the start. The Graphics Settings+ mod helps by adding a menu estimating each mod's texture load. That way you can easily spot heavy hitters and decide what to cut first.

• Convert Mod-Textures
  Convert textures to .dds format (see linked guide). This slashes load times - the impact varies based on mods used, but always improves things. It also skips the game's own conversion, which stabilizes game initialization and results in sharper textures in-game.

• Increase Pagefile/Swap/Virtual Memory
  The exact steps vary by OS. Check the linked Windows guide or search online for instructions for your operating system.

• Upgrade RAM
  Serious advice - if nothing else works, your hardware might just not be able to keep up with the modlist you're aiming for. Light modlists might even run on 8GB-systems if optimized, but 16GB+ is today's baseline for system memory. An average 350-mod list can easily hit with 8-12GB memory utilization alone - some extreme lists can even hit 30-40GB!