SWG's Memory Leak

[Zizzs]

So, I've had a lot of questions in game asking about the memory leak and how to fix it. It's fairly easy to get around it for the most part, but you will still experience leaks doing specific things. But first, let's talk about the leak itself!

So, SWG does this idiotic thing where it will load multiple variations of the same assets into your RAM. For example, if you are running Sharnaff missions out of Coronet, every time you leave Coronet, the files for the city's models and NPCs will be stored in your RAM. The problem arises when you return to CNET, where SWG decides that one instance of CNET isn't enough, and decides to dump a whole new CNET asset into your RAM. This effectively doubles the amount of RAM the game holds, thus slowing down your computer.

Now you're asking, "Hey Zizzs, You're totally a noob because I have 16GB of RAM on my awesome non-potato computer! I'll never experience memory leaks!"
Well little Jimmy, SWG is SO OLD that the standard game settings only allow for SWG to use 250MB of RAM. Yes, Jimmy. Thats MEGABYTES. Thus, SWG will cap out at the 250MB limit. And after capping at the limit, it will start dumping the files into what Windows calls "Virtual RAM," Which basically slows down your load times and FPS.

To get around this, I will teach you how to cap your SWG RAM limits at 60fps, click a couple settings to lower the amount of RAM used, and also use a macro that dumps unneeded RAM files!

Step 1: Change the 250MB cap to 2GB cap.
a. Go into the control panel and navigate to Control Panel > System and Security > System (Windows 7)
b. Click Advanced Settings on the left side panel. (Brings up a new window)
c. On the Advanced Tab, click Environment Variables on the bottom.
d. Click "New" under System Variables
e. Enter "SWGCLIENT_MEMORY_SIZE_MB" in the Variable Name field
f. Enter 1024(For 1GB) or 2048(for 2GB) in the "Variable Value" field. (I recommend 2GB, but 1GB if sufficient if you only have 2GB of ram on your computer)
g. Click OK.

This will cap your SWG's RAM at 2GB instead of the Standard 250MB.

Step 2: We're gonna fiddle with the awakening config. (This is what I've done to make my leak more manageable, but you can fiddle with other settings if desired.)
a. Under the "Game" tab, check the box next to "Disable Character System of Level Detail Manager"
- Basically what the LOD Character Manager does is forces your computer to use the highest character detail settings possible on every model in the game. When there are hella people in the same area, this will just clog up your RAM. I saw a huge FPS increase and didn't notice any drop in detail. Looks the same to me.
b. Under the "Advanced" tab, click the box next to "Disable World Preloading."
- What this does is basically forces your computer to load all the planet's asset files prior to loading into the game. So instead, you'll load directly into the game from the character screen in half a second and your computer will then render the files instead of loading everything at once. So you load less stuff, use less RAM, makes life better.
c. Under the "Advanced" tab, click the box next to "Disable File Caching"
- This is where I saw the biggest difference in my memory leak. File Caching allows SWG to freely dump unneeded files into your RAM that you may or may not use later. It's what causes the larger FPS drops when doing missions out of the same city.

These are the 3 I used in the Awakening config, but feel free to respond with other options you found that helped you out. I haven't tested all of them, but these seemed to help me!

Step 3: The easiest step of all. The Macro!
a. Create Macro.
b. Type in /flushGraphicsResources fullReset;
c. Stick that sucker on your bar.
d. Click that Macro once every 30 to 60 minutes.

I've been playing around with this macro and it seems to me that it dumps files that are not related to the planet you are on. So say you are in Cnet doing missions stated before and you use this macro after you've been doing shit for 2 hours. This will NOT help you in this instance, as SWG still believes that you're using all the files loaded up in your RAM and you will most likely still encounter FPS drops. This macro will however help you when you move between planets, and will dump all the files related to Corellia, say if you took a shuttle to Dathomir. Because you totally should go to Dathomir. (NS are totes hawt).

This is what helped me tackle the horrid SWG memory leaks, but I still encounter them every now and then. If you find anything that helps, feel free to butt in with your own info! Hope it helps everyone!

[Ogunn]

This is great. You're the man, dude.

[Cynar]

Heh, non potato computer lol.

[ragehatred]

must say, i lol'd at non-potato computer as well

[paradox355]

Good info! Thanks!

[RickyL]

How do I know if i have a non potato computer or a potato computer?

[Drakathos]

How do I know if i have a non potato computer or a potato computer?

If you see a windows vista sticker on it, its a potato

[Wodaz]

If you see a windows vista sticker on it, its a potato

HAHAHA!!

[BigQEd]

Im still on XP, whats that make my computer? lol

F***ing OLD!

[Wodaz]

Im still on XP, whats that make my computer? lol

lol! I'm still on XP on my laptop one of the best OS's made by MS! IMHO

[Drakathos]

Im still on XP, whats that make my computer? lol

lol! I'm still on XP on my laptop one of the best OS's made by MS! IMHO

Best and XP can not be used in the same sentence...If you are not referring to XP=Experience

[jwyork]

Im still on XP, whats that make my computer? lol

an antique .. maybe it's worth big bucks!

[ShadowOrdo]

I get 60 FPS by default and do not notice these issues. Am I too assume Awakening server has corrected this issue internally? It's also likely possible i might have done this long ago in the past and have no memory of it.

[Larce]

I get 60 FPS by default and do not notice these issues. Am I too assume Awakening server has corrected this issue internally? It's also likely possible i might have done this long ago in the past and have no memory of it.

60 FPS is built in yes, but I boosted by RAM per the guide. With a option.cfg setting change you can have a PC\Network monitor to watch the RAM usage, I see it creep up past 256 within a minute, but with the "extra space" I'm fine. I need to test out the macro next, but I don't doubt it works.

[jasonh]

Lol Ed my computer may be f***ing old but it still ruins this game just fine.

That's XP for you.

[BigQEd]

No no, you had it right... ruins.

[Mlor]

I'm going to try this...finally.

[neroaquati]

Anyone know how to do this on a Windows 8.1 potato?

[fozziwakka]

For those using Win 10, to get to the system area he's talking about just right click on "My PC" and select properties. The new control panel is a bit of a pain when you're used to Win 95 through 7 style control panels.

[Osashes]

My friends and I tried this today, and it seemed to do no good for any of us. The macro especially seems to do nothing. Has anything related to this guide changed?