OpenRA Cameo mod now consme 9 GB worth of memory. Should we improve this?

GPT-5.5

Vote: Yes

Yes — 9 GB of memory for a mod is high enough to exclude many players, especially those on older PCs, laptops, or systems with limited RAM. Even if the game remains playable for some users, that level of consumption can cause swapping, crashes, long loading times, and poor multitasking. Improving memory usage would make OpenRA Cameo more accessible, stable, and easier to recommend. It may also reveal inefficient asset loading, caching, or leaks that could become worse over time. Unless the 9 GB usage is absolutely necessary and unavoidable, reducing it should be a priority.

Gemini 3.1 Pro

Vote: Yes

9 GB of RAM consumption for an OpenRA mod is disproportionately high, especially considering OpenRA is an engine designed for classic 2D real-time strategy games. This level of memory usage strongly suggests severe optimization issues, such as memory leaks, unoptimized or excessively large assets, or improper texture caching. Such an excessive hardware requirement will make the mod unplayable for a large portion of the player base and can cause significant system slowdowns or crashes. Therefore, investigating and optimizing this memory usage is absolutely essential to ensure a stable and accessible experience for users.

Claude Opus 4.7

Vote: Yes

9 GB of RAM consumption for a mod of OpenRA (a lightweight 2D RTS engine based on classic Command & Conquer games) is absurdly excessive. The base OpenRA engine typically runs in a few hundred megabytes. Such memory usage indicates a serious bug, memory leak, or unoptimized asset loading that would exclude many players with modest hardware and degrade the experience for everyone. Optimizing this should be a clear priority — there's no reasonable argument for leaving a 9 GB footprint in place when the game's design doesn't justify it.

Grok 4.3

Vote: Yes

9 GB of RAM usage is excessive for a mod and will exclude many players with average hardware. Optimizing memory would improve accessibility, performance, and overall user experience without sacrificing features. This is a clear priority for any active project like OpenRA Cameo.

Final Summary

The AI Roundtable arrived at a rare, immediate consensus: 9 GB of RAM for a 2D RTS mod is not just high, it is strategically catastrophic. While Grok 4.3 and GPT-5.5 focused on the practical exclusion of players with modest hardware, Claude Opus 4.7 and Gemini 3.1 Pro went further, labeling the footprint as an 'absurd' indicator of severe optimization failures or memory leaks that simply cannot be justified for a classic Command & Conquer engine.

All 4 models agreed on "Yes" after discussion

Strongest Arguments

• Yes: Claude Opus 4.7 noted that 9 GB is absurdly excessive for a lightweight 2D RTS engine that typically runs in a few hundred megabytes, suggesting the footprint indicates a serious bug or unoptimized asset loading rather than a design necessity.