Memory issues.

[Krist]

I'm trying to run 0.25 on my Mac (1 month old macbook pro with Yosemite). And I'm running in to problems.

Vanilla KSP runs fine.

KSP + a set of mods that used to run when still on 0.24 crashes.

I know that memory is an issue, os one of the mods I have is ATM. However, it appears that ATM isn't doing anything on my system.

When I start KSP with the 20 odd mods I like this is what I see in Player.log:

Starting KSP with lots of modules, and without ATM. Player.log:

Initialize engine version: 4.5.3p2 (2cb78f2c67dc)
GfxDevice: creating device client; threaded=1
OpenGL:
    Version:  OpenGL 2.1 [2.1 NVIDIA-10.0.43 310.41.05f01]
    Renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M OpenGL Engine
    Vendor:   NVIDIA Corporation
    VRAM:     2048 MB
    Extensions: GL_ARB_color_buffer_float GL_ARB_depth_buffer_float 

KSP(28581,0xa0a7b1d4) malloc: *** mach_vm_map(size=4329472) failed (error code=3)
*** error: can't allocate region
*** set a breakpoint in malloc_error_break to debug
DynamicHeapAllocator out of memory - Could not get memory for large allocationCould not allocate memory: System out of memory!
Trying to allocate: 4194304B with 16 alignment. MemoryLabel: NewDelete
Allocation happend at: Line:0 in Overloaded New[]
Memory overview



=================================================================
Got a SIGABRT while executing native code. This usually indicates
a fatal error in the mono runtime or one of the native libraries 
used by your application.
=================================================================

I've cut out most of the stuff, only keeping those parts that I though informative. What I conclude is that:

a) I'm running in OpenGL mode

I'm running out of memory.

Now running with ATM does not change this. When I run a vanilla KSP + ATM. I get the following towards the end of KSP.log:

[LOG 17:22:56.852] ActiveTextureManagement: Memory Saved : 0B
[LOG 17:22:56.852] ActiveTextureManagement: Memory Saved : 0kB
[LOG 17:22:56.852] ActiveTextureManagement: Memory Saved : 0MB

Does this really mean ATM isn't doing anything?

How do I get my KSP playable again?

[Master Tao]

What I conclude is that:

a) I'm running in OpenGL mode

I'm running out of memory.

Absolutely right.

Now running with ATM does not change this. When I run a vanilla KSP + ATM. I get the following towards the end of KSP.log:

[LOG 17:22:56.852] ActiveTextureManagement: Memory Saved : 0B
[LOG 17:22:56.852] ActiveTextureManagement: Memory Saved : 0kB
[LOG 17:22:56.852] ActiveTextureManagement: Memory Saved : 0MB

Does this really mean ATM isn't doing anything?

No. It works, but it's not reporting memory savings correctly. Not sure it ever did, since my test of memory savings is how often the game crashes.

How do I get my KSP playable again?

If you're running ATM x86-release-basic, switch to the other version (formerly known as aggressive). Otherwise:

• Increase the scale setting in KSP/GameData/ActiveTextureManagement/settings.cfg. It should be a power of 2 – try 4 to start.
  
• Remove mods or parts of mods (the key is to remove textures, not plugins or part configs).
  

In 0.24, did you have Spaceplane Plus installed? That could easily push you over the limit.

Also, if you have the Steam version and used that to update, you might want to delete the old airplane parts.

[Krist]

Thank you. So the ActiveTextureManagement output was a red herring...

I ended up getting back to a "playable" state thanks to the "Chaka Monkey" pack. So now I only have on parts pack, and a load of modules, and together with ATM my game loads and plays. The CMES really is a lifesaver. I had been thinking of assembling such a pack myself, as having lots of parts packs, of which I only need a few, and then fighting with memory problems isn't really what I want...

Edit: No CMES is not really a lifesaver... See further posts...

Edited November 19, 2014 by Krist

[Krist]

Looks like I'm not out of the woods yet. Still get crashes (When changing scenes for example), and gain I notice that the logs end with an "can't allocate region" error... So memory still.

And this is without a lot added.

What I also noticed is that under ATM the cache directory does contain a whole dir structure, but no files. Does ATM really do something? How do I verify this?

[Krist]

It's getting weirder. I did a few tests with a Vanilla install:

- Starting vanilla install up to menu scene: 1.5 Gb

- Adding ATM and starting up to menu scene: 2.3 Gb...

So ATM added about .8 Gb to the memory footprint of a vanilla KSP...

- Vanilla Install + CMES 1,9 Gb crashes when entering VAB.

- Vanilla Instal + CMES + ATM. goes to 2.4 Gb, but crashes before loadinf finished...

- Vanilla + ATM + Mechjeb, RT, Chatterer, KJR, modulemanager, FAR and KronalUtils 1,4 Gb (so no extra object packs...). Playable...

So now I will just add content pack by pack and see where I end up...

[YANFRET]

I have some good news. We're working on changing the texture format of CMES to reduce it's memory footprint substantially. Hopefully this enables you to use it with the memory situations described here.

[Krist]

I have some good news. We're working on changing the texture format of CMES to reduce it's memory footprint substantially. Hopefully this enables you to use it with the memory situations described here.

Hopefully. But I have lots of other problems. I guess I'll have to accept that for now KSP is not playable on a Mac, and that I'll have to wait till it finally runs as a 64bit application.

[Master Tao]

I wouldn't give up just yet. I've had CMES running before to test another problem. I didn't even install ATM, but I may have more memory available overall.

Try closing other programs – the ~3.5 GB is the total limit, but you have to have that much available on your system. If other programs are using too much, the game will crash before the 32-bit process limit.

[sp1989]

So I ran into the same problems. What worked fro me is is using Aggressive ATM. Admittedly I used regular ATM and had a huge gamedata folder pushing 25 mods. Yosemite is the problem, however switching to Aggressive ATM worked beautifully. Also lowering the texture res to half. These things should help you.

[Krist]

I wouldn't give up just yet. I've had CMES running before to test another problem. I didn't even install ATM, but I may have more memory available overall.

Try closing other programs – the ~3.5 GB is the total limit, but you have to have that much available on your system. If other programs are using too much, the game will crash before the 32-bit process limit.

My system has 16Gb in total. I doubt that I ran out of physical memory...

Anyway, with or without ATM, the spinning beachball of death appears usually after a few moments, so the game is unplayable.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Krist

[andrewaltogether]

I have the same sort of issues. I didn't follow all of your technical jargon or the abbreviations (except ATM = Active Texture Management mod), but I know I'm having crashing problems because of running out of memory. I have a late 2012 iMac with 32GB RAM, so it's not physical memory. I used to be able to play with a ton of mods in a previous version on an earlier OS, but on Yosemite with .25, I can only install two or three parts mods before it crashes every 5-10 minutes. I decreased texture resolution to ½ and got about double the time, but I can barely play long enough for a simple Mun landing and return mission.

Can you also explain why this game (and apparently all others) can only use a certain amount of RAM, regardless of how much is installed?

[Krist]

For the moment it appears I've solved it. Basically I just did the following.

Starting with a Vanilla KSP I added:

- My favourite mods, like RT and Mechjeb...

- Then ATM.

- Then CMES

I restarted the game after every phase. After having added CMES the game crashed on the first start, but now runs more or less stable. It is a bit strange that I needed to start it a second time first to get ATM doing it's stuff...

[Master Tao]

@Krist:

Good that you sorted it out – that's just how KSP+ATM has to work. ATM can't prevent full-size textures from being loaded until it's cached them, so the memory savings only happen after a restart.