Rimworld 1 5 Threading

Caroline Mae

2 min read

·

07-01-2025

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RimWorld 1.5 brought with it a significant overhaul to the game's underlying architecture, most notably its threading system. For those unfamiliar, threading in game development refers to how the game divides tasks across multiple processing cores in your computer. Before 1.5, RimWorld's performance, particularly in large colonies or with complex mods, often suffered from bottlenecks. This update aimed to alleviate those issues and significantly boost performance.

Understanding the Old System and its Limitations

Prior to version 1.5, RimWorld primarily relied on a single thread for many critical game processes. This meant that even powerful multi-core processors were underutilized. As the colony grew and the game simulated more complex events (think massive raids or intricate trade deals), the single thread became overloaded, resulting in noticeable lag and stuttering. This was especially frustrating for players with large, established colonies and a wealth of mods installed.

The 1.5 Revolution: Multi-threading for Better Performance

The core improvement in RimWorld 1.5 was the implementation of multi-threading. This allowed the game to distribute the workload across multiple CPU cores. This means tasks like pathfinding, AI calculations, and world simulation could be processed concurrently, significantly reducing the processing burden on any single core. The result? Smoother gameplay, even in the most demanding scenarios.

Key Areas of Improvement:

• AI Processing: The AI for pawns is now spread across multiple threads, allowing for quicker decision-making and less noticeable pauses during complex events.
• Pathfinding: The algorithm responsible for determining pawn movement paths is now more efficient and takes better advantage of multi-threading.
• World Simulation: The overall simulation of the game world itself benefits from parallelization.

The Impact on Modding

The shift to a multi-threaded architecture also significantly impacts modding. While it opened doors for more efficient mods, it also presented challenges for mod developers. Mods not updated to work correctly with the new system may cause instability or performance issues. Therefore, it's crucial to ensure all your mods are compatible with RimWorld 1.5 or later.

Conclusion: A Significant Leap Forward

The threading improvements in RimWorld 1.5 represent a significant step forward in the game's performance. The changes allowed for more efficient use of modern hardware, resulting in smoother, faster gameplay. While some initial hiccups were reported, the overall impact has been overwhelmingly positive, providing a better experience for players with both large colonies and numerous mods. The developers' commitment to optimization is clear, paving the way for even more complex and engaging gameplay in future updates.