The Potato Project (Performance Booster)
v1.5.4.0
This is NOT a miracle mod. If you have a small colony, you probably will not notice much.
This mod is built for large colonies, long running saves, and big mod lists!
The Potato Project is a stability first performance mod for RimWorld.
The goal is simple: reduce wasted work without breaking AI, jobs, or normal gameplay behavior!
I made this because I got tired of performance mods that either do nothing, are outdated, or boost performance by breaking game in subtle ways. I wanted something that actually helps late game colonies without causing pawn stuttering, job delays, or weird AI bugs
This mod focuses on safe optimizations and works well with other up to date performance mods.
No aggressive tricks. No risky shortcuts. If something would break game, it does not get used!
It is called The Potato Project because I named it after having potatoes for dinner.
I really like potatoes...
NOTE: Baked Potato Project is a mod that focuses on GPU Optimizations. It is NOT released or available yet due to errors and problems. TPP has the framework to pair with it already. So officially BPP is still in development. I am not sure when I will release the mod due to so many bugs and problems, if I can't get it to work correctly then I will scrap the project and remove the framework from TPP.
v1.5.4.0 - Dynamic Rating System + Dependency Simplification
Major New Features
- Dynamic Rating Display: Choose between Star ratings (3 stars) or Tier display (S/A/B/C/D)
- Memory Leak Detection: Automatic monitoring with emergency cache cleanup
- Prepatcher Independence: Now requires only Harmony for simplified installation
- Enhanced Performance Profiler: True TPS measurement with intelligent baseline management
Dependency Improvements
- Removed HugsLib requirement completely - TPP now only needs Harmony
- Simplified installation process for users
- Eliminated confusion about framework requirements
- Better compatibility with other performance mods
User Experience Enhancements
- Rating System Choice: Switch between stars and tiers instantly
- Updated Help Dialog: Context-aware explanations for chosen rating system
- Enhanced Debug Reports: Shows active rating system
- Improved Settings UI: Clear toggle for rating display preference
Technical Improvements
- Cached calculations with FrameTimeMonitor O(1) performance optimizations
- Thread-safe profiler with proper synchronization prevents race conditions
- Map context validation for UI cache safety prevents cross-map contamination
- Enhanced camera caching with better null checking and debug warnings
- Settings validation with automatic range clamping for safe configuration
Performance Monitoring
- True TPS measurement for actual simulation speed vs frame rate
- Intelligent baseline with automatic 60-second learning
- Live performance display with real-time TPS monitoring
- Professional exports saved to Documents with comprehensive metrics
- Circular buffer with zero-allocation O(1) performance monitoring
Stability Improvements
- Production-ready codebase with comprehensive error handling
- Thread-safe synchronization in all critical systems
- Professional debugging with self-test diagnostics and detailed logging
- User-friendly interface with one-click optimizations
- Rock-solid stability without crashes
What This Mod Does
Pawn Tick Throttling:
Reduces how often pawns update when nothing important is happening. Pawns still react immediately when needed. No frozen AI, no delayed jobs, no weird behavior (unless you count me develping this mod or my daily life)
UI Cache System:
Stops game from recalculating same UI data over and over. Helps menus and screens feel smoother, especially in busy colonies (or when you have too many potatoes)
Memory Leak Detection:
Automatically monitors memory usage and cleans up leaks before they cause problems. It's like having a tiny janitor inside your computer that actually does his job (unlike my real janitor who keeps stealing my potatoes)
Dynamic Rating System:
Choose how you want to see your performance data - either stars (3 stars, 2 stars, 1 star) or tiers (S-Tier, A-Tier, B-Tier, etc). It's like choosing between McDonald's star ratings or video game tiers - both tell you if something is good or bad!
Smart Compatibility System:
Detects other performance mods and automatically disables overlapping features to prevent conflicts, freezes, or crashes (BASICALLY it knows when to stfu...unlike some people :3)
Clear Diagnostic Logs:
Simple log messages that show what systems are active, what is disabled, and why (self explanitory unlike my ex)
Backwards Compatibility:
Works with RimWorld 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6 automatically!
The mod detects your game version and adjusts features safely in background (if it doesn't then uuhhh oops I broke something again)
How It Works
The mod runs automatically in the background. No setup required!
The new Adaptive Performance System gives you:
- Smart presets for different ways to play
- Auto-tune that looks at your hardware and colony (Non invasive cavity search, trust me bro)
- Advanced controls if you want to fine-tune everything
- Helpful tooltips so you understand what you're changing
The mod uses safe optimizations that:
- Cut down on unnecessary calculations
- Keep AI and gameplay working correctly
- Don't skip important simulation stuff
- Works well with other performance mods (if you have any suggestions on which mods I should add compatibilty with then PLEASE lmk)
- Give you useful debug info when something goes wrong
I tested aggressive optimizations. It did not go well...AT ALL, it caused broken AI, pawn stuttering, and unreliable behavior...but atleast I got triple fps with hundreds of pawns! Ignore the part that none of them could move or do anything BUT HEY AT LEAST THE FPS WENT UP RIGHT??
Moral of the story: Don't trust developers who promise massive FPS gains without side effects. They're probably selling you snake oil. I'm selling you potato oil!! It's better! Trust!!
Compatibility
Designed to Work with Other Mods:
Instead of fighting other mods, The Potato Project works well with them through smart detection. Basically it's the Canada of performance mods! It's polite, considerate, and apologizes when it conflicts with other mods by turning parts of itself off! (maybe give him a cookie, he's been working very hard :c)
Compatible With:
- Dubs Performance Analyzer: Automatically limits diagnostics so profiler data stays accurate
- RocketMan: Reduces pawn tick optimizations automatically
- Butter++: UI smoothness + backend performance = perfect match (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED DUO)
- Performance Optimizer: Different focus areas, safe to use together
- Baked Potato Project: Twin Spuds integration for CPU+GPU cooperation (when BPP stops being an ass and actually works...gpu optimizations are hard man)
NOT Compatible With:
- RimThreaded: Architecture conflicts (like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole...GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER)
Automatic Conflict Resolution:
When conflicts are detected, The Potato Project disables overlapping systems automatically instead of letting things break. It's like a responsible adult that knows when to step back and let other mods do their thing. UNLIKE ME, NOW LETS GO GAMBLING!!!!
What to Expect
Results depend on your system and mod list, but many players report (mainly myself...alonneee at the edgee of a uniiverseee hummingg a tunnneeeee):
- smoother FPS in large colonies
- less hitching during busy moments
- better UI responsiveness
- stable AI and job behavior
- easier troubleshooting when something goes wrong
Best results in long running colonies with large mod lists!
