FAQ

FAQ

Is this a mod?

No. Optimum is a standalone client. It replaces the engine DLLs, not a zip in your Mods folder.

Do I need to install anything on the server?

No. Optimum works with any server running the matching Vintage Story version.

Will I get banned for using Optimum?

Optimum does not give gameplay advantages. It renders the same world the same way, just faster. Server admins cannot detect it because it does not modify network behavior. That said, check your server's rules if you are unsure. Some servers have blanket "no modified clients" policies.

Can I use my existing worlds?

Yes. Optimum reads the same data folder format as vanilla. Point it at your existing data path with --dataPath or let it use its own. You can switch between Optimum and vanilla on the same world without migration.

Do I download a prebuilt client?

No. Optimum is distributed as source. You download the source, run the build script for your platform, and the build downloads the official client (~590-610 MB) on your machine and produces a ready-to-run folder. Optimum itself ships no game files, so the source download is small.

Does Optimum work on ARM Linux / ARM Windows?

The build targets x64 on Linux and Windows because Vintage Story has no official ARM client for those platforms. On ARM hardware, the x64 build runs via emulation (box64 on Linux, Windows-on-ARM). macOS Apple Silicon uses the native osx-arm64 client.

The macOS build gives a Gatekeeper warning.

Expected. A build produced without an Apple Developer certificate is unsigned. Right-click the app, select Open, confirm the dialog. This happens once. To sign it, build on macOS with an Apple Developer certificate.

How do I go back to vanilla?

Run your original Vintage Story client. Your worlds and account are untouched. Optimum writes settings under Optimum* keys in clientsettings.json; vanilla ignores them.

How much FPS improvement should I expect?

It depends on your hardware, view distance, and scene complexity. Frame pacing improvements are noticeable on any hardware (stutter reduction). GPU-bound players in water-heavy biomes or with SSAO enabled see the most shader-side gains. CPU-bound players with high entity counts benefit from the distance gates.

Can I contribute?

The source is GPL-3.0 with the Commons Clause. Pull requests are welcome. Read Building from Source to set up the dev environment.