I hope RimWorld 1.7 helps with mod loading, but I don't think it'll fix it for long. Ludeon is moving RimWorld from Unity to its own Waylith Engine, and its own tests show a 1,500-mod pack loading in 6 minutes instead of 14. The last big modpack I played , a whole bank of mods called Progression Mod , took 13 minutes to load the game.
The catch is the mods themselves. I think they're just going to get more and more slopped out. I'm part of that myself: I've started making RimWorld mods, because I can do it with AI and slop things out. Here's what 1.7 changes, from someone with over 1,200 hours in the game.
What Is RimWorld 1.7?
An engine change. On October 12, Ludeon announced update 1.7, which moves RimWorld from Unity to the Waylith Engine , its own in-house engine. "The game looks and plays exactly the same," Ludeon says, "but in our tests performance is improved by 2–4x."
It's on the unstable beta branch now, so you can try it today. Ludeon also says RimWorld isn't the only game on Waylith, and that it's "working on something new", though it hasn't said more yet.
How Much Faster Is RimWorld 1.7?
Two to four times faster in Ludeon's tests, across startup, loading games with big mod lists, map and world generation, and ticks per second. A stress-tested late-game colony ran 2.2 times faster on 1.7 than on 1.6, and the 1,500-mod pack went from 14 minutes to 6 minutes to load.
Those are exactly the two things that have slowed me down most: late game, and the mods.
| Benchmark | RimWorld 1.6 | RimWorld 1.7 |
|---|---|---|
| 1,500-mod pack load time | 14 minutes | 6 minutes |
| Late-game colony speed | Baseline | 2.2x faster |
| Overall performance gain | Baseline | 2–4x faster |
Will RimWorld 1.7 Break Your Mods?
Mostly not, per Ludeon. "The vast majority of mods work on 1.7 without any changes from the authors." Some will show up in yellow as "potentially unsupported", but Ludeon says that's only because the version number changed , not because anything is actually broken.
Saves are safe too. 1.6 saves load on 1.7, and 1.7 saves still work if you go back to 1.6.
How Many Mods Do I Run?
It depends on what I'm playing. My Steam Workshop folder has 796 RimWorld mods in it. The last big run was a modpack of a thousand or more. But if I'm just playing without a scenario and all the extras, it's usually around 20 to 50, mostly quality of life.
How Do You Play the RimWorld 1.7 Beta?
Through Steam's beta branches. Per Ludeon:
- Right-click RimWorld in your Steam library.
- Select Properties.
- Open the Betas tab and choose the branch "unstable".
- Restart Steam if the game doesn't update on its own.
- Pick Play 1.7 Unstable if Steam asks.
The main branch most people play on stays on 1.6 for now.
What Does Waylith Change for Modders?
Mods shouldn't need changes, but Ludeon asks modders to test and publish a version marked as 1.7-compatible so the yellow warning goes away for players. Beyond compatibility, Waylith brings real improvements for mod creators:
- Access to the latest C# language features.
- Easier to write complex mods without hurting the game's performance.
- Big visual changes and custom effects are more accessible.
Ludeon credits RocketWerkz's Brutal framework with helping make Waylith possible.
That's exactly why I don't think 1.7 fixes load times for long. The mods are just going to get more and more slopped out.
Will I Try the RimWorld 1.7 Beta?
Yes. I'll opt into the beta and play it again. My test will be to set up a colony for about 30 minutes and get a tribal raid coming in , that would really stress it.
If you're wondering whether RimWorld is still worth starting, I covered that in whether RimWorld is worth it without the DLC.
