System requirements for EVO
Evolution runs on the same hardware STORM 4 needs: 64-bit Windows, a Core 2 Duo class CPU or better, 2 GB of RAM, a 1 GB DirectX 11 graphics card, and 40 GB of storage for the game. The mod adds tens of gigabytes of its own files on top, so plan for a good deal more free space than the base install asks for.
Evolution does not raise the game's minimum specification — it is the same engine with new assets — but it does add a large download, and its own settings influence how the result performs.
The base requirement
| Part | Minimum the store page lists |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 7 64-bit or newer, up to date |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0 GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6400+ 3.2 GHz |
| Memory | 2 GB RAM |
| Graphics | 1024 MB video card, DirectX 11 |
| Storage | 40 GB available space |
Those are the numbers the STORM 4 store page has carried since launch, and they describe 2016-era hardware. Anything bought in the last several years clears them.
What the mod adds
The Evolution launcher downloads the mod as its own file set. That download is the part to plan for: it is measured in tens of gigabytes, and it sits beside the base install rather than replacing it. Two consequences:
- Free disk space matters more than CPU. A drive with less than the base install plus the download already used will fail part-way through and need to be restarted.
- The first install is the slow part. Once it is down, updates only pull the changed files.
Settings that matter
- Fullscreen or Borderless Windowed. 1.11 added borderless fullscreen windowed support, which makes alt-tabbing and multi-monitor setups painless.
- 60 FPS. The mod ships 60 FPS-specific fixes for combos and ultimates, and it is worth enabling if your machine holds the frame rate. See 60 FPS & performance.
- Graphics card choice on a laptop. The one setting that ruins the experience is a laptop running the mod on integrated graphics. Set
NSUNS4e.exeto the dedicated GPU.
Practical floor
For 1080p at 60 FPS with the mod's extra stages and effects, a mid-range dedicated GPU from the last several years, 8 GB of system RAM and an SSD are the comfortable baseline. On older hardware the mod still runs; expect to reduce resolution before anything else.
