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[ENG] Spore NEXT — Complete graphics and visual overhaul

By franz

¡Welcome! The purpose of this guide is to enhance your Spore experience with high-resolution textures, visual improvements, and gameplay optimizations — including unlocking 60 FPS.

Award

Created by

franz
Offline

Category: Modding or Configuration

Languages: English

Posted

Updated

17 Jun, 2021 @ 5:06pm

20 Jul @ 7:44pm

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192	Current Favorites

Guide Index

Overview

Introduction

1. Downloading Spore NEXT

2. Installing the mod pack

3. NVIDIA control panel. (NVIDIA users)

4. Comparison & Screenshots

5. Special thanks

Comments

Introduction

In short, I wrote this guide a few years ago, but over time it became quite outdated and some of the mods are now obsolete. Since then, I started studying programming, so I decided to revamp the guide and developed a custom launcher to automate and simplify the download and installation of these mods.
To use everything covered in this tutorial, you'll need a computer with a 64-bit operating system — ideally Windows 10 or newer — 4GB of RAM, and a graphics card with at least 2GB of VRAM to prevent crashes or stuttering while playing.
And of course, a legitimate copy of Spore or Spore: Galactic Adventures (via Steam or the EA App).

There's also an Spanish version of this guide here.

1. Downloading Spore NEXT

Spore NEXT is the name of my project — a collection of community-made mods, along with some of my own, aimed at enhancing and modernizing the look and feel of Spore. I plan to keep the project regularly updated and will continue adding new features over time. Be sure to check the project's GitHub repository to stay up to date with the latest changes.

Download the latest version of the launcher from the Releases[github.com] section.
Install the launcher and open it. If your game paths aren't detected automatically, you'll need to set them manually.

2. Installing the mod pack

Now that we’ve confirmed the paths are correct:

Click the Install button and select the game you want to install the mods for — either Spore or Spore: Galactic Adventures.
The launcher will begin downloading and installing the mod pack. This process should take around 2-3 minutes.
That’s it! Launch the game and enjoy Spore with enhanced HD visuals and 60fps. You can launch the game directly from the launcher or through Steam as usual — it’s completely optional.

3. NVIDIA control panel. (NVIDIA users)

Details: To get the best possible quality, users with an Nvidia videocard can configure the control panel as shown here:

Go to Manage 3D settings -> Program settings and select SporeApp.exe. (Do not confuse the Spore (Vanilla) executable with the Spore (Galactic Adventures) executable.
Settings:

4. Comparison & Screenshots

Modded (←) - Vanilla (→)
Comparison of textures in Creature Creator.

Modded (↑) - Vanilla (↓)
Background texture comparison of each empire. (Space Stage)

5. Special thanks

• Thanks to EMD for keeping spore modding alive.
• Thanks to paranoid_modder, for inspiring me to make this guide and my launcher.
• Thanks to Mrs. White, for making the graphical mods and screenshots.
• Thanks to Insane grox for developing the high resolution textures mod.
• Thanks to Nutyo for developing the mod that replaces vanilla textures/models with higher quality assets.

34 Comments

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🎀 Zarashigal 🎀 21 Jul @ 4:12am

This is misinformation, the steam version in fact works online.

FutureGhost 4 Jun @ 4:28pm

4GB patch game me the same error that everyone else is getting, but it turns out all the other mods and graphical improvements work just fine without it. I replaced it with my backup, but if you didn't back yours up you can right click on your game in your library > properties > installed files > verify integrity of game files, to make it just re-download the unpatched .exe. 心碎ᶠʳᵃⁿᶻ I recommend altering that part of the tutorial but otherwise it's very good

Kuntay 29 Apr @ 6:55am

4gb patch give me error 51

franz [author] 17 Apr @ 2:44pm

It should be working perfectly with the GOG version, just like EA, even with the 4GB Patch.

†KØZÃK† 17 Apr @ 1:54am

What about GOG version

polocatfan 15 Apr @ 7:33pm

@Koyuze that version doesn't work online so there's no point in using it.

polocatfan 15 Apr @ 7:32pm

error code 51...................

Koyuze 7 Jan @ 8:04pm

I was able to get the 4GB patch to work. but you need to install use the spore mod API launcher to use it on steam. You also have to download the old 2017 galactic adventures version to use the API. To do that Press Win + R, type in steam://open/console/ . When that open up type in the console download_depot 24720 24721 7407510787032991484
This will download the old version, it will be located in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\content copy the SporeApp.exe and replace the old file in the spore folder in SporebinEP1. then using the 4GB patcher use that on the Sporebin SporeApp.exe (not the SporebinEP1 folder). Its a bit complicated but I was able to get the 4GB RAM to run these textures without crashing. hope this helps!

franz [author] 31 Dec, 2024 @ 11:44pm

Steam has a built-in system to check the integrity of game files, and seems like now when the 4GB patch modifies the executable, it triggers a mismatch, resulting in the error code 51. It seems that this only happens with the Steam version since a couple of months, as the EA version of the game works perfectly with the patch.

Krelp 24 Dec, 2024 @ 3:32pm

Same issue here with the "error code 51"

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