Yes, I've seen quite a few posts of people getting "Out of memory" errors and crashes to desktop usually due to some other memory constraints. It seems FSO may be "reaching the zenith", so to speak, with its 32-bit (x86) code and the coders may at some point have to make a decision on whether they want to continue trying to make FSO work (fit) into a 32-bit environment when their effort is better spent pursuing FSO 64-bit as the sole growth path moving forward (well, for those who want to continue to get all of the newest features, hi-poly models and other effects anyway).
Once you reach a certain point with the size of these files (some of which are pretty darn big) and all of the data they contain, eventually it simply won't fit into the 4GB of space of a 32-bit OS anymore. As much as I hate to say it, at some point either a branching solution for FSO will have to be developed or, if that's too much work to keep track of, then a single pathway to the 64-bit realm may be the only other option.
If branching is selected, there would probably have to be rules such as:
32-bit versions no longer get MediaVP updates (adding any more new models to the MediaVPs will no longer fit into the x86 memory space). The only thing that gets updated on the 32-bit side is the EXE (bug fixes, performance enhancements and non-memory-intensive feature enhancements - but no other new features).
64-bit version continues as normal, since it gives developers the freedom to continue to build within its vast boundaries (within reason, of course - I mean sure, someone could build a ridiculously detailed 8GB Sathanas Juggernaut, but why?)

I appreciate the info and the reply, though. Be well.