8gb minimum is truth; You can play a 4k world on 8gb, if you don't have a bunch of bloatware or other programs open on your computer. You can also, barely, play Navezgane, iirc.
Minimum means exactly that, The lowest of the low, the bare minimum specs required to play the game at all. That does not mean the minimum will let you play an 8k map with textures over 1/8th and a resolution above 640x400.
Also, as a side note, Amount of data loaded into ram != performance of the game. If anything, more data loaded into ram at one time is more data that doesn't need to be shifted around constantly and actually would improve performance, not worsen it. A lot of ram being used is not the same as a memory leak bogging down a game.
Minimum means exactly that, The lowest of the low, the bare minimum specs required to play the game at all. That does not mean the minimum will let you play an 8k map with textures over 1/8th and a resolution above 640x400.
Also, as a side note, Amount of data loaded into ram != performance of the game. If anything, more data loaded into ram at one time is more data that doesn't need to be shifted around constantly and actually would improve performance, not worsen it. A lot of ram being used is not the same as a memory leak bogging down a game.