Solved, see reply #4 below

I submitted a ticket, but figured I'd post here as well. Ticket number WTK-815-22720

After 1.6 update, after launching the game from steam, the "loading" screen appears, then crashes with a windows low on memory error.
I tried validating files a few times. The first couple of times, it said there were a few files that needed to be updated, then the 3rd time it said all files were validated.

The Windows message says:

"Close programs to prevent information loss.

Your computer is low on memory. Save your files and close these programs:

Galactic Civilizations III"

According to task manager, my peak physical memory usage spiked to about 60% of my 12 gigs.

I added my debug.err, Prefs.ini, and dxAtlasDLLLog.txt to the ticket.