r/linux_gaming • u/jwdjk392 • 22h ago
Android game running on Linux tablet using waydroid - does this count as linux gamming?
I have installed droidian on my Lenovo Legion Y700 2023 android tablet. Droidian is a halium based debian linux deriative designed for mobile devices. Then, I used waydroid (android container for linux) and installed android game (Honkai: Star rail android version) on it.
So technically, it should count as "linux" gaming, isn't it?
18
u/Isacx123 21h ago
Interesting, I have always wanted a Linux tablet, preferably x86 but those are too expensive.
How well does droidian work? Do the sensors on the tablet work correctly?
21
u/jwdjk392 21h ago
It runs on top of Android Treble. Basically, recent Android versions separate the operating system from the hardware-specific drivers, making it easier for users to switch operating systems.
Halium takes advantage of this architecture. When Halium boots, it first starts Linux and then launches a lightweight Android container to communicate with the Android-specific drivers. This way, most sensors and hardware features work right away, as long as you can get the system to boot.
So it's not like running a virtual machine on Android. It's actually kind of the opposite.
However, the stock Android kernel doesn't work out of the box with Halium, so you need to rebuild the kernel with some configuration options changed. If your device shipped with a recent version of Android, you may be able to use Google's Generic Kernel Image (GKI) source code.
Droidian uses Halium to boot into Linux.
If you have enough skills and resources, porting the mainline Linux kernel itself might be a better option. However, that was too difficult for me, so I went with Halium + Droidian instead.
Check out r/mobilelinux - it's about porting linux to mobile devices
9
u/jwdjk392 21h ago
Also, in order to run android apps, you have to install seperate software called waydroid. (Also available for desktop linux). This launches android container you can use. It's not the same one as the one used to get android-specific drivers working.
1
u/wyonutrition 12h ago
I’m going to look into this I have a mini travel server that I would love to replace with just my y700
2
u/HyperrGamesDev 19h ago
I own an old IdeaPad Miix 300-10IBY and it had Windows 10 originally but as one of my first experiments in 2024 I got Debian 12 on it, the issue is it's 32-bit; the CPU is 64bit it's just the UEFI is 32 or smth weird and you need a stub to trick it, which I haven't gotten around to since I don't have a use for it tbh, it's 2GB RAM, and I think currently something like it would be considered techwaste so you might get it cheaply
5
u/fox-friend- 17h ago
Yes but. You could have installed the pc version. Or is it because you wanted the touch controls?
2
u/jwdjk392 6h ago
The tablet has ARM64 processor, so it will perform better with ARM64 Android version than emulating the X86 processor to run x86 windows version.
7
6
u/jaakhaamer 18h ago
I think it's a foregone conclusion by now. Does running a Windows game on Linux using Wine/Proton count as Linux gaming?
1
-30
0
u/kimoisune 11h ago
Yes, it is technically Linux gaming. Although, the true Linux gaming is when you desperately trying to fix audio issues during LAN party, then all other teammates already join the game without you and they continue enjoying 2-3 games while you sat there in front of riced Catpuccin-themed WM setup playing Journald: Modern Warfare and Pipewire Strike 2 for half the time of the LAN party session.
Joking aside, how is the performance of the device for Waydroid usecase?
102
u/Dapper_Profession 21h ago
installing linux to run android to play a gacha game is a whole bit