I have spent a lot of time tweaking my emulation setup, as doubtless most of you have. However, I have multiple computers, and I wanted to set up a portable installation of my favorite emulators on a hard drive with all my ROMs that I could move between systems easily. There are solutions like RetroBat for this on PC, but I couldn't find much good information about setting this up on Linux. Everything seemed to suggest that I would have to just keep my ROMs on my external drive and install the various emulators on each machine, setting up symlinks and copying configurations as necessary. While this is better than having a bunch of copies of the same ROM set, it still bothered me. Ultimately, I found out that it was possible to install RetroArch, Dolphin, and DuckStation all portably and have it wrapped up nicely behind ES-DE. For anyone looking for how to do this, or for my future self if I ever forget, I thought I would write up a little guide.

• Firstly, we'll be using the AppImage versions of RetroArch, Dolphin, DuckStation, and ES-DE. I'm sure other emulators and frontends could be used, but this is the setup I went with, and the logic should translate pretty well. I also won't promise that this setup is perfectly portable in the sense that it leaves zero trace. Don't use this guide if you want to game on your work PC and make sure your boss doesn't find out. This is purely for the convenience of being able to effortlessly bring your games, emulators, configurations, and scraped data with you between systems.
• For the sake of the guide, note that I created an Applications folder on the root of my external drive and a folder inside of that for each other program. So, for instance, the AppImage path to ES-DE is <driveroot>/Applications/ES-DE/ES-DE_x64.AppImage.
• Go ahead and acquire the AppImages for each of the emulators and ES-DE. A quick Google will bring you to the appropriate downloads.
• Move those over to your drive in whatever folder configuration you want. Just make sure you know what those paths are. If the AppImage is inside of a zip or 7z file, you'll need to extract it. Don't forget to chmod +x file.AppImage.
• We're going to use ES-DE to help keep everything neat, but if you launch the AppImage directly, it'll automatically create a folder in your Linux home directory for all the configuration. That won't do, so we need to use a little-documented command-line argument to set the data directory. In order to make this easier, I wrote a little shell script to use as a launcher. This grabs the directory where the launcher lives and then expands out the command to launch ES-DE using full absolute paths.

launcher.sh

#!/bin/bash ESDEDIR=$(echo "$( dirname ${BASH_SOURCE[0]})/Applications/ES-DE") cd "$ESDEDIR" "$(pwd)/ES-DE_x64.AppImage" --home "$(pwd)/data"

• With the launcher script saved, be sure to chmod +x launcher.sh to make it executable. If you run ./launcher.sh, ES-DE should launch and write all of its files to whatever folder you specified in the launcher script (in my case, it’s a folder I created called “data” inside the ES-DE folder).
• RetroArch, thankfully, already writes all of its data portably, so there’s not much to do there besides downloading your cores, setting fullscreen, etc. All the normal RetroArch setup stuff you can find a million guides on.
• Similar to ES-DE, Dolphin has a command-line argument to set its data directory. Be sure to use this when setting up your Dolphin configuration or else all your configuration will get dumped into a folder in your home directory, which won’t help you much. Ex. Dolphin_Emulator-(version)-anylinux-x86_64.AppImage -u <datapath>
• DuckStation looks for an empty file called portable.txt in the same folder as the AppImage to tell it to write all of its configuration alongside the AppImage. Go ahead and create that now with touch portable.txt.
• Since we aren’t using the directories ES-DE expects, we need to tell it where to look for our emulators. We do that with the es_systems.xml and es_find_rules.xml files. These files will go in the custom_systems folder inside your ES-DE data directory. You can find the full files here to reference: https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/tree/master/resources/systems/linux. However, all that configuration is baked into ES-DE. We just want to keep what needs changing because our files will function as overrides. You may need to update the paths according to your setup. For es_systems.xml, we only need to have an entry for Dolphin in this case because it relies on a command-line argument to specify its data directory. The other emulators don’t need their commands changed. You can see that syntax in the file below.

es_find_rules.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?> <!-- This is the ES-DE find rules configuration file for Linux --> <ruleList> <emulator name="RETROARCH"> <rule type="systempath"> <entry>retroarch</entry> <entry>org.libretro.RetroArch</entry> </rule> <rule type="staticpath"> <entry>../RetroArch/RetroArch-Linux*.AppImage</entry> </rule> </emulator> <core name="RETROARCH"> <rule type="corepath"> <entry>../RetroArch/RetroArch-Linux-x86_64.AppImage.home/.config/retroarch/cores</entry> </rule> </core> <emulator name="DOLPHIN"> <!-- Nintendo GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin --> <rule type="systempath"> <entry>dolphin-emu-wrapper</entry> <!-- RetroDECK --> <entry>dolphin-emu</entry> <entry>dolphin-emulator.dolphin-emu</entry> <entry>org.DolphinEmu.dolphin-emu</entry> </rule> <rule type="staticpath"> <entry>../Dolphin/Dolphin_Emulator*.AppImage</entry> </rule> </emulator> <emulator name="DUCKSTATION"> <!-- Sony PlayStation 1 emulator DuckStation --> <rule type="systempath"> <entry>duckstation-nogui</entry> <entry>duckstation-qt</entry> <entry>duckstation</entry> <entry>org.duckstation.DuckStation</entry> </rule> <rule type="staticpath"> <entry>../DuckStation/DuckStation*.AppImage</entry> </rule> </emulator> </ruleList>

es_systems.xml

<?xml version="1.0"?> <!-- This is the ES-DE Frontend game systems configuration file for Linux --> <systemList> <system> <name>gc</name> <fullname>Nintendo GameCube</fullname> <path>%ROMPATH%/gc</path> <extension>.ciso .CISO .dff .DFF .dol .DOL .elf .ELF .gcm .GCM .gcz .GCZ .iso .ISO .json .JSON .m3u .M3U .rvz .RVZ .tgc .TGC .wad .WAD .wbfs .WBFS .wia .WIA .7z .7Z .zip .ZIP</extension> <command label="Dolphin (Standalone)">%INJECT%=%BASENAME%.esprefix %EMULATOR_DOLPHIN% -b -u ../Dolphin/data -e %ROM%</command> <platform>gc</platform> <theme>gc</theme> </system> </systemList>

With all that setup, you can now set about tweaking and scraping to your heart’s content. Anytime you need to point to a file, use a relative path. Remember that . means current directory, and .. means parent directory. You’ll need to do this for DuckStation when pointing to your BIOS files. In the GUI, DuckStation will always resolve your BIOS path to the absolute path, but the relative path is preserved in settings.ini and can be changed there. All that said, I hope you find this guide helpful and that I haven't made too many typos. Happy gaming!

submitted by /u/einsteinims
[link] [comments]

I was able to get Midnight Club 2 to run after a while using Google to help and I finally was able to run it with Wine but it has really bad performance. It didn't have bad performance before when I had a different OS installed but now it's just almost unplayable. the laptop isn't the best it's like a HP Celeron but it was able to run it fine before but linux is just not doing well with it. is there anything that can help? like any fixes at all?

submitted by /u/DannyYTee
[link] [comments]

Down loaded though Mint update or downloaded from mint site.

Lots of changes, many improvements

Buy how do I get menu to darken:?

I have my grandmother using Ubuntu.

My primary laptop uses Debian with my secondary laptop using NixOs (I install random distros on here to play with them).

As I've become more disgruntled with Windows/Microsoft for many reasons, switching my main rig to a Linux distro seems all more digestible. But the one thing that has always stopped me was the one game I actually play, Rocket League.

___

My questions in two parts:

Delay and Responsiveness

I know it's possible with HeroicGames launcher and Proton, but I'm curious about how it runs. I ranked rather high and consider input delay, both frames and controller support, to be vital. Does anyone have any experience with how it feels? Anyone higher ranked playing RL on Linux?

Hardware and Compatibility
I have an NVIDIA 3080 on an Asus Rog Maximus Formula XI with an Intel i9-9900k. I remember reading difficulties with NIVIDA and Linux compatibility. Is there anything to consider here? Also, any particular distro better suited for gaming (what I use my main rig for).

submitted by /u/rrenode
[link] [comments]

im on endeavour os and use vesktop so i can screenshare on discord and its worked fine for months now it just crashes it immedialtely ive updated everything and it still happens are there any alternatives where screensharing works?

submitted by /u/Educational_Shake893
[link] [comments]

submitted by /u/DeskFuture5682
[link] [comments]

This isn't a guide or a request for help, I don't think there is much to do.

I very recently jumped to gaming on Linux. I was pretty excited about, got cachyOS, set everything up and started playing. Most games I've tried so far have been great, but Silent Hill F came along and kind of ruined the fun.

The game runs terribly for me in Linux and in the same machine it runs buttery smooth in Windows 11.

My specs:

i7-14700KF @ 3.40 GHz AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT (16 GB) 64 GB RAM DDR5 4TB SSD

In Windows 11 I am maxing the game (including Lumen options) with FSR at Quality and I am getting no less than 95 FPS. I am also NOT using the FidelityFx Engine.ini mod.

In CachyOS I am getting 30-40 with dips to 20-25 with shadows and shaders in medium, Lumen in high and balanced FSR. I also added the FidelityFx Engine.ini (I did it later, so it's not causing the issue), no real improvement whatsoever. Also tried with various forced compatibility modes for Proton, including Experimental, no improvements either. I've tried running the game both from an NTFS-3G partition and a native BTRFS, no impact in performance. Also, game takes like 30 seconds to boot in Linux vs an immediate boot in Windows.

I expected minor performance drops for some games, but this is massive, it's literally less than half the FPS I get in Windows. At this point, I don't think I can drop Windows entirely.

submitted by /u/i-eat-cement99
[link] [comments]

so on fedora 43 kde final fantasy is the only game that my 8bitdo ultimate 2c wont work on. any other game in my steam library the controller works great. i spent all night trying to get it to work on ff vii

if i play with keyboard and mouse it works the game is playable but not with controller. the game dose not respond to the controller at all

i cant remember all the steps i tried but there was alot. and still cant get it to work and so my last resort im trying rn is logging ff vii while its running on windows to see what the game uses to connect my controller. i really dont know at this point lmfao

specs n info:

im connecting the controller to the pc via the usb dongle not bluetooth ive tried using both dinput and xinput modes

ryzen 9 5900x

rx 9070 xt i am using the driver built into the kernel

fedora 43 kde plasma wayland (ive tried it in xorg x11 and it still dose not work

have tried proton 9.0-4 proton-ge and proton experimental. non fixed it

submitted by /u/ProgrammerPlayful877
[link] [comments]

Ever since I switched to Linux from Windows 10 I've had a problem with using a controller and playing games on Steam. I have an Xbox One controller that I use wired and a Gulikit KK3 Max I use with a 2.4ghz dongle. Both connect to my computer and play games just fine.

Except if I press a key on the keyboard while a Steam game is running. Then Steam seems to forget my controller is my input method and defaults to M + KB. If I close the game and restart it, it'll recognize my controller.

I've disabled Steam Input both globally and on a per-game basis. I've disabled Steam Input in the Desktop Layout options. I've tried making sure the usb's don't get powered down. I've tried setting launch options on a per-game basis like this:

SDL_JOYSTICK_DISABLE_UDEV=1 SDL_GAMECONTROLLER_IGNORE_DEVICES=mouse,keyboard %command%

Nothing has fixed this problem. Any help would be super appreciated. Thank you!

System:

Kernel: 6.14.0-29-generic arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.3.0 clocksource: hpet

Desktop: Cinnamon v: 6.4.8 tk: GTK v: 3.24.41 wm: Muffin v: 6.4.1 vt: 7 dm: LightDM v: 1.30.0

Distro: Linux Mint 22.2 Zara base: Ubuntu 24.04 noble

Machine:

Type: Laptop System: ASUSTeK product: ROG Zephyrus G15 GA503QR_GA503QR v: 1.0

CPU:

Info: 8-core model: AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS with Radeon Graphics bits: 64 type: MT MCP smt: enabled

Graphics:

Device-1: NVIDIA GA104M [GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile / Max-Q] vendor: ASUSTeK driver: nvidia

submitted by /u/triplzer0
[link] [comments]

Connection to Google Play failed

The Launcher was unable to log you in.

Please log in again.

No auth cookie field returned with statuscode: 400, body:

Error=Missing Droidguard

I tried logging in manually but it just keeps loading indefinitely.

submitted by /u/kayronnBR
[link] [comments]

Hey all,

Been checking out the Linux ecosystem and I started with Fedora KDE and also testing Mint on the side. While I really like Fedora, I've actually found that Unity3D engine which I use on Windows has a weird graphics bug that genuinely bothers me but it's non exsitent in Mint.

I did a lot of digging and it turns out to be a Wayland thing so in theory any DE running X11 should not have this issue. I figured maybe I can just switch to Mint then but I do like playing some games in HDR which to my understanding requires Wayland.

Owning a Steam Deck I do know that its KDE desktop runs X11 but you can still run games in HDR on game mode which is running a gamescope session so it got me wondering if this is something that Gamescope can do for any DE on Linux or is this special to the Steam Deck.

My only assumption as to why the Steam Deck can do HDR is that the gamescope session is actually completely standalone so they're able to implement it in a way that lets them use HDR meaning that the average person on X11 wouldn't be able to get HDR via Gamescope.

Ultimately I think I'd have a better chance of switching to Linux if I'm able to get my actual workflow to work as good as it does on Windows even if it comes at the sacrafice of HDR games but I thought I'd ask anyways. To my understanding Wayland should be coming soon to Mint anyways and hopefully by then the engineers over at Unity also address this since I'm pretty sure the next Ubuntu LTS (the only version of Linux they officially support) will be Wayland only

submitted by /u/SegFaultCoreDumped91
[link] [comments]

Arch, gnome, rtx4070, wayland, warthunder having a really low performance on linux compared to windows (300 fps on win vs ~100 on linux) tried running it through proton experimental and hotfix, when loading into the match i get the errors shown on the screenshot (strangely game still works untill you close the errors (also it won't react to the mouse movements while in this state)).

submitted by /u/Pitiful-Welcome-399
[link] [comments]

So I have an NVIDIA Geforce RTX 3050, about 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, an AMD Ryzen 5 3400G with Radeon Vega graphics(8CPU) 3.7Ghz.

I've been becoming more conscious of Microsoft crap, and because I really only know how to maintain things once it's set up I lack zero skill in this manner...

How well would it work with games like Civ 3? civ IV? and older C&C games, what would I need to do to prepare it for them if it exists?

I've checked through the "get started, but due to me not being that well intuned with hardware anymore(last time i would tell you what was what, was in like, 1999-2005, lol..)

submitted by /u/GeneralSturnn
[link] [comments]

I'm using CachyOS with an Nvidia 5070 Ti and I'm experiencing random freezes in my games. The audio continues to play, but the image stays frozen until I press the Super key; then, the game resumes working normally.

​Has anyone else encountered this issue? I suspect it might be a driver-related bug.

submitted by /u/Late-Contribution499
[link] [comments]

submitted by /u/Careful-Living-2510
[link] [comments]

submitted by /u/LinuxForEveryone
[link] [comments]

Invasive nature aside, doesn't this destroy the argument that community servers of old were as effective a way to combat cheaters? Are the hosts of these servers stupid or lazy, or does it objectively help them more effectively stop cheaters?

submitted by /u/Indolent_Bard
[link] [comments]

submitted by /u/littlecolt
[link] [comments]

Hello,

I'm planning to repurpose my relatively old gaming PC (i7-6700 & GTX1070) into a server running HA, Frigate, ARRs, etc. I'm considering keeping the GPU for Frigate for faster inference times and was wondering whether I could still game on the machine from time-to-time. Nothing fancy - most probably games that are available on Steam and not too demanding (e.g. AoE2:DE, WoT).

The server this is supposed to be replacing is running on vanilla Debian and the services are set up with Docker. I'm open to other distros/solutions, if they offer a superior outcome, but the current plan is to shift everything over, as is.

The question is - can I run Steam games without "polluting" the host OS and without massive performance hits? Dual booting is obviously out of the question. The machine will continue to sit on/around my desk and will have a screen available at all times.

submitted by /u/Effective_Video_2488
[link] [comments]

I have an old gaming pc, nothing cutting edge, but decent enough to play most games. It had linux mint installed on it. I haven't used it in about 5 years, because my apartment was pretty small, and honestly it was a bit of a hassle to use it, so I ended up using my laptop more often instead.

Now, I moved into a bigger place, and I am setting it back up. It needs a format because of a Lil data rot, and I figured its the perfect opportunity to try some new distros and fiddle around with remote desktop solutions.

I basically want it to park off in my office most of the time, and I want to use the laptop to remote into it to game on the tv in a different room once in a while.

I've read up on sunshine/moonlight, but i was curious if anyone else has more experience doing something similar and wouldn't mind sharing some information

submitted by /u/tungsten_panda
[link] [comments]