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Against All Odds says its space game SEEDS runs native Linux applications inside a fully emulated 64-bit RISC-V machine. The studio has published details of PasRISCV, its Object Pascal emulator, which it says is free and open source under the zlib license. The emulator is integrated into the game; its performance and platform limitations vary by feature.
Developer Against All Odds has described how its space game SEEDS runs native Linux programs inside a fully emulated, 64-bit RISC-V computer. The studio says the system is powered by PasRISCV, an in-house Object Pascal project released as free, open-source software under the permissive zlib license.
The Linux environment runs the game’s in-world computer tools, including programs that display planetary overviews and statistics. According to the studio, these applications are native Linux binaries, executed on an emulated RISC-V system even when a player is running the game on Windows. The game’s system is based on a modified Alpine Linux v3.23.6 installation and a custom kernel; the developer says a recent stock Alpine image also runs.
PasRISCV emulates a complete machine rather than only translating Linux userspace. The studio says that includes the processor, memory and devices such as storage and display hardware, allowing a Linux kernel to see what appears to be a complete system. Its stated feature set includes RV64GC, multiple harts for SMP, and support for RVA23, hypervisor and vector extensions, alongside additional cryptography extensions. The developer directs readers to the project repository for the full feature list.
For CPU execution, PasRISCV combines an interpreter with a tracing just-in-time compiler. The developer says the JIT currently works only on x86-64 hosts and supports about 99% of the instructions encountered by the project. That is a project-specific estimate, not a general benchmark of game performance. The emulator also supports several virtual display and audio devices; SEEDS currently uses a simple framebuffer whose output the game processes with visual effects.
Linux Tools Inside the Game
The setup makes the game’s fictional computer more than a visual interface: its tools run as Linux software inside a guest operating system. That gives the developers a way to build in-world applications using familiar system software and allows the game to present a working computer environment across host platforms, according to the studio.
Publishing the emulator also makes the implementation relevant beyond SEEDS. Developers and hobbyists can examine or potentially reuse an emulator that the studio says is available under the zlib license. The report does not establish how widely PasRISCV can be used in other projects, or how its speed compares with other emulators. Its immediate significance is the documented integration of a full RISC-V Linux machine into a commercial game.
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How SEEDS Boots Its Virtual Computer
When a player starts or loads a game, the emulator begins booting in the background. Against All Odds says SEEDS uses an OpenSBI-to-U-Boot boot chain: U-Boot loads and starts the Linux kernel. Disk images can be attached as VirtIO block devices or as emulated NVMe hardware over PCIe, and may be read-write or read-only.
The studio says the split between system and user data lets updates replace the root partition while retaining player data, such as mini-game high scores, on a separate partition. It describes that arrangement as temporary, pending a more suitable way to store the data in the game state. During development, host directories can also be shared with the guest through VirtIO-9P or VirtIO-FS, so tools compiled on the host can be accessed without repeatedly restarting the emulator.
For graphics, SEEDS uses a simple framebuffer backed by a custom memory-mapped display buffer. PasRISCV also offers other virtual graphics options, including VirtIO GPU and experimental 3D/VirGL capabilities, according to the report. The developer says it has run an X server with the Motif Window Manager in the virtual machine, but that it was too slow for practical use on most machines.
““Even if you’re playing the game on a Windows machine, these ELF binaries are executed on this emulated RISC-V 64-bit system.””
— Against All Odds, in its PasRISCV report
open source Linux emulator for gaming
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Performance and Platform Limits
The report provides no independent performance testing, compatibility matrix or comparison with other RISC-V emulators. Its estimate that the JIT supports about 99% of instructions encountered does not specify a test set or workload, so it should not be read as a universal compatibility figure. The developer also does not give frame rates, startup times or hardware requirements for running the virtual machine inside SEEDS.
Some capabilities are described as experimental, including 3D graphics support, and the report says an X server was too slow to use comfortably on most machines. The JIT’s stated x86-64 limitation may also affect performance on other host architectures, but the report does not detail how those systems run the emulator. The extent of PasRISCV’s use outside the game, and whether the project has external users or contributors, is not specified.
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Repository and Game Updates
Against All Odds invites readers to inspect the PasRISCV and pasriscvemu source code and consider using the projects under the zlib license. The report points to the repository for a more complete account of supported emulated features. It does not announce a new release date, a specific development roadmap or a change to SEEDS’ availability.
The developer says its current separate user-data partition is a stopgap until player state can be stored through a more suitable game-state mechanism. Further details about that change, future emulator features and performance improvements have not been announced in the report.
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Key Questions
What is PasRISCV?
PasRISCV is Against All Odds’ Object Pascal project for emulating a 64-bit RISC-V machine. The studio says it is free, open-source software released under the zlib license.
What does the emulator do in SEEDS?
It runs an Alpine Linux guest system that hosts native Linux programs used for the game’s in-world computer tools. The developer says this works even when SEEDS is running on Windows.
Does PasRISCV emulate a full computer?
Yes. The developer says it emulates a complete machine, including components such as storage and display devices, so a Linux kernel can run on it as a guest operating system.
What are the emulator’s stated limitations?
The tracing JIT is currently limited to x86-64 hosts, according to the studio. It also says its X server and Motif desktop ran too slowly for practical use on most machines, and it describes 3D/VirGL support as experimental.
Can other developers use PasRISCV?
Against All Odds says PasRISCV and its frontend companion, pasriscvemu, are available as free, open-source software under the zlib license. The report does not provide information about adoption or support outside the project.
Source: hn
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