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Against All Odds says its space game SEEDS runs Linux-based in-game programs on PasRISCV, an in-house RISC-V 64-bit emulator written in Object Pascal. The developer has published the emulator and its companion frontend as free, open-source software under the permissive zlib license; details about independent testing and broader availability are not provided in the report.
Developer Against All Odds has described how its space game SEEDS runs native Linux programs inside the game using PasRISCV, an in-house emulator of a 64-bit RISC-V system. The studio says PasRISCV is available as free, open-source software under the permissive zlib license, making the project relevant both to players curious about the game’s in-world computers and developers interested in a Pascal-based emulator.
According to the studio’s October 3 report, SEEDS boots a customized version of Alpine Linux on the emulated machine when a player starts or loads a game. The system runs the game’s computer-based tools as Linux applications: the report gives planetary information and statistics accessed from the home base as an example. Those applications are ELF binaries, and the developer says they can run this way even when the player’s host computer uses Windows.
PasRISCV emulates a complete virtual machine rather than just translating Linux applications. The studio says it models the CPU, memory and devices, including display and storage hardware, so a Linux kernel sees a hardware system. Its description lists SMP/MultiHART, RV64GC and RVA23 support, along with hypervisor, vector and cryptography extensions. The report says the CPU implementation combines an interpreter with a tracing JIT compiler; the JIT is currently limited to x86-64 hosts, and the developer estimates it supports about 99% of the instructions encountered in its use.
The game uses a SimpleFB framebuffer for its virtual displays, allowing the game to apply visual effects such as scanlines and phosphor glow. The emulator also supports other virtual graphics options, according to the report. Disk images can be attached in read-write or read-only mode; the studio describes using a replaceable root partition alongside a separate partition for player data. PasRISCV and its frontend companion, pasriscvemu, are both identified as zlib-licensed projects.
Linux Tools Inside a Space Game
PasRISCV is part of the game’s software architecture, not just a Linux-themed visual effect: the studio says real Linux applications supply some of the tools players access through in-game computers. That approach gives the fictional machinery a working software environment while letting the developer draw its output into the game and apply its own display effects.
For other developers and emulator enthusiasts, the report offers a look at a project that joins Object Pascal, RISC-V emulation and a bootable Linux system. Publishing the code under a permissive license makes it available for inspection and reuse, as the studio invites readers to do. The report does not establish how the emulator performs across different hardware or whether it is intended as a general-purpose alternative to established virtualization tools.
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How SEEDS Boots Its Virtual Machine
The developer says PasRISCV boots a Linux kernel through an OpenSBI-to-U-Boot chain. In that setup, U-Boot loads the kernel from a disk image, rather than relying on a direct OpenSBI boot that would require the relevant modules and disk images to sit in the initramfs. The emulator can expose storage through VirtIO Block or emulated NVMe devices, and can share host directories with the guest through VirtIO-9P or VirtIO-FS.
For SEEDS, the studio says a modified Alpine Linux v3.23.6 system runs with a custom kernel. It reports that a recent stock Alpine image also works. The report describes the emulator’s design and features, but is not an independent benchmark or evaluation of compatibility, speed or reliability.
“For PasRISCV we chose the latter and emulate a machine including display and storage devices, interrupts, everything down to the last thing, so that for the running kernel it appears as a complete hardware system, even though it’s virtual.”
— Against All Odds, describing PasRISCV
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Performance and Portability Remain Open
The report does not provide independent test results, performance figures, or a comparison with other RISC-V emulators. Its estimate that the JIT handles about 99% of encountered instructions refers to the studio’s experience and workload; the report does not define a broader test set or explain how that percentage was measured.
It is also unclear from the material provided which host platforms beyond the stated x86-64 JIT target are supported, how the project is packaged for external users, or whether the team plans to release additional technical documentation or builds. The developer describes several virtual graphics and audio devices, but does not give performance data for them. These details should not be inferred from the feature list.
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Code and Technical Details to Explore
The developer directs readers to the PasRISCV repository for a complete overview of emulated features and invites them to inspect or use the source code. Readers seeking to evaluate the project can look there for implementation details, licensing information and any instructions for running the emulator outside SEEDS.
The report does not announce a release schedule, new game feature or follow-up milestone. Any further assessment of PasRISCV’s wider usefulness will depend on the repository’s available documentation and on testing beyond the studio’s account of its use in SEEDS.
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Key Questions
What is PasRISCV?
PasRISCV is an emulator developed by Against All Odds. The studio says it emulates a 64-bit RISC-V machine that can boot Linux, and that it is written in Object Pascal.
What does the emulator do in SEEDS?
It runs a customized Alpine Linux system inside the game. According to the developer, native Linux applications on that system provide tools such as planetary information and statistics on in-game computers.
Can the in-game Linux tools run on Windows?
The developer says the emulated RISC-V Linux system can execute its ELF programs even when SEEDS is running on a Windows machine. The report does not give a full list of supported host platforms.
Is PasRISCV open source?
Against All Odds says PasRISCV and pasriscvemu, its frontend companion, are free, open-source software licensed under the permissive zlib license.
How fast is PasRISCV?
The report provides no benchmark or general speed comparison. It says the emulator combines an interpreter with a tracing JIT that is currently limited to x86-64 hosts, and that about 99% of instructions encountered by the developer are supported by the JIT.
Source: hn
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