What to do when your Android is dated

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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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Years ago when ExaGear came out, you had to have a physical copy of a game and installed on your computer, then you would install ExaGear and then clone the installed directory of the game by sideloading (really transferring as you were not executing the installation) on to the Android tablet. Then you ran a set up which allowed you to play Civ2 or similar.

Well they went defunct in 2019 and gamers added to ExaGear as actually it's a Wine port. That is when ExaGear blossomed as now so many games have been proven to work through emulation.

And what facilitated this was GOG. You could get the game you owned before and now with the enhanced ExaGear, it is no longer crippped, but allows full installations. That busted it wide open as you no longer had to connect to a Windows pc.

I was trying last week to get ExaGear to get an installed directory of BotE for Android for Windows XP to run through emulation, but you don't have to do that anymore as now it can run through emulation as if you have Windows XP and you load Java and Direct X and maybe OpenGL and you can load it directly.

I'm waiting on a disbursement so I can get a tablet to try all these things. There are plenty of youtube videos on it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b82IVuMvDKs
This is the original Homeworld 2 installed under ExaGear on an Android tablet. Now theoretically this would allow old Star Trek mods to run.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=saaA0XDqdLw
Like this. This is the original Homeworld 2 Star Trek mod (not the remastered version). The issue though is finding the mod as many mod teams did not keep the links current and various archive sites went broke and so their mod has disappeared.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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You should be able to run any 32 bit program that doesn't have high requirements. It's doubtful that the original Sins of the Solar Empire, much less subsequent versions will work, which is too bad as the best Star Trek rts ever made was a German mod team production that is legendary. It's probably never going to work on an Android tablet.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K5J82lYwmPA

You can get Feral's RTW to work (without emulation), but I haven't seen anyone get it to run under ExaGear. It does seem to work on some unusual Wine emulations through Linux which then loads Windows XP or Vista. Plus many patches and well beyond what most computer players would attempt. Sadly that means no RTW mods on the Android as those won't run under Feral's port, and you would be a computer wizard to get RTW to run under Wine and then load Roma Surrectum 2 under emulation on an Android tablet. That would have totally made my Christmas.

Someone got ExaGear to load Civ 4 and Beyond the Sword is a part of that family and that has a Star Trek mod. It should work.

It's very likely Birth of the Federation and mods would run.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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The old school nineties trick when on had plenty of hard drive space but insufficient RAM was to create virtual ram. Apparently this still works. In fact what some do is since their tablet processor is so laggy, they install the apk on a class 10 microSD card and create virtual memory from the same card, then the game is playable.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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If getting a tablet for Christmas and interested in the Vankyo series like the S20 (which is an exemplary budget 3gb gaming tablet on Ebay that $10 less expensive than anywhere else), be careful as the similar S21 seems the same but is $20 less expensive or more as it does not have 3gb but 2gb. The stats are the same except the amount of RAM.

I don't understand why you cannot put more RAM in yourself as once was common for gamers making better "rigs". The Vankyo S21 is a 10" tablet and with Android Pie 9.0 OS and you could try using virtual memory to make up the difference using an microSD card. And save $20.

VANKYO MatrixPad S21 10 inch Octa-Core Tablet, Android 9.0 Pie, 2GB RAM, 32GB ROM, IPS HD Display, Bluetooth 5.0, 8MP Rear Camera, 5G WiFi, USB C, GPS, Metal Body, Blue
On Amazon it goes for $109.99 minus $12 with the coupon. They don't sell as many of them.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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Amazon also sells the Vankyo S10 for even less money.
VANKYO MatrixPad S10 10 inch Tablet, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB Storage, Quad-Core Processor, Android OS, 10.1" IPS HD Display, Wi-Fi, USB Type C Port, GPS, FM, Slate Black
$99 - 15% coupon ($14.85) = $84.15. I think it's a 2019 model.

There are thus deals where if screen size is what matters, you get that model, or if the deal comes with an extra 32 gb microsd card so storage is what matters, versus you are a gamer and want the extra ram. If you can get a new 2019 model, most don't want it, yet you could save $20 and use that for an otg cable, a microSD card, a keyboard, a case, a game controller, bluetooth speakers, whatever.

Save your hard earned money and you have many options.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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Some will be tempted by the new Linux tablets as honestly that is the future for many reasons like privacy concerns and a device that will be crossplatform. The issue is it isn't ready yet. There is the Pinetab, and is inexpensive, but sold out and so that will drive up the price. It's really still in process and you can get more in a Vankyo Android tablet.

But if you are buying in 2021, you should consider it. Then you would load Wine and easily load Android programs as well as Windows programs.

https://ameridroid.com/products/pinetab
Some are really excited about it, but you can't actually buy one as demand was huge for it and with Covid-19, it put a damper on acquiring one. Maybe that is a good thing so more time is available to evaluate it.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dufa2JjODVE

Note there is a BotE for Android (Linux version).
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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There is so much older software that works fine that it really isn't even necessary to have a new laptop which is one reason I just stopped making them a priority. A plain old Android tablet has more power than laptops used to have. And so when using emulation, there's lots of options on what programs you can run.

Yeah, you can't run some 64 bit program with high graphic demands. So what? I don't see the point and I used to spend a lot of money on gaming. But inflation halved wages since 1990, so that is a terrible waste of money.

A plain old Nook HD was doing the main mundane jobs with gaming on a laptop until a few years ago.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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I would suggest folks play BotE with a stylus as I'm a big guy typing on a 7" Nook screen and I have precise fingers from being a former frequent user of Photoshop, but you click and double tap so often that it's easy to make a mistake with your finger versus a stylus.

I'm irritable as my plan was having the new tablet arrive by now. As it is, it won't be here until nearly a week from now. You can try the Ebay deal on the Vankyo S8 or S20. I had no luck as the Ebay system glitched over and over. Whereas I had zero trouble on Amazon, but there wasn't a package deal so with the extra 32gb microSD card I had to purchase (and no stylus) it ended up $17 more.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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I'm going to try running Distant Worlds Universe at some point under Windows emulation. Very few have gotten it to work on Androids. There are a lot of options on it making it designed for modding a space 4X strategy game. But it probably won't work for most people.

If you have a Windows computer or tablet, you might look it up. It has way more demands while BotE can do some things it can't do. Then again, things I hope to see in BotE someday, already work in Distant Worlds.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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Many people when getting an Android tablet may get a case cover as they toss it in a backpack for school or into briefcase or purse. Well, for the same amount of money, you can get a keyboard case cover. So that is very useful as you can type much easier, say for coding, versus the software kind, and still protect the tablet too.

The keyboard can be miniUSB or a Bluetooth and each have different advantages. Remember that if using some software that is windows and emulated, you might need a keyboard to issue commands and an actual keyboard may be far more useful that the software kind that you have to issue a gesture to get to display.

When getting a case and in a work environment, if everyone has a black leather case, it is going to lead to mixups where someone might walk of with your tablet or vice versa.

Some will need a dongle adapter. That are universal adapters when dealing with many devces that need to interface with your tablet. Having one is easier that some special cable. Anyone used to tech work with many different kinds of hardware know what I mean.

"Now where has that pesky cable run off to?"
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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The new Vankyo S8 arrived. I'll write a comprehensive review later. It easily installed BotE for Android from blotunga's website. $98

The lowest price was $80 on eBay.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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BotE for Android doesn't have a good way to toggle between multitasking programs like Pandora. You still can though by unlocking the controls and moving them, which then reveals them.

My Nook HD ran well prior, but it was a proprietary OS (kind of like Android 4) and got more and more problematic. Now running Pie (Andoid 9), it multitasks well with BotE for Android standard edition. Now I need to learn precisely where it resides in the file directories so I can properly mod it. It's a no brainier in Windows.

The Nook HD despite 8 years is a far better screen resolution (on 7" inches too versus 8") so videos and BotE looked better before. But performance wise, it is vastly superior.

Most users wouldn't format the extra microSD cards as storage, but as extra room for programs. With all 51 programs loaded, that's 13 gb so I need the card and not as removeable storage.

Why does it matter? I planned on formatting another microSD card in the standard slot, but now I'm going to use a microUSB to a dongle adaper. That way I can write to a plugged in microSD card there, and leave my other 32 gb microSD card place.

I have an external 250 mini USB drive, so I can just use that for storage plus Google Drive when transferring to the other tablet.

The otg cable o and or a dongle adapter are very useful.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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BoTE has white text on a black screen, so with the new tablet, it's harder to read due to the high reflectivity of the new tablet screen. Weird huh? It was a non-issue on the 8year old Nook HD.

With the lights turned off, it's almost the same just slightly more grainy.

Even if it cost $30, it's worth rooting the Nook HD as it's better for steaming video.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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I don't like 3 minor details on the Vankyo S8.
1. The power cord is too short, but the longer the cord, the more voltage drop (Ohm's law) and thus the hotter it gets due to slightly higher milliamperage.

The Nook HD has twice the length, but that meant more adapter failures.

2. The glare on the glass screen reduces visibility but only in BotE as it uses a transparency color for the sphere of influence by the major empires reflected in the map png file only for save games. So any other time, it's fine.

3. The mono speaker on the back(?) is a silly design flaw, but I use ear buds so it doesn't affect me.
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Re: What to do when your Android is dated

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The Vankyo S8 is superior tablet for a bargain price. I'm used to a 7" and this is 8" so better, but I'm a guy so a 10" would be better. But that would have cost at least $20 more but probably $50 more as I would have gotten the S20 and so 3 gb RAM.

The S8 would be better for a lady. A child or petite lady could use an S7.

Having a genuine Android tablet running 9.0 is terrific as I listen to music and play BotE. I can add navigation apps that lay on top of BotE to easily do screencaps or check email or just flip between multiple running programs.

It does not get hot, but then, I'm not running heavy game graphics either.

Every aspect is great. A writer should get an external keyboard.
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