Pepvoid Gaming Edition
The gaming preset builds an x86_64 glibc Plasma Wayland prototype with the
validated Pepvoid desktop/SDDM branding, an edition-local Gaming Center and
explicit multilib graphics/audio dependencies. Other architecture/libc targets
are rejected early. Existing desktop presets are unchanged.
sudo python3 cli.py x86_64 --preset gaming --mode real --output pepvoid-gaming-x86_64.iso
The first installable test candidate uses Zstandard compression:
sudo python3 cli.py x86_64 --preset gaming --mode real --output pepvoid-gaming-candidate-x86_64.iso --compression zstd --jobs 8 --no-zram --benchmark
Included software
Calamares, Steam, Lutris, Wine/Winetricks, Gamescope, GameMode, MangoHud/mangoapp, AntiMicroX, Firefox, codecs and diagnostic tools are installed natively. PipeWire Bluetooth plugins, WirePlumber elogind integration and RTKit are explicitly included for the audio stack. The package set includes 32-bit Wine, Mesa/OpenGL/Vulkan, AMD/Intel/Nouveau Vulkan drivers, audio libraries, GameMode and MangoHud components. Installed libraries are checked as components; real 32-bit game execution still needs hardware qualification.
Heroic, ProtonUp-Qt, OBS Studio, Discord, Moonlight and RetroArch have explicit user-scoped Flathub installation actions in the center. They are not silently installed, and need Internet access/storage. Native Steam is the primary Steam installation. Users still download their own games, Steam updates and runners.
The preset includes Calamares and its configuration explicitly, so it builds an
installable image without requiring the user to add the installer profile. The
local custom repository must contain the target Calamares binary; on a fresh
build host, --with-calamares builds that package first. This project workspace
already has the indexed binary.
The NVIDIA installer choices pair either the current branch or NVIDIA 580 with its matching multilib libraries. Select only a branch supporting the actual GPU. They are unselected by default; proprietary drivers are not forced onto unknown hardware. Downloading them during installation needs network access.
Printing applications/services, standalone Bluetooth ALSA audio and unrelated broad application profiles are omitted. Required libraries pulled by dependencies remain. The SSH server is not enabled at boot.
Center and offline help
The Gaming Center opens at login instead of the generic Welcome, with a per-user startup preference. The Live center shows Install Pepvoid while Calamares is present, and removes that entry when the installer is absent after installation. It has launcher, system-check, per-game tools, optional-app and offline-guide pages. Checks run on request in a background thread; they do not start games, change volume, run benchmarks or alter hardware settings.
Plasma’s first-start setup can replace a seeded wallpaper configuration. A
Gaming-only first-login helper now applies the Pepvoid background through
Plasma’s wallpaper command once the shell is ready, then leaves later wallpaper
choices intact. The image collection remains available under
/usr/share/backgrounds.
The English guide is installed as /usr/share/pepvoid-gaming/guide.txt.
The build also records /usr/share/pepvoid-gaming/packages.txt with native
package versions. Diagnostic CLI entry points:
pepvoid-gaming-center --check
pepvoid-gaming-center --report /path/to/new-report.txt
less /usr/share/pepvoid-gaming/guide.txt
Reports use mode 0600 and refuse existing files/symlinks. They may contain device names and session information and should be reviewed before sharing.
Performance settings and reversal
Opt in per game, for example in Steam Launch Options:
pepvoid-game --performance -- %command%
pepvoid-game --performance --overlay -- %command%
The wrapper forwards argument vectors without shell evaluation. Remove the
wrapper to use the game’s ordinary launch path; remove --overlay to keep only
GameMode. Nothing globally injects overlays or vendor graphics variables.
The edition’s GameMode config requests a performance governor only while used,
allows restoration of the original policy, and disables CPU pinning/parking,
renicing and split-lock-mitigation changes. GPU overclocking is not configured.
Existing Live users and future Calamares-created users join the packaged
gamemode group, using the package’s polkit policy rather than a custom blanket
privilege rule. The explicit gamemoded -t action tests activation/restoration;
it is not run automatically by the center or the build.
Edition-scoped system overrides:
File |
Behavior |
|---|---|
|
On-demand GameMode defaults. |
|
Per-login soft/hard descriptor limits of 524288. |
|
Maximum memory mappings of 1048576; does not preallocate that memory. |
|
User overlay presentation; unused until requested. |
An administrator can remove the edition’s limits/sysctl overrides and reboot
to fall back to the remaining system policy. Users can replace their overlay
preset independently. No service runs a tuning loop at login. The preset adds
no competing swap implementation or alternative scheduler. The test ISO was
built with --no-zram; omitting that flag retains the normal builder zram service. Keep this distinction fixed when comparing memory
pressure and frame times.
Validation and release status
The initial package proof resolved 1253 packages, approximately 8.32 GiB installed and 3.13 GiB of compressed downloads, using the official repository indices and the existing local package repository. For comparison, the previous XFCE preset resolved 1082 packages / 7.27 GiB after normalizing only its MangoHud spelling; the new Plasma desktop and complete multilib runtime account for a larger base. This is not a claim that the new edition is smaller than the old preset. Both NVIDIA branch transactions also resolved with matching 32-bit libraries. Sizes and versions are a snapshot, not an ongoing guarantee as rolling repositories change.
The selected official Linux 6.18.57 kernel configuration has CONFIG_NTSYNC=y,
CONFIG_PREEMPT_DYNAMIC=y and CONFIG_HZ=1000. It does not enable sched-ext.
A kernel feature does not establish use by any particular Wine/Proton runner.
The center reports actual device availability and runner qualification remains
an explicit test.
Automated checks cover edition isolation, architecture constraints, software renderer detection, real ELF class checks for 32-bit libraries, safe report creation, argument forwarding and optional installer scoping. The native GTK UI has been exercised in private Xvfb sessions at 1024×768 and 800×600 without changing the host’s desktop or hardware state.
Not yet qualified: real AMD/Intel/NVIDIA gameplay, hybrid GPU selection, 32-bit rendering, HDR/VRR, physical controllers, recording, suspend/resume, long sessions, update recovery and cross-distribution performance comparisons. An ISO/VM boot can validate menus and installation, not those hardware features. The separate Gamescope gaming session, handheld management, custom kernels and automatic snapshot rollback remain later tracks. No FPS-superiority claim is made. Follow the test matrix in the implementation plan when qualifying the candidate on real hardware.
Built candidate — 2026-10-20
Artifact: output/pepvoid-gaming-candidate-x86_64.iso (4.29 GiB).
SHA-256:
0b1448bd57f51a81490f50b9b814846d183f384c2d662eef49a7c70338a8fd40
592 automated tests passed. SHA-256/SHA-512 and BIOS/UEFI boot entries were verified. Readback from the completed ISO matched the source scripts, offline guide and settings, confirmed executable modes, Live/installed-user GameMode configuration, NVIDIA driver pairs, Welcome suppression, disabled services, Plasma Wayland/SDDM and actual ELF32 graphics/audio components. The Bluetooth and elogind plugin files were also confirmed. This inspection did not boot the ISO or execute a hardware benchmark; those remain the next qualification step.