Arch Linux

jorants

Member

Registered: 2013-01-25

Posts: 7

Game data on other disk

Hello,

I have my base system installed on a great 24GB SSD and this is more than engough for most normal programs, however, it poses a problem for games with large data files.
Is there a way to install data files (like openarena-data, 0ad-data...) on my other disk?
I could only find instructions on how to install packages in a difrend root env. but that wont work offcourse.

Tanx,

Joran

karol

Archivist

Registered: 2009-05-06

Posts: 25,440

Re: Game data on other disk

I don't think /usr on a separate partition is supported http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/sy … is-broken/ and data files are kept in /usr/share
https://www.archlinux.org/packages/comm … data/files
https://www.archlinux.org/packages/comm … data/files

msthev

Member

Registered: 2012-04-05

Posts: 177

Re: Game data on other disk

It is perfectly well supported for some time:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Mk … _partition
But it would require having almost the whole system on a slow disk, which is the opposite of what OP wants.

@jorants
You could move those directories to a different partition and then make symlinks in /usr/share/$game, although this would make Pacman angry.
Another solution: mount your other partition under /opt and modify games' PKGBUILDs so all the files are put there.
Yet another solution, although I'm not sure about this (but if I'm correct then it's the best one): on the slow partition create directories for each game, and then mount --bind them to /usr/share/$game.

Jristz

Member

From: America/Santiago

Registered: 2011-06-11

Posts: 1,048

Re: Game data on other disk

Maybe this sound crazy but
Instead the hole /usr, why not simply /usr/share in a separate disk??

---

Lenovo ThinkPad L420 modified
:: Intel i7 2560QM :: 8 GB RAM :: SSD 256 GB ::
:: DVD read+Writter :: 3 USB 3.0 Expresa Card ::
:: a Favulous 1 mins lasting Io-Li battery ::cry::

karol

Archivist

Registered: 2009-05-06

Posts: 25,440

Re: Game data on other disk

Maybe this sound crazy but
Instead the hole /usr, why not simply /usr/share in a separate disk??

That's what I was thinking too - and that's what msthev has already suggested. Like him, I have no idea if it bind mount would work for this ;P

msthev

Member

Registered: 2012-04-05

Posts: 177

Re: Game data on other disk

I don't think it would work — there might be some files that are critical to booting the system, and the usr mkinitcpio hook, needed with a separate /usr, probably doesn't handle a separate /usr/share. What I meant was mounting only specific (non-critical) directories.