What is Reddit's opinion of GLTools [root] (gfx optimizer)?

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Use GLtools to optimise your game graphics, reduce texture resolution etc. I've heard reports that people were able to play PoGo even on an old Nexus 4 quite well with GLtools. Only catch is that you need to root your device, but that opens up a whole new can of worms, which might not be worth the hassle if you've never rooted your device and know nothing about bootloaders and kernels...

I tried to get it to work, but it didn't. First things first the phone needs to be rooted and you need to install this app to spoof the GPU details. Once you set up the app to emulate a Tegra GPU it should work, but I haven't been able to download the game i was trying to run, half-life 2 itself, so I have no idea if it works or not.

Just a few apps: GL Tools, let's you play some games that aren't compatible on the shield, for me that's primarily XCOM: Enemy Within.

Gesture Control, lets you set up gesture controls similar to the ipad stuff, I've got one set so that whenever I swipe from the right side of the screen it goes to recent apps, basically just makes everything smoother.

Another is Power Nap but you need to get accepted into the beta group for it. I think it operates similar to doze in Marshmallow, I got 1% drop over 8 hours last night as I slept.

Well GLTools' Play Store page actually specifically mentioned that it may fail on some Samsung devices. Also CM 10.1 (Android 4.2) is pretty old, older than GLTools too from what I gather... I guess that's another reason why it might not work.

So all things considered I think it's likely it's just not possible for you to install GLTools on your old tab... Of course it's possible there might be some magical solution that could solve it, but I wouldn't know about it and don't think it's likely either.

You can change the screen resolution via ADB command, but it'll apply to the whole system and it may cause some problems in certain applications.

adb shell wm size 1080x1920 or another resolution of your choice. I would also recommend changing the density if you'll decide to do this.

adb shell wm density 390 - thats for 1080p resolution.

There is also GL Tools, but it requires root.

 

P.S. The reason why Game Tuner works without root on Samsung devices is because it's a system application and it has elevated permissions.

As /u/mashakos pointed out, you cannot do it on the S7, however, you can do it on most android devices running Lollipop or below, such as the S5.

You cannot, however, run all source games on any pre-Marshmallow device. Half-Life 2, the episodes, and Portal were ported by Nvidia for their Shield device, and some clever people figured out that using the app GLTools you can allow them to run on other Android devices.

With time and effort you could. THIS is an app that fakes Render ID eg GL_RENDERER and GL_VERSION.

Knowing how many android devices are out there, it would be madness to assess perf by device name. For the record I own a Snapdragon 820 device and I'm not impressed by performance at all both on stock and CM roms.

EDIT of a EDIT: nvm

GLTools is an Android app (here is the link for its download and you can check the details: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.n0n3m4.gltools). You install it from the apk in the emulator, just like you install games. It does nothing to your computer.

In theory this app can do the same and more (including MSAA forcing) but in my theory it's extremely hit or miss if it's compatible to an app and it only gets about one update every two years.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.n0n3m4.gltools

I believe it's possible (at least for older Tegra games), you'll need root and GLTools

Gl tools if you have root: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.n0n3m4.gltools

It has options to run old android games on Android 7 and 8

Not a module, but you could try GLTools https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.n0n3m4.gltools

It requires root and some way to flash zip files (like a custom recovery)

Eh, I thought you're already using something because you mentioned root. I also saw that app and it's only for modifying resolution so I don't think that's the one.

Nvm, I found this youtube video which eventually introduced me to GLtools. The free XDA version can be downloaded here. Haven't tested it though, will probably check tonight.

An app like GLTools with a more updated design, if it's possible.

Thank you for doing this.

I am posting on here to attempt to get help with this to make it work on my S7, but in theory, you would not need to connect a PC and could simply use the method posted here to get it working, which is as follows (you will need a rooted device):

Firstly, you would need to "obtain" the app in some way. I'm sure you can look up how to do this.

Next, you would need to install the app without opening it, and extract the data to the /sdcard/Android/obb folder on your android device.

You would then need to buy or "obtain" a copy of GLTools (the paid version, not the free,) and install the TEX(DE)coder plugin on the startup screen of the app.

Then you would need to open up GLTools and navigate to the game you are trying to install (Half-Life 2, the episodes, or Portal,) and enable the following settings:

• Enable custom settings for this app
• Optimize GLSL shaders
• Enable texture decompression --> all
• Use fake GPU info --> Use a template --> Tegra 4 (Shield)
• Simple MapBuffer emulation
• Software VBO emulation
• Use packed stencil buffer
• Half-float texture hack
• Fix FBO attachment sizes
• Also try Decode sRBG both on and off to see which works better.

Then connect a bluetooth controller of some kind or get a virtual controller like with GameKeyboard+ and launch the app.

These settings allowed me to play these games on my Rooted S5, but sadly they did not work on my Rooted S7. Let me know if they work for you!

If you could emulate Shield device on your tablet/phone using GLTools, after that a little work with Gamekeyboard, and you can get it working on any of your devices, knowing it is strong enough to make it work.