How to Run VASSAL on Android

[cholmcc]

@Hugs

Ok, I’ve rerun the download… then edited the config file to adjust the screen size,

That you will need to do (perhaps I can figure out a way to keep the old setting in some future revision).

@Hugs

as well as the VASSAL file to eliminate the need to answer whether I wanted to start the X desktop.

What!? That code is gone - you used the latest setup script - so there should be nothing to comment out. If you commented out some code, please re-download and re-run the set-up script. Note, you may need to delete the old set scripts or the new could be downloaded as setup-vassal.sh.1 (or .2 …). Check that you do not have old set-up script around

ls setup-vassal.sh*

and if you do, remove them before downloaded

rm -f setup-vassal.sh*
wget https://gitlab.com/wargames_tex/vassal_my_contrib/-/raw/master/android/setup-vassal.sh -O setup-vassal.sh
bash setup-vassal.sh

If you had a need to edit the script, then you have not run the newest setup script.

@Hugs

As of right now, it appears that everything looks good, works as well as it should, and is as good as it’s going to get unless or until the developers over at Vassal changes how Linux installs or unpacks a vsav or vlog file.

With the latest setup script you should get

• Proper file association so that double-clicking (or right-hand click, select VASSAL) should launch VASSAL
• VASSAL file icons
• No need question as to whether you want to start VASSAL or not.

Note, the set-up of file-associations is done by the setup script. Wrt. upstream VASSAL distribution on Linux, it is relatively easy to set-up the file assocation. My complaint is more that upstream VASSAL won’t - so far - distribute that solution in a simple fashion - not that its an issue with the Android (as the set-up script does it for you).

@Hugs

(At least until I try attaching a mouse to the tablet… which I will likely attempt to do at some point here in the near future.)

I will be interested to hear if that works out. Support for an external mouse (probably via Bluetooth) depends on the VNC client. Perhaps bVNC or RealVNC Viewer (see this article) will do the job. I have not tried to set it up myself, so your experience will be interesting to know.

@Hugs

So, many thanks for your help, you’ve done great! I think you’ve made what would normally be an extremely difficult (if not impossible) task for most people a relatively simple and far easier task than what it probably looks like (and for me, started off as.)

You are welcome. Your feedback as led to some improvements, so I’m thankful for that too. Also, the instructions got an, much needed, overhaul - they did could be confusing - and probably still are at times

Yours,
Christian

[Hugs]

Ok, when I checked, it appeared that I only had one copy of setup-vassal.sh, but I went ahead and deleted it with:

rm -f setup-vassal.sh*

I also found and deleted the setup.vassal.sh that was in the home directory. (Not exactly sure how that got there, but it’s gone now.)

I then downloaded and ran the new script, but it didn’t seem quite right. Thought maybe it was the graphics, so I edited the config script to fit my screen, killed the vncserver, and then ran everything again from the Widget on the Android home screen.

This time, after pausing to allow me to entering the vncserver password, it opened to the X-desktop with the Vassal program opened. Everything looked right this time. vsav and vlog files on the desktop even had Vassal icons.

So… here is my next (quite superfluous) question. Given that it can open with the Vassl program running on the desktop, if I am only using one vassal module on the tablet, can something else be added to the script that in addition to opening the Vassal program also then open the Bitter Woods module that I am using?

And… Or… when I double click on a vsav or vlog file, can it be automatically be opened or executed within the Bitter Woods module?

[cholmcc]

@Hugs

…
This time, after pausing to allow me to entering the vncserver password, it opened to the X-desktop with the Vassal program opened. Everything looked right this time. vsav and vlog files on the desktop even had Vassal icons.

As I suspected - you hadn’t run the latest setup-vassal.sh script.

@Hugs

So… here is my next (quite superfluous) question. Given that it can open with the Vassl program running on the desktop, if I am only using one vassal module on the tablet, can something else be added to the script that in addition to opening the Vassal program also then open the Bitter Woods module that I am using?

Way ahead of you See here

Yours,
Christian

[Hugs]

Okay, I’ve tried it a number of times, as well as different ways… and this does not work:

.local/bin/vncvassal start xvassal -l $HOME/VMods/GettysburgSmithsonian-1.2.vmod

I’ve also tried it from the Widget (again, some number of different times and ways), and they all start to work by starting the vnc server and asking for the password… but then crash with this same message:

Error!
VNC connection setup failed!

So, it appears that something in those instructions doesn’t work (because I can assure you that I’ve tried both very carefully typing it, and copy and pasting it, EXACTLY as you have it there… and it was always the same result.)

Oh, and it’s not the password to the server that fails, as the VASSAL entry in the widget still works just fine.

I have yet to try the second part (the smaller desktop.)

What am I missing? Is this trying to start a different VNC server that uses a different password?
Or, maybe it’s trying to restart the same VNC server that the process already started.
(Because this appears to be the same fail message that happens if or when I don’t kill the vnc server before relaunching the widget.)

[cholmcc]

@Hugs

Okay, I’ve tried it a number of times, as well as different ways… and this does not work:

.local/bin/vncvassal start xvassal -l $HOME/VMods/GettysburgSmithsonian-1.2.vmod

• Do you have the module GettysburgSmithsonian-1.2.vmod? Otherwise, replace it with the file name of a module you do have - say Bitter_Woods_-_Designer_Edition_v2.7.vmod
• Also, remove the back-ticks ` - I’ll remove them from the instructions.

Yours,
Christian

[Hugs]

Yes, I’ve always been replacing the Gettysburg module with:
Bitter_Woods_-_Designer_Edition_v2.7.vmod

Getting rid of the back-ticks did the trick, and it works. However I struggled with getting the Widget to work. Tried several ways, all of which failed, but finally decided just to copy the VASSAL file in the shortcuts folder (which does work) to a new name, and then did some editing in it to end up with it looking like this:

which does now work quite nicely in the Widget app!

I also tried the plain FluxBox desktop. Good to know, but I don’t care much for it.

What I didn’t try was to open either a vsav or vlog file this way, as that simply didn’t make much sense to me. What would make sense would be, after the X-desktop is open, to be able to double click on either a vsav or vlog file (for example, one that is on the desktop) and have it open within the Bitter_Wood module. Not sure if that’s possible, but when I do currently double click on a vsav file, a menu pops up with an option to “Set Default Application.”

Now that I know there is a way to start the module from a widget… is there a way to set a particular module as the default way to open either any vsav or vlog file once the X-desktop is open, so that the file would open in the module by simply double clicking on the vsav file?

Wait a minute… Hold y’er horses here…
Something like that already does work, and I’m trying to figure out what just happened…

Okay, here it is:

After launching the X-Desktop with the new Bitter-Woods widget, I can double-click on a vsav, then choose to “Open with Vassal”, and it then procedes to open the file within the Bitter Woods module. That’s Great !!

The only question left is, why do i have to choose “Open with Vassal” from a pop up menu when double clicking on it? If that’s already set (I’m presuming it is) as the default application associated with that file extension, why wouldn’t it automatically just procede to open it with Vassal?

Thanks again!

[cholmcc]

@Hugs

The only question left is, why do i have to choose “Open with Vassal” from a pop up menu when double clicking on it? If that’s already set (I’m presuming it is) as the default application associated with that file extension, why wouldn’t it automatically just procede to open it with Vassal?

Because your VNC client sends a double tap as a right mouse button (Mouse-3) click. Check the docs of your VNC client for how to send a double left mouse click (2 x Mouse-1). Maybe it’s a two finger double tap.

As explained in the instructions, it is very much the VNC client that determines your experience.

Yours,
Christian

[Hugs]

Took me a while of searching around to find the docs for the MultiVNC viewer.

So, for others reading this, here’s what I found:

Google Code Archive - Long-term storage for Google Code Project Hosting.

Now I’ll have to read though and find out how to do a left double click (if possible) on a vsav (or vlog) file…

[Hugs]

Okay, I’ve run into an issue that I don’t seem to be able to resolve.

First, a few things to mention. Connecting a mouse to the tablet (did) work well.
However, not related to the mouse, after freezing the tablet (and forcing me to figure out how to restart the tablet) the MultiVNC viewer evidently crashed and I just can’t get it to work no matter what I do.

I’ve upgrade Termix, so everything is up to date.
I tried unistalling and then reinstalling MultiVNC from Google Playstore.
Then, I went back to your “Quick” download of Vassal and re-run the newly downloaded setup-vassal.sh

It appeared to setup correctly, gave me the message “Enjoy” after it completed.

I can’t connect using the following:

Address: localhost
Port: 5901
Username: [left blank]
Password: (previous password didn’t work, neither did resetting a new password in Termux.)

It always results in the following:

Error!
VNC connection setup failed!

What am I missing here?

Hugh

[cholmcc]

Hi Hugh,

@Hugs

Okay, I’ve run into an issue that I don’t seem to be able to resolve.

First, a few things to mention. Connecting a mouse to the tablet (did) work well.
However, not related to the mouse, after freezing the tablet (and forcing me to figure out how to restart the tablet) the MultiVNC viewer evidently crashed and I just can’t get it to work no matter what I do.

Good news with the mouse.

Typically, a hard shutdown is done by long pressing the power button (10s or so), or some combination of the power button and volume up or down. If you know the make and model of the device, a search on the internet will typically come up with an answer.

@Hugs

I’ve upgrade Termix, so everything is up to date.
I tried unistalling and then reinstalling MultiVNC from Google Playstore.

Perhaps you should consider the (alternative) method that does not rely on a VNC client:

• How to Run VASSAL on Android (X11)

It is a tad simpler, and I think a slightly better user experience. The two methods of running VASSAL on Android (VNC or X11) can co-exist.

@Hugs

Then, I went back to your “Quick” download of Vassal and re-run the newly downloaded setup-vassal.sh

It appeared to setup correctly, gave me the message “Enjoy” after it completed.

OK, good.

@Hugs

I can’t connect using the following:

Address: localhost
Port: 5901
Username: [left blank]
Password: (previous password didn’t work, neither did resetting a new password in Termux.)

There’s a couple of things that could go wrong:

• The port number is incorrect. I believe the Termux VNC server reports the port number in a log file - maybe you can find that and verify that your port number is correct. Perhaps you have multiple vncserver running in Termux, and they get assigned new port numbers. You can try to execute ps aux in Termux to see if you have more than one vncserver running. If you do, you can do

   kill -9 <pid>
  

  were <pid> is the process number of the vncserver instances.

• If you’ve set a non-blank password via vncpasswd, then you must give that password when connecting. Perhaps try to reset the password again by executing vncpasswd in Termux.

@Hugs

It always results in the following:

Error!
VNC connection setup failed!

I would recommend you try the alternative set-up method cited above. It gets rid of the head-ache of VNC and uses a (Termux) native X11 client.

Yours,
Christian

[Hugs]

I am totally befuddled as to why the MultiVNC viewer absolutely will not work any longer on my tablet. I have tried several time to uninstall it and then reinstall it. Doesn’t work.

I’ve reset the password several times. Doesn’t work.

I don’t have the necessary root access on the tablet to find (or view) any log files in what might be some (evidently hidden) /var/log directory to “check the port address.”

However, I’ve checked to see if there are any other instances of a vncserver running and find none.

I’ve restarted the tablet and tried everything again. No luck. Same issue. The VNCserver tries to start, then immediately shuts down and gives a failed connection error message. It’s very frustrating.

Then I tried using X11. Seemed like it installed okay, but apparently I’m still missing something. It also has a “Not connected” screen, below which there is a Preferences button, a Help button, and an Exit button. None of which makes any sense to me.

Why did the MultiVNC server stop working when it was working so well before this?

Hugh

[cholmcc]

Hi Hugh,

@Hugs

I am totally befuddled as to why the MultiVNC viewer absolutely will not work any longer on my tablet. I have tried several time to uninstall it and then reinstall it. Doesn’t work.

Well, it’s very unlikely that “something happened” that isn’t an ID-10/T error - computers and software doesn’t just decide to “stop working”. In that vain, it would be good if you could give some more detail (see also here and here). For example,

• How did you start the VASSAL session? From a widget? From the command line? If the latter, what exactly did you write on the command line?
• How do you start the VNC viewer? From the command line? From the Android app chooser?

@Hugs

I’ve reset the password several times. Doesn’t work.

Again, what exactly did you do? Did you give an empty password when executing vncpasswd? Remember, passwords are case-sensitive (it’s Unix - not MacOuze or Windoze).

Did you try to execute - on the command line - the commands

$ vncserver :1 &
$ termux-url-open vnc://localhost:5901

and if so, did it work?

@Hugs

I don’t have the necessary root access on the tablet to find (or view) any log files in what might be some (evidently hidden) /var/log directory to “check the port address.”

You do not need root access to check the vncserver logs. The log file is in

~/vnc/localhost:1.log

which you can view with

$ less ~/vnc/localhost\:1.log

(step through pages with Space, move back with b, end with q)

@Hugs

However, I’ve checked to see if there are any other instances of a vncserver running and find none.

Did you try

$ vncserver -clean -kill :1

@Hugs

I’ve restarted the tablet and tried everything again. No luck. Same issue. The VNCserver tries to start, then immediately shuts down and gives a failed connection error message. It’s very frustrating.

Restarting the tablet shouldn’t really matter - again its Unix, not MacOuze or Windoze.

@Hugs

Then I tried using X11. Seemed like it installed okay, but apparently I’m still missing something. It also has a “Not connected” screen, below which there is a Preferences button, a Help button, and an Exit button. None of which makes any sense to me.

Did you follow the instructions at How to Run VASSAL on Android (X11)? What did you do exactly that lead up to the problem? Your description above (" It also has a “Not connected” screen, below which there is a Preferences button, a Help button, and an Exit button.") doesn’t help much without some context. What is it you are trying to execute? After installation according to How to Run VASSAL on Android (X11) all you should need to do is run

$ ~/.local/bin/xvassal 

from the Termux command line.

It sounds like you are still trying to use your VNC viewer to view the X11 installation - you do not need that - just the stuff listed in the above page, and then the command quoted above.

@Hugs

Why did the MultiVNC server stop working when it was working so well before this?

MultiVNC is not a server - but a client (or viewer). Why it stopped working is hard to tell without some more information on your part. Please be exact so that we may be able to help you. Thanks.

Yours,
Christian

[Hugs]

On Tue, May 27, 2025 at 5:16 PM Christian Holm Christensen via Vassal <noreply@forum.vassalengine.org> wrote:

cholmcc
May 28

Hi Hugh,

Well, it’s very unlikely that “something happened” that isn’t an ID-10/T error - computers and software doesn’t just decide to “stop working”.

No, it didn’t just decide to stop working. It locked up the tablet during a MultiVCN session from which I had to perform a hard reboot. Hasn’t worked since. However, if it’s shown to be an idiot error on my part, that probably also means there is an easy fix to it that I would be more than happy with, and I’d be okay wearing the dunce cap here. So, please feel free to prove it fits…

In that vain, it would be good if you could give some more detail (see also here and here). For example,

• How did you start the VASSAL session? From a widget? From the command line? If the latter, what exactly did you write on the command line?

Okay, here is the update. I had actually tried as many ways as I can figure out how to start Vassal, including all of the following (although not necessarily in this order)l:

• From a newly setup 1x1 widget for Bitter Woods (which is the Vassal module that I was using when it crashed.)

• From a newly setup 2x2 widget that has listed as options:

Bitter Woods

The Russian-Campaign (another module that I had previously installed)

VASSAL

XVASSAL (this appears to be new on the list, after downloading and using your xsetup-vassal.sh script the other day

• From the MultiVNC icon that appears on my tablet desktop, which opens up to a screen that requires me to enter the address (where I type in “localhost”), change the port number (from its default entry of 5900 to 5901), and a password (which I make sure to type in perfectly correct.) I’ve even gone to the termux command line, typed in “vncpasswd” and changed the password (it requires an entry between 6 and 8 letters or digits long), and then re-tried this using the newly changed password.

Nothing worked. Everythings failed immediately, returning the same error message (VNC connection setup failed)… excepting the XVASSAL entry from the desktop widget, which after opening a termux window has a screen showing the following:

X_
Not connected

Preferences

Help

Exit

So earlier this morning, I went back to find if there were some other way to start the VNC server. And after opening a Termux window, I entered:

vncserver :1

Low and behold, a new window opened asking for a password. After entering the same password that I’ve had (and been trying to use previously)… I was surprised when it open right up to what appeared to be the MultiVNC desktop with my Vassal icons on it (but did not open up a Vassal module.) Upon further inspection, I realized that is was not the MultiVNC desktop, but rather, that is was probably the X11 desktop, as it was slightly different. When I opened the folder which I had linked to downloads, a window popped up telling me that the files were in an insecure location and asked whether I wanted to proceed. (I chose the option to trust them and proceed.) When I checked the “about” line in the file menu, if confirmed that this was the Xcfe Desktop Environment.

Now, the Vassal icon that was on this desktop would not “execute” when chosen, nor launch Vassal when double clicked. However, when right clicked on, it presented a menu which showed that there was no default application to launch it, and some number of different options to either create a launcher for it, chose a default application to open it with, and a handful of other options that I am hesitant to “play around with” to try to find something that might work. In short, perhaps something just isn’t fully or adequately implemented or set up right.

How it opened up to this desktop with these icons on it is a bit of a mystery to me, and I have no clue how to get to or try opening up the previous MultVNC desktop (which used to open up with Vassal already starting.)

Subsequent to this, I went to the termux window and killed the vncserver with:

vncserver -kill :1

I then came back to your post, and after reading further into again, I entered this:

vncserver -kill :1 $

I’m not sure what adding the $ to the line did (maybe it simply makes sure the screen goes back to the command line), but for whatever reason, it appeared to start the vncserver, but didn’t open a second window (asking for a password) that would continue on to a desktop window.

Then I entered this line:

$ termux-url-open vnc://localhost:5901

This only returned this message:

termux-url-open: command not found

But, figuring that the vncserver was probably started and running in the background, I went to the termux widget on the home screen of the tablet, and this time it opened up to a window asking for the vncserver password. After entering it, it opened up to the X11 desktop. Several more rounds of killing the vncserver and restarting it this way, if became evident that ALL of the widget shortcuts did exactly the same thing, opening to the X11 desktop, where Vassal was not (and would not) execute or run.

At this point, I have no idea how to get to, or try starting the MultiVNC desktop (where Vassal used to work.)

Hugs:

I don’t have the necessary root access on the tablet to find (or view) any log files in what might be some (evidently hidden) /var/log directory to “check the port address.”

You do not need root access to check the vncserver logs. The log file is in

~/vnc/localhost:1.log

which you can view with

$ less ~/vnc/localhost\:1.log

(step through pages with Space, move back with b, end with q)

After entering this:

less ~/vnc/localhost:1.log

However, it told me there was no such directory, so perhaps you meant this:

less ~/.vnc/localhost:1.log

Which has a lot of stuff written, which of course I didn’t understand much of.

Hugs:

Then I tried using X11. Seemed like it installed okay, but apparently I’m still missing something. It also has a “Not connected” screen, below which there is a Preferences button, a Help button, and an Exit button. None of which makes any sense to me.

Did you follow the instructions at How to Run VASSAL on Android (X11)? What did you do exactly that lead up to the problem? Your description above (" It also has a “Not connected” screen, below which there is a Preferences button, a Help button, and an Exit button.") doesn’t help much without some context. What is it you are trying to execute? After installation according to How to Run VASSAL on Android (X11) all you should need to do is run

$ ~/.local/bin/xvassal 

from the Termux command line.

It sounds like you are still trying to use your VNC viewer to view the X11 installation - you do not need that - just the stuff listed in the above page, and then the command quoted above.

I thought I did all this, so if I missed something I’ll have to recheck. However, when I ran this line:

~/.local/bin/xvassal

It returned this in the log file (which I had left open):

So perhaps this is getting to the root issue?
If so, shouldn’t have running your script fix this?

Anyways… what does all of this tell you, and how easily can I fix this?

Thanks for all your thoughtful help!

Hugh

[cholmcc]

@Hugs

I thought I did all this, so if I missed something I’ll have to recheck. However, when I ran this line:

~/.local/bin/xvassal

It returned this in the log file (which I had left open):

So perhaps this is getting to the root issue?
If so, shouldn’t have running your script fix this?

Look at the error message from VASSAL:

Error: /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/java is too told to run this version of Vassal.  Please use Java 11 or later.

That is the culprit of all your trouble.

(BTW, you should have seen a similar message in the ~/.vnc/localhost:1.log file` - which you could have posted here too. Also, you can typically take a screen shot on Android by dragging up from the bottom of the screen to see the running app overview and then touch the “Take Screenshot” entry underneath.)

So, how to fix it. Well, what you need to do, is to upgrade your Java installation on the tablet. To upgrade your installation, do in a Termux session

$ pkg update 
$ pkg upgrade 

Alternatively, you can try to (re) install Java with

$ pkg install openjdk-21-x

You can see which versions of Java are available with

$ pkg search openjdk

To see which version of java you have, do

$ java --version

To reproduce VASSAL’s version check do

$ java -cp ~/VASSAL-current/lib/Vengine.jar VASSAL.launch.JavaVersionChecker ; echo $? 

If this does not report 0, then VASSAL believes your Java installation is too old.

Please report the outcome of:

$ java --version
$ java -cp ~/VASSAL-current/lib/Vengine.jar VASSAL.launch.JavaVersionChecker ; echo $? 
$ pkg list-installed | grep jdk 

if you continue to have problems.

Some misunderstandings:

• When you run vncserver you are not running a native X server, and the native X client will not connect - only a VNC client.
• XFCE _does not mean you are running X - it is the desktop environment and can run both on a native X server and a VNC server
• $ at the start of the line signifies the command prompt and is not meant to be typed.
• $ at the end of the line does nothing. A & at the end of a command line sends the preceding command to the background.

Also, I would remove your older VNC based solution and stick to the native X installation. To do that, do

$ pkg uninstall tigervnc
$ rm -rf ~/.vnc
$ rm -f ~/.local/bin/vncvassal

Yours,
Christian

[Hugs]

On Wed, May 28, 2025 at 5:55 PM Christian Holm Christensen via Vassal <noreply@forum.vassalengine.org> wrote:

cholmcc
May 29

Look at the error message from VASSAL:

Error: /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/java is too told to run this version of Vassal.  Please use Java 11 or later.

That is the culprit of all your trouble.

I suspected that it probably was.

Also, you can typically take a screen shot on Android by dragging up from the bottom of the screen to see the running app overview and then touch the “Take Screenshot” entry underneath.)

That doesn’t appear to work on the Galaxy 9+ tablet that I have, as nothing seems to “drags up” from the bottom of the screen (except maybe the keyboard.)

So, how to fix it. Well, what you need to do, is to upgrade your Java installation on the tablet. To upgrade your installation, do in a Termux session

$ pkg update 

$ pkg upgrade

I did both of those a few days ago, so I’m thinking the fix might not be as simple as it might first look like. Before trying to install anything new, I ran some of the commands that showed that java versions 17.0.15 and 21.0.7 were both already installed and updated on the tablet, yet still weren’t allowing Vassal to run. For whatever reason, when I ran the following command, it chose the older version 17 rather than version 21 (which of course, I have no clue as to why.)

Seeing the tigervnc possibly being an issue, I uninstalled it:

And then comes this:

Please report the outcome of:

$ java --version
$ java -cp ~/VASSAL-current/lib/Vengine.jar  VASSAL.launch.JavaVersionChecker ; echo $? 
$ pkg list-installed | grep jdk 

if you continue to have problems.

Some misunderstandings:

• When you run vncserver you are not running a native X server, and the native X client will not connect - only a VNC client.
• XFCE _does not mean you are running X - it is the desktop environment and can run both on a native X server and a VNC server
• $ at the start of the line signifies the command prompt and is not meant to be typed.
• $ at the end of the line does nothing. A & at the end of a command line sends the preceding command to the background.

Of course, now the widgets on my Home screen don’t work. They don’t start a vncserver, and won’t start vassal. So, I am stuck.

What am I doing wrong?

Hugh

[Hugs]

Evidently there was something that broke somewhere (when the tablet suddenly froze while using Vassal program and the MultiVNC viewer, and NOT due to some idiot mistake that was made), which has no simple or easy fix.

The issue apparently resides in the fact that when Vassal now tries to start, it still gives the error message:

/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/java is too old to run this version on Vassal. Please use Java 11 or later.

Furthermore, I cannot access (nor change to) this directory to see what is or isn’t there by either of the following commands:

cd /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/java
cd ~/files/usr/bin/java

The tablet tells me I only have Java 17 and 21 installed. So, I uninstalled Java 17. It didn’t help. Thus, it looks like I have to resort to resetting the entire tablet, losing everything that is on it, and try starting over to “repair” whatever it was that broke…

[cholmcc]

@Hugs

Evidently there was something that broke somewhere (when the tablet suddenly froze while using Vassal program and the MultiVNC viewer, and NOT due to some idiot mistake that was made), which has no simple or easy fix.

Well, things doesn’t “just” change without something prompting it to - the machines have not yet achieved consciousness

@Hugs

The issue apparently resides in the fact that when Vassal now tries to start, it still gives the error message:

/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/java is too old to run this version on Vassal. Please use Java 11 or later.

That’s clear and from your screenshot

it is also clear that is has nothing to do with the Java version installed, but because there’s a runtime linking error:

Error: LinkageError occurred while loading main class VASSAL.launch.JavaVersionChecker
       java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError: /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk/lib/libnio.so: dlopen failed: cannot locate symbol "JNU_GetStringPlatformCharsStrict" referenced by "/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/lib/jvm/java-21-openjdk/lib/libnet.so"...

But notice how the Java 17 executable is trying to load stuff from Java 21 /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/lib/jvm/java-21-openjdk/lib/libnet.so - that’s not good.

@Hugs

Furthermore, I cannot access (nor change to) this directory to see what is or isn’t there by either of the following commands:

cd /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/java
cd ~/files/usr/bin/java

/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/java is a file - not a directory, so you cannot cd (change directory) to it. You can do

cd /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/

though, but it doesn’t tell you much.

@Hugs

The tablet tells me I only have Java 17 and 21 installed. So, I uninstalled Java 17. It didn’t help. Thus, it looks like I have to resort to resetting the entire tablet, losing everything that is on it, and try starting over to “repair” whatever it was that broke…

Hold your horses - this is Unix not Windows - your only choice is not to scratch everything.

I suggest you try to de-install both Java 17 and 21, and then install Java 21: At the Termux prompt do (remember, the $ is the prompt and not part of what you need to type):

$ pkg uninstall openjdk-17-x   openjdk-21-x
$ pkg update 
$ pkg upgrade 
$ pkg install openjdk-21-x

If that doesn’t work, then perhaps you want to try to de-install Termux, Termux:Widget, Termux:X11 as Android apps and then redo the entire process How to Run VASSAL on Android (X11). Please make sure to read the whole thing before starting the process.

Yours,
Christian

[cholmcc]

@cholmcc

That’s clear and from your screenshot

BTW, you can highlight text in Termux and select Copy to copy it to the device clip-board, and then you can paste it into a mail or similar - no need to get a second camera out. As for screenshots, if swiping up from the bottom of the screen does not work on your tablet Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+, then I’m sure there is another way to do it - a Google search Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ Screenshot seems to give a good suggestion. Just to make life easier on yourself.

Yours,
Christian

[Hugs]

Okay, here’s the procedure/progress update:

Uninstalling both Java versions and reinstalling only Java 21 did not work. So, I uninstalled Termux, then uninstalled the Termux:Widget, and then uninstalled Termux:X11, and followed your procedure on how to install vassal on Android (X11.)

First, I installed Termux from GitHub, then (after pkg update, pkg upgrade, install termux-tools and termux-setup-storage) Termux:X11, and then Termux:Widget.

Note: After navigating to Apps and selecting Termux, there was no option for “drawing over other apps.”

However, there was an option for it to “Appear on top”… which sounded like it might be similar, so I turned it on.

After that, it was on to downloading and then executing the xsetup-vassal.sh with:

bash xsetup-vassal.sh

Which, after what seemed to be a very long length of time, appeared to complete successfully.

I don’t recall whether the script placed a 2x2 Widget on the tablet Homepage, or whether I added it, but after clicking on the VASSAL entry shown there… Voila! It did open to Vassal running on the X11 server Desktop. However, it did seem to have a number of error messages or warning showing in the Termux session. (see screen shot below):

If these are not normal or suspect, I do not have any idea what I might have missed or done wrong in this somewhat long process. Perhaps you can interpret their significance and let me know if or how they can or should be corrected.

In spite of these apparent errors, I continued on to download and then run one of the Vassal modules (after moving it into the ~/VMods directory.) Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a shortcut set up correctly for it in the Widget. So, I had to back up and go download your ‘get_vmod.sh’ file, which actually added two shortcut entries in the Widget:

Bitter_Woods_-Designer_Edition_2.7
XBitter_Woods-_Designer_Edition_2.7

The first line does not work (and won’t open up to the X11 desktop.) The second one DOES work, opening to both the X11 desktop and then to a basic game of Bitter Woods (even though error messages still appear in the background Termux session.)

In summary, after fiddling for some time with the options within the new (to me) X11 interface, the overall surgery here was a success, and the patient appears to have recovered from general anesthesia… as the tablet now runs Vassal and the Vassal modules in a reasonably good and decent way (even without a mouse… but the mouse does work with it and makes it better.)

I am really only left with two main issues (or questions) here.

1. What (if anything) can or needs to be done to correct the error messages that appear when I launch an X11 and Vassal session?

and

2. Is there any way to make the tiny little mouse cursor larger within the Vassal module?

I have already adjusted the mouse to large in the tablet settings, but it doesn’t have any effect on the size of the cursor in the Vassal module itself.

Many thanks again for your help!

Hugh

[cholmcc]

@Hugs

Uninstalling both …

… Voila! It did open to Vassal running on the X11 server Desktop.

OK, so your Termux installation got f**ked up somehow. Good you got it working.

@Hugs

However, it did seem to have a number of error messages or warning showing in the Termux session. (see screen shot below):

…
In spite of these apparent errors,

Look again at the screenshot (again, you can actually copy the text over from Termux) - those are not Errors but Warnings. Most of these have to do with a service not running, and the desktop simply tells you that that add-on is not available. No worries - it will have no real impact on your user experience (if you ever locked at a Windows log - perhaps as a victim of a Tech Support Scam - you will see tons and tons warnings and errors like this.

@Hugs

… your ‘get_vmod.sh’ file, which actually added two shortcut entries in the Widget:

Bitter_Woods_-Designer_Edition_2.7
XBitter_Woods-_Designer_Edition_2.7

The first line does not work (and won’t open up to the X11 desktop.) The second one DOES work, opening to both the X11 desktop and then to a basic game of Bitter Woods (even though error messages still appear in the background Termux session.)

I made the get_vmod.sh script exactly to make it easier to set things up. The first of the two above is meant for a VNC driven installation, and will not work in your new X11 driven installation. Again, look at the logs - those are Warnings - not Errors.

@Hugs

I am really only left with two main issues (or questions) here.

1. What (if anything) can or needs to be done to correct the error messages that appear when I launch an X11 and Vassal session?

Not Errors but Warnings - you can safely ignore them.

@Hugs

2. Is there any way to make the tiny little mouse cursor larger within the Vassal module?

No idea - check the desktop - presumably XFCE4 - documentation. Maybe there’s a preference setting somewhere that allows you to change the cursor theme or something like that.

@Hugs

I have already adjusted the mouse to large in the tablet settings, but it doesn’t have any effect on the size of the cursor in the Vassal module itself.

The Android GUI system and the X11 system have nothing to do with each other and are completely independent. You need to find the right setting or the like, in the desktop. A search for “XFCE4 cursor size” give this hit. Google is your friend

Yours,
Christian