Modding

Game mods modify games in some way. A good source for mods is https://www.nexusmods.com. Sometimes they work in the same way as on Windows, but that's not always the case. Res?hade is an example for a modding tool.

Mod Manager

You can try installing mod Managers from Lutris, if there is an install script. There are scripts (for older versions of) Vortex and NMM.

Otherwise, you can try installing them in the same wine prefix. You could do this for example the following way:

• Copy the executable into the wine prefix of your game: ~/Games/<your_game>/drive_c/users/<your_name>/Downloads/
• In Lutris, click your game, then click on the arrow next to the wine bottle on the bottom of the window. Click Run EXE inside Wine prefix
• Locate the exe, and run it.
• If it works, you can locate the executable of the installed mod manager, and run it in this way. Otherwise, you can also create a new "game" in the same wine prefix and select the executable there. TODO: describe how.

Manual Installation

DLL overrides

The game can either use native dlls that come with the game, or use builtin dlls that come with wine. It (sometimes?/usually?) uses only the builtin dlls.

On Windows, the game would do it the other way around, and first use all dlls in the game directory, and only if the dll is not there, look somewhere else.

Now if you put a different dll from a mod inside the game directory, this will not (not always?) work.

That's why you have to tell wine, that it should use the dll from the mod.

Example

For example, if you want to tell wine to use the d3dcompiler_47.dll that's in your game folder, and only use the builtin dll if it can't find any dll in the game folder, you would do the following:

Open Lutris, click your game, on the bottom, click the up-arrow right next to the wine bottle icon, click Wine configuration, click Libraries, and

• insert the name of the dll (without the .dll) d3dcompiler_47 in the text box under New override for library.
• select it in the list, click Edit and select native, then builtin

Alternatively, you could also set WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3dcompiler_47=n,b" as an environment variable.

Path names

Linux paths are case sensitive, while Windows paths are not. This leads to mod developers using different folder names when referring to the same folder, for example folderName and Foldername. If your mod doesn't work, this might be the issue, and you can try changing the names so that they are consistent.

Install mod manager in a VM

You can install Windows in VirtualBox, share your game folder with the VM, and install the mod manager inside the VM. You need to install the guest additions for it to work.

In more detail:

1. Install the game on Linux, for example with Lutris, Heroic, or Steam.
2. Install Windows in a VM
3. Share the game folder with the Windows VM
4. Install a mod manager in the Windows VM
5. Use the mod manager to install a mod
6. Play the game that is now modded (on Linux, without VM)

Trainer

You can use tuxtrain or PINCE.

Linux native modding tools

There are some game specific Linux native modding tools, you may find a list here.