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. Reshade is an example for a modding tool.

Mod Manager

Mod managers that are not native will not set dll overrides. If the installed mod uses dlls, you have to set the overrides manually.

Install mod managers with Wine

You can try installing mod Managers from Lutris, if there is an install script. For example 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 in 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.

Install mod managers in a VM

If a mod manager is not working well with wine, 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. The folder will be mounted as network drive Z. This will not work with every mod manager and every mod. For example it will not work with MO2 (however, MO2 is working in Wine).

If you want to mod a Linux native game, you can try creating a fake .exe in order for the mod manager to detect the game.

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)

Optional: Disable internet access for the VM, and enable drag/drop to copy files easily to the VM. This way, Windows can not send telemetry data, or do unnecessary updates that just take space and processing time. You might even use older (and lighter) versions like Windows 7 if the mod manager is compatible. In this case, you will have to manually download mods, though.

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.

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.