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Eamonn Rea edited this page Jul 15, 2023 · 30 revisions

Modding

SteamTinkerLaunch currently has support for the following modding tools:

This wiki page is meant to become a little collection of tutorials on how to get certain modding tools and components working under Wine/Proton. If you have any hints or useful tips which you feel might be helpful for others, feel free to share them on the issue tracker and we can add them here!

On Steam Deck, should run steamtinkerlaunch cleardeckdeps after a SteamOS version bump (such as going from SteamOS 3.4 to 3.5).

General

Resident Evil 4 HD

Getting Resident Evil 4 HD to install and run is very simple with SteamTinkerLaunch. The following steps should get you up and running on Linux desktop and Steam Deck, and you shouldn't need to worry about the specific steps on the website for the most part. On Steam Deck, it is highly recommended to do this from Desktop Mode.

  1. Download and run Resident Evil 4 from Steam at least once, with or without SteamTinkerLaunch.
  2. Download and extract the Resident Evil 4 HD mod from the official website to a sensible location, noting the password for the archive.
  3. Run Resident Evil 4 from Steam with SteamTinkerLaunch selected as a compatibility tool and go to the Main Menu
  4. Go to the Game Files menu and select the "Gamedir" checkbox, then click "Select" to open it in Dolphin.
  5. Right click on the path and select "Copy", then paste this into a text editor such as KWrite. Add Z: to the start of your path, keeping the beginning forward slash. Don't worry about the forward slashes. Keep this text editor open.
    • Your path should now look something like Z:/home/gaben/gamefolder/steamapps/common/Resident Evil 4/
  6. Go back to the Main Menu, select the "One Time Run" button
  7. Click the "One time command" box and navigate to the Resident Evil 4 HD setup executable (e.g., re4HDProject-setup.exe), and click "Run". This will run the executable while keeping SteamTinkerLaunch open.
  8. Run through the installer and when you are prompted for the installation path, use the path from Step 5.
  9. Once installation completes, close the setup program and from SteamTinkerLaunch, navigate to the Game Menu.
  10. Under "Wine Options" towards the bottom of the Game Menu, under Wine DLL overrides, either enter dinput8=n,b manually or select it if available from the list of dropdowns.
  11. Press "Save and Play", and you should be using the Resident Evil 4 HD mod!
    • It should automatically prompt you to run the 4GB patcher. This should work fine in Game Mode but it might be a good idea to do an initial launch in Desktop Mode to ensure there are no issues with windowing
    • The re4tweaks mod that comes with RE4HD should work as well. In testing the few options tested seemed to work fine.

And that's basically it, stranger! If you find any corrections that need to be made to these steps, leave a comment on #457, preferably with some background on what is incorrect, why it is incorrect, and what can be improved.

Committee of Zero Patches (STEINS;GATE, CHAOS;HEAD NOAH, etc)

It is possible to install the Committee of Zero patches for various MAGES visual novel games using SteamTinkerLaunch. This can be done with the One-Time Run menu, using vanilla Proton build and the "Use Custom Executable Directory as Working Directory" checkbox.

image

The following patches have been confirmed to work with SteamTinkerLaunch on Linux Desktop and Steam Deck (though the other Committee of Zero patches should work too):

  • CHAOS;HEAD NOAH (Steam, GOG release untested)
  • STEINS;GATE
  • STEINS;GATE 0
  • CHAOS;CHILD
  • ROBOTICS;NOTES ELITE

Below is a step-by-step guide. This should apply to any Committee of Zero patch and should not be game-specific.

  1. Download the Committee of Zero patch you want to install, and extract it to somewhere that is not the game folder.
  2. Run your chosen game with SteamTinkerLaunch and go to the Main Menu.
  3. Open the One-Time Run menu and select the Committee of Zero patch's executable file from the folder you extracted (e.g., for STEINS;GATE 0 this is called SG0Patch-Installer.exe).
    • You can browse to the executable or drag and drop the executable onto the filepicker widget itself.
    • Tip: You can press Ctrl+L in the GTK file picker dialog to enter a path directly to the executable folder
  4. Ensure you have selected a vanilla Proton build (such as Proton 7.0) and not a GE-Proton build.
  5. Enable the "Use Custom Executable Directory as Working Directory" checkbox.
  6. Select "Run Command" and wait for the installer to open, then follow the prompts to install the patch regularly.
    • Usually the patcher will find your game files, but if it doesn't, you should be able to manually navigate to it from the patcher.
  7. Once the patch is installed, close the installer and launch the game - From here on, there is no requirement to use SteamTinkerLaunch with the game you want to play.
    • For STEINS;GATE, in the Game Files, you may have to manually rename Launcher.exe and LauncherC0.exe manually, otherwise the regular game launcher will launch before the game -- You can also use SteamTinkerLaunch to set LauncherC0.exe a custom executable if you'd prefer.
  8. You'll know installation of the patch succeeded as a different launcher will be used for the game.

If you have issues with some MAGES games crashing, or the vanilla launcher warning about missing config files, go to the controller menu and then try launching the game. You may need to connect a controller in this case. This is an engine bug that is made slightly more apparent on Linux when switching been PC and Steam Deck, because if a given game is played with a controller once then it will expect to find that controller each time. This issue is entirely unrelated to Committee of Zero's patch work.

That's all there is to it! For the original STEINS;GATE, you may also wish to install the Uncompressed FMV Mod, which is fully compatible with Linux. El Psy Kongroo.

xEdit (including FO4Edit, TES5Edit, etc)

This program should work out of the box when added and launched via Vortex Mod Manager or ModOrganizer 2. See #700 for discussion.

MO2

Glitchy UI

If MO2 has some UI glitches and dark spots when you interact with certain parts of the UI, this is more than likely a result of using a custom Wine theme. Most Wine flavours except Proton will use a custom Wine theme such as "Flat" or "Light", and some .NET tools have issues with these themes.

The solution to this problem is to disable the Wine theme for that Proton version using Winecfg, which you can do from SteamTinkerLaunch or do manually using Winecfg for that Wineprefix and Wine version. You can also select a custom theme for ModOrganizer 2 in the its settings and this will also fix the glitching.

At the time of writing, vanilla Proton builds from Valve do not have any custom Wine theme and thus do not have the glitching issue.

Mod-Manager-Specific files

Several mods for various older Bethesda games such as Oblivion or Fallout: New Vegas may have mod-manager-specific installer files (such as FOMOD or OMOD) or archives (such as .7z files) designed to be used with a specific mod manager (such as OBMM, Wyre Bash or FOMM). While these mod managers can be launched and used from MO2 on Windows and Linux, MO2 can install them too, but on Linux there is an extra step required that is not normally required on Windows.

When installing one of these mods, you will see a prompt different from that of a "regular" mod. Below is an example, using the Mod Configuration Menu for Fallout: New Vegas

Screenshot_20220526_035532

To install a mod like this, simply clicking "Start" may fail and may in fact produce undesirable results. For example, if you're trying to install your mod while MO2 is running in Game Mode, it will likely fail and MO2 may start showing errors such as "failed to update mod list". This can prevent you from using LOOT and creates annoying error dialogs while trying to use MO2. The "Use NCC" option may or may not work either.

The best way to install these kinds of mod files is to select the "Manual" button. When clicked it will show you the structure of the FOMOD file as shown below:

Screenshot_20220526_040327

You do not need to do anything else here and you can safely click "OK" to install the mod. No manual installation configuration is actually required provided you see text telling you the content of <data> looks valid. Some mods may require manual installation for a specific reason even on Windows. Refer to that mod's documentation if this is the case, but manual configuration should not be necessary in the majority of cases.

If you experience the mod list error messages, see the below section on how to fix it.

Errors around "Failed to update mod list: Failed to save '{}'"...

(Thanks to 17hoehbr for their comment on this issue for figuring out how to fix this! The image shown is from their issue.)

This is a semi-common problem with MO2 and even seems to occur on Windows from time to time. One cause is if a mod-manager-specific mod fails to install as mentioned above. It creates annoying error dialogs that will get in the way, prevent you from using LOOT and it gets in the way of installing other mods. You can still launch your game if you want, but your mods may become unstable. Below is an example of the error you might see:

mo2error

The cause is that either MO2 expects there to be a folder in C:\users\username called Temp and it is not present, or it is present but it contains bad data and needs to be deleted. In the case of Wine/Proton, this path would be either:

  • /path/to/steamapps/compatdata/appid/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Temp if running MO2 in Game Mode (clicking the "MO2 GUI" option when starting a game)
  • ~/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/mo2/compatdata/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Temp if running MO2 in Standalone Mode (using MO2 through the option on the Main Menu)

SteamTinkerLaunch attempts to mitigate this issue by having an option to delete this folder when SteamTinkerLaunch is closed, and also creates the Temp folder within the Game Mode path when MO2 is launched if it doesn't already exist. These should mitigate the problem of corrupted or Temp folders, but it is not perfect as sometimes the Temp folder goes missing while installing mods such as mod-manager-specific mod files. If this happens, you can manually create the Temp folder (or delete and re-create if applicable) at one or both of the listed paths above. You will need to restart MO2 after this if it is running for your changes to take effect. After that you should be able to use MO2 normally again.

FNIS Data Folder Issues

(Modding tool for Skyrim SE)

contributed by niiyoooom via reddit:

"I found out how to get FNIS working... create a symlink from the Skyrim Data folder to the FNIS tools folder. Example;"

cd '/home/user/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Skyrim Special Edition/Data/'
ln -s '/home/user/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/mo2/compatdata/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/ModOrganizer/Skyrim Special Edition/mods/Fores New Idles in Skyrim SE - FNIS SE/tools' tools

"And if anyone can't seem to install FNIS because of an error or if FNIS refuses to launch (I forget the error code;;) try deleting all of the files in the GenerateFNIS_for_Users/Languages folder, except for the English file (some computers might not be able to understand some of the languages). If you can't install it, unzip the mod, delete those files, then rezip it and install with MO2"

Missing options.ini file in "The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth"

You may get errors when trying to use "The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth" with mods/mod managers, complaining about a missing options.ini file. To fix this:

  1. Use SteamTinkerLaunch's Game Files menu to open the Wine prefix (or go there yourself if you know where it is)
  2. Go to drive_c/users/steamuser/My Documents/My Games
  3. Open the relevant folder for your installation of The Binding of Isaac. It might have a different name depending on which DLC you do/don't have, but ignore the the one that ends with "Mods" (if it is present)
  4. Inside that folder, create an empty options.ini file.

Now when you try to mod The Binding of Isaac again, it should work. This seems to be a general problem with modding this game that is not exclusive to Linux.

Portable MO2 Instances on Steam Deck microSD Card

If you want to use MO2 instances between Steam Decks by using a microSD card, a user has helpfully outlined the steps they took to achieve this. Refer to the linked issue for background and information on this.

Note that this is particularly advanced usage and may not be something that appeals to all users, however it is documented for users that may wish to do this.

Vortex

Bethesda Game Script Extenders (OBSE/NVSE/SKSE/F4SE) Aren't Loading Properly Without Vortex

(This issue was first discussed in #841 and the solution was found in collaboration with @dermalikmann, many thanks to them!)

If you've installed a script extender for a Bethesda game with Vortex, and then you try to play the game without Vortex, various plugin and associated files may not be loaded properly. This is because these files are created in users/steamuser/AppData/Local for the Vortex prefix but not for the game prefix, as these files are generated by Vortex.

The fix for this is to symlink your game folder from this location to the equivalent location in the game prefix. The reason you want to symlink is so that when files get updated in the Vortex prefix, they also get updated for the game prefix. SteamTinkerLaunch will symlink this folder from the game prefix to the Vortex prefix, but it won't do it the other way around. So if you've previously modded a game that has a script extender folder, it will get symlinked to the Vortex prefix, to allow the game to run with Vortex. But the opposite use-case of running a game in the game prefix after modding with Vortex, is not accounted for.

As an example, if you're modding "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition" (489830), once Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE) is installed you could do the below steps to accomplish this. If you're modding another game, such as Fallout 4, the same should apply but the folder names will likely be different.

  1. In your file manager, go to the Vortex prefix and navigate to drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local - You should then find a Skyrim Special Edition folder here containing two files: plugins.txt and loadorder.txt
    • If you're unsure where the Vortex prefix is, running steamtinkerlaunch vortex gp should give you the full path
    • The default path is usually ~/.config/steamtinkerlaunch/vortex/compatdata/pfx (may be different on Flatpak)
  2. In another file manager window, go to your Skyrim game prefix and navigate to the same drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local directory
    • If you're unsure where the Skyrim prefix is, you can run steamtinkerlaunch gc Skyrim and it should return the path
    • Generally speaking, the path to the prefix is usually /path/to/steamapps_with_game/compatdata/game_appid/pfx, though on Steam Deck this may be different due to a long-standing Steam Client bug
  3. If the Skyrim Special Edition folder already exists here, remove it
  4. Symlink the Skyrim Special Edition folder from the Vortex prefix to the Skyrim prefix. There are various ways you could do this depending on your Desktop Environment, but one way would be the following command, replacing the paths in the command with your actual paths ln -s /path/to/Vortex/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/Skyrim Special Edition /path/to/Skyrim/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/AppData/Local/Skyrim Special Edition
    • Note that all paths are case-sensitive, and that path names should match exactly.
    • Some file browsers, such as KDE Plasma's Dolphin, allow you to graphically create symlinks when dragging one folder onto another.

That should be all the required steps! There are other ways to do this symlinking, this is just a basic set of verbose instructions on how to do it.

It would be ideal if SteamTinkerLaunch could automatically and dynamically accomplish this somehow, but currently this is not implemented.

.NET Installation Warnings/Errors

Previous versions of Vortex, such as Vortex 1.7.0 and below, required .NET 4.8 to be installed. This is no longer the case, as Vortex has migrated entirely to using .NET 6. SteamTinkerLaunch no longer installs .NET for Vortex automatically. When you install newer versions of Vortex, it will tell you that it needs to install .NET 6. It should be safe to allow Vortex to install this, then you can restart Vortex and it should start up normally.

If Vortex is having issues installing .NET 6, it should be possible to manually install .NET 6, either with Wine or with Winetricks (the verb for Winetricks is dotnetdesktop6). If you're using an older version of Vortex and require .NET 4.8, you can create a custom prefix, install .NET 4.8 into it (for example, with Winetricks using the dotnet48 verb), and then point SteamTinkerLaunch to use that Vortex prefix.

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