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Liberty Power Armor and landscape mods installed via MO2 in Fedora 34
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I went back to Linux/UNIX a few years ago and have never been happier. Around that time, gaming on Linux started to explode as WINE came into its own and Proton was released. That was great, but left modders wanting.
I've been busy with other projects for the past several months, but now that I have some time on my hands I've devoted myself to getting Mod Organizer 2 working in Linux. I'm not one to complain about software overmuch. But the truth is I just don't like Lutris and I think Vortex is... strange, and I'll leave it at that. I love my TES and Fallout collections, but I miss my mods. So I took a weekend and went to work on Fallout 4 in Linux, modding it with MO2 using WINE and Proton.
I've solved about 98% of the problems associated with using Mod Organizer 2, and I'm using the current version (2.4.4). VFS is working perfectly, Script Extender is working perfectly, all of the mods and their plugins are working perfectly. FO4Edit works, as does LOOT. I've made Python 3.9 available in the Wine Bottle too, along with Java 8 for patchers and whatnot. I'll test all of this in Skyrim as well, even though I have no doubt it will all work just fine.
I've loaded well over two hundred mods with two hundred and twenty plugins active. I'm running at Ultra and using huge texture packs, and yet the game runs smoothly with no lag (except in the menu or MCM, which is where the mouse lags just a little). Also, FO4 is recognized and login is automatic for Bethesda, so there's no problem there. I just need to test if ENB works, and then I'll see about publishing a tutorial.
I've taken notes and have written a nice tutorial, and am thinking about making it available here on Nexus and over on Github. Maybe make a video tut for YT. Until then, there is the screenshot above, while over at Image Box there are some more screenshots showing MO2's functionality (FO4Edit and cleaning, LOOT before and after cleaning, mods addressed correctly in Fallout 4 mods menu, etc) and from within the game. I'll add more screenshots over the next few days.
Let me know via comments what you all think!
--- EDIT JAN 29 ---
After several days of tweaking WINE launch arguments and then game play for several hours on end, Fallout 4 on Linux, modded and run via Mod Organizer 2, is very stable. I am putting the tutorial together now, and will publish it here and probably at GitHub within the next two weeks. This tutorial is for any flavor of Linux (Fedora, Arch-based, Ubuntu-based, Debian-based) and does NOT require Lutris, or any other scripted (and most likely outdated or DOA) installer. You make the install yourself, on your own machine in your own Linux distro. And don't worry, I've made the tutorial very easy to follow. Just read it carefully, follow the directions, and in less than 30 minutes you'll be up and running in MO2 on Linux.
And yes, all patchers (Java 8), Python console (Python 3.9), FO4Edit, LOOT, and so on do in fact work. So does F4SE, without re-naming anything. So do the Nexus and Bethesda logins. Lemme know more in the comments, and check out the screenshots gallery. I'm uploading stuff all the time.
One more thing. ENB doesn't work, and I think this is because I don't have a binary version old enough for WINE to support. But ReShade, and ReShade with SweetFX works perfectly, and seems to improve performance.
Until then!
Vondriago
-- UPDATE 1 --
For everyone who is interested in Fallout 3 and Oldrim (Skyrim LE as it is now called - been away for quite a while). Fallout 3 will still work with MO2; you just can't use FOSE (yet) and whether or not all of the DLCs will load is anyone's guess after the GFW update.
As for Skyrim LE, I played quite a bit last night with SKSE installed along with SkyUI and a few other mods. Seems to be working just fine. I'll have more to say, and an upload to some screenshots for Skyrim/SkyrimSE/Oblivion sometime next week (around Feb 14-18).
Again, its the same install for MO2 regardless of the game in question. Its about having the Portable instance of MO2 pointing to the game directory that makes the difference. That, and having the right VCRuntime, .Net installs, and some specific arguments that are passed to Steam at launch. There is also the inclusion of Python, which I think is critical for MO2 to run correctly. I've updated the Python bundle to 3.9 and put it in the Wine Bottle's path so that MO2 can access and utilize it. Its not reading the Linux version. Its reading the Windows version - after all, MO2 is for Windows.
Also. I'm not using Direct X. I'm using DXVK, and it runs fine. I'm going to test if this is true in Skyrim using ENB, as well, but I can say that when tested in Fallout 4 ReShade and SweetFX work perfectly with DXVK. So I'm thinking with a supported version ENB there shouldn't be a problem in this area. We'll see.
Tonight, I'm going to see about testing a java-based patcher in Oldrim before I yell, "VICTORY!". I have no doubt it will work, but I want to test and make sure.
-- UPDATE 2 --
It's Feb 15, and RL calls. So I may have to sideline this project for a few days, then jump on it again next week. Tutorial is almost done and ready to be published. For now, here's a link to what I put in the Nexus forum.
25 comments
For some actually useful information, there is a Mod Organiser installer here - you may try it.
https://github.com/rockerbacon/modorganizer2-linux-installer
And here is a great simple post on how to get F4SE running on proton - I suspect you might want to do this step after MO so you dont have to run MO every time.
https://www.reddit.com/r/f4se/comments/nj7fwm/a_more_elegant_way_to_run_f4se_on_linux/
I had a persistent issue with the knights unofficial patch, even with just adding the 3 unofficial mod patchs alone in a clean install with MO2, the game was crashing on load. This didn't happen if i deselected the Unofficial Knights Patch in the "plugins" section.
After some tries this time i decided to rename the oblivion folder (i backup the game folder), then i did a clean game install (GOG version), and installed the 3 unofficial patch manually, just pasting the contents inside the data folder, in the correct order: UOP, then USIP, then UDLCP. Also renamed the "Data" folder to "data" cause i saw in the terminal sometimes it was reffered as "data", on windows is the same, but not on linux. Installed xOBSE too (paste the obse dll and the data folder with the .ini inside, to the oblivion folder).
I open MO2 and now it detect oblivion.esm and the DLCs, the patches too. I think this should be the default state before adding more mods.
This is on Linux Mint 20.2 , wine 5.0 stable. I'm not using a bottle, but it should work inside one. I had a long list of already installed mods, that is why i still not using bottles for this, but i think i will do that for future games. I'm not using proton nor proton-tricks.
Other stuff i did today before that: installed the winbind pakage, it was one of the first errors when launching MO2; configured wine to windows 8.1; installed latest python 3.9.10.2
And before MO2 i installed the dependencies, dotNet4.0 and VC redistr2015-2019 (64bit). I also remember installing the dotNet2.0 for some reason, i think if you install 3.5 it also includes 2.0.
This is not mean to be a guide, i'm just sharing my finds.
I hope this helps someone. Sorry for my bad english xD
Anyway, I've tested Fallout 4 with a ton of mods via MO2 in Fedora Linux. Stable, stable, STABLE. I have yet to reach out to Boris over at ENBDEV.com, will do so probably after I've gotten things up and running online. That's the only thing that doesn't work in Fallout 4: ENB.
Fallout 3 won't work with the current version of FOSE, so its just a matter of time before the gang at Silverlock.org update FOSE to run with the recent heavy update Fallout 3. For those who don't know, they updated the launcher, and removed GFW. The result is interesting. Now, some of the DLCs don't load, regardless of it being in Windows or Linux.
Right now, I'm tinkering with Skyrim (Oldrim). So far, everything is on track. Its the same installation process for each MO2-supported game. What matters is making the portable direct to the Steam/Bethesda game in question. The first thing I'm going to do is drop SKSE in, and then an ENB to see what works and what doesn't.
Check back soon, and tell your fellow MO2 lovin' Linux-heads that help is on the way!
Regardless, download a mod via MO2, or download a mod to a folder on your desktop. Same same because it has got to go somewhere. Other than that, the VFS links and works perfectly, as does online login to Nexus via using your MO2 API Key (last tab on Site Preferences page). I've found that using the API Key solves all problems.
And... Imma DOOOOOOOOOD! :D
I'm trying to remember how I fixed LOOT last time. Does it need an older version in order to work under wine? I don't quite recall what I did specifically to get it to work last time.
It was a process figuring these things out, but it all works now. And now I'm experimenting with paring the list down.
EDIT: Turns out that its a little more complicated than this unfortunately. Installing LOOT like this causes problems with MO2 for some reason. I think it is overwriting vcrun2019 with an equivalent of vcrun2017.
How did you install python 3.10 into the bottle? MO2 likes to have windows 7 as the bottle OS for whatever reason and python stopped supporting windows 7 after 3.8. I would try setting my prefix to windows 10 but MO2 doesn't seem to like that very much (I am going through winecfg so maybe theres another tool I should be using)
https://lutris.net/games/mod-organizer-2/