Oblivion on Linux: Lutris Edition
+ +I love Oblivion. I’ve written before about setting up Oblivion on Linux using +the Steam version, Proton and a handful of aliases: Part +1 covers most of the tooling setup, and Part +2 covers some mods I liked. This setup +works, though it is a bit of a hassle to manage. It requires running the tools +individually through aliases from a terminal, which can be intimidating and +unfriendly. It also requires the Steam version of Oblivion.
+ +When I recently decided to return to Cyrodiil and close some gates, I wanted to
+review my setup, and also my mod list. I discovered that Wrye Bash now does have
+a native Linux application (as does LOOT!). However, I opted to stick with using
+Wine and Windows versions of these applications due to a complication of modding
+Oblivion in general: the case-sensitive nature of the filesystem. On Linux, the
+filesystem is case-sensitive; on Windows, the filesystem is not
+case-sensitive. For modding, this means if you extract an archive with a
+Data/meshes folder, but your current setup has a Data/Meshes directory, on
+Linux you’ll end up with two directories: Data/Meshes and Data/meshes.
+There are solutions to this problem on Linux, namely using an EXT-4 filesystem.
+I don’t feel like reformatting my disks, and so I’ll let Wine handle it. It may
+mean a slight performance hit, but it’s Oblivion - there are always
+performance hits. If there aren’t performance hits, then you haven’t modded the
+game enough yet.
Setup: Game
+ +I’ll be using Lutris to handle installing and launching +the game. No more terminal aliases! I’m also using the GOG version of +Oblivion. +Lutris allows you to link your GOG account, and easily install games using Wine +(or native versions, if available!). In Lutris, I install the game to my +preferred destination, using the default GOG Wine install script. After +installation, I launch the game once to generate some initial configuration +files, and verify things work as expected. Before the next steps, there is a +significant change: the Wine version. In order to use the latest version of Wrye +Bash through Lutris, I had to change the Wine version from my Lutris default, +wine-ge-8-26, to my latest system version, 9.22. There seems to be a Windows +API which Wrye Bash relies upon which isn’t handled well in Wine versions +previous to 9.
+ +Lutris can also install from downloaded GOG installers, without having to link
+accounts. Make sure to download all the parts (for Oblivion, there are 3: a
+small EXE, and two BIN files). When installing, make sure all the downloaded
+files are in the same directory. In Lutris, click the + button to add a new
+game, and select “Install a Windows game from an executable.” Name the game as
+you wish, and add identifier
+the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-game-of-the-year-edition-deluxe for the GOG
+version. It’ll pull down nice looking images. On the next screen, click the
+Install button next to “Setup file”, choose your desired directory, and then
+select the EXE downloaded from the three files above. Lutris will create the
+Wine prefix, and load the GOG Installer. Make note of the directory you chose
+above for installation (default will be in the Lutris game library directory,
+Lutris Hamburger Menu -> Preferences -> Storage -> Game Library), and
+substitute it accordingly below.
Assuming everything is setup and running, the last step here is to note where
+Lutris installed the game. The path to the directory will differ, but the
+directory structure should be similar to the below. The Lutris “Directory”
+(Right-Click -> Configure) value will bring you to the Wine directory (with
+drive_c), and from there will be the GOG Games directory (or possibly
+renamed; this can be changed during the GOG install process), and then the
+Oblivion directory.
Lutris
+ |-> gog
+ |-> the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-game-of-the-year-edition-deluxe
+ |-> drive_c
+ |-> GOG Games
+ |-> Oblivion
+ |- Data
+ |- Oblivion.exe
+ |- ...
+xOBSE
+ +-
+
- Project Link +
- Nexus Links +
The Oblivion Script Extender is required for many mods, and should be considered
+essential for anything beyond a strict vanilla playthrough. Download the latest
+version, and extract it to the Oblivion directory. When you launch Wrye Bash
+(covered next), in the lower-left corner, on the icon bar, should be a green
+checkbox. Hovering over it will notify you that OBSE is enabled. Clicking that
+box will toggle OBSE. Generally, make sure it is enabled (checked).
At this point, before any other tools, when you double-click/Play Oblivion, it
+will launch the purely vanilla Oblivion that was installed above. To use OBSE,
+right-click Oblivion in Lutris, choose Configure, and on the “Game Options”
+tab, change the Executable by clicking the button with three dots (labeled
+“Select a file”) to obse_loader.exe. Save the changes, and re-launch.
Pre-Setup: Tools
+ +Before setting up the modding tools, it is required to run Oblivion once. This +will generate the INI file.
+ +I also recommend adding the Wrye Bash bash.ini file detailed below before
+running Wrye Bash for the first time. By declaring where the executable for
+Oblivion is, Wrye Bash won’t try to automatically find it, which can cause some
+troubles or confusion.
Setup: Tools
+ +I’ll be using the following tools. When possible, download the stand-alone
+version of the tool. To make things easy, I use the GOG Games directory for
+all the tools.
drive_c
+ |-> GOG Games
+ |- BethINI
+ |- LOOT
+ |- Mods
+ |- Mopy
+ |- Oblivion
+ |- TES4Edit
+Wrye Bash
+ +-
+
- Project Link +
- Homepage +
- Nexus Link +
Mod manager, and everything else launcher in this setup. One of the most
+exciting results of this setup is handling almost all modding management through
+the Wrye Bash UI. From the Project Link, download the stand-alone executable
+from the releases. I extract it to the GOG Games directory, which will create
+a Mopy directory. Within that will be the executable, Wrye Bash.exe. Next,
+in the Mopy directory, copy the bash_default.ini file to bash.ini. Make
+the following changes (or replace bash.ini with this information):
[General]
+; -- Path to mod directory.
+; These are relative to the Oblivion directory.
+sOblivionMods=..\Mods
+sBashModData=..\Mods\Bash Mod Data
+sInstallersData=..\Mods\Bash Installers\Bash
+
+; -- Path to the Oblivion directory.
+; "C:" here is drive_c on our filesystem.
+sOblivionPath=C:\GOG Games\Oblivion
+
+; -- User directory stuff.
+; "C:" here is drive_c on our filesystem.
+; Make sure to replace YOUR-USERNAME with your username
+sUserPath=C:\users\YOUR-USERNAME
+sPersonalPath=C:\users\YOUR-USERNAME\Documents
+sLocalAppDataPath=C:\users\YOUR-USERNAME\AppData\Local
+
+[Tool Options]
+; -- TES4Edit
+; Path is relative to the Oblivion directory.
+sTes4EditPath=..\TES4Edit\TES4Edit.exe
+
+; -- TES4LODGen
+; Path is relative to the Oblivion directory.
+sTes4LodGenPath=..\TES4LodGen\Tes4LODGen.exe
+
+; -- LOOT
+; Path is relative to the Oblivion directory.
+sLOOT=..\LOOT\LOOT.exe
+In this configuration, the relative paths are relative to the Oblivion
+directory (where the game executable is). For all remaining tool setup, modify
+the paths in this configuration to match the paths for the tool executable (or,
+rename the tool directories, which is what I prefer).
This is where the magic happens: within Lutris, right-click Oblivion and choose
+Configure. On the “Game Options” tab, change the Executable by clicking the
+button with three dots (labeled “Select a file”), and choose the Wrye Bash.exe
+executable in the Mopy directory. Save the configuration, and
+double-click/Play Oblivion. This time, Wrye Bash will start up (Remember:
+This will not work on versions of Wine older than 9!).
At this point, when you want to play Oblivion, you will open Lutris, and launch +“Oblivion.” This will launch Wrye Bash. You can then click the Oblivion icon in +the lower-left icon bar to launch the game. As additional tools are configured, +they will appear in the lower-left icon bar (everything except BethINI). To use +the tool, you’ll run it from Wrye Bash.
+ +LOOT
+ +-
+
- Project Link +
- Homepage +
LOOT handles mod load order. Another application with a native Linux version. I
+had previous run into some bugs, but everything looks to work as expected now.
+Despite that, I still download and use the stand-alone Windows version (the
+archive from the releases, not the EXE). I extract it to my GOG Games
+directory, and rename the directory (or edit the bash.ini file) so the
+executable is where my Wrye Bash configuration expects it.
If setup properly, when you run Wrye Bash, in the lower-left corner will be a +bar full of icons, one of which will be a little treasure chest. Clicking it +will launch LOOT. From there, sort the order, and then close LOOT. Wrye Bash +will refresh, and you can continue on. LOOT will also notify you of any “dirty” +mods, which can be cleaned using TES4Edit (see below).
+ +TES4Edit
+ +-
+
- Project Link +
- Homepage +
- Nexus Link +
I’m still not a mod creator, so my uses of TES4Edit are limited to “quick
+cleaning.” From the project page or Nexus, download the latest version, and
+extract the archive to the GOG Games directory. Rename the directory or edit
+the bash.ini file so Wrye Bash can find it; restart Wrye Bash to verify. Wrye
+Bash doesn’t include a dedicated short-cut for the “Quick Auto Clean” option,
+instead you have to right-click on the TES4Edit short-cut (or the TES4LodGen
+short-cut), and choose “Quick Auto Clean”. Choose the mod to clean from the
+list, click OK, and let the program do its work.
TES4LODGen
+ +-
+
- Project Link +
- Homepage +
- Nexus Link +
This will generate LOD files ahead of time, allowing for more distant objects to
+be shown as you adventure around Cyrodiil. Download the archive, and extract it
+to where Wrye Bash expects it, either changing the directory name or updating
+the bash.ini file accordingly. After mod installation is complete, click the
+icon from the icon bar to generate the LOD files.
BethINI
+ +-
+
- Nexus Link +
BethINI helps manage the “oblivion.ini” file, providing sane options and a
+wizard for configuration. This is the only tool that is not run from Wrye Bash.
+However, it’s still pretty easy to work with. Download the stand-alone archive,
+extract it to the GOG Games directory.
To run the tool, in Lutris single-click on Oblivion. A bar should appear with
+some additional details about Oblivion, including some buttons: one will say
+“Play”, and one will look like a wine glass; each will have a small button with
+an up-facing arrow. Click the arrow button next to the wine glass button, and
+select “Run EXE inside Wine prefix.” Navigate into drive_c, then GOG Games,
+and into the directory you just set up for BethINI, and select BethINI.exe.
Wrye Bash does allow for custom application short-cuts, but it requires creating
+a Windows shortcut .lnk file, and I cannot figure out an easier way to do
+that than to just run it from Lutris.
Post-Setup: Tools
+ +Verify each tool runs as expected. Conveniently, all the Bethesda DLCs are +“dirty,” so LOOT will notify you, and then you can clean them. Run BethINI, +generate LOD files, and run the game from Wrye Bash. Praise Todd.
+ +Mods
+ +Wrye Bash on Windows can install mods from an archive, but with this setup that
+functionality is unreliable. Instead, I extract the mod archives manually before
+installing them with Wrye Bash. For each mod that I want to use, I’ll create a
+directory in the Mods -> Bash Installers directory, and extract the mod
+archive into that directory. Then, within Wrye Bash, on the “Installers” tab, I
+can install mods as expected.
For actually using Wrye Bash, I recommend laulajatar’s +guide. +Obviously, you can skip the installation steps for both Wrye Bash and OBSE. +There is also the Wrye Bash +Manual.
+ +Lutris Setup: Problems
+ +The significant problem with this setup is no way to alt-tab away from the game. +To make things even more inconvenient, playing in a windowed mode also doesn’t +work, and shows only a black screen with audio. I haven’t done an exhaustive +trial of options and mods yet to try and fix this, because it isn’t a major +problem to me.
+ +The second inconvenience is as I mentioned above, with Wrye Bash not installing +mods directly from archives. Again, not a major problem to me.
+ +I suspect that both of the problems can be resolved with some Wine tweaks.
+ +Lutris Setup: Benefits
+ +What this setup gets right is ease of use, and ease of replication. All tools +(except BethINI, for now) and the game are run from Wrye Bash. No juggling +multiple application entries, aliases, or special setups. Plus, all tools, mods, +and the game itself are all within the Lutris directory, making multiple setups +a breeze: just copy the directory. In Lutris, you can then duplicate the entry +(Right-Click -> Duplicate), and edit the executable (Right-Click -> Configure -> +“Game options” tab -> Executable) to point to the new directory.
+ +Lutris Setup: Next-Steps
+ +The most useful next step would be automating this process, by building a Lutris +install script. Also, resolving the alt-tab and windowed problems above.
+ + +