1. FAQ

FAQ

Why is there a Data_core folder when deploying?

• When deploying, this folder keeps all of the vanilla files/Files already present in the target location as a sort of backup to prevent user error. If we were to hard link all of the modded files into the Data directory without this then we would end up with a mix of non hard linked files and hard linked mod files.
• If someone were to manually delete their staging folder, the hard links in the Data folder would "collapse" and now every file in the data folder would not show up as a hard link. This would make removing the modded files tedious. This _core folder means in such event you can delete the data folder and rename Data_core back to Data and modded files will be removed and vanilla files restored.
• This doesn't happen with root deployed games like Cyberpunk and Witcher 3 as well as Ue5 games. Any replaced vanilla files are backed up to the staging directory but if you manually delete the mods folder while deployed then you're going to end up with modded files mixed with vanilla files. The manager would no longer be able to remove these modded files as the hard link has "collapsed" and no longer reports as a hard linked file. Always run restore first if you need to manually delete mods from the staging folder.

Why does Amethyst use Lowest priority (Priority 0) mods at the bottom by default?

This is mostly what I'm personally used to and makes the most sense to me. A higher priorty mod (A mod whose files can overwrite any below it), should be shown higher up the list. When I become king this will become law. Until then you can reverse the priority column if you want to use it the other way.

Do I need to run the game from the manager?

No, You can deploy and run the game from steam/heroic etc. The manager just moves the files to the necessary folders so the game can read from them. This means you only need to open then manager to manage mods. If you are used to Mo2, this might be confusing. Mo2 needs to initialize it's vfs before it runs the game and so must be run from it's interface

How does it handle case sensitive file systems?

• On linux we are able to have 2 folders called SKSE and skse, This would cause problems if we launched the game with both these folders. The solution is trivial. Just rename every folder to have the same casing. The exception to this is Stardew valley (Linux build) which must preserve the casing the mod author set their mod to.

For games like cyberpunk which already has a lot of the folders mods go into, the destination casing is kept.

Some mods like compass navigation overhaul also require specfic folder casing. Some special stuff happens to make sure these mods work. But if any don't, report it as an issue as a special exception may have to be hard coded for that mod

How does it handle conflicts?

• In simple terms. Start from the bottom of modlist.txt > add that mods files to a filemap > do the same with the next mod > if the same file and filepath has appeared previously then remove the previous entry > Do this with the rest of the mods.

• The mods folders are not scanned directly, every mods file paths are added/removed to a cache when you add or remove a mod. Every time the filemap is rebuilt from enabling/disabling/moving a mod, it only references this cache instead of walking every folder in the staging area

What games will I not add?

• Any game that already has a competent native linux mod manager, For example Elden Ring has Me3 manager which has an appimage. Elden ring has a fairly complex modding system and authors package their mods around this manager anyways. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here.
• Older games / Games with low mod counts. Unless people specifically request it, there's no point putting in the work for a game that only has a few mods available or one that no one is really playing. If it can quickly be added with the define custom game handler, then I may add it
• Games that I personally cannot get to work. I test every game I add by installing many mods and making sure the files are routed to the correct place. I'm usually not satisfied until it works and won't add a game unless I'm sure it does
• Games I cannot fully understand. Some games have complicated modding systems. Some research is often needed before I even think about adding support for it. If the game's modding ecosystem is too complex I cannot add it as I can't be sure it will work. If you want to request a game it is important you include as much detail as possible on how modding works for that game.

How do I launch script extender from the application?

• You don't need to. For bethesda games, the original launcher is backed up and the script extender gets renamed to whatever the launcher was. Which means you can just run the game with the normal launcher via the mod manager or on steam to launch the game via script extender. This is useful for steam deck gaming mode as it means you don't have to set up script extender as a non steam game or use any command line arguments to launch script extender in gaming mode. The exception to this is Oblivion Remastered, This game throws an error if you rename the original launcher.

Running some wizard tools on Steam deck locks the cursor (eg. Pandora)

• This happens because these tools use proton run to launch the application with the same prefix as the game. This means the application will use the same steam input profile that the game uses instead of the desktop profile, which likely doesn't have the trackpad configured to work as a mouse. Either configure the game to use the trackpad as a mouse in steam input or use the trackpad while holding the steam button.

Hard link or symlink? What about a Mo2 style vfs?

• They all achieve the same goal but each comes with downsides

• Hard links can be better for large mod lists in terms of loading time but cannot cross drives. As in your staging folder and game folder must be on the same drive. Deploying a modlist with hardlinks and then manually removing the staging folder will also cause mods to be orphaned in the game directory

• Symlinks can cross drives but may slow down loading times on larger mod lists. Orphaned symlinks are also trivial to remove if it ever happens

• A major downside of symlinks is that some games and/or mods don't work with them. Cyber engine tweaks is an example where it needs to be hardlinked to function. These cases should be very rare however.

• Mo2 style vfs (FUSE and overlayfs): These have the benefit of not moving any files to the game directory. The game must be run from within the manager and everything in the manager is designed with the assumption that we are using hardlinks or symlinks. The benefits of a vfs would not outweigh the downsides of symlinks and hardlinks. Amethyst is designed so that restoring a modlist will leave the game folder exactly as it was before deploying

A mod won't work pls fix

Unless it's the manager causing the mod to not work, I can't help with this, The issue section is not a Skyrim tech support page.

Some common symptoms of mods not working are:

• Missing dependancies like mods that require other mods to work
• Missing windows dependancies in the prefix like vcredist and d3dcompiler_47. Amethyst automates the instalation of these 2 already but some mods could require others.
• Incompatible proton version. Some mods can be sensitive to differences in proton versions, It's sometimes worth trying other versions and seeing if other users have had similar issues
• Simply not compatible with linux. A mod author who develops for Windows can't be expected to know about all of Linux's intricacies

There are some cases where Amethyst may be at fault but it can be hard to tell, These are issues that should be reported if you find them

• Incorrect folder casing. As shown above Amethyst has to normalise every folder name to prevent duplicate folder names causing issues. In some rare cases a mod may be coded in such a way that expects a specfic folder casing otherwise it won't work. One such example is Compass Navigaton overhaul for Skyrim, if the name of the folder "HUDMovieBaseInstance" is changed at all, that mod will crash. These cases should be rare but if a mod works in isolation but not when part of a larger mod list, this is a possible cause
• Files being sent to the wrong location. If mod files are being deployed to the wrong place, this should be reported

A collection won't work

A collection may not work for the same reasons an individual mod may not work, just that it's harder to diagnose since the issue could be with any 1 mod,

Make sure any listed off site mods are installed, these have to be done manually

Add to Flathub pls

If only it were that simple, After much consideration this wont be happening. A lot would need to be reworked to meet the requirements and I could really do without that headache