I am wondering if there is any advice when it comes to modding with with vortex.
I have tried the following
Okay, this is a comprehensive overview of everything we’ve tried, the errors encountered, and the shifts in strategy. This will be very helpful if you seek further assistance.
The Goal
Automatically add mods to Baldur’s Gate 3 using Vortex Mod Manager on Garuda Linux.
Initial Setup & Premise
Your System: Garuda Linux, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 GPU.
Initial Tools: Lutris, WINE.
Initial Assumption (mine): Baldur's Gate 3 was installed and running via Lutris using WINE. (This later proved incorrect, as you owned the Steam version).
Phase 1: Initial Lutris/Vortex Setup (Assumed BG3 on Lutris Wine)
Attempt: Install Vortex via Lutris, aiming for a separate WINE prefix for Vortex.
Error Encountered: Lutris failed to sync Steam games, giving the error: Failed to load games. Check that your profile is set to public during the sync.
Resolution: You made your Steam profile public, and this specific error was resolved. (This error was unrelated to Vortex installation itself).
Attempt: Continued trying to run the Vortex installer through Lutris.
Outcome: Vortex installer ran (at least once), but the Vortex application itself didn't appear as an entry in Lutris, indicating an incomplete or failed Lutris setup for Vortex.
Phase 2: Shifting to Steam/Proton Focus (Correcting BG3 Ownership)
Problem: Vortex wasn't properly set up in Lutris, and we then encountered logs related to GOG Galaxy (galaxy_client, Timeout, 404 Not Found).
Misinterpretation (my fault): I assumed you owned the GOG version of Baldur's Gate 3 based on these logs, and we tried to troubleshoot GOG Galaxy.
Clarification (from you): You stated that you own Baldur's Gate 3 through Steam, not GOG.
Conclusion: The GOG Galaxy errors were irrelevant and caused by attempting to install a GOG version via Lutris when you owned the Steam version. This meant the GOG Galaxy installer failed.
Phase 3: Attempting Vortex in BG3’s Proton Prefix (The Main Challenge)
New Goal: Install Vortex directly into Baldur's Gate 3's Proton prefix (managed by Steam) to simplify communication. This avoids separate Lutris Wine prefixes for the game.
Attempt: Tried to install Vortex using protontricks 1086940 vortex (Baldur's Gate 3's Steam AppID is 1086940).
Error 1: Steam app with the given app ID could not be found. Is it installed, Proton compatible and have you launched it at least once?
Resolution: You launched Baldur's Gate 3 through Steam to ensure its Proton prefix was fully initialized.
Attempt: Re-ran protontricks 1086940 vortex.
Error 2: Unknown arg vortex (from winetricks, which protontricks uses).
Interpretation: Your version of protontricks or winetricks doesn't have a built-in "vortex" installation verb.
Attempt: Tried protontricks 1086940 --run "/path/to/Vortex.exe" (to run the installer directly via protontricks).
Error 3: warning: unknown option --run.
Interpretation: Your protontricks version was too old to support the --run option.
Attempt: Tried direct proton run with manually specified environment variables: STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH="..." /path/to/proton run "/path/to/Vortex.exe".
Error 4: KeyError: 'STEAM_COMPAT_CLIENT_INSTALL_PATH'.
Interpretation: The proton script itself wasn't correctly picking up necessary environment variables when called directly outside of Steam.
Attempt: Tried exporting environment variables (export STEAM_COMPAT_DATA_PATH, export STEAM_COMPAT_CLIENT_INSTALL_PATH) before calling proton run.
Result (Success!): The terminal showed fsync: up and running., and the Vortex Mod Manager INSTALLER popped up and successfully completed. Vortex was installed into the Proton prefix.
Phase 4: Launching the Installed Vortex & Initial Configuration Attempts
Goal: Launch the installed Vortex using Steam's custom launch options.
Attempt: Set Steam Launch Option for BG3 to point to Vortex.exe (e.g., eval $(protontricks -c 'echo %P%' 1086940); /path/to/Vortex.exe). We carefully found the path to Vortex.exe at Program Files/Black Tree Gaming Ltd/Vortex/Vortex.exe within the prefix.
Result: Vortex did not open. This was a major setback after successful installation.
Attempt: Tried a more direct terminal command to launch Vortex (cd /prefix && WINEPREFIX="$PWD" /path/to/ProtonHotfix/wine /path/to/Vortex.exe).
Error 5: command not found: "/home/torriel/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/Proton Hotfix/wine". This was a persistent problem, indicating the wine binary within Proton Hotfix was not directly callable at its expected path.
Interpretation: This strongly suggested issues with the Proton Hotfix installation's internal structure for direct wine invocation.
Shift: Recommended installing and using Proton GE via ProtonUp-Qt for better reliability of wine executable location. (You had trouble finding ProtonUp-Qt, then finding GE versions in ProtonUp-Qt, but we resolved those steps).
User's Decision: At this point, you explicitly stated you DO NOT WANT TO DELETE ANYTHING (including your existing BG3 installation or the multiple Vortex installations you mentioned). You requested we proceed using Wine directly with the new Vortex installer.
Phase 5: Final Attempt with User’s Constraints (No Deletion)
User's Directive: Proceed with installing another Vortex via system Wine, without deleting existing installations, and link it to Steam.
Attempt: Downloaded fresh Vortex installer. Allowed browser to "Open with Wine Prefix," selecting the Baldur's Gate 3 prefix. Vortex installer ran.
Outcome: Vortex application opened.
Attempt: In Vortex, tried to manually set the Baldur's Gate 3 game path.
Error 6: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Baldurs Gate 3\ says file does not exist.
Interpretation: Vortex still couldn't find the game at its expected Windows-style path. This likely points to conflicts from multiple Vortex installations or a subtle pathing issue within the Proton prefix's drive_c.
Attempt: Instructed to use the Z:\ drive in Vortex to point to the Linux path of BG3 (Z:\home\torriel\.steam\.../Baldurs Gate 3/).
Outcome (Success!): Vortex found the file using the Z:\ drive method.
Problem: Vortex then asked "should I have vortex open the file with steam?" (which was clarified to mean "for the game store").
Instruction: Told you to select "Steam" as the game store.
Final Result: "IT STILL DOES NOT WORK" (general failure, indicating Vortex is still not functional even after finding the game and selecting the store).
