What is the most straightforward way to be able to mod Fallout 4 on Linux? How to get to mods section? GOG Version doesnt have mod section
Running Pop OS Cosmic and own both GOG & Steam versions of Fallout 4 (Haven't downloaded my Steam version yet since it is so many gigabytes and have slow internet)
If you have specific guides for Daggerfall, OpenMW, Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 1, 2, New Vegas, 3, & Starfield I'm open to it all
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Note: This advice isn't as applicable for Daggerfall and OpenMW, but I could help with those too, if needed. I am always glad to provide advice for modding Bethesda games.
When modding Bethesda games, especially on Linux, it's almost always easier to mod the Steam releases, as they are the de-facto 'supported' editions by the modding community. Other versions of the game, such as GoG's releases may have small or major compatibility issues and, while absolutely still servicable, may need more modding knowledge than a beginner can be expected to have. Doubly so for Linux, as most guides assume Steam + Proton (Though as an experienced modder, I've personally always used WINE).
The Moddinglinked series of modding guides are very good introductions to modding which aren't too long or complicated. Each also contains a small modlist mostly comprised of common dependencies and bug fixes, and are a great base to any modlist. The installation advice for MO2 doesn't really help on Linux, but otherwise the guides can be followed almost to the letter. I recommend following the 'manual' instructions over the 'wabbajack' for software compatibility and learning reasons. Linux versions of the guides also do exist, but I cannot comment on them.
Your best sources for mods is generally Nexusmods and, to a far lesser degree, the in-game 'Creations' menu. Outside of nicher mods, those two easily contain 99% of all available mods for PC.
I tend to use Mod Organizer 2 Linux installer because it updates the launch settings in Steam so starting the game just opens the mod manager, which I find easier than manually messing around with prefixes.
After that, just download mods from your usual haunt & install in MO2 for your chosen game.
This is the least headache, easiest way I've found to mod bethesda games on linux.
you can even associate nxm links with MO2 so MO2 downloads them itself so they are all there in MO2 ready to go (assuming you have MO2 running for the game your downloading the mods for up and running before you start clicking all the nexus mods links)
Amethyst mod manager is a native Linux mod manager that supports nexus mod collections for wabbajack-like automated installs. Worked good for me for new vegas.
GOG does host mods, but tends to only distribute a small curated collection which are also available elsewhere. I would personally recommend thinking of mods on gog.com as an archive of larger projects rather than a source of it's own.
The mods just go into the data folder and then you can (sometimes) enable them in-game througu the Creation option. I don't know if or where it would store the settings inis, but you can also edit the loadorder txt file to manually enable them by just adding 1 .esp or .esm per line in the order you need them to load in.
Even on Windows, enabling them in-game can be fucked up, tho. I always have to do everything manually to get things working 100%.