How to get Vortex to work with Daggerfall Unity on Steam

A quickly put together guide to allow you to mod from the Nexus with ease.

Introduction

Now that you've configured the Unity port, how would you mod it through Vortex (Nexus)? Sure you can do things manually, but that can be a pain. Unfortunately you can't setup Vortex to recognize the renamed folders as the original files to my knowledge, but you can workaround it.

This will require a few Command Prompt commands, so if you're not comfortable with that, this guide isn't for you.

Preparation

What do you mean you haven't configured Daggerfall Unity for Steam? Do that first, preferably using this guide as all my instructions will be based from it:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2800142536

The Process

Now you've got Daggerfall Unity configured for Steam.

In order to have Vortex recognize that this is actually Daggerfall Unity and have it manage mods, you've have to recopy DaggerfallUnity.exe into the DOSBox directory.

Additionally, Vortex will look for the StreamingAssets folder in the DaggerfallUnity_Data folder, so copy those over as well. Alternatively, make a new folder in the DOSbox directory called DaggerfallUnity_Data and copy the StreamingAssets folder from the DOSbox_Data into the DaggerfallUnity_Data folder.

At this point, verify that Vortex does indeed recognize Daggerfall Unity.

Next, delete the StreamingAssets folder in the DOSbox_Data directory.
Click the address bar in the file explorer to get the proper address from the DOSbox_Data directory. Copy that address.

For me it was:

D:\Steam\steamapps\common\The Elder Scrolls Daggerfall\DOSBox-0.74\DOSbox_Data

Next open Command Prompt, preferably as an Admin. Enter the command

cd /d 

and paste the address you just copied. This will change the directory you're working in to the DOSbox_Data folder.

cd /d D:\Steam\steamapps\common\The Elder Scrolls Daggerfall\DOSBox-0.74\DOSbox_Data

Use the file explorer to navigate to the DaggerfallUnity_Data folder and open the StreamingAssets folder. Copy the address from the address bar like before.

D:\Steam\steamapps\common\The Elder Scrolls Daggerfall\DOSBox-0.74\DaggerfallUnity_Data\StreamingAssets

Now for the magic. We're going to make a symlink of the StreamingAssets folder between the DOSbox_Data and DaggerfallUnity_Data. What this will do is anytime a program (such as Daggerfall Unity) looks for the StreamingAssets folder in DOSbox_Data, it will automatically be redirected to the StreamingAssets folder in the DaggerfallUnity_Data folder (as managed by Vortex).

To do this we enter the command into Command Prompt

mklink /d StreamingAssets "

Paste the address and finish with

"

For me it was:

mklink /d StreamingAssets "D:\Steam\steamapps\common\The Elder Scrolls Daggerfall\DOSBox-0.74\DaggerfallUnity_Data\StreamingAssets"

And with that you're done. Any mods you install via Vortex will appear in the Mods menu screen on the Daggerfall Unity startup screen.

To delete the symlink, just delete StreamingAssests folder/shortcut in the DOSbox_Data folder.

[Baraz]

With Vortex now, in May 2025, I did *not* need to modify anything in the Unity folder nor in the Steam Daggerfall folder. I just asked Vortex to manage my Daggerfall Unity mods, and pointed it to the Daggerfall *Unity* folder, and it works.

For example, I installed the DREAM mod via Vortex and it works and the mod is seen normally in the DFU mod system.

[HyperDimension Bliss]

Doesn't work, game just becomes a stationary skybox and never loads the DFU menu.

[Draedon]

It might work with Link Shell Extension, but considering deployment failed when I tried using Vortex to install a mod, I'm unsure about that. To be fair, though, I did uninstall LSE because I thought the symlink was permanent, so that's likely the issue here. I think I'll just stick to manual installs from now on, unless I happen upon a fix for this issue. Send me a message on my profile if you find anything :]

[Draedon]

Alright, maybe it doesn't work. I'm getting an error saying my device doesn't support symlinks even though it's in my control panel. Anyone know how to fix this?

[Draedon]

If anyone is having trouble with symbolic links, you can check if they're enabled on your PC through the Group Policy Management Editor in the Control Panel.

In the Group Policy Management Editor, navigate to Computer Configuration → Policies → Administrative Templates: Policy Definitions → System → Filesystem. In the Filesystem configuration, double click the "selectively allow the evaluation of a symbolic link" setting. After that, click enable and apply, then try the command again.

I hope this helps!

[Blackdog]

Hero.

[Christophicus]

thanks for this!

[bluemeep]

This is great, I was wondering how to get Vortex to play nicely with the renamed files! Thanks!