Daniel's Database Bible - FM Fanboys
The most complete guide to database editing on the scene
IntroductionThe most complete guide to database editing on the scene
Databases have always been an important, and fun part of the football manager series. Databases can range from transfer updates, to classic teams or even new fantasy teams, but every database is created through hard work and effort! Through out this guide I hope that I can explain to you how to use the database editor in as many ways as possible, I hope that you enjoy reading and that the guide is helpful to you, remember if you don't want to read it all please use Ctrl + F to search for the section you are looking for, below is an index of them. Also if you would like to download this guide in PDF format there is a link at the bottom.
Index (Ctrl+F)
Locating and loading up the editor
Loading the database and editor data
Editor Settings
Database Details
Database Layout and Organisation
Unique IDs
Editing and adding Awards
Editing and adding Clubs
Editing and adding Cities
Editing and adding Competitions
Editing Continents
Editing and adding Injuries
Editing and adding Languages
Editing Local Regions[
Editing and adding Media Sources
Editing Nations
Editing and adding Stadiums
Editing Stage Names
Editing and adding Weather
Adding Nation Rules
Contents
Locating and loading up the editor
Although it may sound simple, finding the editor can actually provide to be quite a problem for those in-experienced or new to the game, depending on how you installed the game the editor will be located in different folders.
Steam: C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\football manager 2010\tools\editor
Non-steam: C:\Program Files\Sports Interactive\football manager 2010\tools\editor
Once located, simple load up the 'editor' file to start the editor, I suggest created a shortcut icon and placing it into a place where it is easier to access, such as your desktop, for easier access in the future.
Loading the database and editor data
Once the editor is loaded up you'll notice an about page, explaining about the editor, this isn't that important but I suggest that if working on a slower computer it would be better to use the editor with less other applications running otherwise it will slow down the editor's performance.
Before you can start editing you must load up the FM database, in the top left corner click 'File' which brings up a drop down menu with several options, click 'Load Database'.
Now there are two options to choose from depending on what you want to do next, if you creating a new database from scratch you are fine and you don't have to do anything else here. However if you want to load up an already created database file, that you would like to edit further then click 'Load Editor Data' from the drop down menu and select the file you would like to edit and then you're ready. In the editor data folder you will have a config file, don't try editing this!
Editor Settings
The settings, that can be edited from the drop down menu in the top left of the window are pretty self-explanatory but there's no harm in mentioning them anyway. Currency allows you to select what type of money you are talking about when you edit something related to finances, make sure you select the one related to you otherwise you could end up entering too much or to little money to how you want. Language allows you to select which language you would like the editor to be in, obviously and display mode changes the size of the data editor window, select which one is best for your screen resolution. Remember that any settings changes that you make for the data editor will not effect the in game settings when actually playing the database!
Database Details
I recommend editing the database details before you start actually editing the database information, as you'll probably forget later on! Once the database is loaded, make sure 'File' is selected from the Menu box in the top left then from the File Menu Tree which is on the left select 'Details'.
In here you can give your database a brief description which will show when you go to select in in-game, you can also write your name in the author box show that people recognise it is your work when using the database.
Below that you will notice two boxes which helps you eliminate any errors from your database, and to make sure that your database is working correctly.
It will tell you which nations will not be able to load up in game and give you a reason, so you know what is needed to fix it and also it shows what needs to be done to make sure your custom leagues run correctly.
Database Layout and Organisation
In the data editor it is pretty easy to organise each items you edit and go back to previous items that you want to add to.
There are two menus which are both located on the left hand side of the data editor. The top menu shows you three things, 'File' which allows you to see details about the editor as explaining previously; 'Database' which is the most important part of the editor as you can access and search all types of editable items here. The third thing is the current item that you are editing, for example if you are editing the club Liverpool it will show 'Liverpool'.
On the lower menu it shows all the items that you can access depending on what is selected in the top menu. If the 'Database' option is selected you will see all the categories in which you can access and search for specific items belonging to that category. Once you have selected an item, such as a club it then shows which items belonging to that can be edited.
If you want to view items that you have previously edited then click the button 'Recent Database Records' which will bring down a list of recently edited items.
For each database item (For example: Awards) there will be up to four options (as well as search) to start you off, these are all self-explanatory. You can add a new item, edit a item, duplicate an item or remove an item
Unique IDs
When using the database editor you will discover that each item has a Unique ID which is given to you and is uneditable. Unique Ids are not important for your database but are used to link graphics to the game.
Editing and adding Awards
When you add or edit a award there are three sections that you can edit, they are Details, Rules and History.
In Details the first two fields are Name and Short Name, these two are simple and don't need any explanation, I recommend not picking anything too long though. The next three fields are Continent, Nation and Competition and these do not have to be filled in. If the award is exclusive to a continent, nation or competition then you can fill these in, for example for a 'European Player of the Year' award you would have to set the continent to Europe. Reputation (there are various types) shows how prestigious and valued the award is, so for example if it is really important like 'World Player of the Year' it will be 20 (maximum value) but if it's not very important it will be lower, I recommend looking at a award similar to the one you are adding/editing to find a sensible value. Of course if the Award is 'English Player of the Year' then the Winner Home Reputation would be higher. The three colours you can edit are used for displaying the award in game, of course these are totally up to you.
The rules decide what type of award is and how it is done, all the fields are very self-explanatory and you should be able to work them out by themselves.
History is also pretty self-explanatory, if it is a new award then you will probably leave this blank, also if you are adding a year and the award only has a winner and no runners up then you don't have to fill in second and third place.
Editing and adding Clubs
Creating a club is one of the most complex of things you can do in the editor and there are lots of field that you can edit.
The first editable section is Details and this is the basic information that sums up the main stuff about the club. From Name down to Second Nickname the fields are self-explanatory. The Nation shows what Country the club is from and Year Founded is up to you. For status I recommend sticking with professional unless you're creating a really low club. I also recommend leaving the maximum age unticked unless of course you are creating a club for some type of youth challenge or something. It is up to you what you set the Morale of the club and the reputation is too but you should base it on the quality of the squad and how well known the club is. For the reserve team you can keep this blank and you'll still have reserved and youth teams, this option is if you want a reserve team playing in a proper league like Real Madrid do.
In the stadium section you can pick a stadium that your club plays in and also one for your reserves if you like. You can set your attendances to whatever you like too. Also you can set the standard of your training and youth setup (maximum 20) and choose whether your club has a youth academy or not. In alternative stadiums you can select other stadiums where your club will play in specific competitions for example if you're a club with a smaller stadium you may have to use a bigger one for champions league games, like Unirea do in real life. The stadium move section can be used if you plan on your club moving stadium in the future, you can choose a stadium to move to and the leaving date (of current stadium) and move in date (for new stadium).
In the finances section you can decide how much money the club has in every department as well as control debts and player clauses. The most important figure is the Balance and this it the total amount of money the club has for everything. If you want you can decide your club's transfer budget and remaining wage budget or if you leave them blank they will calculate themselves depending on the club's balance. You can decide whether the club is Public Limited Company or if it is a 'Sugar Daddy' club and what type of Sugar Daddy. You can decide the cost of tickets for your club and the amount of season ticket holders as well as the amount the club pays in stadium rental fees (if any). In Other Income you can decide any money the club is going to be receiving in the future, in debts you can decide any money the club is giving out in the future. With Player Buy Back Clauses you can add any players that the club has sold but can be brought back for a certain price and in Sell On Clauses you can add players that play for your team that if sold a certain percentage of the transfer fee will go to a certain club. Appearance Money Clauses are for when a club have bought a player but are paying the club in certain instalments.
In Competitions you decide all the leagues the club plays in as well as their European coefficients. As well as their current competition you can choose the clubs last position, a possible next league (after the current season) any other leagues they play in as well and whether the league has youth or reserve fixtures. You can also add regional divisions that they play in.
In tactical attributes you can decide how the team are represented in the match engine (each options is out of 20) during the game, these aren't important if you are planning to manage the team.
In Kits and Colours you can choose the design of the team's kits and how they are shown in the match engine. You can customise Home, Away, Third kits for both outfield players and goalkeepers. You can edit the shirt design, icon (that little dot running around in the 2D engine), the shirt text, shorts and socks.
The Staff and Players section is one of the most important for creating a club and you can decide the board, coaches, scouts, physios, players and club captains by clicking the add button and searching for a person, you can also remove people.
In relationships you can choose the clubs rivals, favourite people, disliked people and club legends by clicking add and searching for clubs/people.
In Affiliations you can decide all the clubs affiliates whether it be a parent or feeder club. There are many different types of affiliates and you can choose the type as well as how much the club might pay them in a yearly fee.
In the Records section you can edit every single one of the clubs records and it is a pretty simple process although I recommend to leave this section as it can take a lot of time.
In club history you can choose how the club has done in the previous seasons in their league, this is pretty simple and you just fill out all the fields with the information you want.
Editing and adding Cities
Editing or adding a new city is one of the easiest thing to do in the editor as there is only one section to edit. Of course you have to choose a name and country,. Other fields include also the local region of it, such as Yorkshire. The attraction (maximum 20) which is important for a club that plays there as it helps the player more likely to come or settles in better. The rest of the information is more geographical information which I'm sure you can find on the internet somewhere or make something up for yourself.
Editing and adding Competitions
Competitions is one part of the editor that has been largely revamped for the new editor with the new ability to add new competitions, although competitions may take a bit more effort to complete the whole process is incredibly simple where you simply fill in boxes with the relevant details.
On the main competitions screen if you click add in the bottom right corner you get a blank new competition for you to play with. In the details screen you can enter simply the main details of your competition like it's name and country as well as some of it's regulations and logo colours. If you are creating a league like the Blue Square North you can add boundaries from countries in which you can restrict which teams get in the division through promotion/relegation.
In the teams area it is extremely simple to quickly search for teams you want to compete in the league in the first season and you can also decide what teams get added next year in the 'Teams for next season' section such as the new clubs being introduced to the MLS. You can also decide what teams participate in the league as their second league and add 'registered' teams which isn't really necessary though.
In the records section you can add existing records from previous teams from matches like best result, to competition runs like beast streak without losing. You can also add player records from matches.
In the history section you can add the results of the previous years in the competition with the winners, runners up and third place teams.
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