Like previous FMs I hate the regen images, and like to use my own pictures to replace the regens in my team.
Last year I released a pack with a load of varied cut-outs of players & staff that didn't have UIDs...I spotted a flaw with this when a lot of the pics then got ID numbers in FM11.
I've been collecting HQ images of college league American footballers/hockey players etc..and have begun cutting out these images to be released in 30 image "Mix packs" for those of you who are like me.
Preview:
This way, as these people will never be in a future FM game the images can be used for ever more. I have also added a "R" regen logo at the bottom to ensure there is no confusion as to if the player is a real life one or not.
However, none of them will be "assigned" you'd need to grab the UID of the regen and save the image you choose as that number and then input that number into the config file to make it work. (Instructions outlined below)
I'll post the packs here as they are completed.
Releases:
* Config file Template
* fmXML - Config file Creator
* Rowan's Regen Replacement Pack 1
* Rowan's Regen Replacement Pack 2
* Rowan's Regen Replacement Pack 3
* Rowan's Regen Replacement Pack 4
* Rowan's Regen Replacement Pack 5 (coming soon - May 11)
A BIG thanks to Yalli for helping me find great sources.
Installation Instructions:
1) Unzip the Pack to your desktop or documents.
2) Create a new folder called "Regens" in the following location:
My documents/Sports Interactive/Football Manager 2011/graphics/faces/regens (You may need to also create folders for graphics & faces)
3) Locate the Player or staff member's UID......In-game, go to preferences>display & sound, then select "show unique IDs", untick "use skin cache" & tick "always reload on confirm".
Wait while it sorts itself out, then go to the player or staff member's info and you'll see a long number underneath the name - something like...139456789123....make a note of this number.
4) Navigate your way back to the Pack of Regens you downloaded and choose an image you feel most resembles the player (ie, skin colour, hair colour, etc) Then RENAME your chosen picture as the ID you made a note of (making sure it retains the .png extension)
5) Move this Image into your Regens Folder you created earlier.
6) Open the "config.xml" template file and replace the "CHANGE ME" words with your obtained UID as shown below:
<record from="CHANGE ME" to="graphics/pictures/person/CHANGE ME/portrait"/>
Changed to:
<record from="139456789123" to="graphics/pictures/person/139456789123/portrait"/>
for example.
7) As the number of replaced images grows so will your config file, simply copy that line and replace the UID numbers each time that correspond with your image. Another way of editing the config file is to use a piece of software called fmXML (Listed above) - this automatically gathers the UIDs within your chosen folder and creates the lines above, so as long as all the images are inside the folder and saved as the correct UID it will create a new config file for you.
8) Go back to your game preferences>Display & Sound, and untick "Show unique IDs" click confirm and hey presto your picture should be there.
I have tried to make a relativity complex process as clear as possible, once you've done it once it should be easy to remember, but if you have trouble let me know.