Data Update Home Thread

Does anyone know why the new players editor file isn't working anymore? The IDs in the new players.fmf file and the facepack match each other, but they don't match the player IDs that are actually generated in game. Because of that, players like Max Dowman are appearing without faces. Has something changed with how player IDs are generated?

Whenever FM26 receives an official update which adds new players to the official database, it offsets the ID mappings of newly-added players.

 

We need to re-process our data after such an update - and we haven’t had a chance to do it following the latest update. It’s a process that the Site Admin needs to take care of - I don’t know exactly what it requires/how involved it is; but given the time of the season, I suspect it just hasn’t been done yet because of other priorities.

 

It is on the to-do list and will get taken care of as soon as time allows.

Thanks man, appreciate the quick response! I'll patiently wait for it. Do you think it'd be okay for me to start a new save using the current new players.fmf file and just live with the blank faces while waiting for the facepack to be updated? My understanding is that once the facepack gets updated with the correct generated player IDs, the faces should start showing up properly in that save. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

That’s correct. Graphics are not new-game dependent. You’ll be able to update the facepack - once it is updated - and those new/corrected images will apply to any ongoing save.

I am not sure there is anything exactly published that has the file list…however, I'm happy to provide a summary which should help your understanding.

 

Broadly speaking, there are two ‘types’ of files that are part of the FM24 Data Update - nation updates and non-nation updates. This isn't a formal classification, I'm just separating them this way for the purpose of this explanation…as I am familiar with MasterIgor's files and what they do and it'll help me explain more simply.

 

Firstly, for the nation updates files - our Data Update is structured so that the relevant changes to any individual nation's structure/situation are held in the file named after that nation (so for example: Germany (League), Italy (League), Spain (League), etc). The actual contents of the changes in those files will only be some/all of the following: updated Nation/Advanced Rules, if there has been a need to make those to reflect reality and the promotions/relegations and history entries for clubs/competitions that take place in that nation.

 

In-game in FM24, the individual files that contain Nation/Advanced Rules are those that show up with the nation's flag when you are choosing which Editor Data files to activate. FM24 only allows one file to be activated, at a time, that adjusts the Nation/Advanced Rules for any given nation…which makes sense, because otherwise the game would be trying to ‘merge’ different structures together about how the competitions work.

 

In many situations, the original rules implemented by Sports Interactive are still valid/up-to-date and, in those cases, we provide a database changes only file for that nation. These files do not show the nation's flag in the setup screens and will contain only promotions/relegations and club/competition history entries.

 

MasterIgor's files typically include Nation/Advanced Rules and so it's true that you won't be able to use his file for a nation alongside the Data Update file for the same nation if the Data Update file contains Nation/Advanced Rules. You can, often, use MasterIgor's file alongside the Data Update file for the same nation if our file only has database changes.

 

If they do not work together, this means that whatever Nation/Advanced Rules MasterIgor's file is setting up results in a mismatch with the promotions/relegations we have applied in our file. An example might include a scenario where MasterIgor has made a lower division playable and specified a set number of teams, but our Data Update file hasn't ensured those originally-non-playable divisions have the right number of teams. Because we are generally catering for the ‘default playable levels’ we don't always have time to ensure the non-playable levels also match the real-world structure. Having said that, many of the files do contain accurate structure for non-playable levels and so are compatible with MasterIgor's Nation/Advanced Rules files, assuming he has reflected reality. I know this because I, myself, combine them when playing, much like you are trying to I suppose.

 

Now, on the non-nation updates side, each file has more of a one-off purpose and, typically, they are not doing anything related to league/national structures and so things like MasterIgor's files are typically compatible. All the same, here's a summary of the main files and what they contain. In all cases, I'm just naming the file using the ‘end’ of the filename - they all start with “sortitoutsi.net FM24 Data Update” as well:

Contracts.fmf - this is the ‘main’ file that contains all of the changes to Person records related to transfers, contractual adjustments and so on; both players and non-playing staff.

Remove Bans.fmf - this removes the default/original global footballing bans configured in the FM24.3 database, as they are now obsolete.

Remove Injuries.fmf - same as above, but for injuries.

Remove Media Predictions.fmf - this removes the hard-configured start-of-game media predictions, where they exist, allowing the game to generate them dynamically on game start.

Europe.fmf / South America.fmf - these adjust first-season continental qualifications for the respective continents.

Player History.fmf - this adds playing history records reflecting the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons to players all around the world.

Age and Contract Years.fmf - this adjusts all Person records, in the default/original 24.3 database, to have DOBs and original contract data that is three years earlier than the real-life date. This is done to reflect the passing of three years in real-life since the game was released (i.e. we are reflecting 2026 at game start, despite the in-game date still being 2023).

New People.fmf - this file contains all newly-created Person records who have been added to the database. These are all players and mostly young footballers (there is something around 25,000 at current count).

 

There are other files as well, but these are what I consider the ‘core’ ones, alongside the nation updates. Where the purpose of a file is to reflect the latest season, please note that not every file has yet been updated to reflect 2026/27. We have a tracking thread for specific progress that is being maintained here: https://sortitoutsi.net/content/76916/202627-league-updates-fm24-fm26.

 

On your final question, regarding the World Cup - our Data Update does not include anything like that. I am not aware of any other creators who have released such a thing - but perhaps someone, somewhere, has. It's important to remember that the World Cup - in FM24 - will still take place in-game in 2026…so it is a bit ‘offset’ in terms of timing.