Chris Nielson - Comments

Hi Yatch! Thanks for asking. The short version is no. 

The much longer version is there are three reasons I have no interest in adding colleges to my databases (I get asked about this a few times a year, so I'm just going to stick this in here for future reference - yachtmistjr you can ignore the rest if you're not interested.) 

1. It would be a lot of work to create all of the colleges - even if I just focus in the 129 FCS colleges. Because colleges don't exist in the FM database, it would be a lot of work to research and add them. It took me about five hours to add 150 news sources for the US database, and a lot of that could be copied over and didn't require unique additions. Accurately representing the colleges would require a good amount of extra work and created teams, locations, and stadiums. 
2. Every time a new version of the database is released (2-3x a development cycle), the unique ids for all created teams change, so any graphics work has to be updated every time, which is tedious (especially if you mess up the unique ids in a small but meaningful way - never had that happen…)
3. Most importantly - Football Manager is not built for the US sporting model. We're used to “amateur” and professional sports as separate structures. The pyramid model of English Soccer operates entirely differently, and so it is really hard to replicate the financial and developmental aspects of college sports in the United States. Additionally, the restrictions sometimes only impact teams controlled by players and no by ai - which makes this frustrating as a player (I've seen this happen with salary caps, for example, in older databases.) So if you can imagine getting ten years in and playing with a team that has no budget and no development and is stuck with 19-22 year olds, while your peer teams have 28-29 year olds, and there's no way to improve, you can see how it would be a less than ideal db. 

I know others have taken a run at adding the NCAA (I think Owncredible on the SI forums had a version that had NCAA teams), but I'm just not interested in figuring it out. Thanks for asking though Yacht, and I hope the response isn't too long!

Hi Kyle - Merry Christmas. Two things - can you send me a screen capture of the files that are activated, and then load in the US screen and put your mouse cursor over the icon to show why the US isn't showing up in game? 

Hi Kieran - I think the bugs should be worked out between the two. Let me know if it's still a problem!

For this version, I'm sticking with the current structure. In the next one (depending on stability, etc. on release) I may rethink the schedule and league sizes. Thanks for asking though xythos- I appreciate it!

So, for those of you looking for an election night distraction (or, if this goes sideways, an alternate universe to escape to) I am putting out a “beta" of my US database. I may do a few tweaks, but I think it's stable and ready. A few notes on the changes: 

• Schedule shifted to Aug-May instead of Feb - Nov. 
• Instead of winning automatic promotion if you win a stage, you get home pitch advantage in a promotion playoff (Or champion play off in the top tier.) 
• The top division has been expanded to 18 teams, and the next three divisions have been expanded to 16 teams. 
• The leagues cups have been moved into the opening/closing stages, reducing some fixture congestion in those windows. 

I think these tweaks make the db stronger and hopefully more enjoyable. I was planning to do all of this for FM 25, but, well, we know… 

Happy gaming!

Well, we have some time now. I'm working on a us database update, so I'll add rounding out the concacaf ones to my list too. Hopefully I'll have something for you by the end of the month if that's ok!

I attached the missing icon below - you should be able to grab it and add it in. Let me know if that doesn't work - thanks Schraunbokopter!

Hello Deniz! Yes, it makes sense that you'd have a lot more clubs making inquiries - there are about 100+ professional clubs with budgets on par with (or greater than) the UK's pyramid, so they're looking for more players. I understand why it would feel unrealistic, but I kept a few features of US sport (lots of money and lower immigration barriers) that may be impacting the game.

And yes, this year I didn't include extra leagues in Mexico and Canada. There were some …issues with the editor when it released this year, and I decided to narrow my scope a bit. We'll see the state of things for 25/26, and I may expand it again. 

Yeah, that's an in game bug. Quit the job, sim past the date, and rehire yourself. Sorry, I wish there was a better answer, but that's the only solution. 

Yeah, I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on how it's ruined the experience - I'm assuming it's the problem with too few games to secure promotion. I played a couple seasons and felt the same coldness about it - I have a few tweaks I am planning to make for FM 25 (more teams, and a different promotion structure), but if you have any other thoughts I'm open to them. Thanks for the honest feedback Baldo!

Hi Cristian! It only works if you do it with the databases in the set as a whole. So, you couldn't use a vanilla BVI database with it because of the changes made to the US system. 

Hi IG - are you unzipping it in the documents/sports interactive/graphics folder? It looks like you're unzipping in your one drive folder, and that may be the wrong directory. 

Hi Ali - are you using this mod, or looking for one in general? This one does require you to have a few homegrown players, but is not nearly as restrictive as the actual MLS rules. If you're looking for a setup that has MLS with modified roster rules I don't know of one at the moment. 

Yep!

Quick note - there was a yellow card issue in the fifth tier that was fixed in this latest update. Additionally, I added in the current USL Championship and USL1 expansion teams. 

It does not. It operates on European rules - so transfers and academies instead of trades and drafts. 

It’s a ctd issue in game. If you quit and sim past the date and then take the job again you should be ok. It will probably happen on the 4th Wednesday of May every year until you get out lf the NPSL. 

Happens to the best of us. Hope you enjoy it webb!

Hey Bret! Good question. No, the opening/closing stage was my original vision, but it took a couple months to figure it out. There is an option in the editor to create league breaks where games don't take place - that's how it worked in the original versions of the db. I had to build the opening/closing stages from scratch in advanced mode. 

Hi Christian - I'm sorry for the slow reply. So, the reason Liga MX is labelled that in the db is that is what I found when I googled the name - if there has been a change in sponsorship (or anything else I should be aware of) please let me know and I can tweak it. Thanks!

Hey Brit - it would be helpful to know what part you want to change to UEFA. My guess is probably no (not without a LOT of work in the editor), but it would be helpful to know the specific changes you want to make. 

Thanks for the picture and explanation - my guess is that it has something to do with distance for the clubs and the size of their max attendances. I'll have to poke around a bit and see what's going on with that. 

Hi Tan! Great question. The short version is, the database files can't be changed once the game is going. You'll need to start a new game with the new db files for the changes I made for 24.4 to take effect. As far as the graphics go,  you have now will work in your current save going forward, but if you load up a new one you will want the new graphics. 

Longer explanation on the graphics- every time SI releases a new version of Football Manager, they include new teams, people, and stadiums, which changes the unique id (uid) that the xml files have for each graphic. So, every time a new release comes out, you need an updated logo pack to match the new unique ids. It's a…pain, especially if you want to go back to an old save. I'm thinking through options for future years to make it less onerous - hope that helps. 

Also, I just updated the files for the 24.4 database, and made a few changes:

24.4 Updates (4/11)

• The big one this time - levels 1-7 now have formal opening and closing stages. The winner of the stages win automatic promotion - if the same team wins both stages then 2nd and 3rd in the overall table have a playoff to determine who goes up. Relegation is based off of the overall table.
• I gave each team a modest starting budget, added managers to most teams, and added players to teams in levels 2-7, so you should have some players at an appropriate level for the league when you play a team lower down the pyramid. You will still want to check the add players box though.
• I made levels 1-7 playable by default because of the lower league bug.
• I added a lot of local media to the US database - you should have 10-15 outlets at your news conferences going forward.
• I registered the appropriate clubs from the US, Canada, and Mexico for the Continental Cups.
• I tried to add a CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup in the spring, but I couldn't get the game to set it up. So, we will call it good for this year and try again in FM 25.

Yeah - SI broke the homegrown rules in custom databases in the last update - the bug thread is here: https://community.sigames.com/bugtracker/football-manager-2024-early-access-bugs-tracker/all-other-issues/all-players-lost-their-homegrown-status-r22164/. It should be fixed in the next update, but until then there is a version without homegrown rules in the thread above. 

Yes. The clubs are the same as we have in real life, but they are split geographically and in different divisions (and obviously it has pro/rel, which the United States doesn't utilize in real life.) If you're looking for a realistic database I'd point you to @themodelcitizen's to level 4 US db: https://sortitoutsi.net/content/64052/fm24-usa-to-d3-with-mls-next?page=2#comment_769366

That's a clever workaround Bret. If SI doesn't post a hotfix by the next iteration I'll probably implement that. 

Also, I'm attaching the kits I used in game that I think worked - let me know if this fixes your problem. 

Hey Jameson! I think that has to do with club reputation. I've found in my saves that the lower level US teams get 12 mo contracts to start, but that by the time I make it to the top tier I can get 3 year contracts. I think that's the issue there, and once you start a save you can't adjust the team reputations. Glad you're finding it fun though - what is your home country?

HI everyone - quick 24.3 related update. It appears that there is a bug that has wiped out homegrown at nation and club data in custom databases. I remade the US, Mexican, and Canadian dbs and removed the homegrown eligibilities. You can find them below:

Also, a quick note (as I just loaded up my save from 24.1) - it looks like there is a bug in the newest data update that wipes out homegrown statuses of players in long term saves. You can post your experience in this thread to help highlight the issue for SI: https://community.sigames.com/bugtracker/football-manager-2024-early-access-bugs-tracker/all-other-issues/all-players-lost-their-homegrown-status-r22164/.