Tommy Hughes - Comments

I have the same issue, simply clicking on the download link causes the forementioned error prompt to appear. I believe the link is just broken. Hopefully it gets fixed soon.

Awesome work again, bolid!
I've only got one question about the editor file: I downloaded the England 1-6 SS kits as well and the .rar pack included an editor file identical to this. Should I rename one of the two and place both in my \editor files\ folder or does the newer one in the England 3D kit pack include required corrections/adjustments for the SS kits as well?

Thanks!

There isn't one at the moment. It's been worked on but hasn't been released yet.

Hi pezzahawkins!
Yeah, it does sound very familiar indeed.

For years I've been especially keen on editing the match engine sounds to add more atmosphere and realism to the game, but this year the match_events.xml was released with the lines of code completely and utterly mixed and shambled. They used to be all neatly set so one could easily read and edit them. If I try it now for more than ten minutes at a time, I may just dislocate my eyes. That's how hard it is to keep up with the sight of endless shambled lines of text scrolling before your eyes in the Win Notepad... It's like a screen-full of friggin' Matrix-code now!

I was so sad to make this discovery when the BETA launched, because I just knew they wouldn't change it for the official launch - and, of course, they didn't.
I have decided to bite the bullet and do some very basic sound editing for FM 19, but I've just delayed doing so time and time again, all because of the daunting task ahead of me. Been playing with the default sounds for now, which means the end of an era of customized sounds since FM 15 FM 14, I believe. (Sigh)

I like these shirts!
My pick would be: home kit #1, away # 8, third kit #5.

Sadly though, if one changes a club name in the .lnc file, that team's nickname disappears from the save game it's applied to.

Yes, it does.

They changed the layout of 3D kits after FM 17, so the newer 3D kit model of FM 18 is exqactly the same as the one in FM 19. They're fully compatible, 18 and 19.

I found the wannachup skin:
https://sortitoutsi.net/downloads/view/44118/wannachup-instant-result-fm19-all-default-skins

But I also noticed that it was released during the Beta and hasn't been updated since. It might not be finetuned to work with background pictures or those smaller stadium pictures...

These stadium pictures should work in FM 19 when a suitable skin is in use. Wannachup FM18 Skin was compatible with these pictures in FM 18, so it's very likely that Wannachup FM19 Skin wil be compatible with them in FM 19.
(I wouldn't know for sure, though, because I haven't tested that combination in my game.)

I appreciate this a lot, but there is one request I'd like to make: Could you please make a version of this that only embargos paid transfers during the first transfer window, but not the whole 18-19 season?

I liked the aformentioned option FM used to have ("Disable transfers during first window" I believe) that disabled transfer budgets, blocking money transfers but keeping loans and free transfers possible. They changed it for FM 19 so you cannot even do loans or free transfers.
It would be great to have the traditional option available again. Do you think it could be done?

Yes, I believe the combination of my firewall solution and the blank adboard code solution provided by aragornx made it work for me again, though I've since only played pre-season games on small stadiums without video ads. But at least the static adboards have been working just like they should. No sight of Bidstack here.

I didn't want to turn off my internet connection or set Steam to offline mode, as suggested in posts above, so I made a new rule for FM 19 in my Firewall, that disallows any inbound connections made to fm.exe. The rule can be easily switched to "enabled" or "disabled" depending on whether you want to keep blocking traffic to FM 19 or not.

Haven't tested it yet, but it should prevent any nonsense from Bidstack marketing department from reaching the game... I hope.

P.S. Do they actually think forcing ads on FM players is an advertising strategy worth the investment?! I don't know what the heck Bidstack is and I'm adamant not to even bother looking it up, because I don't want to - because they're being total wankers and do not deserve my attention or curiosity, far as I'm concerned.
Yeah, okay. Rant over.

Hmm... I wonder if one could replace the BIDSTACK_CHANNEL.xml with an empty file with the same exact name and then set the file as "read only" (which means it cannot be deleted or overwritten without the consent of the System Administrator)?

This is simply brilliant! I've been looking for the real fixtures for FM 19. Thank you so much, mate!

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully things change for the better and Claassen is able - and willing - to work his magic for FM 19 as well.

What? No way...

Top job, jroberts! I really appreciate you making all these kits.

There isn't yet, but there surely will be once the FM 19 Editor becomes available (November 2nd) in Steam and someone does a bit of editing.

Yeah, have to wait for the Basic Skins for FM 19 to drop, so you can edit the opacity of the background in order to make the background pictures visible. It's a shame but with no archiver tool atm there's not a lot anyone can do about it. Look for michaeltmurrayuk, who's great with skins & panels, to get on it as soon as the beta ends and the tools become available.

The actual file isn't ready to be downloaded yet, but I'm sure mons is working on it already. I remember him dropping the first fix really fast last year, when FM18 Beta came out, so it probably won't be long now.

Wait, it actually came out while I was responding to the first "where is the file" query! That's lightspeed job, mons. Thanks ever-so-much!

-

Right, by coats you must be referring to natonal team logos, or coat of arms!

I would've suggested that FM shows flags instead of logos because of the Metallic Logos Pack's config file is set that way by default. I'm glad to see you managed solve the problem already!

Sorry to bother you, Bolid74, but there could be an issue with the Italy Serie A 3D 18-19 file.
When I follow the link the MediaFire page says the file in question is still being uploaded and cannot yet be downloaded. I don't think i've even encountered the same message, even if I've downloaded a file very soon after it has been uploaded to MediaFire.
I've kept trying the same link every once in a while for few hours now, and I'm beginning to suspect that it has somehow got stuck and will not allow download at all.

Thanks for your help!


Great work with the kits by the way, I really appreciate it!

Any chance to get the real fixtures for 2018-19 season for major leagues, especially English Leagues?

I've received many questions about adding sounds into Football Manager over the last few years. I have written a guide and decided to post it here for anyone seeking information, help or tips on the matter.


- Tommy H -



SOUND EDITING FOR FOOTBALL MANAGER 2018



*SOME BASIC THEORY

(NOT all this will be required to set up the sounds but I'll post this in case you want to study the editing process further. Placing your own sounds in FM isn't that complicated once you get the hang of it, but it will be all the more rewarding, promise!)


The sound files of FM18 are located in the compressed archive file named simatchviewer_uncompressed.fmf in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Football Manager 2018\data\ -folder.
You can use the free Football Manager 2018 Resource Archiver (Found in Steam Library -> Tools) to extract the files. You will the extracted sound files in the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Football Manager 2018\data\simatchviewer_uncompressed\sounds\

You can place your own (requires a particular kind of .wav format) custom sound files into the extracted ---\sounds\ folder, add the names of your custom sounds into match_sounds.cfg and make FM18 play those sounds in the match engine.


The match_sounds.cfg and match_events.xml files define which sound files are used in the FM18 match engine and in which particular situations (i.e. match events).

You can open both, the match_sounds.cfg and match_events.xml, with Windows Notepad or some other basic text editor.
(You'll find both of these files in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Football Manager 2018\data\simatch\events)

These are sound triggers:
SOUND_HIGH_ANTICIPATION

For example, in match_events.xml you have an event id=2 (the individual match event ID that is neat for finding a specific event within the file):
EVENT_LOSE_CONTROL_OF_BALL;INGAME - - -
Scrolling down, you'll see that it is associated with a sound trigger:
<string id="sdon" value="SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS" />
<string id="sdtw" value="" />

"sdon" means sound one and "sdtw" means sound two. You can use 0-2 different sound triggers for a single match event, sound one, sound one and sound two, or neither.

In the example above, the event EVENT_LOSE_CONTROL_OF_BALL;INGAME activates sound trigger SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS.
Now, when you open match_sounds.cfg in notepad and search "SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS", you'll find the same exact trigger. These two files work in tandem. If a trigger already exists, you can just replace a sound or add another alternative sound to the trigger. If you need to create a whole new trigger or associate a trigger existing in match_sounds.cfg with an event in match_events.xml, then you need to edit the match_events.xml as well.

In FM18's default match_sounds.cfg the trigger looks like this:

SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS, "FM_crowd_push2", 0, 1, 2, 0

And it has a similar trigger for other events right after it, with the same sound (FM_crowd_push2) associated:

SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS_OPPOSITION, "FM_crowd_push2", 0, 4, 2, 0

In my edited general match_sounds.cfg, the trigger looks like this:

SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS, "FM_crowd_push2", 0, 1, 2, 0
SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS, "0304_cmonref", 0, 1, 2, 0

That's because there are two sounds instead of one for the match engine to randomly choose from.

If you open the ---\sounds\ folder and search for "FM_crowd_push2", you can listen to, and know, exactly what type of sounds the trigger will cause to be played. And, remembering the match_events.xml, you know at least one event in that file that triggers these specific sounds.


Now you know how to address specific files to be used for specific match events, and if you wish, how to change or add sounds being listed as options in a sound trigger.



*CREATING A NEW SOUND TRIGGER 1.0

example:

I've added two triggers to event <integer value="185" id="id" /> EVENT_YELLOW_CARD;INGAME that had no sounds associated to it at all.

It used to look like this:
<integer id="isst" value="0" />
<integer id="flsh" value="0" />
<integer id="rtct" value="2" />
<string id="sdon" value="" />
<string id="sdtw" value="" />
<integer id="meci" value="4" />
<integer id="plrc" value="1" />
<integer id="refc" value="2" />

Now it looks like:
<integer id="isst" value="0" />
<integer id="flsh" value="0" />
<integer id="rtct" value="2" />
<string id="sdon" value="SOUND_YELLOW_CARD_OPP" />
<string id="sdtw" value="SOUND_YELLOW_CARD" />
<integer id="meci" value="4" />
<integer id="plrc" value="1" />
<integer id="refc" value="2" />

Then I added two sound triggers and many mentions of alternative sound files in match_sounds.cfg to enrichen the atmosphere:

SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "FM_crowd_badref", 0, 1, 2, 0
SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "0304_Baddec", 0, 1, 2, 0
SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "FM_crowd_boos_small", 0, 1, 2, 0
# SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "FM_ref_wnker", 0, 1, 2, 0
# SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "FM_ref_wnker2", 0, 1, 2, 0
# SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "FM_ref_wnker3", 0, 1, 2, 0
SOUND_YELLOW_CARD_OPP, "FM_crowd_quiet_applause", 0, 4, 2, 0
SOUND_YELLOW_CARD_OPP, "FM_sub", 0, 4, 2, 0

The hashtag (#) mark means the game will NOT take the line starting with # into account, and thus I have rendered the English "Wanker!" shouts non-existent in the neutral, general sound setup version. In English match_sounds.cfg file these lines are enabled.
Now, all I have to do is make sure those files ussed above are in the game's \sounds\ folder and they will be used when someone receives a yellow card in a match.



- So, what does the "0, 1, 2, 0" or "0, 4, 2, 0" or something else mean in a sound trigger line? That is explained below:


*CREATING A NEW SOUND TRIGGER 2.0
Slightly advanced theory... useful when creating new sound triggers

About the order in which the sounds are played during in-game events, there is a numerical value placed after each sound that is mentioned in the match_sounds.cfg. That value defines how often it is to be selected in comparison to other sounds for the same sound TRIGGER.

There is a brief explanation provided by SI at the very beginning of their default match_sounds.cfg:

#
# Sound config file
#
# id, filename (without .wav extension), loop flag, sound type, chance, pre-cache flag
#
# types:
#
# 0 - MST_BACKGROUND
# 1 - MST_CROWD
# 2 - MST_PITCH_EVENT
# 3 - MST_REF_EVENTS
# 4 - MST_OPP_CROWD
# 5 - MST_BACKGROUND_OPP_CROWD
#
# The higher the chance number the more likely the sound is to be picked.
# Note: this has no effect if only one sound supplied for an id so use a default value of 1

Here's what it means:

You have the sound trigger named trigger "SOUND_HIGH_ANTICIPATION". There are currently 2 optional sounds (filenames "FM_crowd_excited" and "FM_crowd_excited2" ) that the trigger randomly plays. That randomness can, however, be adjusted using the 3rd value in the sequence 0, 1, 2, 0. (= number 2 in this case.) It is the chance value - how often the sound will be chosen from among the alternatives in the sound trigger. (This trigger has 2 alternative sounds.) According to my tests, chance value 1=rare, 2=normal 3=often. I believe that, 1-3, is the full scale of possible chance values. Adjusting those values lets you define the probability of saounds to be used, in relation to eachother.

The other values in the sequence are:
First 0 = loop flag. 1 means that sound will loop untile next sound of the same type is triggered. 0 means sound looping is off.
Second value (1 in here) = sound type. Sound types are listed above (0 - MST_BACKGROUND and so on...) I won't go into detail about these, unless you want, but they are very useful when making completely new triggers for example REFEREE sounds or OPPOSING CROWD etc. But yeah, intricate stuff...
Third value, chance, we already covered.
Fourth and final value (0 in here) = pre-cache flag. I believe it means whether the sound will be cached ready for use at the brginning of the match, before it is even needed for the first time. Caching of course helps the sound play faster, withoud any delay caused by loading the sound file. Just how big a difference it makes is unknown to me. Anyway value 1=sound should be pre-cached and 2=sound will not be pre-cached.

SOUND_HIGH_ANTICIPATION, "FM_crowd_excited", 0, 1, 2, 0
SOUND_HIGH_ANTICIPATION, "FM_crowd_excited2", 0, 1, 2, 0




*IF YOU CREATE YOUR OWN SOUNDS, WHAT FILE TYPES & FORMATS WILL WORK IN FOOTBALL MANAGER?

- Sound files are to be exported as .wav 16 bit
- Mono (especially) or stereo (should also work)
- Resampled to 22050 Hz (Sample Rate)
- Length: I don't know why, but the maximum length of a sound (at least pre-FM18) seems to be around 10-11 seconds. This is weird, because there are default sound files in FM much much longer than this...
- As you export the file, BE SURE to clear all possible METADATA, i.e. info of artist or music style or album etc. info that can be stored in the file, because for some reason soundfiles with metadata will not play at all in FM!!


And that's as far as I've gotten with my sound editing guide for FOOTBALL MANAGER so far...

I've received many questions about adding sounds into Football Manager over the last few years. I have written a guide and decided to post it here for anyone seeking information, help or tips on the matter.


- Tommy H -



SOUND EDITING FOR FOOTBALL MANAGER 2018



*SOME BASIC THEORY

(NOT all this will be required to set up the sounds but I'll post this in case you want to study the editing process further. Placing your own sounds in FM isn't that complicated once you get the hang of it, but it will be all the more rewarding, promise!)


The sound files of FM18 are located in the compressed archive file named simatchviewer_uncompressed.fmf in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Football Manager 2018\data\ -folder.
You can use the free Football Manager 2018 Resource Archiver (Found in Steam Library -> Tools) to extract the files. You will the extracted sound files in the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Football Manager 2018\data\simatchviewer_uncompressed\sounds\

You can place your own (requires a particular kind of .wav format) custom sound files into the extracted ---\sounds\ folder, add the names of your custom sounds into match_sounds.cfg and make FM18 play those sounds in the match engine.


The match_sounds.cfg and match_events.xml files define which sound files are used in the FM18 match engine and in which particular situations (i.e. match events).

You can open both, the match_sounds.cfg and match_events.xml, with Windows Notepad or some other basic text editor.
(You'll find both of these files in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Football Manager 2018\data\simatch\events)

These are sound triggers:
SOUND_HIGH_ANTICIPATION

For example, in match_events.xml you have an event id=2 (the individual match event ID that is neat for finding a specific event within the file):
EVENT_LOSE_CONTROL_OF_BALL;INGAME - - -
Scrolling down, you'll see that it is associated with a sound trigger:
<string id="sdon" value="SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS" />
<string id="sdtw" value="" />

"sdon" means sound one and "sdtw" means sound two. You can use 0-2 different sound triggers for a single match event, sound one, sound one and sound two, or neither.

In the example above, the event EVENT_LOSE_CONTROL_OF_BALL;INGAME activates sound trigger SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS.
Now, when you open match_sounds.cfg in notepad and search "SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS", you'll find the same exact trigger. These two files work in tandem. If a trigger already exists, you can just replace a sound or add another alternative sound to the trigger. If you need to create a whole new trigger or associate a trigger existing in match_sounds.cfg with an event in match_events.xml, then you need to edit the match_events.xml as well.

In FM18's default match_sounds.cfg the trigger looks like this:

SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS, "FM_crowd_push2", 0, 1, 2, 0

And it has a similar trigger for other events right after it, with the same sound (FM_crowd_push2) associated:

SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS_OPPOSITION, "FM_crowd_push2", 0, 4, 2, 0

In my edited general match_sounds.cfg, the trigger looks like this:

SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS, "FM_crowd_push2", 0, 1, 2, 0
SOUND_LIGHT_GROANS, "0304_cmonref", 0, 1, 2, 0

That's because there are two sounds instead of one for the match engine to randomly choose from.

If you open the ---\sounds\ folder and search for "FM_crowd_push2", you can listen to, and know, exactly what type of sounds the trigger will cause to be played. And, remembering the match_events.xml, you know at least one event in that file that triggers these specific sounds.


Now you know how to address specific files to be used for specific match events, and if you wish, how to change or add sounds being listed as options in a sound trigger.



*CREATING A NEW SOUND TRIGGER 1.0

example:

I've added two triggers to event <integer value="185" id="id" /> EVENT_YELLOW_CARD;INGAME that had no sounds associated to it at all.

It used to look like this:
<integer id="isst" value="0" />
<integer id="flsh" value="0" />
<integer id="rtct" value="2" />
<string id="sdon" value="" />
<string id="sdtw" value="" />
<integer id="meci" value="4" />
<integer id="plrc" value="1" />
<integer id="refc" value="2" />

Now it looks like:
<integer id="isst" value="0" />
<integer id="flsh" value="0" />
<integer id="rtct" value="2" />
<string id="sdon" value="SOUND_YELLOW_CARD_OPP" />
<string id="sdtw" value="SOUND_YELLOW_CARD" />
<integer id="meci" value="4" />
<integer id="plrc" value="1" />
<integer id="refc" value="2" />

Then I added two sound triggers and many mentions of alternative sound files in match_sounds.cfg to enrichen the atmosphere:

SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "FM_crowd_badref", 0, 1, 2, 0
SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "0304_Baddec", 0, 1, 2, 0
SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "FM_crowd_boos_small", 0, 1, 2, 0
# SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "FM_ref_wnker", 0, 1, 2, 0
# SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "FM_ref_wnker2", 0, 1, 2, 0
# SOUND_YELLOW_CARD, "FM_ref_wnker3", 0, 1, 2, 0
SOUND_YELLOW_CARD_OPP, "FM_crowd_quiet_applause", 0, 4, 2, 0
SOUND_YELLOW_CARD_OPP, "FM_sub", 0, 4, 2, 0

The hashtag (#) mark means the game will NOT take the line starting with # into account, and thus I have rendered the English "Wanker!" shouts non-existent in the neutral, general sound setup version. In English match_sounds.cfg file these lines are enabled.
Now, all I have to do is make sure those files ussed above are in the game's \sounds\ folder and they will be used when someone receives a yellow card in a match.



- So, what does the "0, 1, 2, 0" or "0, 4, 2, 0" or something else mean in a sound trigger line? That is explained below:


*CREATING A NEW SOUND TRIGGER 2.0
Slightly advanced theory... useful when creating new sound triggers

About the order in which the sounds are played during in-game events, there is a numerical value placed after each sound that is mentioned in the match_sounds.cfg. That value defines how often it is to be selected in comparison to other sounds for the same sound TRIGGER.

There is a brief explanation provided by SI at the very beginning of their default match_sounds.cfg:

#
# Sound config file
#
# id, filename (without .wav extension), loop flag, sound type, chance, pre-cache flag
#
# types:
#
# 0 - MST_BACKGROUND
# 1 - MST_CROWD
# 2 - MST_PITCH_EVENT
# 3 - MST_REF_EVENTS
# 4 - MST_OPP_CROWD
# 5 - MST_BACKGROUND_OPP_CROWD
#
# The higher the chance number the more likely the sound is to be picked.
# Note: this has no effect if only one sound supplied for an id so use a default value of 1

Here's what it means:

You have the sound trigger named trigger "SOUND_HIGH_ANTICIPATION". There are currently 2 optional sounds (filenames "FM_crowd_excited" and "FM_crowd_excited2" ) that the trigger randomly plays. That randomness can, however, be adjusted using the 3rd value in the sequence 0, 1, 2, 0. (= number 2 in this case.) It is the chance value - how often the sound will be chosen from among the alternatives in the sound trigger. (This trigger has 2 alternative sounds.) According to my tests, chance value 1=rare, 2=normal 3=often. I believe that, 1-3, is the full scale of possible chance values. Adjusting those values lets you define the probability of saounds to be used, in relation to eachother.

The other values in the sequence are:
First 0 = loop flag. 1 means that sound will loop untile next sound of the same type is triggered. 0 means sound looping is off.
Second value (1 in here) = sound type. Sound types are listed above (0 - MST_BACKGROUND and so on...) I won't go into detail about these, unless you want, but they are very useful when making completely new triggers for example REFEREE sounds or OPPOSING CROWD etc. But yeah, intricate stuff...
Third value, chance, we already covered.
Fourth and final value (0 in here) = pre-cache flag. I believe it means whether the sound will be cached ready for use at the brginning of the match, before it is even needed for the first time. Caching of course helps the sound play faster, withoud any delay caused by loading the sound file. Just how big a difference it makes is unknown to me. Anyway value 1=sound should be pre-cached and 2=sound will not be pre-cached.

SOUND_HIGH_ANTICIPATION, "FM_crowd_excited", 0, 1, 2, 0
SOUND_HIGH_ANTICIPATION, "FM_crowd_excited2", 0, 1, 2, 0




*IF YOU CREATE YOUR OWN SOUNDS, WHAT FILE TYPES & FORMATS WILL WORK IN FOOTBALL MANAGER?

- Sound files are to be exported as .wav 16 bit
- Mono (especially) or stereo (should also work)
- Resampled to 22050 Hz (Sample Rate)
- Length: I don't know why, but the maximum length of a sound (at least pre-FM18) seems to be around 10-11 seconds. This is weird, because there are default sound files in FM much much longer than this...
- As you export the file, BE SURE to clear all possible METADATA, i.e. info of artist or music style or album etc. info that can be stored in the file, because for some reason soundfiles with metadata will not play at all in FM!!


And that's as far as I've gotten with my sound editing guide for FOOTBALL MANAGER so far...

Hi!

I personally prefer Mozilla Firefox as my browser. Also, you should google "Adblock". It's free to download and easy to set up. It blocks most popups and you can set it to allow or disallow popups on specific sites.

- Tommy -

Hi!

I still have the older versions of the fix on my HD. I'll send you the 1.3 version through a private message.
Just a minute.

- Tommy -

Eeeeeeeeeeexcellent! (Not in the voice of Mr. Burns though. Then again, why the heck not!)