Welcome to my Football Manager Blog, the main purpose of this blog is to provide updates on the status of my Football Manager Skins & Guides Website

If you have any questions or queries then I can generally be found in the Skinning Forum at the Official Sports Interactive Forums, though I'd ask you to open a new thread rather than sending me a message.

To help with navigation I have included indexes of my content for the last few versions of Football Manager in the tabs below.

Tuesday 7 November 2017

Football Manager 2018 Beta - Skinning/Graphics Information


With the Pre-Release Beta at this page contains information on some of the changes and skinning options for Football Manager 2018.

Also note that as this is a beta things are likely to change before release and that some features have been disabled in the beta.

Once the full game is out I'll be releasing updated more detailed information as I get it.



How to Locate and Move your User Data Location in Football Manager 2018
These instructions are exactly the same as for FM2017 you just replace 2017 with 2018 in the below guide:


What Graphics can I transfer over from FM2017.
2D items such as kits, faces, logos and trophies should all be reusable from FM18, though some ids might need updating and for kits third kits might need adding/removing.

3D items such as 3D Kits, Match Balls and Video Ads won't work as the 3D Match Engine has been re-written for FM18 so these will need updating or moving, however as the 3D stuff is now packed into fmf files we won't be able to make any changes until after the full release.

And as always skins from previous versions will not work in the new game. Whilst skin related mods might but it depends on whether the underlying code has changed, you can try these but for full compatibility you'll have to wait until the full release of the game as the code may change between now and release. 


How to Make the Sidebar Icon Only
Like in FM17 you can make the sidebar show icons only by adjusting a setting in the preferences menu instead of having to edit the xml files.
From the Preferences -> Interface menu on the left side under General Settings is an option 'Sidebar icons-only' if you tick that the sidebar will display icons only no matter your screen resolution. 


How to Turn Off Background Music
A new feature in FM18 is the background music that will play on the main menu, however if you don't like this music it can be turned off from the Preferences -> Overview Menu - Look under Match options on the bottom left and there will be a 'Play background music' option you can untick.

It might be possible to change the music, but that will have to wait until I have had time to look at the game files. 


Can I add a Picture to My Manager?
Like in FM17 it is no longer possible to add a picture to your Manager. Whether the mods that re-enabled this will work in FM18 is unknown and will need to wait until we have access to the game files.

On the plus side you can now edit your manager from within the game (option on the Manager Profile Screen) so you can change your tie colour when you move clubs. 
Though Facegen is currently disabled in the Beta so you won't be able to use this until the full release.


How to Change the Colour of the 3D Match Ball
Like in FM17 we can now recolour the 3D Match Ball from within the game.

If you goto the Preferences -> Interface -> Skin Colours screen.

At the bottom are options for the Standard Ball Colour and Winter Ball Colour.

To change the colours just click the colour bar and a colour picker will popup, select your new colour and click ok.

To undo your changes just click the 'Restore Default Colours' option.