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Daniel's Database Bible
The most complete guide to database editing on the scene
Introduction
Databases have always been an important, and fun part of the football manager series. Databases can range from transfer updates, to classic teams or even new fantasy teams, but every database is created through hard work and effort! Through out this guide I hope that I can explain to you how to use the database editor in as many ways as possible, I hope that you enjoy reading and that the guide is helpful to you, remember if you don't want to read it all please use Ctrl + F to search for the section you are looking for, below is an index of them. Also if you would like to download this guide in PDF format there is a link at the bottom.
Index (Ctrl+F)
Locating and loading up the editor
Loading the database and editor data
Editor Settings
Database Details
Database Layout and Organisation
Unique IDs
Editing and adding Awards
Editing and adding Clubs
Editing and adding Cities
Editing and adding Competitions
Editing Continents
Editing and adding Injuries
Editing and adding Languages
Editing Local Regions
Editing and adding Media Sources
Editing Nations
Editing and adding Stadiums
Editing Stage Names
Editing and adding Weather
Adding Nation Rules
Contents
Locating and loading up the editor
Although it may sound simple, finding the editor can actually provide to be quite a problem for those in-experienced or new to the game, depending on how you installed the game the editor will be located in different folders.
Steam: C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\football manager 2010\tools\editor
Non-steam: C:\Program Files\Sports Interactive\football manager 2010\tools\editor
Once located, simple load up the 'editor' file to start the editor, I suggest created a shortcut icon and placing it into a place where it is easier to access, such as your desktop, for easier access in the future.
Loading the database and editor data
Once the editor is loaded up you'll notice an about page, explaining about the editor, this isn't that important but I suggest that if working on a slower computer it would be better to use the editor with less other applications running otherwise it will slow down the editor's performance.
Before you can start editing you must load up the FM database, in the top left corner click 'File' which brings up a drop down menu with several options, click 'Load Database'.
Now there are two options to choose from depending on what you want to do next, if you creating a new database from scratch you are fine and you don't have to do anything else here. However if you want to load up an already created database file, that you would like to edit further then click 'Load Editor Data' from the drop down menu and select the file you would like to edit and then you're ready. In the editor data folder you will have a config file, don't try editing this!
Editor Settings
The settings, that can be edited from the drop down menu in the top left of the window are pretty self-explanatory but there's no harm in mentioning them anyway. Currency allows you to select what type of money you are talking about when you edit something related to finances, make sure you select the one related to you otherwise you could end up entering too much or to little money to how you want. Language allows you to select which language you would like the editor to be in, obviously and display mode changes the size of the data editor window, select which one is best for your screen resolution. Remember that any settings changes that you make for the data editor will not effect the in game settings when actually playing the database!
Database Details
I recommend editing the database details before you start actually editing the database information, as you'll probably forget later on! Once the database is loaded, make sure 'File' is selected from the Menu box in the top left then from the File Menu Tree which is on the left select 'Details'.
In here you can give your database a brief description which will show when you go to select in in-game, you can also write your name in the author box show that people recognise it is your work when using the database.
Below that you will notice two boxes which helps you eliminate any errors from your database, and to make sure that your database is working correctly.
It will tell you which nations will not be able to load up in game and give you a reason, so you know what is needed to fix it and also it shows what needs to be done to make sure your custom leagues run correctly.
Database Layout and Organisation
In the data editor it is pretty easy to organise each items you edit and go back to previous items that you want to add to.
There are two menus which are both located on the left hand side of the data editor. The top menu shows you three things, 'File' which allows you to see details about the editor as explaining previously; 'Database' which is the most important part of the editor as you can access and search all types of editable items here. The third thing is the current item that you are editing, for example if you are editing the club Liverpool it will show 'Liverpool'.
On the lower menu it shows all the items that you can access depending on what is selected in the top menu. If the 'Database' option is selected you will see all the categories in which you can access and search for specific items belonging to that category. Once you have selected an item, such as a club it then shows which items belonging to that can be edited.
If you want to view items that you have previously edited then click the button 'Recent Database Records' which will bring down a list of recently edited items.
For each database item (For example: Awards) there will be up to four options (as well as search) to start you off, these are all self-explanatory. You can add a new item, edit a item, duplicate an item or remove an item
Unique IDs
When using the database editor you will discover that each item has a Unique ID which is given to you and is uneditable. Unique Ids are not important for your database but are used to link graphics to the game.
Editing and adding Awards
When you add or edit a award there are three sections that you can edit, they are Details, Rules and History.
In Details the first two fields are Name and Short Name, these two are simple and don't need any explanation, I recommend not picking anything too long though. The next three fields are Continent, Nation and Competition and these do not have to be filled in. If the award is exclusive to a continent, nation or competition then you can fill these in, for example for a 'European Player of the Year' award you would have to set the continent to Europe. Reputation (there are various types) shows how prestigious and valued the award is, so for example if it is really important like 'World Player of the Year' it will be 20 (maximum value) but if it's not very important it will be lower, I recommend looking at a award similar to the one you are adding/editing to find a sensible value. Of course if the Award is 'English Player of the Year' then the Winner Home Reputation would be higher. The three colours you can edit are used for displaying the award in game, of course these are totally up to you.
The rules decide what type of award is and how it is done, all the fields are very self-explanatory and you should be able to work them out by themselves.
History is also pretty self-explanatory, if it is a new award then you will probably leave this blank, also if you are adding a year and the award only has a winner and no runners up then you don't have to fill in second and third place.
Editing and adding Clubs
Creating a club is one of the most complex of things you can do in the editor and there are lots of field that you can edit.
The first editable section is Details and this is the basic information that sums up the main stuff about the club. From Name down to Second Nickname the fields are self-explanatory. The Nation shows what Country the club is from and Year Founded is up to you. For status I recommend sticking with professional unless you're creating a really low club. I also recommend leaving the maximum age unticked unless of course you are creating a club for some type of youth challenge or something. It is up to you what you set the Morale of the club and the reputation is too but you should base it on the quality of the squad and how well known the club is. For the reserve team you can keep this blank and you'll still have reserved and youth teams, this option is if you want a reserve team playing in a proper league like Real Madrid do.
In the stadium section you can pick a stadium that your club plays in and also one for your reserves if you like. You can set your attendances to whatever you like too. Also you can set the standard of your training and youth setup (maximum 20) and choose whether your club has a youth academy or not. In alternative stadiums you can select other stadiums where your club will play in specific competitions for example if you're a club with a smaller stadium you may have to use a bigger one for champions league games, like Unirea do in real life. The stadium move section can be used if you plan on your club moving stadium in the future, you can choose a stadium to move to and the leaving date (of current stadium) and move in date (for new stadium).
In the finances section you can decide how much money the club has in every department as well as control debts and player clauses. The most important figure is the Balance and this it the total amount of money the club has for everything. If you want you can decide your club's transfer budget and remaining wage budget or if you leave them blank they will calculate themselves depending on the club's balance. You can decide whether the club is Public Limited Company or if it is a 'Sugar Daddy' club and what type of Sugar Daddy. You can decide the cost of tickets for your club and the amount of season ticket holders as well as the amount the club pays in stadium rental fees (if any). In Other Income you can decide any money the club is going to be receiving in the future, in debts you can decide any money the club is giving out in the future. With Player Buy Back Clauses you can add any players that the club has sold but can be brought back for a certain price and in Sell On Clauses you can add players that play for your team that if sold a certain percentage of the transfer fee will go to a certain club. Appearance Money Clauses are for when a club have bought a player but are paying the club in certain instalments.
In Competitions you decide all the leagues the club plays in as well as their European coefficients. As well as their current competition you can choose the clubs last position, a possible next league (after the current season) any other leagues they play in as well and whether the league has youth or reserve fixtures. You can also add regional divisions that they play in.
In tactical attributes you can decide how the team are represented in the match engine (each options is out of 20) during the game, these aren't important if you are planning to manage the team.
In Kits and Colours you can choose the design of the team's kits and how they are shown in the match engine. You can customise Home, Away, Third kits for both outfield players and goalkeepers. You can edit the shirt design, icon (that little dot running around in the 2D engine), the shirt text, shorts and socks.
The Staff and Players section is one of the most important for creating a club and you can decide the board, coaches, scouts, physios, players and club captains by clicking the add button and searching for a person, you can also remove people.
In relationships you can choose the clubs rivals, favourite people, disliked people and club legends by clicking add and searching for clubs/people.
In Affiliations you can decide all the clubs affiliates whether it be a parent or feeder club. There are many different types of affiliates and you can choose the type as well as how much the club might pay them in a yearly fee.
In the Records section you can edit every single one of the clubs records and it is a pretty simple process although I recommend to leave this section as it can take a lot of time.
In club history you can choose how the club has done in the previous seasons in their league, this is pretty simple and you just fill out all the fields with the information you want.
Editing and adding Cities
Editing or adding a new city is one of the easiest thing to do in the editor as there is only one section to edit. Of course you have to choose a name and country,. Other fields include also the local region of it, such as Yorkshire. The attraction (maximum 20) which is important for a club that plays there as it helps the player more likely to come or settles in better. The rest of the information is more geographical information which I'm sure you can find on the internet somewhere or make something up for yourself.
Editing and adding Competitions
Competitions is one part of the editor that has been largely revamped for the new editor with the new ability to add new competitions, although competitions may take a bit more effort to complete the whole process is incredibly simple where you simply fill in boxes with the relevant details.
On the main competitions screen if you click add in the bottom right corner you get a blank new competition for you to play with. In the details screen you can enter simply the main details of your competition like it's name and country as well as some of it's regulations and logo colours. If you are creating a league like the Blue Square North you can add boundaries from countries in which you can restrict which teams get in the division through promotion/relegation.
In the teams area it is extremely simple to quickly search for teams you want to compete in the league in the first season and you can also decide what teams get added next year in the 'Teams for next season' section such as the new clubs being introduced to the MLS. You can also decide what teams participate in the league as their second league and add 'registered' teams which isn't really necessary though.
In the records section you can add existing records from previous teams from matches like best result, to competition runs like beast streak without losing. You can also add player records from matches.
In the history section you can add the results of the previous years in the competition with the winners, runners up and third place teams.
Editing Continents
This is one of the most useless features of the editor which is pretty pointless to be honest. There is only one section you can edit here which is the basic continent details like their names, the only thing you might be interested in editing would be the regional strength.
Editing Descriptions
Okay, this is actually the most useless feature of the editor, all you can do here is edit the words you see in the game, for example you could change 'talented manager' so it would now read as 'Raymond Domenech'
Editing and adding Injuries
I'm not sure why you'd want to add or change a current injury type but anyway if you did there's only one section you need to fill out which covers everything that the game needs for an injury.
In the first two fields you can decide the name of the injury such as 'pulled hamstring' and also how it will be read in game so just add something like an 'a' before it. The next fields are all about the maths and decide how long the injury is, the minimum days + extra days is the total amount of days and injury can stay for. I suggest keeping the inactive ratio at 60 as I'm sure all injuries have that and I'll admit I'm not quite sure what it means, the occurrence ratio is how likely the injury is to happen. For a rarer injury such as a broken leg it will be lower at something like 0.50, for a more common injury it would be higher as for example a pulled hamstring could be 2. You can also change the injury percentage for the goalkeeper and central defenders as injuries like broken legs are less likely to occur for goalkeepers. You can tick whether the injury is recurring (for example King's knees will always be bad) or if it's contagious such as a infection/virus. In category you choose which type of injury it is whether it is a body part or even a rehabilitation injury, as well as how serious it is, if there is an age rule (less or above 28) or a season which players can catch it in.
In the bottom box for treatment you can tick as many options as you want as to how players can treat the injury in game, the options are physio, specialist, injection or isolation (sending players home with a virus)
Editing and adding Languages
Language is another thing that might as well not be in the editor as I doubt anyone's going to add their own language, with only four options you can decide when adding/editing a language. You can obviously decide the name of the language and which country it I from but also you can decide it's influence (English is the highest as it is spoken more commonly around the world) and it's difficulty (to learn) which effects how long it takes manager's to get used to it when they move to the country.
Editing Local Regions
You can only edit local regions within countries that clubs play in, another simple and not used feature of the editor allows you to change the region name, the language spoken in it, it's nation and population by simply filling in boxes, or searching for the appropriate choice.
Editing and adding Media Sources
In this area you can add your own or edit existing media sources which bring you your news as a manager. In the details section you can decide the name and the website URL of the source (if any). If it is fake, which you should just leave blank (don't know what this means to be honest) how often the newspaper is, the most common is weekday mornings. The date is was last published although you should just leave this blank. The scope is what the newspaper focuses on whether it be just one competition or the whole country etc. and you can also change the style of the media source (mainly broadsheet).
In the types box you can decide what the media source uses to publish it's information such as a newspaper or magazine (multiple types allowed) and in the linked media you can add similar sources that are associated with it like for example the daily mail would have the Sunday mail in this area.
In the areas covered section of editing Media Sources you can decide what information the media source brings you. You can decide from continents, competitions, cities, specific clubs and more.
Editing Nations
This is one of the more interesting and complicated bits of the editor which you are more likely to use, this section is extremely similar to the clubs area but of course is to do with international teams.
In the details area you can simply fill in the information on the nations names, it's capital city what region it is part of, for example England is UK & Ireland. The national stadium where the nation's home games are played it's reputation (out of 10,000) and the standard of it's top league (out of 20), if you are struggling on what figures to put in here just check out the figures for nations you would say are in a similar mould to yours.
In the information area you can decide more information about the actual state of the nation, you can decide it's economic factor which will obviously be higher for bigger nations like the USA and England. You can decide in years how long it takes for a foreign player to gain nationality for that country if he plays there and if the nation is part of the EU. In the state of development you can change the state of the country, a quick internet search should tell you the state of the country and if it is a third world, developing or developed nation. In the game importance you can basically set how popular/good the football is, for example England's would be very important and Andorra's would be Completely Useless. You can also decide the nation's FIFA ranking points which decide how high up in the World Rankings they are, I recommend that if you want to put the nation in a specific place to look at the country that would be above/below you and their ranking points, you can also decide if the nation is a full FIFA member.
In the EURO Coefficients box you can decide it's coefficients for over the past 6 years, I recommend keeping these the same unless you know how they work and what you want to do.
In tactical attributes you can decide how the team are represented in the match engine (each options is out of 20) during the game, these aren't important if you are planning to manage the team, you can also decide what formation the country normally uses in different situations (such as defensive formation).
In Kits and Colours you can choose the design of the team's kits and how they are shown in the match engine. You can customise Home, Away, Third kits for both outfield players and goalkeepers. You can edit the shirt design, icon (that little dot running around in the 2D engine), the shirt text, shorts and socks. You can also add kits that you want the game to change them to in future years.
In staff and players you can simply add and remove any coaching staff or physios that you like and you can also choice the captain and vice-captain in the captains tab at the top.
In rival nations you can search for a country you want to add as the nation's rival and choose the level of intensity, for a fierce rivalry you would be choosing around 85-100 but for smaller rivalries the number would be lower such as 40-60.
In transfer preferences you can actually decide where most of teams signings actually come from and how which countries clubs have the most scouting knowledge on, this section is up to you what countries you like, the higher the rating the more players and I would base the scouting knowledge (out of 10) on how close the country is to yours.
Languages is self-explanatory, just search for the language that is spoken in your nation and what percentage of the nation speak it.
When you start the game with a nation you'll notice a number of friendlies have already been arranged for you, you can edit these in the 'Current Friendlies' section and decide any upcoming friendlies being able to choose the opponents, dates, stadium, and if it is a home fixture.
The last part of editing nations is Famous Players which the information is used in news items that you see where players might say things to do with an upcoming match, you can decide which players you like for this along with a brief description of them and how tall they are.
Editing and adding People
This is certainly the most in-depth feature of the editor and with so many options you can create almost any type of person you would want for you game. The first thing you'll notice is that if you click add you will get a number of options of which type of person so I will start at the top (explaining all the sections for the first one) and go down (explaining unique ones that haven't been previously mentioned), again if you want to skip to a certain one I recommend using the Ctrl+F feature.
PLAYER
The first thing you decide about a player is the main details, of course. You first enter all his name details and then you can decide all the features that will be used in the in-game 3D match engine with things like Hair Colour and Skin Tone. After that you can decide the players city of birth, his date of birth, what country he plays for (and if he is declared for them) and if they are retired/have set a date for retirement or are going to retire after they leave their current club. You can then add any second nations the player may have and their international statistics.
In the contract area you can choose their parent club (Contract) and choose a preferred squad number. If they have a nation contract (I suggest not), their loan contract where you decide the start and end date, if the parent club can recall them, their squad number at the loaning club, the optional fee to buy and the percentage of wages paid by the loaning club. You can also choose if they have a future transfer set with the date, fee and new role (if one). Last but not least on the contracts area you can also sort out any details for their MLS contracts if they play in that league, if you want a better understanding on how these work I suggest reading this guide.
In person data you can decide the mental attributes of this person from adaptability to temperament, you can also decide the players job preferences for when he retires. In the languages tab you can add languages to the player and their proficiency or you can choose that they cannot speak it (although that's a bit pointless).
In player attributes you can decide all the players attributes that are reflected on the pitch. In the general tab you can decide the players current and potential ability, two very important numbers (out of 200) which basically determine how good a player is and will be. You can also decide the players reputation, height, weight and how strong they are on each foot. You can edit how long they have trained at a club or in a nation which effects the home grown rulings in game. In positions tab it is pretty simple, you just decide how strong a player is in each position (with 20 being the strongest). From Mental Attributes to Goalkeeper Attributes along the tabs at the top you fill in various attributes that make up how a player performs in game (out of 20). In the preferred moves tab you can decide on actions that a player commonly does in game, for example you can choose that a player likes to argue with officials a lot. In the injuries section you can add any current injuries that you like with the start and end date along with how severe it is or if it is permanent. In the bans tabs you can add a current ban and how long it is for.
In relationships you can choose the favourite and disliked people as well as favourite and disliked clubs by clicking add and searching for clubs/people.
In the history section you decide the clubs the player had previously played for and how they performed, you can decide the year, team, goals, division, transfer fee and more by simply filling in the boxes.
In the non-playing history section you can do something similar but add their times at certain clubs in different roles like as a coach. In the achievements section you can add records from previous clubs if they have finished in the top three of a competition.
NON PLAYER
For non player the details section is the same as player. The contract section is the same as player except no loans or future transfers. The person data is the same as player as well as relationships, playing and non-playing history and achievements. The only thing different is the new non player data.
In the ability and reputation section of Non Player Data you can decide the potential and current ability of the person as well as the reputation and their preferred formations. In the tactical attributes area you can choose out of 20 how they're tactics are reflected in the game and you can choose a number of attributes that are non tactical in the next tab which have different influences for different roles, from buying players to physiotherapy. In the tendencies tab you can add different manager tendencies, for example Arsene Wenger would have signs a lot of youth players. In the Board Confidence tab you can decide how confident the board and fans are in the person out of 200.
PLAYER / NON PLAYER
The player / non player role is a person that has all the player sections that are editable as well as the adding non player data section.
OFFICIAL
Editing/Adding an official means using a different template from the previous type of people. For officials there are two sections, the first is details where you can enter the basic information about him/her. Like their name, if they are male or female, city of birth and nation, retirement information and match engine features like skin tone.
The second second for an official is Official Data where you basically decide how the official is portrayed in the game. You can decide the person's current and potential ability as well as their reputation. You can decide whether they are a FIFA official, continental official, or an assistant referee only. You can decide their common traits they have in keep such as whether they often allow the game to keep flowing, how many important matches they feature in, how much pressure they have and how good they are at time keeping. At the bottom of the section you can add compeition that they are referees in or assistant referees in.
RETIRED PERSON
This is one of the easiest type of people to fill in using the editor as not a lot of information is used by the game as usually only their name is mentioned in the news or the clubs information screen. In the details area it is basically a watered down version from the previous people types with their name, skin tone and retirement detail editable. The other sections that are editable are found in the player are of the guide (above).
Editing and adding Stadiums
Stadiums are pretty simple to edit/add. In the first (main) section, details you decide everything you need for your stadium. You can choose it's name, the city which it is in and the nation chooses itself, also which club owns the stadium.
You can then change the stadiums capacities (and how much of it is seated), you can also add an optional capacity for all-seater competitions although I recommend leaving this. You can decide the extension capacity and how much of it is used as well as the pitch type (mainly always grass), the length and width (although this is determined in game). You can decide the build date although it's unnecessary and you should probably just leave it blank. Then you can decide the condition of the stadium and if it is used by the under 21 team. You can also choose if the stadium is still used or not or if it is covered or has under-soil heating, last but not least you can select any nearby stadiums.
In the capacity changes section you can decide if the stadium will have any expansions in the future, if so what dates and by how much.
Editing Stage Names
Editing stage names is similar to descriptions and another pretty much pointless feature of the editor, any type of round/stage of a competition for example 'final' you can change the name for as well as the short and plural name.
Editing and adding Weather
In the editor you can't actually edit the forms of weather such as rainy and sunny weather but instead decide certain temperatures in different places at different times, editing weather takes a lot of time and effort and is pretty much unneeded so when making a databases I suggest not using this feature.
Anyway if you are editing a weather, in the details section you can only change the name then in the other sections (the seasons) you decide various things like how much precipitation, wind and different temperature types there is from how cold to how 'very hot' it is. Admittedly, I still haven't quite figured out how the figures actually work here so I recommend looking at other places and using them as a base.
Adding Nation Rules
This is a brand new feature added into the editor which allows you to select a nation to create new competitions and rules for or to add lower divisions and cups to an existing structure.
If you are creating new competitions and rules for a country you will first have to enter the season start date and end date as well as the date when the new season updates then you have you're new structure for example 'Nation Rules – Holland'.
There are three main sections that you can edit now, the first is general where you basically decide how the league works, when it starts and what the rules are. You can add First Reserve/Youth team competitions and decide what day they play on from Reserves down to U18s using the same format as the senior team league. In the transfer windows tab you can add as many transfer windows as you like although a Summer and January one would be sensible, you can select the start and end dates. In the disciplinary rules section you decide how many yellow cards a player needs in a sequence to get a ban, how many games they are banned for, when the ban occurs and also ban rules for every red card.
In the leagues section you can add new leagues and you are asked whether it is a single division or if it contains sub-divisions. Then you add in the current compeitions (for example, the Eredivisie) or sub-divisions and then edit the settings for the number of rounds (mainly 1), the sub rules (mainly 3 from 5), the number of promotion and relegation places and the match day. In the main overview of leagues you can move leagues up or down to structure them how you like for relegations/promotions.
When adding a cup in the Cups section you first choose if it is an FA Cup where the winner qualifies for a continental competition, a Super Cup between two competition winners or another type of cup. Then you choose the competition you want to use and add in the number of teams from what divisions you like to participate then you can decide the settings like the Number of Legs each round, match rules (for example extra time and penalties), the sub rules and match day.
Once you have finished adding a new league/cup structure click Test Nation Rules on the left and it will tell you of any errors you have made for example teams should not be promoted from the top league.
If you chose to add new competitions to an existing structure all of what I have just gone over would be done for you except with the real life competitions then you can do the same as before and add any new competitions above/below the existing leagues.
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