This guide is for beginners who have never installed any graphic addons (such as 3D kits, 2D kits, player photos, logos, trophies, backgrounds, stadium pictures) in our beloved Football Manager. Although each of these packages is slightly different, the installation instructions are exactly the same. Thanks to michaeltmurrayuk for posting a similar article on community.sigames.com. But let’s face it:
After you have downloaded a file it will generally come in one of three formats:
zip, rar or 7z file.
Your OS should automatically support Zip files and may show up as compressed files. Rar and 7z files may require you to download some software to extract them.
Recommended software:
Windows -> 7-Zip (Choose the most recent .exe)
MacOS -> The Unarchiver
Linux -> If you are using Linux hopefully you know how to download and locate programs for Linux already.
After you instal 7-Zip using the .exe you download, following the instructions on-screen.
>To install The Unarchiver simply double click on the .zip file you download from their website then drag the program it extracts (called ‘The Unarchiver’) into your apps folder.
Once you installed one of this software, create a new folder somewhere you can keep track of (on your desktop for instance) and place your downloaded graphics zip, rar or 7z in it.
Now we extract:
Windows: Right click on your zip, rar or 7z. Choose 7-Zip from the menu, then select ‘Extract Here’.
MacOS X: Right click (or ctrl + click) on your zip, rar or 7z. Choose ‘open with’ then select ‘The Unarchiver’.
Your file should extract and most probably create a folder in the same directory.
If you extract an FMF file (or download one directly), there’s no problem. The FM Resource Tool simply packs these files. As an end user there is no need for you to mess around extracting these files, just think of these as the same as the folder you’d get from extracting the files.
Locating Your User Data Location
Once you download and extract the files, you need to move them to your User Data Location so the game can read them. First make sure you have run the game at least once (just getting to the start menu and exiting is fine) so the game can create the required folders for you. Then the exact location depends on the OS you are using, whilst both Steam and Epic versions should use the same location, however the Game Pass (Microsoft Store) version uses a slightly different location.
Windows:
By default your User Data Location is located within the Documents\Sports Interactive\ folder. Inside this folder will then be a Football Manager folder for each version of FM you have run on that computer.
You just need to open the Football Manager folder that corresponds to the version you are using.
MAC Users:
By default your User Data Location is now located within the Users\[Your Mac Username]\Library\Application Support\Sports Interactive\ folder. Inside this folder will then be a Football Manager folder for each version of FM you have run on that computer.
By default, the system hides this folder, so you need to follow these steps to access it:
- Open Finder
- Click ‘Go’ from the menu bar
- Press and hold down the ‘Option’ (Alt) key
- This will bring up the ‘Library’, click to enter then go to ‘Application Support’ -> ‘Sports Interactive’
GAMEPASS/MICROSOFT STORE USERS
If you are using this version of the game then your User Data Location is in a slightly different folder, you’ll need to open the Football Manager folder for the year of the game you are using and inside this folder you’ll notice a Gamepass folder and this is the folder you need.
After you open the correct Football Manager folder, you will see a list of folders. Locate the one called “graphics.” If it doesn’t exist, create a new folder and name it “graphics.”
Now open up your graphics folder and place the files you extracted inside it.
For the most part the sub-folders you put the graphics into doesn’t matter, though it is best to separate the different types into their own sub-folders so you don’t accidentally overwrite your kits with logos for the same teams. The thing to watch out for when organizing are the config xml files. These are vital, so do not mix and match them. A set of graphics will come with a config file that is unique to them in the same folder. Make sure to keep them together in the same folder. Do not add or overwrite any new PNG or config files in their folder.
Whilst for best results try to keep the folder names short and simple and avoid special characters where possible.
For example below is a screenshot showing what a typical end folder should look like if done correctly, note you have a config file along with several graphic files, with a short simple folder structure that stops you from accidentally overwriting the config file when installing other graphics:
Displaying Graphics in-game
Once you have added the graphics you wanted load up the game, and go into the Preferences Menu. Then you can either select the Advanced option on the left and on the top right drop down select Interface, then scroll down the Skin section and untick ‘Use caching to decrease loading times’ and tick ‘Reload skin when confirming changes in Preferences’. Or in the search bar at the top type in ‘Skin’ and in the listed results untick ‘Use caching to decrease loading times’ and tick ‘Reload skin when confirming changes in Preferences’.
Next select confirm and your new graphics should now display. Once the graphics load and you don’t plan to add more, turn the skin cache back on and untick the “Always Reload” button.
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If you want to add more graphics then just repeat the above steps, just making sure you put each pack you install into it’s own folder so you don’t accidentally overwrite the config files from your earlier packs.
©michaeltmurrayuk – article originaly submited at community.sigames.com
