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FM Graphics & Skinning FAQ - PLEASE READ BEFORE ASKING ANY QUESTIONS!
Right because we get the same questions asked here everyday I've made an FAQ to answer all the common questions I can think of so please look and see if your answer is here before you ask!
01 - WHERE CAN I DOWNLOAD FACES/LOGOS/SKINS THAT ARE NOT ALREADY IN THE GAME?
There are many websites where these can be downloaded from. The best two sites in my opinion are:
Although there are many others these two have the biggest selection and cover most things. Links to other sites/utilities can be found here
02 - HOW TO ADD A SKIN
Most skins come in a .zip file. You must extract the file using winzip (which can be found at http://www.winzip.com) to:
CProgram Files\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2005\data\skins\.
This should add a folder with the title of the skin you want to use into CProgram Files\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2005\data\skins\.
If there is no folder for that skin then you have done something wrong and the skin will not work!
03 - ADDING PLAYER FACES/CLUB LOGOS/COMPETITION LOGOS/NATIONAL TEAM LOGOS/KITS
If you download a face pack of player faces extract the files to the following directory:
CProgram Files\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2005\data\graphics\pictures\person\custom\
I recommend that you put players from different countries into seperate folders (eg. English players into a folder called 'eng')
Each player's photo must be accompanied by a config file containing the file name and the player's ID. To see how this is done download a face pack from one of the many sites they appear on and see how it has been done in that file.
Install all extra graphics in the same way but into the following folders:
Club logos:
CProgram Files\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2005\data\graphics\pictures\clubs\
Make sure that you have the "Show Player Faces" and "Show Badges/Logos" options ticked in the preferences menu of FM. If you have followed all the steps above and have this box ticked and can't see any logos you need to ask for specialist help on the forum.
05 - WILL ADDING PLAYER FACES/LOGOS/SKINS SLOW THE GAME DOWN?
No it shouldn't slow it down as the game only loads each picture as it needs it, so the game will load at the same speed as it does with the pictures that come with the game.
06 - WHERE CAN I FIND SKIN "x"?/I NEED HELP WITH SKIN "x"!
There are many skins that have been made for FM. I have listed the most popular ones here with the thread you can find them in. Please keep all questions about each skin to these specific threads:
07 - IS THERE A SKIN THAT MAKES FM LOOK LIKE CM03-04?
Sorry as of present no-one have made skin in the style of CM03-04 and due to changes in the engine old CM03-04 skins no longer work with FM
08 - HOW CAN I MAKE MY OWN SKIN?
Check out the forum on http://www.sortitoutsi.net for a short tutorial to get you started with the graphics and feel free to ask for help on these forums and show of early versions of your skin.
The best graphical program to use for this is Photoshop although it is possible to use other programs such as Fireworks and free program 'The Gimp'. I advise not using MSPaint!
09 - I WANT TO REQUEST A SKIN TO BE MADE THAT HASN'T ALREADY E.G. ONE FOR MY TEAM
Please do this, but only in the following thread!:
10 - HOW CAN I PLAY FM IN WINDOWED MODE/IN WIDESCREEN?
To play in windowed you must first be running windows in a resolution greater than 1024x768. If you are then you should be able to uncheck the "Full Screen" box in preferences in FM and play in windowed mode.
If this doesn't work the easiest way to do this is to put the following into the 'Run' box accessed from your start menu of windows:
It is also possible to change the target of your shortcut on your desktop to this to get it to work when you click on your shortcut. Just right click and change the 'target' to the above text.
If you have a widescreen monitor try doing the above and then scretching the window to play in widescreen!
11 - HOW CAN I CHANGE THE BACKGROUND PICTURE IN FM?/ADD MORE BACKGROUNDS?
In FM you can no longer at present add extra backgrounds to the game as it is not a supported feature. The box in preferences will not work whatever you do and was intended for use only if the feature was added.
You can change the background picture by swapping the default picuture with a picture of your choice. Try and make sure its size is 1024x768 and it must be named "default.jpg" and be put in the following folder:
12 - HELP I TRIED TO INSTALL A SKIN AND NOW I GET A BLACK SKIN ON LOADING FM!
You need to make sure that the skin is installed in the correct place and that any parent skins are present too.
There should be instructions with any skin you download so check these aswell. If you still have problems you will probably have to reinstall the game.
2. Extract your skin to the following location [using EITHER the built in Windows extractor or WinZIP/WinRAR]
CProgram Files\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2005\data\skins\
Please note that some skins require you to extract font files and/or additional graphics to your main fm directory.
[b]EXTRACTION GUIDELINES:
To extract a .zip file with the built in windows extractor [XP only!] double click the file you downloaded, look in the left side panel and find "extract all files to directory" and enter the path i gave you above - find the readme file in the directory you extracted the .zip file to - find your instructions from there.
WINZIP / RAR EXTRACTION GUIDELINES:
Open the file in winzip/rar and choose extract.
Find the path i gave you earlier, and click ok.
Now open the directory to which you extracted your file and locate the read me file for further instructions.
This should be idiot-proof, but should you encounter problems don't hesitate to post a new topic in the forums, but PLEASE ensure that you've followed this FAQ thoroughly before doing so.
01-07-2005, 07:38 PM
FM Graphics & Skinning FAQ - PLEASE READ BEFORE ASKING ANY QUESTIONS! Post #6
Cheers for the info, but the first hyperlink you provide in the first post re-opens this thread in a new window, which other page is it meant to link to?
01-08-2005, 09:17 AM
FM Graphics & Skinning FAQ - PLEASE READ BEFORE ASKING ANY QUESTIONS! Post #7
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Matt Jones:
Cheers for the info, but the first hyperlink you provide in the first post re-opens this thread in a new window, which other page is it meant to link to? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Just checked what you said and your right, must have had something to do with the fact Caley deleted that thread when he stickied this one!
Could a mod remove that line of the FAQ as it no longer applies. Also feel free to add a couple of aditional sites to the list that is there - but they are the only two I have used...
01-08-2005, 03:59 PM
FM Graphics & Skinning FAQ - PLEASE READ BEFORE ASKING ANY QUESTIONS! Post #9
Is there a way that we can have 4 or more colours for player attributes. For example the stone's skin attributes 1-9 are white 10-15 yellow and 16-20 orange. I want to add a 4th colour.
FM Graphics & Skinning FAQ - PLEASE READ BEFORE ASKING ANY QUESTIONS! 
Program Files\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2005\data\skins\.
Linear Mode
