I would like to share with you my newgen replacement pack. The pack currently consists of:
146,000 male player pictures across 55 different ethnicity categories
18000 female player pictures - this base pack is still under development, not every nation/ethnicity is covered yet.
18000 staff pictures for both male and female.
You can have a preview of my pictures and (almost all) ethnicity categories here:
MALE PICTURE SHOWCASE
FEMALE PICTURE SHOWCASE
For FM26, you can get the pack in two versions:
a) Single Bundle File (NG_Regens Lite Experience)
This is a single bundle file that you can place in your FM26 folder. It's easy to install and use, but it's significantly limited in what it can do, how many faces it includes, and what methods are used to assign faces to newgens.
b) Full Experience with Custom Software
For Windows (FM26 and FM24) and Mac (FM26 or FM24 with the old shortlist method on the old 25 verison of the software) users I recommend the full experience with my custom software. It supports more than 10 times the number of pictures, categories, and assignment methods. For FM26 I'm currently investigating how to port this to Steam Deck.
THE FULL VERSION FOR WINDOWS(FM26 AND FM24) and macOS (FM26 only):
Follow the guide here:
FM26/FM24 WINDOWS GUIDE
or
FM26 MAC EARLY BETA GUIDE - Mac version is in VERY early beta stage, so errors are more than possible. Please report your issues in the comment section and I will get back to you.
If you can open the page from your phone, but not from your pc, then it is your Windows Antivirus/WebFilter - You can try to whitelist *.ngregens.org somewhere in its settings. As another workaround you can try to set your Windows DNS Settings to use Google DNS 8.8.8.8 or Cloudflare DNS 1.1.1.1. You can find (not mine) guide on how to do that on your Windows machine here
THE BUNDLE REPLACEMENT METHOD:
If you're on Windows, I strongly recommend using the full experience of the pack with my custom software. However, if your platform isn't supported yet or you don't want to deal with the software I've created, I have a bundle file for you to use with the bundle replacement method. Just keep in mind that this bundle represents only about 5-10% of the full experience (it's not me limiting you to force software adoption - this is simply how the bundle method works).
1. Download the updated bundle file from here: https://download.ngregens.org/ui-newgen-portraits_assets_all.bundle
2. Go to your FM26 install directory. By default, it should be \Steam\steamapps\common\Football Manager 26\fm_Data\StreamingAssets\aa\StandaloneWindows64\
3. Make a backup of the ui-newgen-portraits_assets_all.bundle file in case you want to revert to default faces.
4. Copy the file you downloaded in step 1 into the FM26 folder, replacing the original file.
5. Start FM26, go to the Preferences screen, and select "Detailed" in the top menu. Then select "Audio & Visual" in the left menu and check the "Use pre-generated pictures of players (and staff) rather than dynamically-generated images" option (as shown in the screenshot).
6. Restart the game.
To revert (or migrate to my full-featured experience with the custom software), uncheck the "Use pre-generated pictures of players (and staff) rather than dynamically-generated images" option and copy the original bundle (that you backed up in step 3) back into the FM26 directory.
If you are interested in FM24 version with shortlist export method for both Windows and Mac you can still download and use the old 25 version of the software below.
This is project costs me 100-200e monthly to develop and support, so your donations are greatly appreciated!
Stay tuned!
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BELOW IS THE OLD SHORTLIST EXPORT METHOD FOR FM24 AND BELOW FOR ALL PLATFORMS:
Due to how diverse the pack is, I had to create my own expanded folder system to accomodate all 55 categories, so the pack requires a custom NG_Regens Manager 25 software
Installation guide:
1 - Get the main NG_Regens facepack here
2 - Copy the NG_Regens folder into your FM Graphics folder. It would be the same folder where you have put the original newgan facepack or where you put real facepacks. In my case that would be “Documents\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2024\graphics\faces\”
3. Download the NG_Regens Manager 25: Mac
4. Watch the NG_Regens Manager 25 guide on Youtube
If you need a detailed video guide on shortlist export process you can find it here
Deepdive into new version 1.2 features
I will redo all three current Youtube videos into one, but this is a time consuming process, so bear with me.
If you’ve already got a save going and want to keep your existing regen faces but generate new ones using my latest pack—you’re all good, I’ve got you covered! The program can read both the classic NewGAN format (Zealand’s original one) and the newer FM.Z/URAN format. If anyone’s using a different format, definitely let me know so I can look into it.
Just a heads-up though—this compatibility is one-way:
You can use your old mappings with this tool, but you won’t be able to go back and use classic NewGAN/FM.Z/FMRTE afterwards (or at least, I honestly have no idea what would happen).
So here’s what to do:
Find your current regen pictures folder — this is the folder you've been using as your image folder in NewGAN Manager, FM.Z Manager, or FMRTE.
Copy the contents of the NG_Regens folder from the archive you downloaded in Step 1 of the guide and paste it right into that same image folder.
If you’re using the classic NewGAN format, your folders should now look something like this, with old and new folders side by side at the same level:
There’s just one small caveat: the folder called "Scandinavian" exists in both the old and new packs. But don’t worry—our files have different names, so they won’t overwrite each other.
Here’s what will happen with that specific folder:
Your old face assignments will stay intact—no worries there. The system will treat the "Scandinavian" pics from both packs as part of the same group. That means you might see old faces showing up on new players and if you start a new save and click "Generate", the program will pull from both versions. You’ll basically end up with a Scandinavian mega-pack of around 12,000 pics.
If you’re using the FM.Z/URAN format, your folder structure should look like this:
Just keep them at the same level in the directory and you’re all set!
If you have any questions regarding the installation or anything else, you can leave a comment here, on my youtube channel or you can send me an email to [email protected]
I hope you have fun with the pack and have a very nice day!
F.A.Q.
Q: Why did you create a new folder structure? / How can I unpack your pack into the old NewGAN "Italmed/YugoGreek..." folders?
A:
First off, huge shoutout to the original NewGAN team—they did an amazing job, and their work is still being used by thousands of people today. Even my project builds on the filters and views they created, so big respect to them. Seriously, none of this would be possible without their foundation.
That said, the original NewGAN pack came out about five years ago, and it was built using the tools and structure available at the time. It only has 14 categories for the entire world. A lot of care went into the big football nations, but unfortunately, many other countries kind of got lumped together in ways that don’t really make sense.
Let’s do a little experiment: I could show you a few images from my pack, each from a different category. In the old NewGAN setup, all of those would’ve ended up in the same group—meaning a player from one of those countries could randomly get any of those faces.
Notice the difference? That’s why it’s just not possible to repackage my set back into the old structure without losing all the nuance (or simply creating a mess).
That said, you can totally keep using your existing save where players already have NewGAN faces assigned, and just use my pack for generating new faces. I’ve got a guide on Reddit that walks you through it—look for the section called "Keeping your current regens."
![FM24 2025-26 Real Fixture & Results (Start in 2025) [January update]](https://www.fmscout.com/datas/users/realresult_artv2_257759.png)
Discussion: NG_Regens Newgen Megapack with Women's Football Pack 2 - FM26, FM24 and below
341 comments have been posted so far.
Regarding the config editing - the answer is yes, but make sure you read the "Advanced Users" remark on the News screen of the software. Alternatively you can use "Assign pictures manually" mode from the generation wizard.
I have a couple of questions I was hoping to get help with:
Is it possible to include non-clickable staff, like journalists and personal assistants, in the logic and generate images for them too?
If I edit the config file to link a specific image to a specific player, and then later update it using preserve, will it keep my edits?
But as you say it only affects loading. You might try to experiment with skin caching if it speeds things up.
I definately will work on that, but I want to do things properly, so it will take some time unfortunately.
The whole process of collecting training data, training models, the generation itself and picture post-processing after that takes hell lot of time.And that needs to be redone for every ethnicity/nationality category.
Tldr: Yes, but gradually and over time.
So when I want to add the config to my profile in the tool what exactly am I supposed to add there? Im used to working with the original NewGan tool, but obviously the new game and your tool are different.
edit: Nevermind, I just saw the beta instructions on ngregens.org. Absolute legend. I’ll be buying you a coffee and paying for electricity really soon. Killer stuff.
If you are on windows you can use the pack right now with the provided software. It will assign faces to male players, and both male and female staff (no female players pack yet).
The male player pack is fully functional with my custom assignment logic that people have used in FM24.
The staff pack is pretty basic (for my standards) and I still work on better assignment logic, but better then plastic heads
Im not 100% sure what the SI hotfix does, but it didnt seem to affect my assignment method in any way. I tried it after the patch and it is still the same (the config.xml not able to read subfoders was still not fixed, but I understand SI has other priorities now and thats fair).
I've yet to use your pack, but it sounds like we can use it for FM26 right now, but more enhancement and potential mapping is still being worked on?
Just curious if SI's update for today's patch changes anything, positively or negatively, in regards to your work on the update for FM26?
"A smaller update is now live on Steam and Epic.
A key element is the use of pre-generated player and staff images. Due to an in-game toggle not functioning as intended in previous builds, we've revised our approach as detailed in the changelist below. These changes give you greater control over how these images are displayed in FM26, especially important on lower-end devices which was the intention.
We understand though that this lead to confusion, with some believing that all Newgen faces in the game are pre-determined. We want to emphasize that this is not the case – but through our adjustments you now have the ability to choose between pre-generated and dynamically generated player and staff images, granting you full control over these settings."
If you want to assign a specific face to a specific player you can also do that via manual assignment mode (2nd option in the wizard). Just dont forget that FM26 bug workaround with Clean up/Activate. If SI confirms this is not a bug or wont fix this with the official release, then I will probably consider that a feature and make it run automatically
I'm in the process of creating guides for everything similar to the beta guide you probably have followed on ngregens.org, but it takes time. Between model trainings, picture generations, software development, working and parenting things go slow sometimes
Nevertheless, I installed it with protontricks inside the steam proton FM26 prefix and it loaded the save game. As its a brand new save, I dont have newgens. Will try again later into the game.
Mac and Linux are on my radar to make work, it is doable, I can build nativelly for mac and linux, I just need SI to stop pushing updates too often (as every update makes me look for new patterns to make it work again, kind of like FMRTE).
Now, it installed fine on linux so now I am going to try installing inside steam FM26 prefix.
Do you have your FM26 savegame loaded? What platform are you, Steam, Epic or something else?
It says: Unable to read FM26. FM24 not found.
But FM26 is open and my savegame is loaded.
So basically that would mean:
All central/east asia - KZ, Mongola, China, Korea, Japan would be the same face
The whole Northern-Central Europe from Island to Hungary, from Paris to Vladivostok, Australia, NZ, USA, Canada would be the same face.
Almost every black player would be the same face.
For now it seems even more basic that the original NewGAN. OG NewGAN had 14 categories. FM.Z tool had Ethnicity Code + Nation code pairings.
Lets see if someone finds a way to manupilate it more. I will monitor how things develop, for now I will stick with my own tool. For FM24 there are still no other alternatives possible and FM26 re-uses 90% of the code, so Im not stressed about that.
The BassyBoy method currently only replaces (I presume) pre-generated SI faces with og Newgan. But it doesnt change the core SI logic that tells which newgen gets what face.
Even when I reduced my demands to "I want to see a white face on a white person, a black face on a black person and an asian face on an asian person" it still took me 2 minutes to find even that simple rule broken multiple times.
This is not BassyBoy's fault, he is real gigachad, but we need more control to make this pack work with that method.
Have you noticed that views and filters are nowhere to be found? I have been trying to use the tool to assign the facepack to all regens, using the unemployed manager, but as unemployed there isn't even the possibility to the players list.
The real best-of-both-worlds solution would be to read the information from save files. Those of you who remember CM01/02 days might remember an Options menu with a Save Compression on/off toggle. When turning it off, tools like CM Genie Scout (or something similar) were able to read info from there and find you those sweet Tsygalkos.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to turn off encryption now, probably because SI wants to monetize the Live Editor... not sure if Unity changes anything on that front.