QUALITY over quantity
I wanted to create the MOST REALISTIC set of Legendary Wonderkids that I possibly could! The Wonderkids should enhance the enjoyment of the game for the next 15 seasons!
- Add players with as close to their real life attributes as I can, including injury proneness, dirtiness, personalities, likes and dislikes etc.
- Add the historic data, and capture the personality of the players.
- Most players will start the game at about 17 years old, my target age because they can sign a professional contract in most leagues. But some players like George Weah start later, because he only went to Europe later.
- I try to start the players in the exact same club they joined at the exact age/time that they start the game in. But some players' clubs have dissolved so I put them in the next club they played for.
- I try to capture the `personality` and REAL LIFE choices of the players in the `Career Plans` section.
Career Plans
The `Career Plans` section (a section in the data editor) helps to guide the player to the clubs, leagues and nations the player wants to play for, and which ones they don't want to play for!I based these on REAL LIFE offers the player accepted/rejected, news/media/interviews of the player, but mostly it's based on the nations and clubs he played for in REAL LIFE.
Generally players will NOT accept offers from major rival clubs, unless they actually DID accept offers from the rival clubs in REAL LIFE, ie. Luís Figo
UNLIKE other legends databases, where you can just sign any player you want, this database will try to simulate the REAL LIFE likes and dislikes a player has for clubs, nations and leagues.
For example:
- Pelé said in interviews he would want to play for Arsenal or Barcelona because they play a similar style to what he played at Santos. So Pelé will join Barca and Arsenal, but doesn't want to play for clubs that generally `buy` their star players like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Man City and PSG. Other clubs are also free try to sign him, but if Barca and Arsenal make an offer for him, he will prefer to go there!
- Maradona prefers to play for Napoli (historic), Barcelona (historic), Man City (personal reasons, ie. Sergio); and doesn't want to play for Man United (rivals) and Arsenal. Other clubs can also try to sign him!
Loans, offers and transfers
Sometimes I send the player on loan to a major club they played for, with a `FEE to buy` ($$$), so the (major) club who they played for has the opportunity to BUY the player first.
I might also send a player on loan to smaller clubs to get experience, because they might not always develop properly in their parent club.
Some players might have FORCED transfers at the start of the game, sometimes transferring at the end of the season, especially if they transferred at the end of their first year in real life!
Don't ask me to add player X!
I don't take requests on this! I have a list of 500+ players to add! (There is an excel spreadsheet in the zip file with all my data)
Each player takes 2 to 4 hours to add! So I can usually only do at most 6 players per day!
Because I make custom graphics (face and background) and I load/check/gather all historic data!
And I read tons of information on each player, then data capture their stats from older versions of FM if I can.
Then I simulate the game for 10 seasons (8 hours) and record their progress and stats
This takes a SHIT LOAD OF TIME! I've been working on this for 2 months already!
Q. Why does player X have attribute Y?
These are loaded as WONDERKIDS (they will develop semi-randomly), I only set some starting attributes for them, loosely based on their final attributes. But they develop differently in different clubs, and when they are used in different positions!
For example, Messi was loaded in FM06 with -10 PA (Potential Ability) when he was 19 years old, giving him a random PA of 170~200.
Then he was set to 192, 197,195,197 in FM07, FM08, FM09, FM11.
I also use random PA for some players, and other players like Messi I will set to a fixed PA (200 in Messi's case)
Normally I set the starting CA (Current Ability) to about 120~140, and PA (Potential Ability) of 170~200. The maximum CA points I've seen them gain in 1 year was 15, but they average about +10 CA per year until about 24~26 years old.
I cannot predict exactly how many points they will gain, but I have my averages. For example, I normally set a club leader/captain to have about 13/14 Leadership at 17 years old, because they normally gain about +5 leadership by 24 years old. So it should give them around 18~20 Leadership. I have tested the range of ALL attributes, they are listed in my Excel spreadsheet. A LOT of work has gone into trying to predict their final attributes, but it's not an exact science, I just do the best I can!
Where possible, I use the data from the older FM games, I have FM06, 07, 08, 09, 11, (14, 15 not loaded), FM16 and FM17, and I record all their changes. So I can load the wonderkids based on older data.
Q. Why does player X have height Y?
I set the height on average 2cm lower than their real/final height at age 17. On average they should grow 2cm. However, they can gain anywhere from 1 to 4cm, so they might reach their real life height, but it will be close enough!
MY CUT OUT FACES
This is the FIRST and ONLY legends database with custom made CUT-OUT FACES!
I made ALL the black and white cut-outs, and about 50% of the color ones.
The rest mostly come from the sortitoutsi.net Cut Out Player Faces Megapack!
Credit is given inside the readme file!
Some come from futhead website, but I'm slowly replacing them!
I made the cut-out faces for:
Eusébio, Diego Maradona, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Bobby Moore, Zinedine Zidane, Franz Beckenbauer, Hugo Sánchez, Silvio Piola, Ferenc Puskás, Giampiero Boniperti, Bobby Charlton, Garrincha, John Charles, Stanley Matthews, Raymond Kopa, Zarra etc. to name a few!
You can use them if you give me credit!
Help wanted on the cut out faces! If you help me cut-out faces, I'll add your legends!
I prefer to get faces from about mid 20's if possible!
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
I have the faces for them, but I have NOT added/changed them!
I'm still not sure if I want to add a `Junior` version of them (ie. keep them in the game but add another copy of them as a wonderkid?) Let me know what you think!
How to install the Legendary Wonderkids database in FM17
- Extract the files from the zip file.
- Copy the `editor data` and `graphics` folders to: C:\Users\[MY_USER_ACCOUNT]\Documents\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2017\
- Start a NEW game! Select `Legendary Wonderkids` from the custom database drop down!
The .xlsx file is for my reference! NOT all 500 Wonderkids are added! Only about 100~200! It's taking forever!
Enjoy!
Discussion: FM17 Legendary Wonderkids Database
15 comments have been posted so far.
About Ronaldo, I think he starts in Brazil, you might need to Brazil players in a custom setup (you goto advanced setup, you don't need to load the whole league). But normally he loads in my games. You also might not be able to scout him or see him in your game, it depends on your scouting range! So, he SHOULD be in your game, but you might not be able to SEE him due to your scouts. What club are you playing? If it's medium or lower leagues, then it's probably your scouting range. Maybe find a scout that targets Brazil exclusively, or that has knowledge of Brazil.
Edit: I think he transfers to PSV, I don't have the editor open, so I can't check, just looking at him in my own game right now.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/r88r89b743zbyer/AAAkWIFwshil613ibtMGWw3Pa?dl=0
I'm in December now and snapping up legends all around the world is getting relatively easy, some are still on youth contracts but are already willing to negotiate with me. Obviously it could be because I'm playing with United. I also see a lot of these legends that start at 16 and already look like world beaters, obviously they are legends, but when you can get a player for 3 mil that would normally cost 40 mil+, it's a bit unrealistic. Another thing is there's not a lot of legends in the Premier League; Chelseas, Arsenals and whatnot don't have any legends and it brings a bit of disbalance to the game in the beginning, but it should be fixed with more additions you've got lined up and once these clubs start buying the talent a few years into the save. A few players are missing photos or have blank names. Names can be usually fixed by giving the player a nickname.
All in all, it's some fantastic work and very very enjoyable to play. Considering it's only version 1.0, I can't wait to get my hands on the next editions. Seeing these names that you used to see on Panini stickers in the 90's makes it a very special experience. Thanks a lot and good luck!
What club or legend(s) are you playing with? Do you think their starting attributes are within a realistic range? Have you bought any other legends?