There's quite a bit that can be customized here...

[Ben E Lou]

With lots of documentation, to boot. And simply in CSVs. Nice!



C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Front Office Football Nine\default_data

Originally Posted by overview.txt

Please read before attempting to make any changes to the data files associated with Front Office Football Nine.

Much of the information used by the game to create a universe is defined by the .csv files in this folder. These files can be edited, as long as you're careful to preserve the format. However, some changes might end up causing problems within the game, so be careful about the changes you make.

If you'd like to customize these files, make backups and start with easy, cosmetic changes. The working copies should remain in the game's installation folder. They are used with all new universes.

Changes to league structures, or setting up a new league structure, rank as the most difficult and should not be attempted unless you're very familiar with the game's structures. Some mistakes might not be caught when the game loads, and you might be well into a universe and find you've hit a point where the game crashes on a data element that's outside the range the game or your league can support.

All league structures require a schedule file that supports that specific league structure.

The developer can't provide instruction or support for editing these files outside of what's provided here. At some point, information might be added to the product's documentation in the form of tips or possibly links to outside sources of data files.

Every data file has a corresponding text file which explains each column in the data file.

Data file Categories:

GEOGRAPHY
areas.csv - Areas within countries.
cities.csv - Cities, which are tied to areas, metro areas and countries.
college_levels.csv - Controls how colleges are selected for players and staff.
colleges.csv - Colleges used within the universe.
countries.csv - Countries used within the universe.
metro_areas.csv - Major metropolitan areas, which contain cities that can be hosts for teams, as well as climate information used to determine weather.
regions.csv - Regions within countries. Often, a player or staff member is from a city/region combination.

PEOPLE
first_names_1.csv through first_names_4.csv - First names for players and staff.
last_names.csv - Last names for players and staff.
injuries.csv - Information about specific injuries/illnesses related to a player.
injury_levels.csv - Controls a portion of how injuries are generated within the game.

TEAMS
default_teams.csv - Information used to create teams when starting a new universe based on league structure and not a specific season.
league_info.csv - Information used to initialize a league of a specific size and format. These leagues will begin in the default season for the product.
league_years.csv - Information used to initialize a league when using a player file supplied by the game. It's unlikely you'll want to edit this file, as anything but minor cosmetic changes would likely make a universe unstable or unable to load.
nicknames.csv - Team nicknames for use when a new league is creating new teams, not from a default teams list.
team_colors.csv - Colors used to create team colors and logos for new teams, not from a default teams list.
team_info.csv - Information used to create teams when starting a new universe based on a player file supplied by the game. Note that Front Office Football Nine only includes one player file at this time. No others are available.
X_Y_Z_schedule.csv (many files) - Information used to create schedules of games within a league over a rotation of many seasons. Each file handles the schedule for leagues of that exact structure. These files must follow an exact format or a universe can become unstable.

PLAYERS/COACHES
players_xxxx.csv - The default player file for year xxxx. This is used to create a league based on a specific season (2023 is the only file provided for the Front Office Football Nine release).
quarterbacks_xxxx.csv - The default quarterback file for year xxxx.
coaches.csv - The default coaches file for year xxxx.
historic_quarterbacks.csv - Information about historic quarterbacks for leagues using the historic quarterbacks option. Unlike players in the player and quarterback files, historic quarterbacks have specific ratings in every category.

CUSTOM PLAYERS/COACHES
The custom_example folder underneath the installation folder contains an example of a set of files used to create custom players and coaches for a league of any type supported by the game.
xxxx_info.csv - Information tying the custom package to the available league types. This is a table with one row.
xxxx_players.csv - A player file consisting of players available or assigned at the beginning of the universe, and players who can be drafted in the future.
xxxx_quarterbacks.csv - A quarterback file consisting of quarterbacks available or assigned at the beginning of the universe, and quarterbacks who can be drafted in the future.
xxxx_coaches.csv - A file containing information about coaches assigned to teams at the beginning of the universe.

MISCELLANEOUS
customization_info.txt - Information about customization in Front Office Football and adding custom player/staff/team images.
encrypted_quotes.dat - Encrypted file containing the football-related quotes shown when opening the game. This file cannot be edited or viewed (easily).

All these files are found off of the installation folder. In order to edit or add files here, you might need to change the folder permissions for these folders to allow write access for your Windows user account.

Steam's default installation location is something like C:\\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Front Office Football Nine\

Editing or adding files to this directory is an advanced function that requires significant knowledge about how these structures work. That's why the files are protected in the installation folder.

[Cole]

Won’t be able to explore in the game until later tonight … but do you expect it would be intensive/difficult to add new countries/cities to the game so an international/world league would be possible ?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Cole

Won’t be able to explore in the game until later tonight … but do you expect it would be intensive/difficult to add new countries/cities to the game so an international/world league would be possible ?

The default_teams files contains teams in London, Belfast, Toronto, and others in the standard configurations, and when setting up a random custom league, there's an option for how many teams to put in the UK and/or Canada.



As far as adding new ones, everything is in csvs, so I'd imagine you could switch them out in one of the default configurations if you are so inclined.

[cubboyroy1826]

Fired the game up last night and used the FOF 2023 season to start. This has the current roster in it but I cannot figure out how to update the team names. I figured out how to update the default teams names for when you start without the 2023 rosters. Anyone else figure this out?

[Gallifrey]

Go to team_info and also go to default_teams for the league structure.

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by cubboyroy1826

Fired the game up last night and used the FOF 2023 season to start. This has the current roster in it but I cannot figure out how to update the team names. I figured out how to update the default teams names for when you start without the 2023 rosters. Anyone else figure this out?

I aded a new default_teams file on the graphics page to help.

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by Gallifrey

Go to team_info and also go to default_teams for the league structure.

Ooof, does someone have an edited team_info file? I got the default_teams from the graphics thread, but editing the team info will be some work

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by NawlinsFan

I aded a new default_teams file on the graphics page to help.

I'm having the same issue as cubby, that only works if you don't start in 2023

[cubboyroy1826]

Originally Posted by Gallifrey

Go to team_info and also go to default_teams for the league structure.

Perfect thanks!

[Gallifrey]

Originally Posted by cupofjoe

Ooof, does someone have an edited team_info file? I got the default_teams from the graphics thread, but editing the team info will be some work

Back up the default installed files in case you need to revert back. Just one time fix to change the team names.

Back up any .csv you are customizing is a good idea.

FYI, you can customize all this. For the league structure starting a league in 1976 (28/6/16 schedule structure) for instance you can move the Cardinals to St. Louis, the Colts to Baltimore etc. And change the stadium info to match the era as well as team color scheme.

[nilodor]

Exciting times. I've updated my database into the 2020's so the changing league size is fairly good news for historical simulations. I'll look to update player and draft files sometime in the new year. I just need to find time to write a bit of code.

[beatle]

Looking forward to seeing those draft files! Really appreciated the ones you did in the past!

[SlyBelle1]

Although I find it easy to customize all the various data CSV files and glad we have the ability to globally edit things, I have a question.

What happens if a patch is released that requires changes to these global CSV files because some of the data is found to be incorrect and/or needs updated? I assume that means as part of the patch we would potentially receive new updated versions of these files that would overwrite the pre-existing files we might have changed ourselves. And because Steam can auto update, that might mean when a patch is released, people might not realize the potential of their changes being overwritten. Of course you could maintain backup copies of these files in other folders, but you couldn't simply copy them back in as they would undo whatever changes were applied by the patch. And this isn't necessarily a one time thing, it could happen multiple times depending on if these files require updates in the future.

So I think this means every time a patch is released and does update the CSV files, we need to be prepared we may need to input all of our custom changes again. It's possible patches to these files may never be needed, but think it might be a possibility unless somehow the game can update these files without us losing our customizations.

[Gallifrey]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

Although I find it easy to customize all the various data CSV files and glad we have the ability to globally edit things, I have a question.

What happens if a patch is released that requires changes to these global CSV files because some of the data is found to be incorrect and/or needs updated? I assume that means as part of the patch we would potentially receive new updated versions of these files that would overwrite the pre-existing files we might have changed ourselves. And because Steam can auto update, that might mean when a patch is released, people might not realize the potential of their changes being overwritten. Of course you could maintain backup copies of these files in other folders, but you couldn't simply copy them back in as they would undo whatever changes were applied by the patch. And this isn't necessarily a one time thing, it could happen multiple times depending on if these files require updates in the future.

So I think this means every time a patch is released and does update the CSV files, we need to be prepared we may need to input all of our custom changes again. It's possible patches to these files may never be needed, but think it might be a possibility unless somehow the game can update these files without us losing our customizations.

I just backed my edited files up, as I did the default installed files. No need to worry then, just restore. Note that in my edited files I have the data the way I want it.

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by Gallifrey

I just backed my edited files up, as I did the default installed files. No need to worry then, just restore. Note that in my edited files I have the data the way I want it.

I am starting to construct a "test" league and have logos done and will start on the csv's. I read, and think I understand, that to do a custom league I will need 4 csv files, team_info, default_info, quarterback (don't know why) and coaches.

Question. Was there anything you learned that I should pay attentions too?

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by Gallifrey

I just backed my edited files up, as I did the default installed files. No need to worry then, just restore. Note that in my edited files I have the data the way I want it.

That wouldn’t solve the issue of wanting to receive the updates and also maintain custom edits. If the developer updates the CSV files and you copy your backed up versions over them, then you would lose the changes the developer added. Of course if you don’t care about the updates as your post might suggest, then you certainly could over write them, but I think most are going to want the updates but maybe I am wrong,

[Gallifrey]

Originally Posted by NawlinsFan

I am starting to construct a "test" league and have logos done and will start on the csv's. I read, and think I understand, that to do a custom league I will need 4 csv files, team_info, default_info, quarterback (don't know why) and coaches.

Question. Was there anything you learned that I should pay attentions too?

Note I am not an expert and have learned from mistakes...
Also in my opinion this is the custom draft/league players dream come true.
Once you get the hang of it you will know what I mean. In one file you can set drafts for years and years.

Read the txt files closely, they point out all you need to do.

Look at the examples too. They show you where you will make mistakes I have learned... the examples are great to have.

When you load the custom set you will load the xxxx_info.csv which the xxxx is the year. Name all your files with that year to start.

So in my league I am building I have:
1965_coaches.csv
1965_info.csv
1965_quarterbacks.csv
1965_players.csv

In the info file make sure you have your format right, the correct schedule and base year. Cap numbers too to keep it in control if you are going back in time.

In the players file make sure you read the txt file for what fields are ignored, so you do not have to worry about those fields.

You need ID's for your base players, and the future draft players will be IDs of zero. Have your IDs in order in the csv.

The quarterbacks and players files are the only files you need for your base players and future drafts... no need to have a stack of draft files.

Note that in defaut_teams.csv in the default folder... for the league setup you are running (in my case I took the 1976 league structure and 1978 schedule structure, so 28/6/16) you can set the team colors to that era. So I have the Oilers in Houston with the love you blue colors (and logo of course).

I changed the stadiums too, to fit the era. Of course with creative liberty... the Falcons didn't exist yet, so I still put them in Atlanta Stadium size and turf etc to fit what the next year would hold. You get the drift.

[Gallifrey]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

That wouldn’t solve the issue of wanting to receive the updates and also maintain custom edits. If the developer updates the CSV files and you copy your backed up versions over them, then you would lose the changes the developer added. Of course if you don’t care about the updates as your post might suggest, then you certainly could over write them, but I think most are going to want the updates but maybe I am wrong,

I compare them to see if there are changes.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by Gallifrey

I compare them to see if there are changes.

Sure, I understand some people are going to be savvy enough to work around it, including myself, but pointing out for likely a lot of people who might not be aware of this possibility happening and being able to compare files and reapplying their edits easily.

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by Gallifrey

Note I am not an expert and have learned from mistakes...
Also in my opinion this is the custom draft/league players dream come true.
Once you get the hang of it you will know what I mean. In one file you can set drafts for years and years.

Read the txt files closely, they point out all you need to do.

When you load the custom set you will load the xxxx_info.csv which the xxxx is the year. Name all your files with that year to start.

So in my league I am building I have:
1965_coaches.csv
1965_info.csv
1965_quarterbacks.csv
1965_players.csv

In the info file make sure you have your format right, the correct schedule and base year. Cap numbers too to keep it in control if you are going back in time.

In the players file make sure you read the txt file for what fields are ignored, so you do not have to worry about those fields.

You need ID's for your base players, and the future draft players will be IDs of zero. Have your IDs in order in the csv.

The quarterbacks and players files are the only files you need for your base players and future drafts... no need to have a stack of draft files.

Note that in defaut_teams.csv in the default folder... for the league setup you are running (in my case I took the 1976 league structure and 1978 schedule structure, so 28/6/16) you can set the team colors to that era. So I have the Oilers in Houston with the love you blue colors (and logo of course).

I changed the stadiums too, to fit the era. Of course with creative liberty... the Falcons didn't exist yet, so I still put them in Atlanta Stadium size and turf etc to fit what the next year would hold. You get the drift.

Damn, you are way ahead of the curve here. Appreciate the feedback. I am dabbling right now with a 16/6/16 template just to get the hang of it. I did do some more digging on Pro-Football-Reference.com to try and bounce the supplied league constructs with the historical settings and have started to build a basic spreadsheet to help. Like you, once I understand all of this I hope to build, or contribute, some for a historical application.

Have you determined if we will be able to have league expansions as we play though a historical setting? I don't see anything that will port the current data over to the new format.

[Gallifrey]

No expansion. I suggest if you want the full league as you know it today, go in the way back machine to a starting point for rosters etc, but use the full format.

I did that to start, and the game will auto fill those rosters. So your base rosters with assigned players go where you want them and the game auto fills, and tells you it will.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Gallifrey

Also in my opinion this is the custom draft/league players dream come true.
Once you get the hang of it you will know what I mean. In one file you can set drafts for years and years.

Yup. Even for someone like me who isn't interested in historical play, I quickly realized that if the game doesn't produce draftees with ratings quite the way I'd like it to, I can write code that would produce a couple hundred draft classes and never have to import them...they'd just be there. Awesome!

Specifically, I like to see players with skill sets that sort of go together and make sense, so that for example when RBs are created some are pass-catchers, some are power backs, some are scat backs, etc. I'm currently looking at a 6' 1 5/8" RB who weighs 199 pounds with 54 speed and 93 strength. I haven't looked into this carefully, so I'm not saying it's goofy-looking...yet. If he's just a bit of a weirdo in FOF9 and the norm is that the bigger backs have high strength and lower speed and the smaller ones are the opposite, that's fine--there SHOULD be outliers who don't fit the mold. But if as in previous versions size doesn't correlate much to style, it's something that I'd probably customize down the road (and provide for others if they want to use it) and it looks *FAR* easier to do that in this version than in any other.

[Gallifrey]

Each player has a set of ratings that by default are -1, so the game creates at random.

You can set these values to get the player more in line with what you want if the x factor is off.

My #1 advice is test test test. Try creating the info file, then tweak the QB and Player file with just a few guys. Sim a decade or more and look them up. Make sure they were drafted in the year you wanted, or came in where you wanted. This way you will quickly get it right before spending lots of time making a mistake over and over.

Check game logs and make sure they are there. If you ever see a player, yours or another listed as "Random" your file has mistakes in it. The universe is unstable.
Make sure you get the birth dates and entry dates in alignment. The usual details but easy to miss.

[Cole]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

Sure, I understand some people are going to be savvy enough to work around it, including myself, but pointing out for likely a lot of people who might not be aware of this possibility happening and being able to compare files and reapplying their edits easily.

I could be wrong about this as I’m not *that* knowledgeable… but I feel like patches/game updates won’t modify/change the csv files.

I know for example in OOTP, patches never change or adjust custom databases people have created.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by Cole

I could be wrong about this as I’m not *that* knowledgeable… but I feel like patches/game updates won’t modify/change the csv files.

I know for example in OOTP, patches never change or adjust custom databases people have created.

Those files are not just there to make customizations, they are also used as the starting data when creating a universe. Therefore, if anything about those files require updating to correct an issue or enhance the game (if something added later). then those files would be patched.

I certainly don't have a crystal ball if an issues exists or enhancements in the works that would require those files to be updated in a future patch, I simply was just making people aware of the possibility. It's also possible the developer has a way to update the files without completely replacing them in an update is needed, guess we will see.

[NawlinsFan]

Ok, I am an excel abuser but not really experienced with csv files. I edited the data in a file and saved it as the appropriate csv. I try to use it in game and get a header error and I have no clue what I did.



Help.

[SlyBelle1]

Originally Posted by NawlinsFan

Ok, I am an excel abuser but not really experienced with csv files. I edited the data in a file and saved it as the appropriate csv. I try to use it in game and get a header error and I have no clue what I did.



Help.

Feel free to send to me and can see if anything obvious

[NawlinsFan]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

Feel free to send to me and can see if anything obvious

Actually figured it out. Wasn't a file issue, I had the files in the wrong place so the game was trying to load the wrong one. All is good so far, I have created the foundation for a fictional UFL (USFL/XFL). Thanks for the offer though.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by SlyBelle1

Those files are not just there to make customizations, they are also used as the starting data when creating a universe. Therefore, if anything about those files require updating to correct an issue or enhance the game (if something added later). then those files would be patched.

I certainly don't have a crystal ball if an issues exists or enhancements in the works that would require those files to be updated in a future patch, I simply was just making people aware of the possibility. It's also possible the developer has a way to update the files without completely replacing them in an update is needed, guess we will see.

The customization section of the online manual looks like it got updated today.

IMPORTANT: back up all of your customization work in a separate folder. When the game updates, it can override files in the installation folder. If an update changes a .csv file, that file will replace the version in the installation folder on your computer.
Because of this, if the developer updates .csv files, there will be a detailed note in the Updates section so that you know exactly what changed. When you bring your backed-up version of the file back into the installation folder, this will allow you to edit that file to match the changes made in the update.
The developer will not make any changes that aren't necessary for the proper functioning of the game.

[SlyBelle1]

Thanks, looks like he must have seen the discussion. Pretty much what was expected, would need to manually adjust for changes but good that he will post specifically what.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Yup. Even for someone like me who isn't interested in historical play, I quickly realized that if the game doesn't produce draftees with ratings quite the way I'd like it to, I can write code that would produce a couple hundred draft classes and never have to import them...they'd just be there. Awesome!

Specifically, I like to see players with skill sets that sort of go together and make sense, so that for example when RBs are created some are pass-catchers, some are power backs, some are scat backs, etc. I'm currently looking at a 6' 1 5/8" RB who weighs 199 pounds with 54 speed and 93 strength. I haven't looked into this carefully, so I'm not saying it's goofy-looking...yet. If he's just a bit of a weirdo in FOF9 and the norm is that the bigger backs have high strength and lower speed and the smaller ones are the opposite, that's fine--there SHOULD be outliers who don't fit the mold. But if as in previous versions size doesn't correlate much to style, it's something that I'd probably customize down the road (and provide for others if they want to use it) and it looks *FAR* easier to do that in this version than in any other.

So actually I'm seeing other reasons that I'm highly likely to do custom rosters/draft classes--mainly an overall lack of receiving skills in backs. It looks like RR is pretty much capped at 80ish for game-created RBs and FBs. And (as in past versions,) FBs rarely/never are VG overall. I realize this mirrors the extreme-modern NFL (and in MP everyone would just convert them to TEs,) but for my SP world, I'd like to see more variety. Plus there are a few other player-creation tweaks that I'd like to make. Working on something soon and hoping to get it balanced enough that it's worth sharing.

[albionmoonlight]

Since I see the football world like Ben, I am excited to see what you share

[albionmoonlight]

So I don't know how much of a programming challenge this would be, but an amazing 3rd party tool would be something that you opened and it gave you intuitive sliders to help customize your universe, and you could use those and then say generate and it would create the CSVs for you.

[bblom23]

Is there a way to edit player names of players NOT on your team? I like to change some of the draftees names to friends, family etc. and watch their careers play out.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

So I don't know how much of a programming challenge this would be, but an amazing 3rd party tool would be something that you opened and it gave you intuitive sliders to help customize your universe, and you could use those and then say generate and it would create the CSVs for you.

If I get the player file generator working well, that wouldn't be terribly difficult to add.

[Coach_Wisch]

Would someone please share with me the original 2023_schedule.csv?

Somehow in my putting all the other customizations in I deleted that file.