Players have dissapeared after uploading faces with CM08

[d1VaKa]

I have a problem When i start FIFA and choose to play a match, the teams are gone (just the players, team names still there) . I opened the db with CM 08 and the players are where they're supposed to be ... but ingame ... you know, they are gone . I can't play matches ... nothing Can u help me

 

[AsmodaiPlay]

I've got problems like that too. Firstly i don't know how to change the faces and also when i did some editing i couldn't play a match either.

 

[Marcus]

Reset your squads ingame, it happens to me too.

 

[Roby7]

mee too)

 

[d1VaKa]

Reset your squads ingame, it happens to me too.

How to do that :Carlos*o:

 

[Marcus]

Team Management --> Reset My Squads --> Original My Squads

 

[d1VaKa]

Team Management --> Reset My Squads --> Original My Squads

Nothing at all happened ... reinstall maybe will do the work

 

[Optimi]

Do you play the game in English?

 

[Vali]

Try to delete saved games from My Documents

 

[AsmodaiPlay]

Has anyone found that the editing messes up the game if you've got a roster update?

 

[StevePitts]

Has anyone found that the editing messes up the game if you've got a roster update?

It will. The PC_CL.BIN that holds the updated roster information contains string pointers into the original FIFA.DB and once you edit the database with CM08 (or any other database editor) the location of those strings changes which messes things up.

I have written a utility to resolve this by rolling the patch data up into FIFA.DB which you can then edit with other tools. Unfortunately I've never found the time to write any proper documentation for the utility, so it is still in beta state. However, for those that are having this problem, I make public here what I've done so far. I hope it helps out.

You can download the patch rollup utility from:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/steve.pitts/beta_testers/EAFFPatchRollup_public_v1r00m04_beta.zip

As to how to use it, this is a copy of the message that I sent to Antonio (fifaCCitiu.com) with the original version (you might like to note that he has tested it successfully with FIFA 08 and also updated it quite happily with UniDB, and that I've had about half a dozen others request access since):

When this tool will be avalaible on your homepage?

I'm unlikely to make it public until I find the time to produce some reasonable documentation and, probably, until I've had the chance to test it with FIFA 08 as well as FIFA 07 (I'm expecting a copy of FIFA 08 from a kind donor, but we have a postal strike here at the moment so it may be a while yet)

However, you are welcome to download the current beta version from:

{link expunged, since the first version didn't work with FIFA 08, use the one above}

This contains a single .EXE file. Extract it into a folder that contains both FIFA.DB and PC_CL.BIN, make backup copies of both files (although the program also does this for you) and then run it (preferably from a command line window, since Windows automatically closes the console window when such a program is run from Explorer). You should end up with a new FIFA.DB (the size of FIFA.DB and PC_CL.BIN combined) plus backup copies of the two input files, with the version number added to their filenames.

If you don't run it against the live FIFA 07/08 data\cmn version then you'll need to make sure that when you copy the new FIFA.DB there you also disable (by deleting or renaming) the PC_CL.BIN

This version does not attempt to be smart about adding the PC_CL.BIN data to FIFA.DB, so the output will always be the combined size of the two files. I can certainly change it to remove all the empty space from the PC_CL.BIN data but given the size of modern HDs I'm not really sure there is much point.

I've not tried editing the output FIFA.DB with DB Master, although it will most certainly view it, so it would be interesting to see if it (or any other editing tool) makes a mess of things when the data is written back again.

Also, I've not tested this with FIFA 08, only FIFA 07, but the PC_CL.BIN files are the same format and the code is written in such a way as to not care which version it is processing

Have fun, let me know how you get on and don't forget those backups before you start

 

[AsmodaiPlay]

I couldn't get that to work. I got the files fifa_155178 and pc_cl_155194 and put them back in the data/cnm folder and removed the pc_cl.bin folder from the Fifa 08 folder but then when trying to get the patch for the new squads from the the zip file i've downloaded it said that the old file was missing and it wouldn't load it. Then when i tried to put the original files back into the fifa 08 data folder the same message didn't apear but it still wouldn't make the new squads work, so when i went onto the game and tried to reset to updated online squads nothing happened and it stayed the same. How can i fix that?

 

[StevePitts]

I couldn't get that to work

I'm really not sure that I understand from your post exactly what you've tried to do, but the basic process should go something like this:

1. install FIFA 08
2. download and apply the official patch
3. take backup copies of FIFA.DB and PC_CL.BIN (from data\cmn directory in 'FIFA 08' structure under 'Program Files'), just in case
4. copy EAFFPatchRollup.exe to data\cmn directory
5. open a command window
6. cd to data\cmn directory
7. run EAFFPatchrollup
8. as long as no error messages show up, close command window and run FIFA 08
9. go to Team Management > Reset My Squads and choose 'My Original Squads'
10. the squads you see in game should now be the updated rosters

Obviously steps 1 and 2 might have happened weeks or months ago whilst the rest applies after you've download the tool from the link in the post above yours. Just to try and help further, this screenshot shows the command line session:

The FIFA_155178.DB and PC_CL_155194.BIN files shown in the output from the second DIR command are the backups taken by my routine, whilst the files with ORG_ and P1_ in their extensions (which you can see exist both before and after) are backups that I took by hand. You will see that the updated FIFA.DB is a lot bigger than before (the combined size of the two files) and that is the version that you would like the game to use. You will also notice that there is no longer a file called exactly 'PC_CL.BIN' for the game to pick up, everything is in the updated FIFA.DB instead.

I think that all you've done is run my utility before installing the patch, but I really can't be sure so I hope the above makes sense of it all.

 

[AsmodaiPlay]

I'm really not sure that I understand from your post exactly what you've tried to do, but the basic process should go something like this:

1. install FIFA 08
2. download and apply the official patch
3. take backup copies of FIFA.DB and PC_CL.BIN (from data\cmn directory in 'FIFA 08' structure under 'Program Files'), just in case
4. copy EAFFPatchRollup.exe to data\cmn directory
5. open a command window
6. cd to data\cmn directory
7. run EAFFPatchrollup
8. as long as no error messages show up, close command window and run FIFA 08
9. go to Team Management > Reset My Squads and choose 'My Original Squads'
10. the squads you see in game should now be the updated rosters

Obviously steps 1 and 2 might have happened weeks or months ago whilst the rest applies after you've download the tool from the link in the post above yours. Just to try and help further, this screenshot shows the command line session:


The FIFA_155178.DB and PC_CL_155194.BIN files shown in the output from the second DIR command are the backups taken by my routine, whilst the files with ORG_ and P1_ in their extensions (which you can see exist both before and after) are backups that I took by hand. You will see that the updated FIFA.DB is a lot bigger than before (the combined size of the two files) and that is the version that you would like the game to use. You will also notice that there is no longer a file called exactly 'PC_CL.BIN' for the game to pick up, everything is in the updated FIFA.DB instead.

I think that all you've done is run my utility before installing the patch, but I really can't be sure so I hope the above makes sense of it all.

So will this not work if i've already edited stuff in cm08 before getting the roster update? Also i can't get the comand window to stay open when i run the program, coz on vista you have to right click and hold shift to make the open command window option come up, but that option doesn't seem to come up when i right click and hold shift on your file.

 

[Tuga*pT]

They disappeared in mine fifa too after install faces from CM08. That's because u edited players' skills in game, which CM 08 doesnt recognized them... so database will be different in game and in CM08, which cause that problem. I can play but i cant manage teams or make subs. Player's list doesnt show up anywhere. So, i reinstalled the game (with the same saves to doesnt lose anything) and for suprise those faces installed by CM08 were there in game lol without anyproblem. It's weird i know but that happened to me today :P Moreover, those faces with easy instalation (.exe) like VictorMarcao's faces, were gone but u can install them again easly. So im going to install lot of faces by CM08 (cuz i dont know any other way :P) and then i will reinstall the game and i hope it will be ok again. lol.

 

[StevePitts]

So will this not work if i've already edited stuff in cm08 before getting the roster update?

The problem with already having made changes to the database is that the patched roster data makes reference to player name strings by their position in the original FIFA.DB, so if your editing has moved anything within that file (or indeed if the tool you've used moves things whether it needs to or not) then you will end up with invalid name strings. By far the safest option is to combine the patched rosters into the database and then start editing.

Also i can't get the comand window to stay open when i run the program, coz on vista you have to right click and hold shift to make the open command window option come up, but that option doesn't seem to come up when i right click and hold shift on your file.

I'm afraid that I don't do Vista but surely it is possible to simply open a command window and then run the program manually as I did in the screen shot above?? On both 2000 and XP the combination of the Windows (flag) key and the R key brings up the Run dialog, into which you simply enter CMD and press the Enter key to open a command window. Alternatively you should be able to find the 'Command prompt' option somewhere in the Programs menu.

 

[KT_Yoshimi]

So complicated.You just reset all your settings(My squad,Player edit,Club Transfer) in the game . You have to play again if you are playing Manager mode.It's annoying).Therefore,if you need to edit ,just use CM 08 to change .Don't change anything in FIFA ( My squad,Club Transfer,Player edit)

 

[AsmodaiPlay]

The problem with already having made changes to the database is that the patched roster data makes reference to player name strings by their position in the original FIFA.DB, so if your editing has moved anything within that file (or indeed if the tool you've used moves things whether it needs to or not) then you will end up with invalid name strings. By far the safest option is to combine the patched rosters into the database and then start editing.


I'm afraid that I don't do Vista but surely it is possible to simply open a command window and then run the program manually as I did in the screen shot above?? On both 2000 and XP the combination of the Windows (flag) key and the R key brings up the Run dialog, into which you simply enter CMD and press the Enter key to open a command window. Alternatively you should be able to find the 'Command prompt' option somewhere in the Programs menu.

Having looked at the file names you've mentioned previously i think the program correctly even though ther command window closed because i had those files. I think the problem is i've edited before using your patch. Thanks for the help anyway.

 

[AsmodaiPlay]

So complicated.You just reset all your settings(My squad,Player edit,Club Transfer) in the game . You have to play again if you are playing Manager mode.It's annoying).Therefore,if you need to edit ,just use CM 08 to change .Don't change anything in FIFA ( My squad,Club Transfer,Player edit)

That probably make sense seeing as if you edit kit numbers for clubs it can affect national team numbers. I don't know about the club transfers and editing as i've only used the cm08 since installing it and thats done the transfers ok.

 

[cgr]

You can download the patch rollup utility from:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/steve.pitts/beta_testers/EAFFPatchRollup_public_v1r00m04_beta.zip

Thank you very much for this excellent utility - it seems to work fine with UniDb for me too.