FIFA 21 Realism Mod Update!

Hey guys, just wanted to update you about everything that's changed since the last detailed post about modding and some other general info!  

When will the first version of the mod be released?

Great question! I still do not know exactly, but within 24 hours (probably more like 12) of FIFA Editor Tool 21's public release. However, there is an alpha version of the mod ready! I know that doesn't make sense haha. Read 2 questions below.

When will FIFA Editor Tool 21's public release be?

Again, there are no given dates. Currently, the tool can export (and technically import) all legacy files and non-legacy textures. Launching the game is being worked on next, and after that's done only a few more additions will be made before it will go out to alpha testers, then beta testers, then the public. Alpha and beta testing will probably take 2-3 days maximum if there are no major issues. The tool could be ready in late October or early November, but it could also be available in a week, or much longer.


If you want updates about the tool's progress and timelines, check out the Twitter and the Website where daily progress updates are posted!

There is an alpha of the mod ready?

Yes, there is! That is because Aranaktu has released the FIFA 21 Live Editor, a totally free tool that lets us modify legacy files.  

Now, there are a few downsides, the installation process is a bit more difficult and you have to launch a tool and keep it running when FIFA is open to play, but it's still worth it!

The current alpha has realistic simulation, board/sacking, AI manager team selection, match importance and form, unlocked managers outfits, and a full customize player experience, which means you have a ton more power when creating and editing managers and players.

You can get the alpha for $10 a month (save 10% if you pay yearly) on this patreon. The alphas are in the discord so if you've became a $10+ patron, join the discord here, and then connect your discord to your patreon here.  

The mod will also roll out to beta testers ($5+) soon. However, it is unlikely there will be a public release until the full FIFA Editor Tool is ready so we can edit kits, faces, and more.

Now let's get into some more exciting stuff! Here are some big announcements for FIFER's FIFA 21 Realism Mod!

1. The mod branding!

Yes, I know you've seen the image at the top of this post, and yes, that's the 1.0 splash screen, and the mod's branding! Zidane won the poll so he's the cover star! However, as time passes there will be other splash screens with other managers.

Here's the logo too!

Pretty sick, right? Huge shoutout to rosevelt for making them!

2. Main mod is now open source!

I'm delighted to announce that the main mod, which contains all the realistic tweaks like realistic player wages, youth scouting, etc, will be open source! Here are a few more details

• I will not be open-sourcing anything not made by me. So no graphics, faces, etc.
• I can only confirm as of now that the Realism part of the mod will be open source. I would like to also make the Menu, Themes, and Gameplay open source but I still have not made a final decision on those (I'll announce it on twitter when I do!)
• For the Realism section (and menu if it happens) the project files won't be shared (as there will be some content like graphics or compdata made by others in them that won't be shared), instead, I will publish all the files on GitHub (link coming soon).
• What does this mean for you? Well, it means you can customize the mod to your liking! If you don't like a certain aspect of the mod you can tweak it yourself (if you know how). If you want to edit a team's name, or make a database change, you can now do that without losing the Realism Mod changes!

3. More Transparency.

I believe transparency is important and needed right now, so I will be taking these steps to ensure a more transparent year:

• I will release a monthly report of where the patreon funds went into, like how much % went to faces, what % went to the FIFA Editor Tool, what % I kept, etc.
• There will be much more communication between us and you. My discord support team and I will try to help more here on Patreon and Discord, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.
• I will do a monthly patron-only Q&A where you can ask me anything
• I will do public Q&A's once in a while too
• There will be more optional surveys (patron-only and public) throughout the year about the mod, the first of which being the October 2020 Patron-Only Survey 
• I will post a progress update about what work has been done every week for patrons, every two weeks for the public
• I will try to explain my reasoning for certain decisions made throughout the year
• Twitter poll feature reveals! I will try to do lots of twitter poll feature reveals before a new version releases showcasing some of the minor tweaks and features!
• Just like EA I will create a public Trello for you guys to see the progress of certain features, versions and issues.

Alright, so those are the major changes for now.

Next, let's get into what I'll be doing differently from a mod point of view, and what might be added!

Overall:

• Higher work quality
• Better time estimates
• More organization
• More detail

Realism Mod:

• Stats based changes. We will be using real world data more than ever before to power the mod. For instance, for simulation we used real FBRef data from Europe's top 5 leagues in the past 3 seasons to figure out a percentage of goals that had an assist attached to them, what the average amount of yellow cards a game had, and much more. We will also be using real TransferMarkt and Football Manager data for player values, player retirement, and almost everything else!
• More perfection. I was unhappy with the small issues and imperfections that the FIFA 20 Realism part of the mod had, so I will be spending at least 3x the time working on it, trying to make it as perfect as possible. I've spent 30 hours so far just trying to get simulation perfect, haha!
• Less side effects. Again, last year I was unhappy with the number of side effects the mod had so I will try to fix as many of them as I can. For instance, I have fixed the issue with players complaining after missing a game or two even if they played the whole season, while still maintaining ultra-realistic morale.
• To help accomplish those three above points I will be completley redoing all the algorithims from scratch.
• Will any leagues be added? What about the full euros? Real UCL/UEL teams? Full Brazillian League? Well, it's difficult to say. There are a certain amount of FUT teams we can replace with real teams, so we can't do all of those. I believe there will be a full Brazillian League, all missing UCL/UEL teams, a ton more national teams and full euros (although maybe fewer national teams than FIFA 20), and if there are teams left over, maybe Serie B. However, when we can fully mod I can get a better estimate and I will hold a vote on what teams should be for what!

 
Squad File

• Redesign of realistic ratings. Last year we introduced realistic ratings, stats converted from Football Manager and then used opnions to balance them. However, we did recieve some feedback and from my own thoughts, I think we need to approach them differrntly. There were a lot of weird stats last year but that will be fixed this with a new method, still converting from Football Manager but it will ensure that there are less weird or boosted stats.
• Winter and 21/22 transfers? Maybe. I hope so. Unless the FIFA Editor Tool or another program can create a way to transfer players faster, doing them manually takes too long, so when the time comes gnklein92 and I will try to find a way to do it automatically.
• More detail. I want to try to create the most realistic experience as possible this year so I will be making a number of small changes to the squad file such as real manager names, real referee names, real stadium names, real manager outfits and customized faces, and a ton more!

Graphics Mod

• Much higher quality kits. Last year there were lots of kits made that had issues with lack of detail, no coeffs/normals, bad hotspots, too big crests, etc. This year, the kitmakers that are making the kits are extremley good, making super high quality kits that you will be able to visually notice. I also pledge to provide more kits, with all teams having real GK kits, hopefully within 6 months of 1.0 release.
• Much higher quality other graphics. I will be contracting better graphic designers to design other graphics, such as adboards, banners, flags, trophies, and much more. This will cost me a lot more aswell, but it will be worth it with more up to date and accurate graphics!
• More graphics! The mod will feature more graphics than ever before. I have already told you about the pledge for real GK kits, but I can confirm that I am to give every team realistic banners and flags, something never done before. A lot of the exsisting banners will be redone aswell, to provide a more up to date experience. There will also be many more real trophies, minifaces, and some other cool graphics never modified before!
• We will also be changing the realistic minifaces in the mod. Last year we included a ton of minifaces in the mod but we felt that a lot weren't super high quality. So this year we will be carefully crafting the minifaces and approving them like never before, so only work that meets the high standards will make it to the final versions!

New Faces, Face Updates, Manager Faces Mods

• Extremley high quality faces. The face makers that work with us have imroved a ton since last year, so their work will be much better quality, and we will be distributing the work better, meaning the best facemakers will make the most important faces, and vice versa. I also believe there were some lower quality faces in the mod (still better than generic faces) last year, so we will be replacing those with a higher quality version this year! We will also use the face slots that have normal files (they add texture to the face) for the most important players, and will make sure that we don't use a normal slot without a normal.
• Tons more faces! In 3.1 we included over 750+ new faces, 80+ manager faces, and a couple hundread face updates. This year, we will do tons more! The great news is that EA added faces for many of the players who had one added in the mod, so now we don't have to add them (but we may update them! see the below point), so that adds new slots for other faces, and there are slightly more IDs to use because there are more scans, and more volta faces. It is totally possible we could see over 1000+ faces!
• Keeping popular but low rated player's faces. To "add" a new face you have to replace an exsisting face, so for FIFA 20 we replaced women and volta faces, and then faces of the lowest potential faces possible, however doing that resulted in some popular players being replaced. This year I vow to be more slective in the choices, keeping the faces of well known or used players. 
• You have more say! A couple of months ago I created a face opnions channel in the discord, where I would post pictures of 2 (or more) faces and you decided which was better. This was used if I had two faces for the same player made by two different face makers. Before this channel was created I just decided myself. I will continue using the channel throughout FIFA 21 so you have more say of the faces in the mod, so make sure to join the discord. I will also use your feedback more on what faces you want added to the mod.

Gameplay

• More perfection. I was very happy with the FIFA 20 gameplay mod but I think it can still be much better. I will be spending a lot more time on gameplay this year, mainly testing with values, trying to create the most fun but realistic gameplay possible.
• You have more say! I will continue using the Open Development channel in the discord to ask you guys questions about gameplay so I can tweak it more accuratley.

Other Mods

• Tattoos. I think the FIFA 20 Tattoos mod was a great success, adding 135+ great tattoos, which vastly improves the game. This year, there are even more tattoo slots so we should hopefully be able to add 160+ tattoos total! The few low quality tattoos in the FIFA 20 mod will also be replaced with more high quality ones!
• Regen Faces. The regen faces mod really made FIFA 20 great in my opnion, it really added something to make youth academy career modes much more realistic. I want to make this mod for FIFA 21 too, and it will be better than ever, with so many more faces avalible there will be much fewer duplicates and many more high quality realistic minifaces.
• Fantasy Kits, TV Logos, Manager Outfits, Scoreboards, Menu Themes, Backgrounds. These addons will continue to be made in the FIFA 21 Realism Mod, and there will be so many more, as well as the exsisting ones being better and more organized. Manager Outfits will have images in game so you can better use them, there may also be splash screens and other addon graphics you can use!

Here are some more details on other projects:

FIFER's FIFA 20 Realism Mod 3.2
3.2 will be released very soon, probably around a week. A beta is being released today. Don't expect much, mainly some new faces, face updates, and tattoos.

2006/2007 Mod
If you didn't know, the 2006/2007 mod was rescheduled for FIFA 21. It's still this way and I'm so excitied to get working on it. I will start working on it when I'm happy with the Realism Mod and think it's as complete as 3.1 for FIFA 20. I hope it's ready for release in May.

FIFER Mods Website
I'm happy to announce I'm redesigning my website! You can see a pic of it below. It will be live in a week or two hopefully!

Patreon/Discord
There have and will be some changes to the patreon and discord (nothing major), that I will announce in a seperate post in the coming days!

Other Mods
There will be some other cool mods released during the FIFA 21 cycle! Can't reveal them yet but there will be more info soon!

So, that's it for now! I will reveal more as time passes, and I think FIFA 21 will be a great year for all of us! Let me know what you think of these changes down below! Thanks to gnklein92 for his help in writing this!

And again, make sure you join the discord server if you haven't already: https://discord.gg/DJxMEyk