Creating USM17

I have always been a fan of USM since playing USM2.  I loved the game, I liked the simplicity and the depth that games like CM could not get right.  When USM98 was released I was hooked and would play it constantly.

I remember in 2003 I found the game again and I created an update using the in game editor.  I changed every player individually which took me almost a year.  I frustratingly discovered the data editor (USMDE, available in the download section ) a short while after.  USMDE was created by a guy called Hiroshi who ran a fan site dedicated to the USM series.  The best thing about USMDE was that it allowed you to creat a .ude file, a simple ‘Notepad’ style file that was much easier to create large updates.

in 2012/13 after getting in contact through a USM fan page on Facebook myself and Ande Pearson created the first update.  We then went on to create one in 2014/15 which had a Legends World Cup edition using every World Cup Winning team since 1958.

I am now in the process of creating an update for 2017.  It is still a long process and takes up a lot of time especially someone who works full time and has 3 kids.  To make my life easier and to get regular updates on time I hope to bring together a team of people interested enough in the updates that are responsible for providing me with data for their respective league.

Final 2015/16 Top Players

To create updates I rely on data from two different websites.  The first is www.footballsquads.co.uk this is where I get all the latest squad info including names, general position, DOBs etc.  The second is www.wefut.com a FIFA17 website dedicated to the stats on FIFA games.  This is where I get specific position data, player ranking out of 100, pace, set pieces, strength etc.

Once I have both sets of data I put them into a spreadsheet I have created that combines the two sets of data and randomises any missing data depending on the players team and their position and age.  After this, there is a lot of error checking to ensure the data does not cause crashes (e.g. Surnames longer than 13 characters such as Oxlade-Chamberlain or special characters such as Á)

Finally the spreadsheet creates the text to be added to the .ude file and uploaded using USMDE.

If you want to help me in creating the latest update please get in touch at dane_4u@yahoo.com as many hands make light work.  The best thing about helping with updates is that you can create any league you wish and you can be added to any team you wish as a 16 year old with the highest potential.  So you know after a few seasons you will be the best player in everyone’s game it’s the editors perks!!

Long Live USM!