Well hello there! You may know I’ve taken a break from a regular slot at www.cm9798.co.uk and that’s because I’ve been working up some mad ideas again. Speaking of which, ever wanted to really interrogate the player database before starting/during a save in an easy manner? Well thanks to the help of Dave and his Twitter contacts, we managed to get v2.93 players.db1 file into CSV format which allowed me to import into Excel and create the CM2 Player Comparison Tool. So, what does it entail?

We have five options; a 1v1 player comparison tool – looking at some potential new signings…who is ultimately better use this to find out:

This will allow you to see hidden positions and all stats in a comparable format side by side. Note that the faults of the DB are retained (e.g., DOB and Age do not necessarily match). The hidden positions can be hard to map/code due to the combined impact of core and hidden roles so…Player Positions gives you an easy way to see where a player can play:

Broken down into each segment of the field, the position a player can play will be highlighted in yellow. You may know some players positions or sides are random in the DB, therefore note the ‘Can play in row’ column and the notes at the start of this section. So, who am I pitting myself against…Team Comparison allows you to compare a set of original teams and all their players, previewing one playing stat at a time:

Where there are any filters, you’ll need to click into the next filter to make the action work (or hit enter) as the rest of the cells are locked to prevent accidental editing. Again, DB errors remain, e.g., a Goalkeeper with a ‘1’ for GK means position shows as core and as hidden (as a ‘keeper stat overrides all other positions when setting core). Want to try and build an ultimate team from the DB? Well then Team Builder is what you’ll need:

Just select the players from the drop down and their stats will populate. Build the best side possible, see how things will weigh up with all your planned purchases in one place. And for the purists out there, just lookup the Database itself player at a time – all original stats and any concoctions I’ve had to make to get the tool to work:

The tool comes with a .txt file I’ve created as an additional explainer/reminder. If you’re PC/Laptop isn’t the best it will take time to make changes and apply filters. A decent processor with Excel setup so all four processors take on the task should find it fairly easy and quick. Happy hunting!

You can download the files here.

You can follow Andrew on twitter: @KingOfTheRooks