Update 1.2: 2D Match Highlights and the Academy Economy

Update 1.2 is now available. This is a major update that brings your matches to life with 2D Match Highlights and rebuilds the academy economy from the ground up. It also includes a rebuilt Scouting department, a new Youth Camp, "The Race" on the Senior Pathway, persistent shirt numbers and a long list of improvements and fixes.

2D Match Highlights

• Key moments from your matches now play out on a 2D pitch, recreated from the events of each match.
• Team shape, pressing and runs follow your formation, tactics and player roles.
• Goals, saves, misses, penalties, free kicks, corners, own goals, cards and penalty shootouts can all be shown, with goal replays and offside freeze-frames when a goal is ruled out.
• Cup finals open with the teams walking out and kicking off.
• Weather and pitch wear vary by venue, time of season and your Youth Facilities, and Match Preview shows the conditions before kick-off.
• Commentary runs alongside the pitch and never gives a moment away before it happens.
• 2D Highlights are on by default. You can switch back to the classic commentary at any time in Settings → Match Experience. Injuries are still shown in commentary.
• This is an early version. Movement and animation will keep improving.

The Academy Economy

• Every club now runs on its own Academy Budget, based on its division, reputation and financial standing. Prices, running costs and rewards are all measured against it: big clubs spend more, small clubs spend less.
• Staff, departments and Club Development levels are now annual commitments, settled on 31 May. Anything active during a season costs the full year; scaling back only lowers next season's bill.
• You can no longer commit to spending you can't cover. Purchases, hires and projects are refused if they would leave this season's costs unpaid, and every purchase screen shows what the approval costs.
• After each season the board keeps one season's budget in the academy, and part of any surplus above that returns to the parent club. If the academy can't cover its costs, the parent club steps in, but Board Confidence suffers.
• New Academy Partner contracts: three-season deals paid every 1 August, with bonuses for titles, promotion, awards and cup runs.
• Selling players: The academy keeps most of the fee on smaller sales and a smaller share on big ones. The rest goes to the parent club.
• First-team promotions pay half of what selling the player would bring in. Selling brings in more money now, but promoting builds your academy's name and can pay again later.
• Your graduates keep paying back. A 20% sell-on fee when the first team sells a player you promoted, solidarity payments when former academy players move between senior clubs, a reward when an alumnus wins the Club World title, and extra reputation when graduates become first-team regulars.
• Market values now reflect realistic youth-football levels and are often much lower than before. U11–U14 players show Development Compensation instead (N/A until a full season has been recorded).
• Transfers between other clubs are now priced from the same market values you see in the Transfer Room, and World Rankings show the same values as the Player Profile.
• League prize money now depends on final position only. Youth Cup prizes have been rebalanced: €1M for the winner, €500K for the runner-up, €250K for semi-finalists, €125K for quarter-finalists and €50K for the last 16. Promotion raises next season's budget and partner deal.
• Finances shows at a glance what you can spend now, what the academy itself pays in running costs (and how much the parent club covers), and how much room is left for new staff or Club Development levels.
• Financial Reports show your spending room and season forecast. New board balance goals aim 10% above the forecast. Goals already issued keep their targets.
• New inbox news when your academy signs or renews its partner deal, when the partner pays a bonus, when former players bring in sell-on fees or solidarity payments, and when graduates help the first team win a title.
• One set of money terms across Finances, news, Club Development and the manual. The Marketing Programme and Recruitment Network descriptions now match what they actually do.

Club Development & Board Requests

• Board Requests for Junior Coaching, Youth Academy and Youth Facilities now always give permanent progress. Higher Board Confidence raises the chance of a bonus, and an Expanded investment costs more for a much better chance.
• Bonus jumps get smaller close to Elite. From level 90 the board funds an area every second season, and from level 95 every third.
• A new result reveal shows your odds, where the investment landed, and counts your level up, with a moment of its own when you reach a new tier.
• The Board Request panel now leads with your current level, lets the board speak for itself, and shows Standard and Expanded as two cards.
• Scale Back replaces the manual pause. You can give up a programme's top level to lower next season's running costs.
• Paused programmes are shown clearly, with the reason when one can't be resumed.
• Graduate Progress. Each milestone gives a free +1 academy level, or a Sponsor Bonus worth 5% of the season's Academy Budget. An area can't be lifted more than 10 levels above your weakest one.
• Club Development news only announces options that have just become available.
• The board now answers requests as Supportive, Reluctant or Opposed.

Scouting, Youth Camp & Recruitment

• A rebuilt Scouting department. See how well your scouts know each prospect, keep a shortlist for the season, follow your network on the map and use the new prospect panel.
• Scouting news now leads with one Scout Recommendation, followed by a compact table of the other reports.
• Youth Camp places are counted per age group, with a new Camp Capacity III level, a new camp opening, clearer picks and a history of past camps.
• Trialists vary more in quality. Real talents are rarer and stand out more.
• The Intake Day summary now groups prospects as Standouts and Solid Prospects, measured against your own academy.
• The Signing Day scouting report lists each players attributes as numbers in Technical, Mental and Physical columns, with ability, development and the signing fee alongside.

First Team Interest & Senior World

• "The Race" follows each graduate's readiness, the review clock and how close they are to a first-team place.
• The Promotion Board leads with the players on course for a first-team place. Each row shows their chance of promotion, with the reasons in the player panel.
• The final review now counts recent seasons, so established players are no longer ruled out for missing much of their last academy season, including after a long injury. Current quality and senior staff judgement still decide, and a first-team place is not guaranteed.
• Senior World profiles now show attributes. Alumni open on their current attributes, with their academy exit attributes one click away.
• World Club Review has a new First-Team Influence card featuring your graduates, and a more compact round-up of finals and champions.

Matches

• Players keep their own shirt number for as long as they stay in the squad. The Player Profile shows it on a shirt in club colours, live match tables list players by number, and goal cards show the scorer's shirt.
• Set pieces have been rebalanced. Fewer goals straight from free kicks and more from corners.
• The mini player profile in matches now shows all 15 attributes, role and preferred foot, plus a Today strip with the player's match so far.
• Substitutes now keep their own selected role when they come on, as in Tactics.

Interface & Quality of Life

• A new What's New screen shows the key changes once after a major update.
• The Player Profile header has been redesigned, with club colours for other clubs' players, clearer actions and honour badges.
• Confirmations for selling, releasing, transfer-listing, moving and protecting players now show the player and name the action, for example "Sell for €731K".
• Training Camp has been redesigned as a list with a detail panel.
• Fitness Tests and the scouting report's previous-match XI now show the whole team in one compact table.
• New careers. Every club starts Club Development at Base, and starting squads are better calibrated by age.
• More player names for smaller football nations, and Yemen is now spelled correctly.

Fixes

• Fixed penalty saves being credited to an outfield player after an emergency goalkeeper change. Saves now go to the player actually in goal, including in penalty shootouts.
• Fixed substitutes inheriting the outgoing player's tactical role.
• Fixed the Finances balance chart sometimes losing the shading under its line.
• Fixed My Career progress no longer updating after the game had been opened with an older version, for example on a second PC through Steam Cloud. Progress is repaired automatically without losing any statistics.

Save Compatibility

• Existing saves are updated automatically the first time you load them in 1.2. This can't be undone: an updated save can no longer be opened in an older version. If you want to keep a copy, back up your saves folder before loading.
• Your Academy Balance is kept exactly as it was.
• Staff assigned to a role stay at the club. Staff you bought but never assigned are released, without a refund.
• Market values are recalculated and will often be much lower than before.
• Your first Academy Partner contract arrives on the next 1 August.
• Offers, bids and Deadline Day deals already in progress keep their original terms, and board goals already issued keep their targets.
• Sell-on fees, solidarity payments and training years count from the moment your save is updated. Earlier moves are not paid retroactively.
• Existing careers continue normally, but a new career gives the full experience: Club Development starts at Base and every season counts towards your graduates' future payments.

Thank you again for all the bug reports, suggestions and detailed feedback!