This Editor is based on the original, older Talent File Editor that was used back in the day during the golden age of RFactor1, which can be found here.
However, even though it does what it does well, I was looking for something a little more advanced, and after some time, I decided to create what I needed myself.
In this Editor. you will be able to change the .rcd-files based on the current AI-Parameters in Automobilista, which, as far as I know, consist of Aggression, Reputation, Courtesy, Composure, Speed, Crash, Recovery, Tire Management, Start Skill, Completed Laps, and Min Racing Skill. I'm not an expert on what exactly all these parameters do specifically (other than more speed = more fast), or if some of these might even be obsolete, but this is what the Editor will be changing as of now.
Warning: The Editor will break if trying to use it with older RCD-Files which don't use parameters such as Tire Management, Start Skill, etc.
Usage: There are two different ways in which the Editor can be utilized:
1. The first and most basic way is to simply take the .rcd-Files you would like to edit by clicking on the "Get RCD-Files"-Button. After that, hit the "Load Drivers"-Button. The Drivers-List will be populated, after which you can click on the Drivers and Parameters you'd like to edit and change the Values to whatever you'd like.
Warning: Make sure you hit Enter or the "Save Driver" button each time you change a value, since otherwise the parameter will be erased when you move on (unless you randomize). Just FYI so that you guys don't edit parameters for 2 hours and then realize none of the values have been saved.
I've also incorporated, for each driver and parameter, a max- and min-value, between which a random number will be pulled and saved in the .rcd-File for some variance.
The standard max- and min-values are between 0 and 100, other than Completed Laps, which is between 0 and 100000.
If you'd like to randomize the values, pick the Drivers and Parameters from the Dropdown-Menu and hit the button below it.
After you're done editing all the Drivers, click on "Create RCD-File(s)", which will ask you where you want to drop the files. And that's it, the Talent Files should be ready to use!
Hint: Since you're editing Talent-Files, I'm sure you know how to properly link them to a series so that they are actually used by the game, but just to make sure, here's a quick guide:
Wherever you end up putting your .RCD-Files, make sure you're referencing that Folder in the Series (.srs-File) you're running.
For example, if you create a bunch of .RCD-Files for Formula Reiza and drop them in a folder you created in AMS's Talent Folder, which you maybe called "Drivers" or whatever, make sure you edit the Reiza2.srs-file so that the DriversDir points towards that exact folder. It should look something like this:
ConfigOverrides
{
DriversDir=GAMEDATA\TALENT\Drivers\
}
Reference this post if you're having more issues, or feel free to ask in the comments. (Thanks to Keith Windsor)
Got a bit off-track, but here is the second way of how to use the Editor, and the main reason I wanted to create this Editor in the first place:
2. When I race full seasons against the AI, I get bored with having them race the same way Race after Race after Race. With the method I will be providing now, you will be able to easily create new .RCD-Files after each race, in order to keep the Season dynamic. As an optional feature, you can weaken or increase the speed of drivers based on which Teams they're driving for (i.e. A Fernando Alonso will be faster for Ferrrari than McLaren).
Disclaimer: This only works for the AI, however. Basically, I'd limit how good the AI is based on which Team they're driving for, instead of making the actual car itself slower. For that, you'd have to change the actual physics of the car, which I'm way too dumb for.
To get started, hit the "Get Veh-Folder(s)"-Button. You will then direct the Popup-Window to where you have stored all the .Veh-Files, which contain the Names of the Drivers, which you will be using in the Season (this way insures that you won't misspell the names of the drivers in the .rcd-Files and you won't end up wondering why Marrcuss Erricsssons keeps getting one Pole-Position after another, since it's connected to a car that doesn't exist).
Hit "Load Drivers". The Drivers-List will populate, but you will notice that they are now connected to the Teams-List at the bottom.
Generally, I make the Drivers as fast as I think they are, and then give them a handicap based on which Team they're driving for (i.e. Vettel-Speed = 100 - 0 for Ferrari. Alonso-Speed = 100 - 60 for McLaren). This is the reason why the Default max- and min-Values are between 0 and -100. Feel free to utilize and change this as you please, obviously.
Currently, a Driver's .RCD-File's Speed cannot exceed 100 or fall under 0, because I don't think AMS could use values like that, but I have not tested that.
Change the Values for Drivers and Teams as you please, and make sure to hit Enter or Save Driver/Team each time, so that the Max-and Min-Values are saved. Hit the Randomizers, if you please, or give the Drivers and Teams the Values that you think fit best.
If you do want to use the Speed-Modifiers based on who the Drivers race for, check the box that says "Use Team Speed Modifier?". For now, this will simply add or subtract to the Driver's speed when creating the .RCD-Files (I figured Speed was the one parameter that made sense to connect to a Team. If you guys feel like some or all of the other parameters should be included as well, feel free to say so in the comments!). Speaking of .RCD-Files, you can create them in the exact same way as in Section 1. However, you will also want to hit "Save Season-File" (which, by the way, you can also use if there are no Teams listed, i.e. when only using RCD-Files as a base).
Give the File a name and place of whatever. This will create a .TFE-File, which is basically a glorified .CSV-File, so it can be edited in Excel. Just make sure to keep the Column Names the same, as the Editor will otherwise throw an error. Either way, this will streamline the process of creating Variance in your races moving forward.
This is how: From now on, you will click on the "Get Season-File" instead and pick the File you just created. After that, simply pick "Randomize all Properties for all Drivers", which will give all drivers values between the min and max, as you've previously given them, and also hit "Randomize Speed for Every Team", if you so desire.
Hit "Create RCD-Files", overwrite the old ones, and you're done!
Hit the Save Season-File as well, for good measure, in case you changed some other parameters.
This should basically cover everything, I think. Lots of writing for something rather straight-forward, but I'd rather overexplain than have confused people in the comments.
Keep an eye out for any issues or bugs and let me know about them in the comments. Also, feel free to point out any useful features or ideas you come up with.
Hope somebody will find it useful, enjoy!
Thanks!
Update:
Explanation of Tendency: To use the new feature, check Enable Tendency for Drivers?" and/or "Enable Tendency for Teams?". Now you can assign the Tendency and Leniency for each driver (and/or team) and its property, which is the actual value that will be used when randomizing.
However, the randomizer will never allow for a value that is above the max or below the min. So, when your Tendency is way above the max, and the leniency is very low, you will get lots of values that will be rejected. At some point, the program breaks out of the progress and lets you know about the driver/team that it can't get acceptable values for and ask you to change the tendency and leniency for that driver.
All other drivers that are not causing a problem will be properly randomized.
For each driver or team, make sure to test the tendency and leniency for a bit to make sure you are getting the values you'd like!
In general terms, Leniency should, on average, provide a one-to-one range to the values you should get. This means that if Leniency is set to 1, and tendency 10, you should get a range from 9 to 11. If Leniency is 10 and tendency 10, range should be 0 to 20, and so on.
I implemented the tendency-property because I was feeling like a general randomization between min-and max-values was too simple, as I wanted a more detailed system. This way, over the course of a couple of seasons, you can increase the tendency bit by bit, as the "Driver" gets more experienced, while never exceeding their actual potential. This gives the entire process, in my opinion, a bit more of a "real" feeling.
I have implemented backwards-compatibility with Season-Files from the 0.9-Version, so you should be able to use the updated tool without any trouble!
Changelog v1.1.2
Changelog v1.1.1
Changelog v1.1:
Changelog v1.0:
However, even though it does what it does well, I was looking for something a little more advanced, and after some time, I decided to create what I needed myself.
In this Editor. you will be able to change the .rcd-files based on the current AI-Parameters in Automobilista, which, as far as I know, consist of Aggression, Reputation, Courtesy, Composure, Speed, Crash, Recovery, Tire Management, Start Skill, Completed Laps, and Min Racing Skill. I'm not an expert on what exactly all these parameters do specifically (other than more speed = more fast), or if some of these might even be obsolete, but this is what the Editor will be changing as of now.
Warning: The Editor will break if trying to use it with older RCD-Files which don't use parameters such as Tire Management, Start Skill, etc.
Usage: There are two different ways in which the Editor can be utilized:
1. The first and most basic way is to simply take the .rcd-Files you would like to edit by clicking on the "Get RCD-Files"-Button. After that, hit the "Load Drivers"-Button. The Drivers-List will be populated, after which you can click on the Drivers and Parameters you'd like to edit and change the Values to whatever you'd like.
Warning: Make sure you hit Enter or the "Save Driver" button each time you change a value, since otherwise the parameter will be erased when you move on (unless you randomize). Just FYI so that you guys don't edit parameters for 2 hours and then realize none of the values have been saved.
I've also incorporated, for each driver and parameter, a max- and min-value, between which a random number will be pulled and saved in the .rcd-File for some variance.
The standard max- and min-values are between 0 and 100, other than Completed Laps, which is between 0 and 100000.
If you'd like to randomize the values, pick the Drivers and Parameters from the Dropdown-Menu and hit the button below it.
After you're done editing all the Drivers, click on "Create RCD-File(s)", which will ask you where you want to drop the files. And that's it, the Talent Files should be ready to use!
Hint: Since you're editing Talent-Files, I'm sure you know how to properly link them to a series so that they are actually used by the game, but just to make sure, here's a quick guide:
Wherever you end up putting your .RCD-Files, make sure you're referencing that Folder in the Series (.srs-File) you're running.
For example, if you create a bunch of .RCD-Files for Formula Reiza and drop them in a folder you created in AMS's Talent Folder, which you maybe called "Drivers" or whatever, make sure you edit the Reiza2.srs-file so that the DriversDir points towards that exact folder. It should look something like this:
ConfigOverrides
{
DriversDir=GAMEDATA\TALENT\Drivers\
}
Reference this post if you're having more issues, or feel free to ask in the comments. (Thanks to Keith Windsor)
Got a bit off-track, but here is the second way of how to use the Editor, and the main reason I wanted to create this Editor in the first place:
2. When I race full seasons against the AI, I get bored with having them race the same way Race after Race after Race. With the method I will be providing now, you will be able to easily create new .RCD-Files after each race, in order to keep the Season dynamic. As an optional feature, you can weaken or increase the speed of drivers based on which Teams they're driving for (i.e. A Fernando Alonso will be faster for Ferrrari than McLaren).
Disclaimer: This only works for the AI, however. Basically, I'd limit how good the AI is based on which Team they're driving for, instead of making the actual car itself slower. For that, you'd have to change the actual physics of the car, which I'm way too dumb for.
To get started, hit the "Get Veh-Folder(s)"-Button. You will then direct the Popup-Window to where you have stored all the .Veh-Files, which contain the Names of the Drivers, which you will be using in the Season (this way insures that you won't misspell the names of the drivers in the .rcd-Files and you won't end up wondering why Marrcuss Erricsssons keeps getting one Pole-Position after another, since it's connected to a car that doesn't exist).
Hit "Load Drivers". The Drivers-List will populate, but you will notice that they are now connected to the Teams-List at the bottom.
Generally, I make the Drivers as fast as I think they are, and then give them a handicap based on which Team they're driving for (i.e. Vettel-Speed = 100 - 0 for Ferrari. Alonso-Speed = 100 - 60 for McLaren). This is the reason why the Default max- and min-Values are between 0 and -100. Feel free to utilize and change this as you please, obviously.
Currently, a Driver's .RCD-File's Speed cannot exceed 100 or fall under 0, because I don't think AMS could use values like that, but I have not tested that.
Change the Values for Drivers and Teams as you please, and make sure to hit Enter or Save Driver/Team each time, so that the Max-and Min-Values are saved. Hit the Randomizers, if you please, or give the Drivers and Teams the Values that you think fit best.
If you do want to use the Speed-Modifiers based on who the Drivers race for, check the box that says "Use Team Speed Modifier?". For now, this will simply add or subtract to the Driver's speed when creating the .RCD-Files (I figured Speed was the one parameter that made sense to connect to a Team. If you guys feel like some or all of the other parameters should be included as well, feel free to say so in the comments!). Speaking of .RCD-Files, you can create them in the exact same way as in Section 1. However, you will also want to hit "Save Season-File" (which, by the way, you can also use if there are no Teams listed, i.e. when only using RCD-Files as a base).
Give the File a name and place of whatever. This will create a .TFE-File, which is basically a glorified .CSV-File, so it can be edited in Excel. Just make sure to keep the Column Names the same, as the Editor will otherwise throw an error. Either way, this will streamline the process of creating Variance in your races moving forward.
This is how: From now on, you will click on the "Get Season-File" instead and pick the File you just created. After that, simply pick "Randomize all Properties for all Drivers", which will give all drivers values between the min and max, as you've previously given them, and also hit "Randomize Speed for Every Team", if you so desire.
Hit "Create RCD-Files", overwrite the old ones, and you're done!
Hit the Save Season-File as well, for good measure, in case you changed some other parameters.
This should basically cover everything, I think. Lots of writing for something rather straight-forward, but I'd rather overexplain than have confused people in the comments.
Keep an eye out for any issues or bugs and let me know about them in the comments. Also, feel free to point out any useful features or ideas you come up with.
Hope somebody will find it useful, enjoy!
Thanks!
Update:
Explanation of Tendency: To use the new feature, check Enable Tendency for Drivers?" and/or "Enable Tendency for Teams?". Now you can assign the Tendency and Leniency for each driver (and/or team) and its property, which is the actual value that will be used when randomizing.
However, the randomizer will never allow for a value that is above the max or below the min. So, when your Tendency is way above the max, and the leniency is very low, you will get lots of values that will be rejected. At some point, the program breaks out of the progress and lets you know about the driver/team that it can't get acceptable values for and ask you to change the tendency and leniency for that driver.
All other drivers that are not causing a problem will be properly randomized.
For each driver or team, make sure to test the tendency and leniency for a bit to make sure you are getting the values you'd like!
In general terms, Leniency should, on average, provide a one-to-one range to the values you should get. This means that if Leniency is set to 1, and tendency 10, you should get a range from 9 to 11. If Leniency is 10 and tendency 10, range should be 0 to 20, and so on.
I implemented the tendency-property because I was feeling like a general randomization between min-and max-values was too simple, as I wanted a more detailed system. This way, over the course of a couple of seasons, you can increase the tendency bit by bit, as the "Driver" gets more experienced, while never exceeding their actual potential. This gives the entire process, in my opinion, a bit more of a "real" feeling.
I have implemented backwards-compatibility with Season-Files from the 0.9-Version, so you should be able to use the updated tool without any trouble!
Changelog v1.1.2
- Added functionality for up to five driver per Veh.-File.
Changelog v1.1.1
- Added functionality for adding vehicle-files that contain two drivers.
Changelog v1.1:
- Fixed Property-List not resetting itself when reaching the end and going to the next driver.
- Fixed various bugs related to Drivers not being assigned to a Team.
- Added Buttons to add and Delete Drivers and Teams.
- Added a Button to assign a Driver to a new Team.
- Added the ability to quickly randomize Min-and Max-Values for Drivers and Teams. The tendency will be overwritten and in-between those values.
- Added the ability to Add Season, Vehicle, and RCD-Files to the already existing List in order to not have to re-create the Talent-and Season-Files when starting a new season (i.e. for adding additional Drivers, Teams, Classes, etc.)
Changelog v1.0:
- Added sorting capabilities for both Drivers and Teams, independently of one-another.
- Added optional "Tendency"-Property. The idea is that drivers and teams gravitate around this value, while never going above Max or below Min.
- Added "Leniency"-Property in connection with the "Tendency"-Property. The higher the Leniency for each driver's or team's Tendency-property, the more fluctuation will be seen in the values.
- Added some functionality that would allow to pinpoint which drivers or teams are getting irregular values.
- Fixed a bug where values above 100 or below 0 would be allowed when creating rcd-files. The code was already, there, but I forgot to reference it properly...
Good luck!