NAMeS: Real Drivers for AMS2 v4.69

NAMeS v4.69 finishes a mundane housekeeping project that removes unnecessary driver entries from various files that Reiza had previously deactivated. A few files contain minor changes to the livery order (e.g., most livery numbers in the sim are presented in ascending order, but occasionally a few are not) so that livery/driver order across all custom-AI files now matches the latest AMS2 build. In the process, I added several missing Corvette C8 owners.

NAMeS v4.68 includes real driver names for the new 2024 Stock Car Pro Series (adding Portuguese diacritics) and Formula 1 drivers (for the revised F-Ultimate Gen2 class).

I noticed a few errors in the Formula Ultimates (both Gen1 & Gen2) team-driver pairings that made absolutely no sense whatsoever. I guess my dog must have walked across my keyboard....

Obviously, the Gen2 file will be updated again when Reiza's revised Gen2 arrives with the next update, but at least both categories are fixed for now. New custom-AI files for the 2024 Stock Car and revised Formula Ultimate Gen2 are already completed and will be uploaded with the public release of the next update.

v4.66 now is uploaded as a .zip file in an attempt to eliminate the false positive virus warnings reported by a few RD members. Please let me know if Windows Defender or another program flags the updated .zip archive when downloaded.

1961 European Formula Junior co-champion Tony Maggs (aka, Tommy Moore in Reiza-speak) was born in Pretoria, South Africa, so the F-Junior file has been updated to correct his nationality. The Swiss flag that was incorrectly linked with Tony's name was probably an errant copy-and-paste issue with Lucien Balsiger, who appears nearby in the file.

NAMeS v4.65 includes an updated F-USA Gen3 file to match the revised Reynard-Honda livery numbers, including the new Gil de Ferran tribute livery #2.

R.I.P., Gil.

NAMeS v4.64 includes a small change to the GT3 Gen2 file; that is, the order of McLaren & BMW drivers was edited to exactly match the semi-ascending car numbers for those vehicles. This minor change is primarily of interest only to custom livery modders who utilize NAMeS for livery name/order information.

I noticed an extra "l" in GT4 driver Alessandro Giovanelli. Fixed it.

In order to improve immersion during single-player, multi-class races in AMS2, NAMeS v4.62 includes updated files for the P1, P2, P3, and P4 classes to remove any duplicate drivers, especially among the many Metalmoro vehicles. I took care to match AJR drivers with the correct liveries, teams, and/or engines as much as possible given the additional constraints. These multi-class-friendly files are now activated by default, but copies of these P1-P4 files and their original versions, as well as all other alternative files, are located in a new folder called "Alternate NAMeS".

Thanks to @Alegunner68 at the Reiza forums for giving me the push to get these out the door. By the way, the P1 Gen2 cars weren't included in this update, as there are only so many Sigma P1 drivers (from both the P1 or earlier P2 class) to go around. To avoid redundant drivers in this case, multi-class races that feature P1 cars should choose between either Gen1 or Gen2 machinery--not both simultaneously.

I'll generate an updated version for MrBrainDown's P1-P4 skins (NAMeS Expansion Pack 1) soon.

NAMeS v4.61 includes an alternative file for Carrera Cup. Located in the NAMeS+AI folder, this Carrera Cup file features 4.0 and 3.8 drivers from the 2019 Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil series, where the 991.1 and 991.2 both were raced. Reiza has included two additional championship seasons, so this file will provide the correct drivers for those championships. 2019 Carrera Cup Brasil drivers were performance-matched to Reiza quasi-fictional drivers, so no additional AI attributes were necessary.

Now that the "notformedia" restriction has been lifted for the latest AMS2 V1.5.5 beta, feel free to download NAMeS v4.6, which includes files for the LMDh and GT3 Gen 2 classes. The files will be ready to use with the public release of AMS2 V1.5.5.

LMDh cars are 100% names matched to 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship drivers.
GT3 Gen2 drivers are also 100% names matched, mostly from the 2023 Fanatec GT World Challenge (various continents), along with a few from other series, like British GT.

One idiosyncrasy of AMS2 is that the use of custom-AI files during multi-class races seems to be an all-or-none affair; that is, all categories in a multi-class race require their own custom-AI file (if any custom-AI file use is desired) for drivers to populate correctly. With NAMeS v4.6 installed, multi-class races should automatically include a full grid of real drivers, regardless of what other mods are activated.

Happy New Year!

NAMeS v4.59 includes an updated DPi.xml file, as @mrjiffy6 at the Reiza forums was kind enough to point out that Sébastien Bourdais was missing the "u" in his last name.

Hopefully, NAMeS v4.59 will prove to have a very short lifespan and will be replaced soon to incorporate the exciting new content (i.e., LMDh & GT3 Gen2) announced by Reiza.

NAMeS v4.58 includes a small fix for the P2 class: the final Sigma skin is no longer #72, but #73.

Thanks to Romeo Foxtrot over at the Reiza forums for spotting this issue.

NAMeS v4.57 includes an edited TC70S file that removes several Corvette drivers that were Thanosed by Reiza. Thanks to @F_B for noticing this while updating his GT Classics pack.

In the process of redacting the file, I took the opportunity to find two Corvette drivers who were a better match for Reiza quasi-fictional names than I had originally chosen (yes, it happens). If you want Tony DeLorenzo back, then you ought to get @F_B's GT Classics set here.

I also, at long last, removed the #68 North Racing F-Retro Gen1 entry that Reiza deleted ages ago.

Ultimately, these rather minor updates will help AMS2CDU users avoid creating redundant entries in these classes without knowing it. No hurry, @LuxMundi!

No new files; only a slight modification to the archive name to help AMS2CM install NAMeS files before any complete livery+AI sets, especially all of the outstanding Immersion Modding Group F1 season sets. The new archive has an ASCII-derived "! -" prefix rather than a "0 -" ... this way, any livery set mods with their own custom-AI files install after NAMeS and automatically overwrite them as needed. In my tests, AMS2CM lists NAMeS before any other selected mods prior to hitting "Apply" ... and all other custom-AI files show up afterwards in the CustomAIDrivers folder. If you encounter an exception, please let me know.


Users who already have NAMeS v4.55 with the previous prefix can, of course, manually rename their version to the following to achieve the same result:

Rename the .7z archive from

0 - NAMeS Real Drivers for AMS2 v4.55

to

! - NAMeS Real Drivers for AMS2 v4.55

NAMeS v4.55 includes custom-AI files for the new Formula-HiTech Gen1 & Gen2 categories, 100% names matched to 1992 & 1993 F1 drivers, respectively.

If you encounter any new AMS2 users in your online travels, please point them in this direction so they can locate everything they need--thanks to the efforts of the entire modding community--to make AMS2 its best.

NAMeS v4.54 provides a few, additional refinements prior to Reiza's next big update:

1) Livery names for Superkart were previously updated by Reiza; the new livery names have been added (albeit belatedly) so that NAMeS drivers appear again in Superkart races.

2) Six NAMeS files have reorganized rosters (i.e., same real drivers, different order) to automatically approximate actual driver performance by first ranking the performance of Reiza drivers on the track and then assigning real drivers in the same order.

< ARC Camaro
< Formula 3
< F-USA 2023
< Ginetta G40 Cup
< 125 cc Karts
< Superkarts

Consequently, these series no longer require a NAMeS+AI file. There is enough variability in default AI behavior to prevent any one driver from routinely dominating a series, yet the efforts made to performance match these files should ensure that the Natural Order among Racers is sufficiently preserved. I added information on the Overview page that details whether a NAMeS file was performance-matched or a blind replacement for Reiza Backers, with ranking available from a NAMeS+AI file.

Oh, and NAMeS files for Reiza's upcoming content are already finished....

Reiza's quasi-fictional drivers for the G40 Cup were originally derived from the 2021 Ginetta Junior Championship, which only features a 100-hp variant of the G40. To correctly match the 140-hp G40 Cup vehicle from the sim, this new G40 Cup custom-AI file features drivers from the 2018 Ginetta G40 Cup.

Note: The original, NAMeS-matched G40 Cup file (featuring real conversions of Reiza's 2021 Ginetta Junior Championship drivers) has been moved to the NAMeS+AI folder.

To avoid having to insert custom attributes, I took the additional effort to match the 2018 Cup drivers to the same championship standing order as Reiza's "Junior" drivers. This way, the best driver from Reiza's 2021 list matches up with the best driver in the 2018 standings, down to the final entrant. I rather like the results, so I'll probably end up applying the same methodology--where appropriate--to a few other files that lack NAMeS scores. There is no such thing as the perfect lap, after all....

Today's updated file is no more than a renamed v4.52 file that includes a "0 -" prefix in the archive title. Besides preventing unintentional AI-file/livery file mismatch errors when activating long lists of mods, this little "0-" prefix designation essentially forces the NAMeS philosophy upon the community: That is, install NAMeS first, then go and install any other mod you want after that. This way, all of the awesome @AFry liverysets and @jusk AI files will show up in AMS2 when you launch the sim, and the leftover NAMeS files will happily fill in any gaps that remain.

One day, there may not be a need for NAMeS ... but that day is not today.

Thanks to @TomJayTea for the helpful reminder to finally upload a such a version. Blame me for the hyperbole.

AFAIK, Reiza has finalized the P1 Gen2 roster, which now includes the Ginetta G58!

Update: NAMeS V4.52 has been verified to work with AMS2 V1.5!