No there not.... you have that OPTION, but the basic shifter is internalized. I'm running .148.... just fired it up, I have the option of turning on a shifter in the bottom left and bottom right corners. Some of the drivers have the internal shifter, some don't.
After downloading the artwork file which contains a custom shifter image.
It looks like this for the shifter section of the lay file:
<bezel element="shifter" inputtag="IN0L" inputmask="0x02">
<bounds x="4050" y="2054" width="700" height="781" />
</bezel>
See the inputtag and inputmask sections? Those are going to be unique for each game. So like I said, contact Mr. Do and stop arguing.