[UE5 TakeRecorder] Unable to instantiate module 'UnrealEd': Unable to instantiate UnrealEd module for non-editor targets

Development Programming & Scripting C++
1

Hey there!

I’m trying to use the TakeRecorder plugin in UE5, as far as I understand the sequence recorder available in UE4 has been replaced by this plugin. So far so good, I can use it from the Editor, I can use it via BPs, wonderful. But now I’d like to use it in C++ in a standalone application and it looks like it’s not possible.

I’ve written some code copying from a Youtube video, the code compiles ok but I get this message while packaging.

Unable to instantiate module 'UnrealEd': Unable to instantiate UnrealEd module for non-editor targets.
(referenced via Target -> ThirdPersonCppTest.Build.cs -> TakeRecorder.Build.cs -> TakeTrackRecorders.Build.cs -> TakesCore.Build.cs -> MovieSceneTools.Build.cs)
Took 1.0147108s to run dotnet, ExitCode=6

My .uproject file has just Engine and TakeRecorder as dependencies but I see that TakeRecorder has a lot of dependencies and the chain reported in the error actually makes sense.

So the questions are:

  1. how can I record a gameplay sequence in a standalone application without using the Editor? Should I create another plugin copying TakeRecorder and removing everything that’s Editor-dependent?
  2. why it was possible to do all this in UE4 and is not possible in UE5? It’s so strange!

Thanks for all the help,
Andrea

2

Ok, I’m going in the right direction I think. I was following this guide (I leave the link here because it’s an interesting approach to reverse engineering of UE code) but it looks like TakeRecorder can’t work right now outside the Editor in UE5.

So I switched to the Replay System made through the DemoNetDriver following this example that should be an attempt of porting this guide. Now I can save replays on disk, give them a name based on date and time and replay them. I’m still trying to understand how to remove the main player from the gameplay when the replay starts (because if I make it “float” towards the replayed actor, the real player can affect the replay simply colliding with stuff being replayed) and how to follow the replayed actor in first person.