Viz Arc User Guide
Version 1.8 | Published October 13, 2023 ©
Unreal Loader
Unreal Loader is a scheduled task that needs to be installed on each Unreal Engine machine that is controlled by Viz Arc. Unreal Loader detects installed Unreal Engine versions, and helps launch a project and select a map within the project. It is not mandatory to install Viz Arc or the Viz Arc Web Service. The Unreal Loader needs to be installed on any machine running an Unreal Engine that is ought to be controlled by Viz Arc, which might run on a different machine.
Prerequisites
Make sure the MS Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redist (x64), Windows Desktop runtime and Asp.Net Core runtime are installed on the target machine. The bundle installer silently installs them in case they are not present on the target machine.
Installation
Run the Viz Arc bundle installer and select the Viz Arc Unreal Loader:
The installer detects any compatible Unreal Engine version and installs the Viz Arc plug-in to the respective Unreal installations.
The registry key used is InstalledDirectory and can be found in the registry under:
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Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\EpicGames\Unreal Engine\4.27
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Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\EpicGames\Unreal Engine\5.0
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Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\EpicGames\Unreal Engine\5.1
The plug-in gets installed under the subfolder Engine\Plugins\VizArc of the respective Unreal Engine installation (for example, C:\Program Files\EpicGames\Unreal Engine\5.0\Engine\Plugins\VizArc).
Unreal Registry Entries: On some machines, the registry entries might not be present although the Unreal Engine is installed correctly. This usually occurs when the Unreal Engine installation has been executed without administrative privileges. The registry entries can either be added manually or the plug-in can be installed manually (see below).
Manual Installation
The plug-ins can be copied manually to the Unreal Engine plug-in folder. After installation of the Unreal Loader, the plug-ins can be found under the folder C:\ProgramData\vizrt\VizArc\Resources\unreal.
Select the version to install and copy the entire VizArc folder to the Unreal plug-in destination folder. For example, copy C:\ProgramData\vizrt\VizArc\Resources\unreal\5.03\VizArc to C:\Program Files\EpicGames\Unreal Engine\5.0\Engine\Plugins\VizArc.
Starting Unreal Loader
After successful installation the Unreal Loader starts automatically and whenever a user logs on to the system it starts as a scheduled task. To see the task settings execute the windows command taskschd.msc.
Under the name VizArcUnrealLoader all the settings of the scheduled task can be reviewed. Check the task manager whether the process is running. The process can be terminated and started using the context menu on the scheduled task.
Note: The service itself does not require any licenses.
Configuration
The first time you start the service, registry keys are generated with default values for communication ports and unreal startup parameters. The registry key can be found in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\vizrt\Viz Arc.
The relevant keys and their default values are:
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UELoaderServerPort: The communication port used by Viz Arc to talk to this service. Default is 5644.
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UELoeaderCommandLine: The default command line suffix added on each Unreal Engine start up. Default is -game -RCWebControlEnable -RCWebInterfaceEnable -noverifygc -novsync -nosound -log -windowed resx=1920 resy=1080.
Note: The default resx and resy are configured to be HD format. Change this accordingly if your output format is different. Add the log flag to launch the engine in offscreen mode with the output console only.
Render off-screen: When used together with the Viz Engine integration, it is recommended to add the -RenderOffScreen switch to the command line, so the rendering takes place off screen.
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UEPluginPort: The communication port to be used by Viz Arc to talk to the Viz Arc Unreal Engine Plugin. Default is 5647.
Note: The UEPluginPort is not used directly by Unreal Loader.
Troubleshooting
Logging
The Windows event viewer contains some basic logging of the service. Under Application and Services you can find a VizArcLog that contains all relevant log entries:
Among other events the event viewer logs which project and map is loaded through Viz Arc and which Unreal Installations have been found after start-up. The Unreal Loader identifies the Unreal installations based on the registry keys found in Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\EpicGames\Unreal Engine\.
User
The service launches the Unreal Engine with the user that is currently logged on. Make sure a user is logged in on the machine.