Hey everyone, we are very happy to announce that Replay Mod has returned to Lunar Client; this time, it is here to stay. Below is information about the mod and a summary/timeline of our previous implementations.

Replay Mod is a mod that allows you to record and replay your gameplay footage. It offers a range of features and tools that help with the recording and editing process, allowing users to create captivating cinematic videos, analyze their gameplay, and share their experiences with others.

How it works

Recording

Replay Mod will start recording when joining a server (if the setting is turned on) or you can simply start recording by pressing Escape and navigating to the "Start Recording" button. A HUD mod will appear letting you know when you are actively recording gameplay. Replay Mod will capture all of your character's movements and actions in the world, as well as all of the players around you. You are able to pause or stop the recording at any time by pressing Escape. Once you stop or leave, you'll need to save your footage to view it later on in the Replay Viewer.

Replay Viewer

The Replay Viewer is located on the Main Menu and contains all of your recording files. Once you find your desired file you are looking to replay, simple click it and hit "Load".

Replay System

Once you load a replay, it'll take you to the Replay System. The Replay system allows you to navigate through your recorded footage, select specific sections, and switch between different camera angles. It also offers various editing features such as adjustable playback speeds, camera paths, and cinematic effects like depth of field and motion blur.

Rendering

Once you set up a camera path, it'll give you the option to render it. You will need ffmpeg in order to render in Replay Mod, steps on how to install can be found here. Once installed, simply select the "Render Camera Path" button and you will be prompted with a menu with many settings for the render. You can render videos with certain encoding presets, rendering methods, resolution, and different bit rates. There is also advanced settings that allow you to toggle nametags, chroma key the sky, stabilize the camera, and has the ability to render 360 degree videos!

If you are interested in a full tutorial on how to use Replay Mod and/or to view all of it's documentation, please visit the official Replay Mod docs page here.

In May of 2021, we first implemented Replay Mod in a flawed manner without proper consultation and wasn't fully compliant with the GPLv3 license. We removed the mod from Lunar Client when we were notified by the mod's maintainer, Johni, and returned to the drawing board.

In that downtime, we put our brains together and decided to rework our entire toolchain to give us the ability to load Forge and Fabric mods in a new way. To make things short, we basically made a mod loader that can load mod loaders. It took over a year for us to complete this new toolchain and once it was out, we decided to reimplement Replay Mod using this new system.

In August of 2022, we decided to make the new Replay Mod implementation public without publicly announcing it to test this new system, and less than 48 hours later, we made it private again after Replay Mod's maintainer told us we were still not compliant with the license. We had fundamental disagreements with what was right or wrong, but, nonetheless, we removed the mod right away from the launcher.

At this point, we decided to just focus on adding different mods to Lunar Client such as Sodium, Iris, Phosphor, NEU, SBA, and others. Then, we researched some of the top law firms in the country that specialize in the GPLv3 license, to go over our August implementation.

In February of 2023, we contacted a leading, third-party law firm, Sheppard Mullin, specializing in intellectual property, copyright, software licenses, and more, to conduct a legal analysis of our August implementation of Replay Mod. The analysis was completed in late May, and we promptly discussed it with Johni, Replay Mod's maintainer. He agreed with our position that we were indeed in compliance with the license. Since then, we've spent the last few weeks ironing out some bugs and preparing the mod for a release.

We are happy to finally put this matter to rest and are excited for both the Lunar Client and Replay Mod community to come together and enjoy playing with the mod. We want to thank Johni, our developers, lawyers, and testers for helping to get this project over the finish line.

With the addition of Replay Mod, we've decided to change up some of our modules a bit. We plan on transitioning to a Forge or Fabric module on every version in the future.

Fabric Module (1.19.4 & 1.20.1)

On version 1.19.4 and 1.20.1, you will see a Fabric module now. This Fabric module includes ReplayMod, Sodium, Iris, Indium, and Noxesium.

Forge Module (1.8.9 & 1.12.2)

On version 1.8.9, you will notice the removal of the Skyblock Module in favor of a generic Forge Module. This Forge module includes ReplayMod, OptiFine, SkyBlockAddons, and NotEnoughUpdates. This Forge Module will also be present on version 1.12.2 but without the Hypixel Skyblock mods.

Replay Mod Module (1.16.5, 1.17.1, & 1.18.2)

On versions 1.16.5, 1.17.1, and 1.18.2, you will see a Replay Mod module. This module is Replay Mod without performance mods like OptiFine or Sodium. We are currently working on adding Sodium & OptiFine support for these versions. When Sodium is added, this module will be replaced with the Fabric Module.

If you run into issues with Replay Mod that only happen on Lunar Client, do not reach out to Replay Mod’s support team! Contact us regarding any issues at lunarclient.com/support.