Ghost Mode: How to Build a Solo Time-Trial with the RR Speed Run Manager

So you’ve built a sick Rocket Racing track. It’s got boosts, jumps, and enough hairpin turns to make a seasoned driver nauseous. But right now, it’s just a playground. Everyone’s crashing into each other, arguing about who took the inside line, and nobody is actually keeping score.

It’s time to turn that chaos into a Speed Run.

In this tutorial, we’re going to use the RR Speed Run Manager device. Think of this device as the ultimate race official. It doesn’t care about your kill count or your building skills; it only cares about one thing: How fast can you get from A to B without hitting the wall?

We’ll set up a mode where players race alone (or see ghosts of other players) to beat their own best times. No collisions, no griefing, just pure, unadulterated velocity.

What You'll Learn

• What a Speed Run is: How it differs from a standard race (no collisions, ghost players).
• The RR Speed Run Manager: The single device that flips the switch on time-trial gameplay.
• Prerequisites: Why you need a Rocket Racing template to use this.
• The Setup: Placing the manager and connecting it to your track.

How It Works

Before we touch any code or devices, let’s talk about the "Scene Graph" (the hierarchy of objects in your world) and how the game understands a Speed Run.

In a standard Battle Royale race, if you bump into another player, you both slow down. It’s a free-for-all. But in a Speed Run (or time trial), the rules change. The game treats every other player as a "ghost." You can see them, but they are intangible. You can drive through them like they’re made of smoke. This prevents lag and cheating, ensuring that your lap time is purely a result of your skill, not someone else’s bad driving.

The RR Speed Run Manager is the brain of this operation. It’s a special device that only exists in Rocket Racing UEFN templates. If you’re making a standard shooter island, this device won’t show up. Why? Because it needs specific underlying code (the "scene graph" components) that only Rocket Racing projects have loaded. It tells the game engine: "Hey, stop checking for collisions between cars. Start checking for lap times instead."

When you place this manager, it automatically updates your HUD (Heads-Up Display). Instead of showing "Position: 3rd," it will show "Current Lap: 1:23.45" and "Best Lap: 1:22.10." It’s the difference between playing a brawl and playing a sport.

The "Ghost" Concept

Imagine if you could rewind time and drive alongside your past self. That’s what players see. Other racers are visible, but they don’t occupy physical space. This is crucial for performance and fairness. The manager handles this invisibility layer so you don’t have to code it yourself.

Let's Build It

We aren’t writing complex Verse code here because the RR Speed Run Manager is a device-based setup. In UEFN, some things are controlled by logic (Verse), and some are controlled by simple configuration (Devices). This is the latter. It’s like setting the difficulty on a console rather than writing a script to calculate it.

Note: You must start with a Rocket Racing island template. If you start with a standard "Creative" or "Battle Royale" template, this device will not appear in your Content Browser.

Step 1: Find the Manager

1. Open your Content Browser.
2. Navigate to the Devices folder.
3. Look for the Rocket Racing section.
4. Find the device named RR Speed Run Manager.

Pro Tip: If you don’t see it, double-check your project type. It’s locked to Rocket Racing templates for a reason—the engine needs those specific racing assets loaded.

Step 2: Place the Manager

1. Drag the RR Speed Run Manager into your scene.
2. Place it anywhere on the map. It doesn’t need to be near the track. It’s like the race control booth; it just needs to exist in the world to broadcast its rules.
3. Select the device and look at the Details Panel (usually on the right side of the screen).

Step 3: Configure the Rules

In the Details Panel, you’ll see a few key settings. Let’s break them down using game terms:

• Laps: How many times do they need to circle the track? Set this to 1 for a sprint, or 3 for a marathon.
• Allow Spectators: Should people who aren’t racing be able to watch? Usually, Yes.
• Ghost Mode: This is the magic switch. Ensure this is enabled. It tells the manager to render other players as non-colliding entities.

Step 4: Connect to the Track

The manager doesn’t know where the track is. You need to tell it.

1. Place your RR Track device (the one that defines the start/finish line and checkpoints).
2. Select the RR Speed Run Manager.
3. In the Details Panel, look for a field called Track.
4. Drag and drop your RR Track device into this slot.

Analogy: Think of the Track as the road, and the Manager as the GPS. The GPS needs to know which road it’s guiding you on.

Step 5: Test It

1. Hit Play.
2. Spawn in as a player.
3. Drive the track.
4. Notice the HUD? It should now show your lap time.
5. Have a friend join the session. Drive past them. Do you crash? No. You glide through. Perfect.

The Verse Connection (Optional but Cool)

You might be wondering, "Can I make the lap time change colors when I break a record?"

Yes! And that’s where Verse comes in. While the Manager handles the rules, Verse handles the reactive logic.

Imagine a variable called IsNewRecord.

• Variable: A container that holds a value that can change (like your health bar going from 100 to 0).
• Event: Something that happens in the game (like crossing the finish line).

You could write a small Verse script that listens for the OnLapComplete event from the Manager. If your CurrentLapTime is less than BestLapTime, you set IsNewRecord to True. Then, you could use a Prop Mover or a Light to turn green when IsNewRecord is true.

But for now, just getting the manager placed and connected is 90% of the battle.

Try It Yourself

Challenge: Build a "Ghost Challenge" track.

1. Create a simple oval track with one boost pad.
2. Place the RR Speed Run Manager.
3. Set the laps to 3.
4. Place a Sign at the finish line that says "Beat My Time!"
5. Play the track, get a time, and then have a friend try to beat it.

Hint: If your friend can’t see your lap time, make sure both players are racing simultaneously. In Speed Run mode, they race against each other’s ghosts in real-time, not just against a stored file. The manager compares live times!

Recap

• The RR Speed Run Manager turns your Rocket Racing track into a time-trial mode.
• It enables Ghost Mode, where players are visible but not solid, preventing collisions.
• It requires a Rocket Racing template to function.
• You must link the Manager to an RR Track device so it knows where the finish line is.
• The HUD automatically updates to show lap times instead of positions.

Now go set some records. And remember: in a Speed Run, nobody cares if you look cool drifting. They only care if your timer says 0:00.00.

References

• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/using-rocket-racing-speed-run-manager-devices-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/using-rocket-racing-speed-run-race-manager-devices-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/creating-rocket-racing-islands-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/working-with-rocket-racing-islands-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite
• https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/fortnite/using-rocket-racing-devices-in-unreal-editor-for-fortnite