Since 5.8, materials whose Material Domain is Light Function or Post Process no longer
preview correctly in the editor. They render as the default material (WorldGridMaterial)
instead of the material itself:
This is a regression - the same materials preview correctly in 5.7. Light Function
rendering at runtime is unaffected, so the impact is limited to editor workflow: artists
can no longer identify or browse these materials by their auto-generated thumbnails.
Workaround
Adding the two domains to that check appears to restore the previous preview and
thumbnail behaviour:
Engine/Source/Runtime/Engine/Private/Materials/MaterialInterface.cpp (around line 3057)
// if (MaterialDomain != MD_Surface && MaterialDomain != MD_DeferredDecal && MaterialDomain != MD_Volume && MaterialDomain != MD_UI) if (MaterialDomain != MD_Surface && MaterialDomain != MD_DeferredDecal && MaterialDomain != MD_Volume && MaterialDomain != MD_UI && MaterialDomain != MD_PostProcess && MaterialDomain != MD_LightFunction)
Expected: both show the material's emissive output, as in 5.7.
Observed: both render the default material (WorldGridMaterial checker).
There's no existing public thread on this issue, so head over to Questions & Answers just mention UE-399018 in the post.
| 0 |
| Component | UE - Rendering - Architecture - Materials |
|---|---|
| Affects Versions | 5.8, 5.8.3 |
| Target Fix | 5.8.4 |
| Created | Sep 25, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Updated | Sep 30, 2026 |