Description

Enabling the "Force all skinned meshes to recompute tangents" sets the value at a Windows user level so that it affects all UE4 projects opened by that user, including unrelated packaged projects. The setting is stored in a "UserEngine.ini" file located in C:\Users\<Windows user name>\AppData\Local\Unreal Engine\Engine\Config.

This could potentially prevent anyone (not just a UE4 developer) who happens to have that .ini file with the setting enabled from being able to run any packaged UE4 project (including games purchased from Steam) that do not include the shaders required by the setting.

Steps to Reproduce
  1. Navigate to the C:\Users\<Windows user name>\AppData\Local\Unreal Engine directory.
    • Note that there is not an "Engine" folder present. If there is an "Engine" folder present, move, delete, or rename the folder.
  2. Create a new Basic Code project.
  3. Package the project for Shipping and Win64.
  4. Run the packaged project to verify that it runs.
  5. Close the project and Editor.
  6. Open any other existing and unrelated project for the same engine version, or create another new project.
  7. Open the Project Settings window for the project.
  8. Go to Engine -> Rendering Overrides (Local) -> Miscellaneous and turn on the "Force all skinned meshes to recompute tangents" option.
    • Do not restart the Editor after making this change! Restarting the Editor will rebuild shaders and invalidate the test case.
  9. Look at the same directory from step 1 again.
    • Note that there is now an "Engine" folder that contains a "UserEngine.ini" file with the setting that was just enabled.
  10. Run the packaged project from step 3 again.

RESULT:
The project fails to run successfully, and shows an error that states Missing global shader FRecomputeTangentsPerVertexPassCS, Please make sure cooking was successful (message shown from Main, CL 4009371).

EXPECTED:
The project runs successfully.

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Won't Fix
ComponentUE - Foundation - Core
Affects Versions4.17.24.18.34.20
Release Commit4487659
CreatedApr 20, 2018
ResolvedAug 18, 2021
UpdatedAug 18, 2021
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