Well, it seems I have a workaround solution. My son actually managed to figure this out and show me the pieces I needed to get this working correctly.
As I have described above, the problem seems to center around creating a “new” project with a previously-used name – even if you deleted that previous version of the project through the Epic Games launcher library tab. As a reminder, I am using this on a Mac, not on a Windows system.
To recap:
- Create BuildingEscape (new C++ Basic Project with Starter Content)
- Unreal Editor sets up and compiles a lot of files, then eventually displays the two chairs, the table, the sculpture, a floor, and a sky sphere.
- Close the Unreal Editor, go back to the Epic Games Launcher, delete the BuildingEscape project.
- Launch the Unreal Editor again, create the same project with the same name again.
- Unreal Editor does what looks to be mostly the same work, then displays an entirely blank, dark project.
I also tried to create a new project named BE and confirms that it opens and displays correctly (shows the Starter Content: chairs, table, sculpture, floor, sky) and compiles correctly. Then I tried to clone the BE project to a BuildingEscape project (I deleted the old, non-functional one). While that did give me the default starter content scene, the BuildingEscape project was uncompilable because UE, when cloning projects, does not rename the C++ files behind the scenes, so the BuildingEscape project had a lot of source code with BE references which ultimately would not compile (wrong name).
The solution:
- Deleted the non-working, correct-displaying BuildingEscape project and re-created a new one again (blank, dark).
- After having that blank, dark project opened, minimize the Unreal Editor window.
- Opened Finder and browse to the directory where your project files are.
- Opened the BE folder (the one that works) and opened the Content folder within it.
- Copied the StarterContent folder from the BE/Content folder to the BuildingEscape/Content folder.
- Restored the Unreal Editor window and noted that the StarterContent folder now shows up in the Content Browser pane.
- In the Content Browser pane, I opened the StarterContent folder, then opened the Maps folder, then selected the Minimal_Default map.
As soon as I did that, the screen displayed the same, correct starter content (two chairs, table, etc.). I was also able to build and compile successfully again.
So that is the workaround. Sort of sad that it has to be that way at all, but better to have a workaround than to not have one at all.
Final note: this workaround works the same for 4.16.1, 4.16.2, 4.16.3, and 4.17.0.