diff --git a/Descent3/sdlmain.cpp b/Descent3/sdlmain.cpp
index c7ab913af..1dc2cc0a1 100644
--- a/Descent3/sdlmain.cpp
+++ b/Descent3/sdlmain.cpp
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ oeD3LnxDatabase::oeD3LnxDatabase() : oeLnxAppDatabase() {
   char *netdir = getenv("D3_DIR");
 
   if (!dir)
-    strcpy(path, Base_directory);
+    strcpy(path, "");
   else
     strcpy(path, dir);