diff --git a/stepmania/src/ThemeManager.cpp b/stepmania/src/ThemeManager.cpp
index 59408adb21..07c6c6da28 100644
--- a/stepmania/src/ThemeManager.cpp
+++ b/stepmania/src/ThemeManager.cpp
@@ -772,7 +772,8 @@ RString ThemeManager::GetPath( ElementCategory category, const RString &sMetrics
 {
 	PathInfo pi;
 	GetPathInfo( pi, category, sMetricsGroup, sElement, bOptional );
-	ASSERT( !pi.sResolvedPath.empty() );
+	if(!bOptional)
+		ASSERT( !pi.sResolvedPath.empty() );
 	return pi.sResolvedPath;
 }