Bug Report: AE 2026 crashes when enabling "Advanced 3D" renderer if Windows "Computer Name" contains non-ASCII characters (Chinese/Korean)

AE 2026 crashes when enabling "Advanced 3D" renderer if Windows "Computer Name" contains non-ASCII characters (Chinese/Korean localized versions only)

Description:
I have discovered a critical bug in After Effects 2026 (v26.x) where the application crashes upon enabling the Advanced 3D renderer specifically in certain localized versions if the Windows Computer Name contains non-ASCII characters (e.g., Chinese or Korean characters).

System Environment:

• OS: Windows 10 / 11
• App Version: After Effects 2026 (v26.x)
• Pathing: All installation directories and project paths are in pure English (default C: drive).
• User Account: The Windows user account name is in English.

The Issue & Specificity:
When the Windows Computer Name (found in Windows Settings > System > About) is set to a name with Chinese characters, the Advanced 3D renderer behaves differently depending on the application language:

• Chinese & Korean Versions: The app crashes immediately upon launching or switching to the Advanced 3D renderer.
• English & Japanese Versions: The renderer functions perfectly fine even when the Computer Name is in Chinese.

Key Findings:

1. Localized Bug: This issue seems isolated to the Chinese and Korean localization of the software.
2. The Root Cause: Once I renamed the Windows Computer Name from Chinese to a pure English (ASCII) string and rebooted, the Advanced 3D renderer worked perfectly across ALL language versions (Chinese, Korean, English, and Japanese).
3. Conclusion: There is a character encoding conflict between the Advanced 3D engine and the OS Host Name that only triggers when the UI is set to specific Asian languages (excluding Japanese).

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Set the Windows Computer Name to any Chinese string (e.g., "我的电脑").
2. Launch After Effects 2026 in the Chinese or Korean localized version.
3. Create a new composition and switch the renderer to Advanced 3D.
4. Result: After Effects crashes immediately.
5. Comparison: Switch the AE language to English or Japanese with the same Chinese computer name, and it works without issues.

Personal Note to the Adobe Team:
Adobe's extensive language localization has always been a key reason for its loyal user base, significantly lowering the learning curve for creators worldwide. However, it is deeply disappointing to see that a flagship feature in the latest After Effects 2026 fails due to basic localized character handling. A bug where a core feature is rendered unusable simply because of the OS computer name's language is a severe oversight in localization quality control. I hope the team can address this fundamental issue promptly to maintain the trust of your international users.