diff --git a/src/engine/renderer/glsl_source/vertexSkinning_vp.glsl b/src/engine/renderer/glsl_source/vertexSkinning_vp.glsl
index 71121ef2d3..bff3d05648 100644
--- a/src/engine/renderer/glsl_source/vertexSkinning_vp.glsl
+++ b/src/engine/renderer/glsl_source/vertexSkinning_vp.glsl
@@ -39,10 +39,17 @@ void VertexFetch(out vec4 position,
 		 out vec2 lmCoord)
 {
 	const float scale = 1.0 / 256.0;
+	const float weightScale = 1.0 / 255.0;
 	localBasis inLB;
 
-	ivec4 idx = 2 * ( ivec4(attr_BoneFactors) >> 8 );
-	vec4 weights = ( ivec4(attr_BoneFactors) & 0xFF ) / 255.0;
+	// Unpack data from "bone factors". This used to have the index in the high byte and the weight
+	// in the low byte, which may seem a bit more logical, but it triggered issues with some
+	// Nvidia shader compilers (https://github.com/DaemonEngine/Daemon/issues/472).
+	vec4 ipart = floor( attr_BoneFactors * scale );
+	vec4 fpart = attr_BoneFactors * scale - ipart;
+	// idx = 2 times the original bone index (the index input to boneFactor)
+	ivec4 idx = ivec4( fpart * 512.0 );
+	vec4 weights = ipart * weightScale;
 
 	vec4 quat = u_Bones[ idx.x ];
 	vec4 trans = u_Bones[ idx.x + 1 ];
diff --git a/src/engine/renderer/tr_backend.cpp b/src/engine/renderer/tr_backend.cpp
index b69f698309..420b71a4c9 100644
--- a/src/engine/renderer/tr_backend.cpp
+++ b/src/engine/renderer/tr_backend.cpp
@@ -1368,7 +1368,7 @@ static void RB_SetupLightForShadowing( trRefLight_t *light, int index,
 							      tr.shadowCubeFBOImage[ light->shadowLOD ]->texnum, 0 );
 				}
 
-				if ( !r_ignoreGLErrors->integer )
+				if ( checkGLErrors() )
 				{
 					R_CheckFBO( tr.shadowMapFBO[ light->shadowLOD ] );
 				}
@@ -1488,7 +1488,7 @@ static void RB_SetupLightForShadowing( trRefLight_t *light, int index,
 					R_AttachFBOTexture2D( GL_TEXTURE_2D, tr.shadowMapFBOImage[ light->shadowLOD ]->texnum, 0 );
 				}
 
-				if ( !r_ignoreGLErrors->integer )
+				if ( checkGLErrors() )
 				{
 					R_CheckFBO( tr.shadowMapFBO[ light->shadowLOD ] );
 				}
@@ -1540,7 +1540,7 @@ static void RB_SetupLightForShadowing( trRefLight_t *light, int index,
 					R_AttachFBOTextureDepth( tr.sunShadowMapFBOImage[ splitFrustumIndex ]->texnum );
 				}
 
-				if ( !r_ignoreGLErrors->integer )
+				if ( checkGLErrors() )
 				{
 					R_CheckFBO( tr.sunShadowMapFBO[ splitFrustumIndex ] );
 				}
@@ -1983,7 +1983,7 @@ static void RB_BlurShadowMap( const trRefLight_t *light, int i )
 	R_BindFBO( fbos[ index ] );
 	R_AttachFBOTexture2D( images[ index + MAX_SHADOWMAPS ]->type, images[ index + MAX_SHADOWMAPS ]->texnum, 0 );
 
-	if ( !r_ignoreGLErrors->integer )
+	if ( checkGLErrors() )
 	{
 		R_CheckFBO( fbos[ index ] );
 	}
diff --git a/src/engine/renderer/tr_cmds.cpp b/src/engine/renderer/tr_cmds.cpp
index be572cce6a..541cde1c40 100644
--- a/src/engine/renderer/tr_cmds.cpp
+++ b/src/engine/renderer/tr_cmds.cpp
@@ -811,7 +811,7 @@ void RE_BeginFrame()
 	}
 
 	// check for errors
-	if ( !r_ignoreGLErrors->integer )
+	if ( checkGLErrors() )
 	{
 		R_SyncRenderThread();
 		GL_CheckErrors_( __FILE__, __LINE__ );
diff --git a/src/engine/renderer/tr_init.cpp b/src/engine/renderer/tr_init.cpp
index 17a74d22a2..3c0823373e 100644
--- a/src/engine/renderer/tr_init.cpp
+++ b/src/engine/renderer/tr_init.cpp
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
 	cvar_t      *r_arb_texture_gather;
 	cvar_t      *r_arb_gpu_shader5;
 
-	cvar_t      *r_ignoreGLErrors;
+	cvar_t      *r_checkGLErrors;
 	cvar_t      *r_logFile;
 
 	cvar_t      *r_stencilbits;
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
 		int  err;
 		char s[ 128 ];
 
-		if ( r_ignoreGLErrors->integer )
+		if ( !checkGLErrors() )
 		{
 			return;
 		}
@@ -1106,7 +1106,7 @@ ScreenshotCmd screenshotPNGRegistration("screenshotPNG", ssFormat_t::SSF_PNG, "p
 		r_lodBias = ri.Cvar_Get( "r_lodBias", "0", 0 );
 		r_znear = ri.Cvar_Get( "r_znear", "3", CVAR_CHEAT );
 		r_zfar = ri.Cvar_Get( "r_zfar", "0", CVAR_CHEAT );
-		r_ignoreGLErrors = ri.Cvar_Get( "r_ignoreGLErrors", "0", 0 );
+		r_checkGLErrors = ri.Cvar_Get( "r_checkGLErrors", "-1", 0 );
 		r_fastsky = ri.Cvar_Get( "r_fastsky", "0", CVAR_ARCHIVE );
 		r_drawSun = ri.Cvar_Get( "r_drawSun", "0", 0 );
 		r_finish = ri.Cvar_Get( "r_finish", "0", CVAR_CHEAT );
diff --git a/src/engine/renderer/tr_local.h b/src/engine/renderer/tr_local.h
index 7d560a943d..ca24db6a80 100644
--- a/src/engine/renderer/tr_local.h
+++ b/src/engine/renderer/tr_local.h
@@ -2973,7 +2973,7 @@ static inline void halfToFloat( const f16vec4_t in, vec4_t out )
 	extern cvar_t *r_skipBackEnd;
 	extern cvar_t *r_skipLightBuffer;
 
-	extern cvar_t *r_ignoreGLErrors;
+	extern cvar_t *r_checkGLErrors;
 
 	extern cvar_t *r_debugSurface;
 	extern cvar_t *r_simpleMipMaps;
@@ -3033,6 +3033,19 @@ static inline void halfToFloat( const f16vec4_t in, vec4_t out )
 
 //====================================================================
 
+/* r_checkGLErrors values:
+- -1: check for GL errors on debug build only
+- 0: never check for GL errors
+- 1: always check for GL errors */
+inline bool checkGLErrors()
+{
+#ifdef DEBUG_BUILD
+	return r_checkGLErrors->integer != 0;
+#else
+	return r_checkGLErrors->integer > 0;
+#endif
+}
+
 #define IMAGE_FILE_HASH_SIZE 4096
 	extern image_t *r_imageHashTable[ IMAGE_FILE_HASH_SIZE ];
 
diff --git a/src/engine/renderer/tr_vbo.cpp b/src/engine/renderer/tr_vbo.cpp
index e51185d5ac..6ac4340028 100644
--- a/src/engine/renderer/tr_vbo.cpp
+++ b/src/engine/renderer/tr_vbo.cpp
@@ -305,10 +305,10 @@ static void R_SetVBOAttributeLayouts( VBO_t *vbo )
 }
 
 // index has to be in range 0-255, weight has to be >= 0 and <= 1
-static inline unsigned short
+static unsigned short
 boneFactor( int index, float weight ) {
 	int scaledWeight = lrintf( weight * 255.0 );
-	return (unsigned short)( ( index << 8 ) | scaledWeight );
+	return (unsigned short)( ( scaledWeight << 8 ) | index );
 }
 
 static void R_CopyVertexData( VBO_t *vbo, byte *outData, vboData_t inData )