diff --git a/src/r_things.c b/src/r_things.c
index 2ecd116ea..62a8100d9 100644
--- a/src/r_things.c
+++ b/src/r_things.c
@@ -1230,7 +1230,7 @@ static void R_ProjectSprite(mobj_t *thing)
 		else
 			range = 1;
 
-		scalestep = (yscale2 - yscale)/range;
+		scalestep = (yscale2 - yscale)/range ?: 1;
 
 		// The following two are alternate sorting methods which might be more applicable in some circumstances. TODO - maybe enable via MF2?
 		// sortscale = max(yscale, yscale2);