This new patch brings options to group and split monitors, save and share wallpaper properties and new playback options for laptops when they are running on battery. Web wallpapers can now also use the file import for WebM files, access the web devtools and the wallpapers will now shut down or pause when your monitor sleeps automatically.
Browser
A new notification and instructions on how to get the most of the built-in Workshop browser should make it easier for new users to find and use it.
And a few options have been added via a context menu in the browser, so you can perform actions on wallpapers without actually selecting them.
2D scene wallpapers received a resolution tag that is automatically set like it works for videos and they can access the same alignment options:
Multi-monitor
Monitor grouping and splitting can be done in the monitor selection menu. For example, if you have three monitors and a projector, you can now use groups to stretch a wallpaper across your monitors but skip your projector.
Splits can be used to divide any single monitor (like an NV Surround or Eyefinity display). NV Surround can be automatically split, right click the monitor and choose 'auto split'. Bezel correction is auto detected as well, but only when the topology uses shared bezel values. In any other case, manual splitting can still be done.
Properties
The wallpaper property menu has been extended with options to save, load and share your properties. Properties are now saved per-monitor too, so you can use the same wallpaper on multiple monitors with different settings.
If you are using a laptop, a new battery playback mode will be available. You can also control whether wallpapers pause or stop when the display goes to sleep.
Web wallpapers
New advanced options allow you to set custom CEF command line arguments and a debugging port. Set the port to i.e. 8080 and you will be able to access the devtools at http://127.0.0.1:8080
You can allow users to import videos (WebM) for single files now. Just add "fileType" : "video" to the file property.
Over the next week I will be focusing on writing proper documentation for image effects and particles. The next bigger update will improve 3D scenes. Skeletal animations will be added at least, but I will likely overhaul the entire model shader and add a few more options and graphical effects, I haven't locked down which ones exactly though.
Full changelog
Additions
Added monitor groups.
Added monitor splits.
Added playback options for laptops on battery.
Added option to stop/restart wallpapers when the display turns off to avoid a driver bug from freezing the video.
Added notice for in-app Workshop access and some instructions.
Added per-monitor wallpaper properties.
Added property saving and loading.
Added property sharing.
Added properties per-monitor.
Added WebM import to web wallpapers.
Added context menu for browser.
Added variable preview image size in browser.
Added CEF commandline and devtools port for web wallpapers.
Added resolution tags to 2D scene wallpapers.
Added memes tag.
Fixes
Fixed texture importing issues when multiple periods are in the name.
Fixed a DXGI crash when the graphics device is immediately lost due to i.e. overclocking.
Fixed WebM videos not advancing the playlist when they ended.
Fixed Boost failing to deal with UNC locations at all.
Misc
Changed image effects to use masks of reduced resolution to save performance.
This new patch brings options to group and split monitors, save and share wallpaper properties and new playback options for laptops when they are running on battery. Web wallpapers can now also use the file import for WebM files, access the web devtools and the wallpapers will now shut down or pause when your monitor sleeps automatically.
Browser
A new notification and instructions on how to get the most of the built-in Workshop browser should make it easier for new users to find and use it.
And a few options have been added via a context menu in the browser, so you can perform actions on wallpapers without actually selecting them.
2D scene wallpapers received a resolution tag that is automatically set like it works for videos and they can access the same alignment options:
Multi-monitor
Monitor grouping and splitting can be done in the monitor selection menu. For example, if you have three monitors and a projector, you can now use groups to stretch a wallpaper across your monitors but skip your projector.
Splits can be used to divide any single monitor (like an NV Surround or Eyefinity display). NV Surround can be automatically split, right click the monitor and choose 'auto split'. Bezel correction is auto detected as well, but only when the topology uses shared bezel values. In any other case, manual splitting can still be done.
Properties
The wallpaper property menu has been extended with options to save, load and share your properties. Properties are now saved per-monitor too, so you can use the same wallpaper on multiple monitors with different settings.
If you are using a laptop, a new battery playback mode will be available. You can also control whether wallpapers pause or stop when the display goes to sleep.
Web wallpapers
New advanced options allow you to set custom CEF command line arguments and a debugging port. Set the port to i.e. 8080 and you will be able to access the devtools at http://127.0.0.1:8080
You can allow users to import videos (WebM) for single files now. Just add "fileType" : "video" to the file property.
Over the next week I will be focusing on writing proper documentation for image effects and particles. The next bigger update will improve 3D scenes. Skeletal animations will be added at least, but I will likely overhaul the entire model shader and add a few more options and graphical effects, I haven't locked down which ones exactly though.
Full changelog
Additions
Added monitor groups.
Added monitor splits.
Added playback options for laptops on battery.
Added option to stop/restart wallpapers when the display turns off to avoid a driver bug from freezing the video.
Added notice for in-app Workshop access and some instructions.
Added per-monitor wallpaper properties.
Added property saving and loading.
Added property sharing.
Added properties per-monitor.
Added WebM import to web wallpapers.
Added context menu for browser.
Added variable preview image size in browser.
Added CEF commandline and devtools port for web wallpapers.
Added resolution tags to 2D scene wallpapers.
Added memes tag.
Fixes
Fixed texture importing issues when multiple periods are in the name.
Fixed a DXGI crash when the graphics device is immediately lost due to i.e. overclocking.
Fixed WebM videos not advancing the playlist when they ended.
Fixed Boost failing to deal with UNC locations at all.
Misc
Changed image effects to use masks of reduced resolution to save performance.
If you have trouble updating, make sure Wallpaper Engine has closed itself automatically while updating, otherwise close it manually.
Hey all,
This patch adds a particle editor to scene wallpapers, more particle presets and uses a new runtime that is less prone to break when there are system issues with Windows (i.e. msvcp DLLs missing). Existing particles can be fully edited now and you can create new ones too. The entire particle system has been rewritten with SSE2 instructions for performance improvements and lots of new properties and behaviors for particles have been added.
Particles now support event driven hierarchies, two different rendering modes, mouse interaction, various forces/turbulence and a number of linear animations. They do not support animated textures/spritesheets yet which is in my opinion a must-have to make certain effects (fire, smoke) look good, so I will likely add that in the future.
An example particle that uses forces, turbulence and interacts with the mouse cursor:
I haven't made a guide for the particle editor yet, because I think this kind of information belongs on a wiki which I will start working on later. The next patch will focus on improvements for multi-monitor environments and I'm going to spend some time on cleaning up the FAQ threads on the forum somehow as well.
Full changelog
Additions
Added particle editor.
Added Nitro image effect.
Added more rendering stats for particles.
Added detection for corrupted 32-bit d3dx9_43.dll and prompt for the user to fix the file.
Added refraction to particle shader.
Added texture browser to texture properties.
Added inheritable control point system to particles.
Added angular velocity to particles.
New particle operators: oscillate alpha, oscillate size, simplex noise turbulence, vortex force, control point attract, angular movement.
New particle renderer: sprite trail.
Fixes
Fixed more Boost mount point issues.
Fixed some image blend modes ignoring alpha values.
Fixed wallpapers not unpausing when task views are in the foreground (alt-tab, win-tab).
Misc
Changed runtime to Visual Studio 2017, v141 and static linking.
Changed UI update prompt to immediately close app instead of relying on the updater to close it later.
Rewrote particle system with SSE2 instructions.
Changed NVAPI to always set the .exe files to the integrated GPU again.
If you have trouble updating, make sure Wallpaper Engine has closed itself automatically while updating, otherwise close it manually.
Hey all,
This patch adds a particle editor to scene wallpapers, more particle presets and uses a new runtime that is less prone to break when there are system issues with Windows (i.e. msvcp DLLs missing). Existing particles can be fully edited now and you can create new ones too. The entire particle system has been rewritten with SSE2 instructions for performance improvements and lots of new properties and behaviors for particles have been added.
Particles now support event driven hierarchies, two different rendering modes, mouse interaction, various forces/turbulence and a number of linear animations. They do not support animated textures/spritesheets yet which is in my opinion a must-have to make certain effects (fire, smoke) look good, so I will likely add that in the future.
An example particle that uses forces, turbulence and interacts with the mouse cursor:
I haven't made a guide for the particle editor yet, because I think this kind of information belongs on a wiki which I will start working on later. The next patch will focus on improvements for multi-monitor environments and I'm going to spend some time on cleaning up the FAQ threads on the forum somehow as well.
Full changelog
Additions
Added particle editor.
Added Nitro image effect.
Added more rendering stats for particles.
Added detection for corrupted 32-bit d3dx9_43.dll and prompt for the user to fix the file.
Added refraction to particle shader.
Added texture browser to texture properties.
Added inheritable control point system to particles.
Added angular velocity to particles.
New particle operators: oscillate alpha, oscillate size, simplex noise turbulence, vortex force, control point attract, angular movement.
New particle renderer: sprite trail.
Fixes
Fixed more Boost mount point issues.
Fixed some image blend modes ignoring alpha values.
Fixed wallpapers not unpausing when task views are in the foreground (alt-tab, win-tab).
Misc
Changed runtime to Visual Studio 2017, v141 and static linking.
Changed UI update prompt to immediately close app instead of relying on the updater to close it later.
Rewrote particle system with SSE2 instructions.
Changed NVAPI to always set the .exe files to the integrated GPU again.
A new patch for Wallpaper Engine has been released that improves support for translations and fixes a few new issues that have been occuring. The UI should not be freezing anymore on some PCs and the monitor order is now based on the screen position and not what Windows reports (since a reliable report from Windows doesn't seem possible).
Three new image effects have been added as well which you can see here:
The paint tool has been reimplemented on the GPU and should now perform better on large images or with a large brush size. The flow map brush has support for two additional paint modes now, pinch and spread. These can be used with the "water flow" or "shake" effect to animate circular flow or breathing effects on the image.
In order to provide some indication about performance, you now have the option to show a stats overlay with various rendering information about scenes. While there is no rule of thumb which values should be considered 'too high', you can get an idea about how effects or images affect performance this way.
Properties in the project.json file can now be translated, I added new instructions for this to the property guide:
The next patch will introduce tools to the editor to create and edit particle effects for the wallpaper, like the snow and light ray presets that exist already.
Full changelog
Additions
Added image effects: god rays, film grain, clouds.
Added rendering statistics to scenes.
Made it possible to add translations to properties in project.json.
Made it possible to translate effects/properties etc in the editor.
Integrated pending translation updates.
Added hardware acceleration to paint brush tool.
Added spread/pinch brush for flow maps.
Added friction property to shake effect.
Added support for more image preview types in the editor (png, gif).
Fixes
Fixed UI dead locking while creating the window.
Attempted to fix a crash when video wallpapers are closed.
Fixed properties in editor showing duplicates or not updating sometimes.
Misc
Removed all flags from language list.
Updated crash messages of third-party tools that hack into Wallpaper Engine.
A new patch for Wallpaper Engine has been released that improves support for translations and fixes a few new issues that have been occuring. The UI should not be freezing anymore on some PCs and the monitor order is now based on the screen position and not what Windows reports (since a reliable report from Windows doesn't seem possible).
Three new image effects have been added as well which you can see here:
The paint tool has been reimplemented on the GPU and should now perform better on large images or with a large brush size. The flow map brush has support for two additional paint modes now, pinch and spread. These can be used with the "water flow" or "shake" effect to animate circular flow or breathing effects on the image.
In order to provide some indication about performance, you now have the option to show a stats overlay with various rendering information about scenes. While there is no rule of thumb which values should be considered 'too high', you can get an idea about how effects or images affect performance this way.
Properties in the project.json file can now be translated, I added new instructions for this to the property guide:
The next patch will introduce tools to the editor to create and edit particle effects for the wallpaper, like the snow and light ray presets that exist already.
Full changelog
Additions
Added image effects: god rays, film grain, clouds.
Added rendering statistics to scenes.
Made it possible to add translations to properties in project.json.
Made it possible to translate effects/properties etc in the editor.
Integrated pending translation updates.
Added hardware acceleration to paint brush tool.
Added spread/pinch brush for flow maps.
Added friction property to shake effect.
Added support for more image preview types in the editor (png, gif).
Fixes
Fixed UI dead locking while creating the window.
Attempted to fix a crash when video wallpapers are closed.
Fixed properties in editor showing duplicates or not updating sometimes.
Misc
Removed all flags from language list.
Updated crash messages of third-party tools that hack into Wallpaper Engine.
A new patch has been released for Wallpaper Engine that improves the editor features for scene wallpapers, especially 2D ones. It is now easier to add dynamic effects and image based animations. You can also drag and drop files into the editor to import them instead of using the file dialog (depending on the type of wallpaper you created). This allows you to add new models/images and replace texture inputs of existing ones (like normal maps).
After importing an image you can add effects to it on the right side. I have added a number of preliminary effects to choose from:
Some of them allow you to draw masks right in the editor. E.g. the previous 'water flow' template is gone and you can instead paint a flow effect with the new system and the built-in brush tool:
The effects can be applied to singular images, the entire screen or an offscreen target - which will become more useful as I implement upcoming features. All layers and some effects themselves support the standard Photoshop blend modes to control how they are rendered on the wallpaper.
A new preset system will allow me to ship Wallpaper Engine with standard assets more easily. I added three presets for testing purposes for now, snow particles, light shafts and a foliage object:
Lastly, a more advanced feature, you can link any layer as a texture input to another effect/material in the wallpaper. Together with the offscreen layer, this enables the creation of complicated effects with layers and objects interoperating.
The next update will be dedicated to bug fixing/localization updates. Following that, I will also implement a simple particle editor to edit & create new particles, add more image effects and possibly implement a system for key frame animations for all object properties.
A new patch has been released for Wallpaper Engine that improves the editor features for scene wallpapers, especially 2D ones. It is now easier to add dynamic effects and image based animations. You can also drag and drop files into the editor to import them instead of using the file dialog (depending on the type of wallpaper you created). This allows you to add new models/images and replace texture inputs of existing ones (like normal maps).
After importing an image you can add effects to it on the right side. I have added a number of preliminary effects to choose from:
Some of them allow you to draw masks right in the editor. E.g. the previous 'water flow' template is gone and you can instead paint a flow effect with the new system and the built-in brush tool:
The effects can be applied to singular images, the entire screen or an offscreen target - which will become more useful as I implement upcoming features. All layers and some effects themselves support the standard Photoshop blend modes to control how they are rendered on the wallpaper.
A new preset system will allow me to ship Wallpaper Engine with standard assets more easily. I added three presets for testing purposes for now, snow particles, light shafts and a foliage object:
Lastly, a more advanced feature, you can link any layer as a texture input to another effect/material in the wallpaper. Together with the offscreen layer, this enables the creation of complicated effects with layers and objects interoperating.
The next update will be dedicated to bug fixing/localization updates. Following that, I will also implement a simple particle editor to edit & create new particles, add more image effects and possibly implement a system for key frame animations for all object properties.
Another patch has been released to address a few issues that have come up. I fixed a bug in the filesystem library I am using (Boost C++) that caused Wallpaper Engine to fail running properly when it was installed in a symlinked directory under certain circumstances.
Some web wallpapers in Workshop that use the open-source rain drop effect from here: https://github.com/codrops/RainEffect broke with the recent CEF update because the rain effect code was incompatible with the latest updates from Google Chromium. The original author has fixed the issue, but the copies on Workshop do not receive this fix automatically unless their authors update them too. Since these situations are unavoidable when Google releases updates to Chromium, I have implemented a system that allows me to update Workshop files after they have been downloaded by a client, since I cannot directly access the files on the Steam servers. This system can be used to apply patches in a situation like this.
So in other words, all of the rain drop wallpapers should be working again. The 'Paranoid and Shy Birds' have been fixed using the same system, the white lines are gone.
You can now use the resolution graphics option to control the rendering resolution of canvas elements in web wallpapers. Using half resolution can greatly improve performance on some web wallpapers now. So, using the rain drops as an example, the CPU load on my machine (3440 x 1440 resolution) drops while compromising on the quality:
I have also reported a number of false positives from different anti-virus products to their respective companies. These include libcef.dll for Avast and Bitdefender and wallpaper32.exe / wallpaper64.exe for Comodo. If you know about any other false positives, let me know, or feel free to report them using the links I put in this thread:
The update warning for known incompatible applications will now only be shown once per application. However, with this update, you will still see them one more time. The following updates will not show the warning unless you verify/re-install the application over Steam. And hopefully at some point I can completely remove the warning, when the respective developers have fixed the issues on their end.
- Kristjan
Changelog
Fixes
Fixed video read mode being overwritten on start.
Fixed browse window showing wrong wallpapers when rapidly switching from Workshop to installed.
Fixed Boost filesystem not resolving symlinks correctly.
New Features
Web wallpaper compatibility system to overwrite Workshop files on load.
Made it possible to reduce canvas resolution in web wallpapers with the half resolution option.
Other Changes
Changed application warning on update to show only once per application.
Refactored parts of 2D/3D wallpapers for upcoming changes to the editor.
Another patch has been released to address a few issues that have come up. I fixed a bug in the filesystem library I am using (Boost C++) that caused Wallpaper Engine to fail running properly when it was installed in a symlinked directory under certain circumstances.
Some web wallpapers in Workshop that use the open-source rain drop effect from here: https://github.com/codrops/RainEffect broke with the recent CEF update because the rain effect code was incompatible with the latest updates from Google Chromium. The original author has fixed the issue, but the copies on Workshop do not receive this fix automatically unless their authors update them too. Since these situations are unavoidable when Google releases updates to Chromium, I have implemented a system that allows me to update Workshop files after they have been downloaded by a client, since I cannot directly access the files on the Steam servers. This system can be used to apply patches in a situation like this.
So in other words, all of the rain drop wallpapers should be working again. The 'Paranoid and Shy Birds' have been fixed using the same system, the white lines are gone.
You can now use the resolution graphics option to control the rendering resolution of canvas elements in web wallpapers. Using half resolution can greatly improve performance on some web wallpapers now. So, using the rain drops as an example, the CPU load on my machine (3440 x 1440 resolution) drops while compromising on the quality:
I have also reported a number of false positives from different anti-virus products to their respective companies. These include libcef.dll for Avast and Bitdefender and wallpaper32.exe / wallpaper64.exe for Comodo. If you know about any other false positives, let me know, or feel free to report them using the links I put in this thread:
The update warning for known incompatible applications will now only be shown once per application. However, with this update, you will still see them one more time. The following updates will not show the warning unless you verify/re-install the application over Steam. And hopefully at some point I can completely remove the warning, when the respective developers have fixed the issues on their end.
- Kristjan
Changelog
Fixes
Fixed video read mode being overwritten on start.
Fixed browse window showing wrong wallpapers when rapidly switching from Workshop to installed.
Fixed Boost filesystem not resolving symlinks correctly.
New Features
Web wallpaper compatibility system to overwrite Workshop files on load.
Made it possible to reduce canvas resolution in web wallpapers with the half resolution option.
Other Changes
Changed application warning on update to show only once per application.
Refactored parts of 2D/3D wallpapers for upcoming changes to the editor.