Game Feed

Wallpaper Engine 2.5 - Playlist Transitions & Editor Update / Retiring Windows 7

by Tim

Wallpaper Engine 2.5 adds new features for end-users and content creators alike. The update also includes a lot of bug fixes and overall maintenance work. In anticipation of upcoming changes to the desktop experience on Windows 11, we have upgraded many parts of the app for better compatibility. Retiring Support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 Since Steam has officially dropped support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 in January 2024, we are now following suit for the same reason: third-party libraries that we require are not being updated for these older versions of Windows anymore. Maintaining ongoing support would prevent us from providing complete updates for Windows 10 and 11. If you are one of the 0.5% Steam users running Windows 7 or Windows 8, we have prepared a way for you to roll back to Wallpaper Engine 2.4. This allows you to continue to use the previous version of the app. To learn more, see this article on our FAQ website: Windows 7 / 8 Users: Reverting to Wallpaper Engine 2.4 New...

Wallpaper Engine 2.4 - Lighting & Shader Improvements, Local Storage & More

by Tim

Hey everyone, Wallpaper Engine 2.4 largely builds on top of the new 3D features we have added with the previous update but also improves on the existing 2D wallpaper feature set. New 3D FeaturesReal-time Shadows As an extension to the new lighting features we have added in the last updates, we are introducing real-time shadows for 3D models. You can enable shadows for your lights and models with just a few simple steps.Volumetric Lighting Another addition to the lighting features of Wallpaper Engine is a new volumetric lighting system. This works especially well in combination with Bloom and Display HDR, as it allows you to create very scenic scenarios with lights. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/26312799/006d7d70da1fced5e3d36a0659a3afd0c08d06e4.gif As always, we have prepared a tutorial on our designer documentation website which you can use as a step-by-step guide: 3D Advanced Lighting - Wallpaper Engine Designer DocumentationModel Shaders We also took some time to experiment with shaders for mod...

Wallpaper Engine 2.3 - New 3D Model Support, Improved Lighting, Asset Hierarchy

by Tim

Hey everyone, Wallpaper Engine 2.3 completely overhauls support for 3D wallpapers, improves real-time lighting with additional light types and adds a new hierarchy and attachment system. New 3D Model Features Model Editor We are introducing a brand new model editor that allows you to import FBX model files with skeletal and vertex animations. Models can now also have a much more complex material setup similar to what can already be done in 2D wallpapers for puppets, including physical-based rendering "PBR" through various texture maps. In simple terms, you can now configure model materials to properly represent different substances like a shiny piece of metal or a piece of clothing. The model editor allows you to organize animations inside the model data and turn them into clips that you can use in your wallpaper. On top of that, you can configure individual model bones as physics (jiggle) bones and add custom logic via SceneScript events. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/26312799/bd9582862e91f047ca...

Wallpaper Engine 2.2 - Album Cover Integration, Fluid Simulation & More

by Tim

Hey everyone, today we are releasing Wallpaper Engine 2.2 which comes with new editor effects, support for dynamic album covers and song data in wallpapers and a large set of improvements throughout the app and the wallpaper editor. Media & Album Cover Integration A long standing feature request was to implement the ability to have song data and album covers to be part of wallpapers. With Wallpaper Engine 2.2, we have now made this possible, as long as your media player provides this data to the Windows media overlay that appears in the upper left corner. Take a look at the following sample wallpaper we created. The vinyl record will change the album cover to the currently playing album from Spotify: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/26312799/7c9fe99955e12122463ab1859c19ed95da0ed071.gif Interested in using this record player as a wallpaper or screensaver? Click here to download it. This functionality will work with any music player as long as it sends its album cover data to the Windows media overlay...

Wallpaper Engine 2.1 - Inverse Kinematics Animations, User Texture Import & More

by Tim

Hello everyone, today we're introducing Wallpaper Engine 2.1 for Windows and Android with a wide range of new features, overall improvements and bug fixes. We will walk you through some of the most impactful new features in this update. User Texture Imports Another highly requested feature was the ability to allow for users to import their own images and even videos into existing wallpapers created with the Wallpaper Engine editor. These altered versions of a wallpaper can then also be shared on the Steam Workshop as so-called wallpaper presets. We are sure this will lead to a whole new series of popular and highly customizable wallpapers, so be on the look out for new and updated wallpapers with this feature! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/26312799/633bc12477b29cc14c6f445874b670dbec528d38.gif Credits for the sample video files go to Aduare and illuskate. To learn more about how to add customizable textures to your own wallpapers, be sure to check out our designer documentation: Texture User Prope...

Wallpaper Engine 2.0.97 - Android Improvements & Fixes, Display HDR Support

by Tim

Hey everyone, today we are releasing a new update for the Windows & Android version of Wallpaper Engine. The updates mainly add some new features that we did not finish for the initial release of the Android app, and fixes issues that were reported to us over the last few weeks. Android-related Improvements Free Alignment on Android Allowing for the free alignment of wallpapers was one of the most common requests we received. We have now added the ability to do this. To free align your wallpaper, change the alignment option from "Cover" to "Free", you can then rotate and zoom the wallpaper with your fingers to freely position it on your mobile device just the way you want it. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/26312799/488b3f5f0916a3c69a52a301745e99304957a937.gif This feature is mainly useful for wallpapers that have a widescreen resolution for computer screens. Make sure to use the "High Quality" or "Balanced" quality export option if you want to make proper use of this feature. High-Performance Expo...

Wallpaper Engine 2.0.44 - Windows Firewall Detection and Android Fixes

by Tim

Today's update addresses the most common problems related to the Android release and we are updating both the Windows and the Android version of the app. Connecting the Android & Windows App The most common issues we received were related to connecting the Android app with the Windows app to download more wallpapers. We have looked into this and in many cases was caused by the Windows firewall. If Windows has previously asked you to give Wallpaper Engine ("ui32.exe") permission to access your network and you simply closed the window or did not grant the permissions for Wallpaper Engine, then Windows will automatically block Wallpaper Engine's process from properly communicating with your local network: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/26312799/2ae9a4b4687ffa951b5eb234f6204da56b436558.png If you clicked "Cancel" here or just closed the window, then Wallpaper Engine is blocked in your Windows firewall. We have now added a new check that will try and detect issues like that and will offer you a way to ...

Wallpaper Engine 2.0 - Free Android App, New Logo, New Features and More!

by Tim

Hello everyone, today we are releasing Wallpaper Engine 2.0! The update brings support for Android, a new logo, a new 3D depth effect and a handful of other additions and improvements to Wallpaper Engine. Wallpaper Engine Android Companion App We are happy to finally release the free Wallpaper Engine Android companion app. Some key features of the app are as follows: No hidden costs, no advertisements, no user tracking or data collection. Transfer Scene and Video type wallpapers from Wallpaper Engine on your computer to Android wirelessly. Import any compatible files from your device as a wallpaper: Videos, GIFs, images & Wallpaper Engine wallpapers Create a playlist of your wallpapers and use different playlist modes Automatically pauses when power saving mode is enabled, offers FPS and quality settings. Full support for dynamic audio visualizers, clocks & other dynamic wallpaper elements Let wallpapers move along with the motion of your device (devices with gyroscope) Support for aut...

Wallpaper Engine 1.7 - FREE Android App Coming Soon - New Features & Bug Fixes

by Tim

Hello everyone, today we are happy to announce that we will soon be releasing a free Android version of Wallpaper Engine. On top of that, we are also releasing Wallpaper Engine 1.7 today which brings a new set of features including video-based textures and support for web wallpapers with video livestreams. Wallpaper Engine Android Companion App In the past few months, we have developed an Android app of Wallpaper Engine that offers support for dynamic scene and video wallpapers. The Wallpaper Engine companion app will be available for free to everyone, users of Wallpaper Engine on Windows will be able to share their wallpaper collection wirelessly with their Android phones and tablets. We developed an easy way to securely transfer your Workshop wallpapers to your mobile devices. Since accessing the Workshop is not possible on Android, the Windows version of Wallpaper Engine will serve as a hub to take your wallpapers on the go. Just like the Windows app, the Android app will also not c...

Wallpaper Engine 1.6.22 - Minor Improvements & Bug Fixes

by Tim

Hello everyone, this is mainly a maintenance update which introduces a few minor improvements and mainly fixes a few issues that were reported to us after the previous Wallpaper Engine 1.6 release. You can find the full changelog here: Full changelog Additions / ChangesAdded Dota / Counter-Strike Collection highlight Improved normal map generator. Bug Fixes Added workaround for flickering wallpaper when native mouse input is disabled. Fixed playlist not skipping missing wallpapers. Fixed intro wallpaper playback not being reliable when the timer is too short. Improved playlist state persistence. Improved puppet warp sheet generation speed. Support Notes If you have any questions or issues with the update, please have a look at our help site as it covers the most common issues with Wallpaper Engine: help.wallpaperengine.io

I'm removing Shrek as my desktop wallpaper after 81 days

by

Back on March 30th, I wrote about the entirety of Shrek being available to download via Steam for Wallpaper Engine. It was removed within twelve hours and I feel no remorse. But while moderators can remove files from the Steam Workshop, they can't remove them from your PC, and I've kept Shrek as my desktop wallpaper for nearly three months. Today, I'm removing it. Here is what I've learned. Read more

Wallpaper Engine 1.6 - Real-Time Lighting & Reflections, Screensavers, Mini Mode

by Tim

Hey everyone, Wallpaper Engine 1.6 adds a couple of cool features for users and wallpaper creators alike. Wallpaper Engine now allows you to use your wallpapers as screensavers, introduces real-time lighting and reflections on 2D images, comes with a brand new mini mode and allows you to set a wallpaper that plays only once as an intro wallpaper when you start your computer. Real-time Lighting and Reflections Wallpaper Engine 1.6 introduces real-time lighting and reflections to 2D scene wallpapers which can have a major impact on the visual quality of wallpapers and can really bring images to life. The underlying technology relies on physically based rendering (PBR) to make this feature as performance-friendly and easy to use as possible. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/26312799/abdec51ec1d714ee688ef6ddc9266dcf9b367525.gif The lights are rendered in real-time and can also dynamically move around the wallpaper. See the following example where we have attached a light source to the mouse pointer: {ST...

You can watch Shrek as a desktop wallpaper via the Steam Workshop

by

Wallpaper Engine is one of the most popular utilities available via Steam. It's a tool that lets you run animated or interactive desktop wallpapers, and download those made by the community from the Steam Workshop. I bought it at the weekend because I was bored. One of the first community-made wallpapers I found? Shrek, the movie, in its entirety. Read more

Patch released - New Iris Effect, Resolution Preferences & More (Build 1.5.2)

by Tim

Hey everyone, today we're releasing Wallpaper Engine 1.5. With this update we are introducing some important changes to how resolution tags are handled and we're bringing a brand new effect to the wallpaper editor. Aside from that, we have made various minor improvements to the app and ironed out a few bugs. New Effect: Iris Movement We have created a new effect called Iris Movement, which allows wallpaper creators to create realistic eye movements with relative ease. Multiple effects can also be stacked to create synchronized eye and head movements, such as shown in the example below: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/26312799/2d592fe528c6b99d91cb1e6ee9417b95447173b5.gif A similar effect was already possible to achieve with the use of tweaked versions of the Shake effect, however, this new effect simplifies the process significantly and makes this type of effect much more easy to use for casual users. Detailed documentation and a quick-start guide on how to achieve the effect as shown in the preview...

Patch released - Minor Improvements and Bug Fixes (Build 1.4.172)

by Tim

Hey everyone, today we are releasing a small update to fix some issues and add a few minor improvements to the app. User Interface Improvements As part of this update, we have made various small changes around the user interface to make it more approachable. One thing we are doing is to highlight the Approved tag a little more by moving it to the top of the filters sidebar. On the Installed tab, you will now also find a new My Favorites button to find your installed favorite wallpapers more quickly: {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/26312799/10e242c5e86724e4cbe62d93c8d2360debded7a3.png The top of the Wallpaper Engine user interface will now also show the currently installed version and will inform users if they are using the beta. This serves as an easy reminder if you have enabled the beta in the past and forgotten about it and make it easier for verify the currently running version of the app. In the Steam Workshop search, whenever you type multiple words, a new option for exact phrase matching wil...