Wallpaper Engine

New Model Editor for 3D Wallpapers arrived on September 28, 2023, alongside 3D Model Improvements that expanded Wallpaper Engine’s 3D authoring capabilities. The release also introduced a new camera and lighting foundation, including New Camera System timeline movement and four new light types.

• New Model Editor for 3D Wallpapers:
  • 3D Model Improvements added skeletal animation, blend shape animation, and bone constraints for models.
  • Asset Hierarchy and Attachments introduced parent-child relationships between assets in the asset list.
• New Camera System and New Lighting Types Introduced:
  • New Camera System enabled smoother, more complex camera movements through timeline animations.
  • New Lighting Types Introduced added Point Light, Spot Light, Tube Light, and Directional Light.
  • Increased Real-Time Lighting Limit raised the per-wallpaper limit from four lights to 12.
• General Editor Improvements: Added scene layer hierarchy support and puppet model attachment points. Performance Optimizations for 2D Scenes automatically disabled anti-aliasing when scenes contained no 3D elements, while Sounds Playing After Unpause and Various Shader Issues received targeted fixes.

Wallpaper Engine Android Companion App launched as a free bridge between PC and Android, letting users transfer and customize wallpapers on mobile. The release also introduced Depth Parallax Effect editing and Weekday Playlist scheduling, alongside Full Support for Windows 11 and its rounded-corners interface.

• Android features: The mobile companion and editor gained several meaningful tools.
  • Wallpaper Engine Android Companion App: Transferred wallpapers from PC to Android for mobile customization.
  • Depth Parallax Effect: Added simulated 3D depth to images in the editor.
  • Weekday Playlist: Allowed users to assign a different wallpaper to each weekday.
  • Original-aspect-ratio exports: Let high-performance wallpapers upload in their original ratio, improving tablet support.
• Windows 11 support: Full Support for Windows 11 added compatibility with the operating system’s rounded-corners UI design.
• Reliability and performance: Several named fixes addressed major Android, editor, and wallpaper-handling problems.
  • Samsung S21 / Android 12: Fixed crashes caused by Samsung’s broken Android 12 update.
  • High-performance mobile conversion: Fixed conversions becoming stuck.
  • Video Textures: Resolved crashes involving video textures and uploads that depended on Windows Explorer thumbnails.
  • 4 GB wallpaper support: Fixed handling for very large wallpaper files up to 4 GB.
  • JSON Parser: Improved application performance through a new parser.
• Pairing and playback tools: Firewall rule check added an automatic way to remove rules blocking device pairing, while live wallpaper lock-screen support received clearer device-manufacturer guidance. Power saving mode warnings became more noticeable, and broken wallpaper files became visible in the browser for easier deletion.

Wallpaper Engine’s January 11, 2021 update delivered its biggest creator-facing expansion: parallax controls for 3D models, a directional Shake/Flow Map painting brush, and SceneScript debug logging. It also added automatic scheme coloring for static wallpapers and improved Steam Workshop and editor workflows, while resolving crashes tied to multi-screen playlists and scene wallpapers.

• SceneScript and visual authoring:
  • Parallax options added depth controls for 3D models used in 2D scenes.
  • Shake/Flow Map painting brush enabled creators to paint movement in a fixed direction.
  • SceneScript debug logging allowed verbose debug output to be saved to a file.
  • Automatic scheme coloring gave static wallpapers automatic color schemes.
  • HDR bloom behavior was corrected when timeline animations or SceneScript controlled its properties.
• Steam Workshop and editor workflow:
  • My Favorites added a direct shortcut to favorited wallpapers in the Installed tab.
  • Approved filter moved to the top of the sidebar for easier access.
  • Exact phrase matching was added to Steam Workshop search.
  • Editor navigation header received a redesign, while installed version and beta status became visible in the interface.
  • Crashes involving multiple playlists across multiple screens, static wallpapers in playlists, and the Monaco code editor were addressed.
• Razer Chroma, Corsair iCUE, and Steamworks: The LED plugin gained brightness controls for Razer Chroma and Corsair iCUE, and Steamworks API 1.50 was adopted.

Support for Razer Chroma Hardware arrived in February 2020, making Scene and Video wallpapers work with Razer’s lighting ecosystem out of the box. Mass Import of Static Images followed in September, alongside the Command Line Control System, expanded editor tools, and broader iCUE support.

• Hardware lighting: Razer and Corsair integrations received the largest cluster of additions.

  • Support for Razer Chroma Hardware: Scene and Video wallpapers supported Razer Chroma devices out of the box.
  • Razer Bedroom and Razer Vortex Wallpapers: Two Razer-partnered wallpapers joined the default selection.
  • LED Layer: Creators could dedicate a wallpaper layer to LED hardware lighting.
  • Video LED Support for iCUE Devices: Video wallpapers could drive Corsair iCUE devices by default.
  • LED Color Boost: Razer Chroma and Corsair iCUE colors could be made more vibrant.

• Static wallpapers and editor tools: Mass Import of Static Images let users add static images to playlists without animation, while New Brush Types for Flow Maps expanded the editor and VHS Effect added tape artifacts, chromatic aberration, and distortion effects. File Size Limits for Video Wallpapers also set caps of 2 GB for video wallpapers and 1 GB for other wallpaper types.

• Automation and playback: Command Line Control System enabled automated wallpaper changes and playback control. Playlists Always Show First Wallpaper added a predictable starting point, while Checkbox to Disable Automatic Monitor Selection gave multi-monitor setups more control.

• Seasonal and discovery features: Winter Skin automatically themed the application during December when seasonal theming was enabled, and New LED Wallpaper Showcase in Discover Tab highlighted wallpapers suited to LED hardware.

Wallpaper Engine officially left Early Access on November 16, 2018, ending a three-year development run with Chromium integration, a full-fledged animation editor, two video engines, extensive multi-monitor support, and playlists. It later added Text Layer authoring and a Halloween skin, giving creators more control while adding a seasonal presentation layer.

• Release foundation: The 1.0 launch established Chromium-based UI features, image-to-animation editing, improved video playback options, multi-monitor setups, and configurable playlists.
• Creation toolkit:
  • Custom Properties: Scene wallpapers gained bindable colors, sliders, and other user-controlled values.
  • Preset Publishing: Existing presets could be published without the previous dependency problems.
  • User Property UI Editor: Project settings gained a dedicated editor for configuring user properties.
  • Text Layer: Scene wallpapers gained multiline text with custom fonts.
  • Text Stock Assets: New clocks and greetings could update dynamically from user input.
  • Scene Unpacker: The web-based tool enabled .pkg files to be unpacked for editing.
• Discovery and seasonal presentation:
  • Halloween skin: The application added a seasonal Halloween appearance.
  • Seasonal curated collections: The Discover tab began surfacing seasonal lists beside approved content.
  • Seasonal themes: Wallpaper Engine could change its skin automatically based on the date.
  • Browse by Author: The wallpaper browser gained direct access to an author’s full collection.
• Workflow and reliability: The Steamworks SDK 1.44 rollback addressed Wallpaper Browser crashes, while playlist loading, particle-instance controls, camera paths, and image-layer sprite sheets received targeted fixes; monitor refresh handling was also made more resilient after login or resolution changes.